Daily Progress moves printing to Richmond facility

The Daily Progress on Monday shifted the printing and packaging of its 30,000-circulation daily and Sunday newspaper to the Richmond Times-Dispatch’s Hanover County press center.

This move to its sister newspaper’s facility affects 25 employees whose positions were eliminated.

Subscribers’ delivery times will be unaffected and all news reporting, editing, page design, advertising sales and ad production and business functions will remain in Charlottesville.

“This is a difficult business decision we made after weighing the extensive capital investment required to continue the printing operations here,” said Progress Publisher Lawrence L. McConnell. “We deeply regret having to say good-bye to an important part of The Daily Progress family here in our pressroom and mailroom. Parting with valued employees is very difficult, and all the more difficult in light of the strong contributions these employees have made here.”

The newspaper’s 25-year-old presses would require several million dollars of repairs, refurbishing and rewiring to continue long-term operations at the plant on West Rio Road in Albemarle County.

“We could not justify this capital investment when our company has excellent printing facilities available to us in Richmond,” McConnell said.

The shift, however, is expected to improve print quality of The Daily Progress.

“Advertisers will have more options for use of color in their advertising messages because of the versatility and capacity of the newer, larger Richmond press equipment,” McConnell said.

“Additionally, all options now offered for advertisers, such as Post-It Notes advertising and specially printed newspaper delivery bags, will continue to be offered in the future.”

Media General, the Richmond-based company that owns both the Charlottesville and Richmond papers, has undertaken a number of actions at all of its operations to improve performance. Reducing capital spending is part of those efforts.

In Charlottesville and elsewhere, the review has included reducing the amount of newsprint used as well as leaving some positions unfilled as they become open due to retirement or employees leaving.

Beginning with this morning’s edition, all issues of The Progress will be printed in Richmond and transported for distribution to subscribers, racks and dealers throughout Central Virginia.

In addition, The News Virginian in Waynesboro, a 7,500-circulation sister newspaper that had been printed at The Progress since 2004, will shift its printing site to Lynchburg at another Media General paper, The News & Advance.

Full-time employees will be offered severance packages.

“These are fine people who have done a great job for us here. Their work ethic would serve any employer well,” McConnell said. He added that the employees are eligible for consideration for rehire at other vacant positions within the company.

After the reduction in staff, The Progress will continue to employ about 95 full- and part-time employees.