Columbian to leave new building to save money

The Columbian newspaper is being forced by money problems to move out of its new building and back to its former offices, its publisher says.

Publisher Scott Campbell said Wednesday that The Columbian Publishing Co. needs to generate more revenue from the $30 million downtown building he and his wife, Jody, opened in January. Campbell said the company will either lease the entire 118,000-square-foot building or sell it.

Campbell also said the company is trying to negotiate a new loan and may seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors. Chapter 11 gives a business time to reorganize and return to financial health.

"Like many newspapers across the country, The Columbian is facing a difficult business situation given the economic environment, but we are fortunate to have the resources that allow us to respond with economical solutions," Campbell said. "The Columbian is confident it has the ability to come out of this situation and continue to be the trusted news source for Clark County as it has been for more than 100 years."

The Columbian's newsroom, advertising and circulation departments occupy four of the building's six floors, and won't move until the first quarter of 2009.

The Columbian, which has been through two rounds of layoffs in the past 10 months, employs 282 people including 12 employees of the Camas Post-Record, which it also owns.

Campbell is the third generation of his family to operate the newspaper purchased by his grandfather, Herbert Campbell in 1921.

"We strongly believe that we will be successful through this transition," he said. "With the newspaper and our Web site, we continue to be market leaders for both advertisers and readers.