Ohio newspapers will print copies to mark inauguration
Posters will also be for sale.
CLEVELAND (AP) — Ohio newspapers will print extra copies or create special editions to mark Tuesday’s inauguration of Barack Obama as the nation’s first black president.
The Plain Dealer has plans for at least a 16-page section Wednesday designed as a keepsake, said deputy managing editor Daryl Kannberg.
The newspaper, a morning publication, will not have a Tuesday afternoon or evening extra. But it is increasing its usual press run from about 320,000 to 400,000 to meet the expected demand Wednesday.
The decision was based in part on The Plain Dealer’s experience Nov. 5, the day after Obama’s election when newspapers around the state printed extra copies and took orders for commemorative prints in response to high demand. Grocery stores, bookstores and distribution boxes quickly sold out.
Kannberg said he expects demand for Wednesday’s newspaper to be comparable to what The Plain Dealer experienced the day after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The Columbus Dispatch plans a first edition that will go to subscribers and newsstands. A redesigned extra will be printed after that because inaugural events go late into the night, said Alan Miller, managing editor-news.
The extra edition will be available to newsstands, select retailers and grocery stores Wednesday.
The Dispatch, with a press run of about 215,000, will print an additional 50,000 to 60,000 copies Wednesday. The newspaper also plans an eight-page special section for Sunday, Jan. 25, with the inaugural speech, more inauguration photos and photos of past presidents, Miller said.
The Dayton Daily News plans to publish 25,000 extra editions Wednesday, pushing the total to 56,000.
In addition, Cox Ohio Publishing, which publishes the Daily News, Springfield News-Sun, Middletown Journal and (Hamilton) JournalNews, has a deal with more than 100 Speedway SuperAmerica gas stations in southwest Ohio to sell inauguration posters with the purchase of a newspaper.
Purchasing a newspaper will entitle customers to buy an Obama poster for $2. A different poster will be sold on each of four days — from Sunday through Wednesday. The posters range from a collage of newspaper photos of Obama when he appeared in Ohio to a calendar with paintings of Obama done by local artists.
“It’s history. We wanted to give our readers a piece of history they can keep,” said Phonda Gamble, vice president of circulation for Cox Ohio.