17 People Lose Jobs as Cortland Standard Newspaper Closes

A newspaper that has served central New York for more than 150 years has gone out of business.

The Cortland Standard published its final edition on Thursday. Employees of the family-owned newspaper were advised of the decision to close around noon Wednesday, according to WXHC Radio.

In its story reporting on the demise of the business, the newspaper said it was "a casualty of declining readership and increasing costs, including an expected 25% tariff on newsprint."

Cortland Standard publisher and editor Evan Geibel said: "I hoped this day would never come."

The Cortland Standard Publishing Company, is filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

The newspaper's first edition was published on June 25, 1867. The operation has been located in a building at 110 Main Street in the center of Cortland since 1883.

In a note to readers, Geibel said his decision to stop printing the paper in Cortland last August was designed to save some money. Since then, the Cortland Standard was printed in Oswego.

Geibel said despite the efforts to reduce expenses, he concluded "we cannot go any further."

The publisher said print readership was continuing to decline while digital subscriptions were growing too slowly to make up the difference.

Geibel noted the cost of virtually everything involved in running the newspaper was going up. He wrote: " I can’t afford to pay my people what they’re worth. I can’t afford to publish this newspaper any more."

Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or call (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.