NEWPORT NEWS, Va. and RICHMOND, Va., May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Daily Press Media Group (DPMG) and Media General, Inc. (NYSE: MEG) today announced that they have reached a production agreement for Media General's Operations & Distribution Solutions Group to print and package DPMG's three newspapers, the Daily Press, The Virginia Gazette, and Tidewater Review at Media General's production facility in Hanover County, Virginia.
"The decision to move our printing and packaging operations will enable us to focus our efforts entirely on community journalism and marketing, reaching consumers through the media channel that suits them best—in print, online, or via their mobile device," said Digby Solomon, DPMG's President, Publisher and Chief Executive Officer.
Media General's plant is a state of the art facility providing cutting-edge manufacturing capabilities. The facility currently prints The Richmond Times-Dispatch, The (Charlottesville, Va.) Daily Progress, and several other daily and weekly newspapers. The facility will print all editions of DPMG's three newspapers. The agreement will result in the elimination of positions in DPMG's printing and packaging division; the company will provide severance and outplacement assistance to displaced employees.
This agreement does not impact the management of delivery operations. DPMG contractors and employees will continue to lead the company's delivery and customer service operations. The Daily Press will also continue delivering other newspapers sold in its market area, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Virginian-Pilot, and Media General's Richmond Times-Dispatch.
"The Daily Press continues to be a profitable and thriving business in its 116th year, in part because our employees are constantly innovating to ensure we serve clients across all of our media platforms," said Solomon. "The consolidation of printing and packaging operations is picking up momentum across the industry. In the end, we decided that moving these operations to Media General's Hanover plant makes good business sense."
The production agreement builds upon an existing business relationship between the Daily Press and Media General's Richmond Times-Dispatch newspaper. For two years, each newspaper has distributed the other in areas outside its core circulation region.