Youngstown, Ohio, newspaper tossed a life line in unusual deal

An unusual deal will keep the Youngstown, Ohio, newspaper going for now. 

The newspaper announced in June it would cease publication Saturday, Aug. 31, because of financial struggles.

But under a new arrangement, the paper will be printed under its original name, The Vindicator, by the Tribune Chronicle, the newspaper in neighboring Warren, Ohio. The Tribune Chronicle has purchased The Vindicator name, subscriber list and website. 

The 150-year-old newspaper had been losing money for ages, and the family that owns it had been unable to find a buyer among the national newspaper chains.

“We have always felt strongly about the need to have a local newspaper. The agreement announced today provides The Vindicator’s subscribers with continued delivery of a daily print newspaper focused on their communities, Mahoning County and the Valley,” said Mark Brown, general manager of The Vindicator. “We are very happy to be able to provide our readers with a daily print newspaper from a family-owned company.”

“We are extremely happy and honored to be able to preserve the long-respected name of the newspaper that has served this region for a century-and-a-half,” said Charles Jarvis, publisher of the Tribune Chronicle. “We look forward to delivering approximately 30,000 of the new The Vindicator editions to the people who have supported The Vindicator through the years and have developed a printed newspaper reading habit.”

The Tribune Chronicle had announced last month that it would be investing more in covering the Youngstown area and creating an edition that would distribute there.

But for Youngstown, the reality is it’s moving from having a newspaper of its own to having a zoned edition of a newspaper in a smaller city one county over. (The Vindicator sells about 25,000 copies on weekdays; The Tribune Chronicle about 15,000.)