Mlive: "MLive announces full turn into digital formats, will end printed editions in December" . . .
MLive announces full turn into digital formats, will end printed editions in December
Updated: Sep. 02, 2026, 6:47 p.m.|Published: Sep. 02, 2026, 9:33 a.m.
PIC CAPTION: The Grand Rapids Press print edition from Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. The final print edition of The Press and MLive Media Group's seven other newspapers will be printed Dec. 6, 2026, MLive announced Wednesday, Sept. 2.Joel Bissell | MLive.com
MLive Media Group has announced it will no longer produce printed editions of its eight newspaper titles, calling it the next step in its digital evolution and a response to long-shifting audience trends.
The Michigan news organization will print and home-deliver its final printed editions on Sunday, Dec. 6, and the publications will continue afterward in online formats, MLive Community President John Hiner announced Wednesday, Sept. 2.
“This transition is dictated by our readers’ overwhelming adoption of our news in digital formats,” Hiner said.
These formats include the MLive.com website and app, online newspapers, branded social media channels, and more than 50 emailed newsletters.
MLive has 8 million-plus monthly visits to its website, making it the No. 1 most-read outlet in Michigan and the fourth-most read local news provider in the United States, according to Nieman Journalism Lab. More than 4 million people follow the eight MLive local newspaper brands on social media, Hiner said.
MLive’s eight titles are: The Ann Arbor News, The Bay City Times, The Flint Journal, The Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle and The Saginaw News.
The work done by editors, multimedia specialists and reporters throughout the state will continue, said Kelly Adrian Frick, vice president of content for MLive Media Group.
She said the move away from print will not affect MLive’s staff of roughly 100 journalists, which she said is larger than it was at the end of 2025.
“Our mission has always been about excellent journalism that serves our communities, and the people who live in Michigan,” Frick said. “Not printing newspapers doesn’t change that for the journalists at MLive. We will continue to bring our reporting where our readers want it most.”
MLive is owned by New York-based Advance Local, which consolidated its Michigan newspaper titles and its internet company, MLive.com, in 2012.
Four of those newspaper titles went to less than 7-days-per-week home delivery in print in 2009; the others in 2012. In the time since, MLive has grown into one of the largest local news media companies in the country.
Overall, more than 99% of MLive’s readers come via digital formats, Hiner said.
While the printed formats are going away, the eight traditional titles — dating back more than 120 years — will continue in the online newspaper format.
The online newspaper is a seven-day product that replicates the experience of flipping through a print edition, via a phone, tablet or computer. Those editions have been enhanced this year with more local news on a daily basis, Frick said.
Once robust circulation numbers at the newspapers — which printed their first editions more than 120 years ago — have fallen for decades while MLive has continued to grow digitally.
MLive does not publicly release circulation numbers. However, the number of digital and online newspaper subscribers surpassed the number of print subscribers this year, marking a shift in the viability of print, Frick said.
“Having grown up with newspapers, there is of course some sadness with this announcement. But the bulk of my career has been about meeting readers where they find their news,” said Frick, who began her career at The Bay City Times in 1993.
“Once my dad started reading the online newspaper, I realized that the world is always changing and it’s up to us to keep up with those changes.”
MLive Media Group has embraced a digital-first culture since its launch 14 years ago. Following the audience has been the guiding principle from the beginning, Hiner said.
“I understand that some people prefer a hard-copy printed paper,” he said. “But demand for that format has fallen steadily, to the point that it’s no longer economically sustainable to produce and deliver.”
Advance Local shifted to all-digital formats in its Alabama markets in 2023 and in New Jersey in 2025.
The end of printed products in Michigan will result in one full-time job loss related to distribution of newspapers, and an end to relationships with contracted newspaper distributors, Hiner said. No job reductions are planned at the Ohio facility that has printed MLive newspapers since 2020, he said.
Hiner noted that the company will host online webinars and in-person seminars across the state to help readers optimize their newspaper subscriptions via the online format.
“We continue to invest and innovate in formats and products that most help our readers access important news about their communities and issues statewide,” he said.
Link: https://www.mlive.com/news/2026/09/mlive-announces-full-turn-into-digital-formats-will-end-printed-editions-in-december.html
Updated: Sep. 02, 2026, 6:47 p.m.|Published: Sep. 02, 2026, 9:33 a.m.
PIC CAPTION: The Grand Rapids Press print edition from Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. The final print edition of The Press and MLive Media Group's seven other newspapers will be printed Dec. 6, 2026, MLive announced Wednesday, Sept. 2.Joel Bissell | MLive.com
MLive Media Group has announced it will no longer produce printed editions of its eight newspaper titles, calling it the next step in its digital evolution and a response to long-shifting audience trends.
The Michigan news organization will print and home-deliver its final printed editions on Sunday, Dec. 6, and the publications will continue afterward in online formats, MLive Community President John Hiner announced Wednesday, Sept. 2.
“This transition is dictated by our readers’ overwhelming adoption of our news in digital formats,” Hiner said.
These formats include the MLive.com website and app, online newspapers, branded social media channels, and more than 50 emailed newsletters.
MLive has 8 million-plus monthly visits to its website, making it the No. 1 most-read outlet in Michigan and the fourth-most read local news provider in the United States, according to Nieman Journalism Lab. More than 4 million people follow the eight MLive local newspaper brands on social media, Hiner said.
MLive’s eight titles are: The Ann Arbor News, The Bay City Times, The Flint Journal, The Grand Rapids Press, Jackson Citizen Patriot, Kalamazoo Gazette, Muskegon Chronicle and The Saginaw News.
The work done by editors, multimedia specialists and reporters throughout the state will continue, said Kelly Adrian Frick, vice president of content for MLive Media Group.
She said the move away from print will not affect MLive’s staff of roughly 100 journalists, which she said is larger than it was at the end of 2025.
“Our mission has always been about excellent journalism that serves our communities, and the people who live in Michigan,” Frick said. “Not printing newspapers doesn’t change that for the journalists at MLive. We will continue to bring our reporting where our readers want it most.”
MLive is owned by New York-based Advance Local, which consolidated its Michigan newspaper titles and its internet company, MLive.com, in 2012.
Four of those newspaper titles went to less than 7-days-per-week home delivery in print in 2009; the others in 2012. In the time since, MLive has grown into one of the largest local news media companies in the country.
Overall, more than 99% of MLive’s readers come via digital formats, Hiner said.
While the printed formats are going away, the eight traditional titles — dating back more than 120 years — will continue in the online newspaper format.
The online newspaper is a seven-day product that replicates the experience of flipping through a print edition, via a phone, tablet or computer. Those editions have been enhanced this year with more local news on a daily basis, Frick said.
Once robust circulation numbers at the newspapers — which printed their first editions more than 120 years ago — have fallen for decades while MLive has continued to grow digitally.
MLive does not publicly release circulation numbers. However, the number of digital and online newspaper subscribers surpassed the number of print subscribers this year, marking a shift in the viability of print, Frick said.
“Having grown up with newspapers, there is of course some sadness with this announcement. But the bulk of my career has been about meeting readers where they find their news,” said Frick, who began her career at The Bay City Times in 1993.
“Once my dad started reading the online newspaper, I realized that the world is always changing and it’s up to us to keep up with those changes.”
MLive Media Group has embraced a digital-first culture since its launch 14 years ago. Following the audience has been the guiding principle from the beginning, Hiner said.
“I understand that some people prefer a hard-copy printed paper,” he said. “But demand for that format has fallen steadily, to the point that it’s no longer economically sustainable to produce and deliver.”
Advance Local shifted to all-digital formats in its Alabama markets in 2023 and in New Jersey in 2025.
The end of printed products in Michigan will result in one full-time job loss related to distribution of newspapers, and an end to relationships with contracted newspaper distributors, Hiner said. No job reductions are planned at the Ohio facility that has printed MLive newspapers since 2020, he said.
Hiner noted that the company will host online webinars and in-person seminars across the state to help readers optimize their newspaper subscriptions via the online format.
“We continue to invest and innovate in formats and products that most help our readers access important news about their communities and issues statewide,” he said.
Link: https://www.mlive.com/news/2026/09/mlive-announces-full-turn-into-digital-formats-will-end-printed-editions-in-december.html
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- Mlive: "MLive announces full turn into digital formats, will end printed editions in December" . . .