E. Idaho newspaper to publish just 6 days

The Post Register in eastern Idaho will end its Monday print edition due to tough economic times, the newspaper's publisher says.

Roger Plothow, writing in Sunday's newspaper, said the Post Register will go to a six-day printing schedule on March 2.

"Quite frankly, the very thought of eliminating a print edition rubs me the wrong way," Plothow wrote. "But the old saying is true - sometimes discretion is, indeed, the better part of valor. In this case, discretion calls for putting out the best printed product we can muster six days a week instead of seven. In this changing economic environment, businesses that don't stay nimble will be left in the dust."

He said online-only updates will be available on Mondays, and regular Monday features will be moved to other days of the week.

The paper's managers considered the move more than six months ago as a way to reduce costs while recognizing that more readers are turning to the Internet for their news, Plothow noted.

But he said economic conditions have since worsened and cutting back to publishing six days a week is the prudent thing to do and will help the company avoid layoffs.

"These financial realities require all businesses, including the Post Register, to make hard but necessary decisions to ensure we continue to thrive during down times," he wrote.

The Post Register, published by the Post Co., had previously been a six-day newspaper until 1996 when it started publishing a Saturday edition.

"The Post Register continues to move forward despite the economic challenges," Plothow wrote. "We've recently purchased and are now installing a new state-of-the-art printing press that will both improve the quality of our printed products and reduce our paper costs."

The Idaho Falls-based Post Co. publishes the Post Register and several smaller newspapers in the region.

For about seven months the company also owned the Hailey-based Wood River Journal in central Idaho before selling it late last year to Express Publishing, the company that runs the Idaho Mountain Express newspaper in Ketchum. Express Publishing closed the Wood River Journal.

Earlier this month, executives at the Standard Journal in the eastern Idaho city of Rexburg said they will begin scaling back on March 3 by publishing the newspaper just three days a week instead of five.

Citing higher production costs, the dismal economy and rapid changes in the newspaper industry, managers said the Standard Journal will be printed only on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, down from its current Tuesday through Saturday publishing schedule.

The Standard Journal will still operate on a daily news cycle, with editors posting updates to its Web site.