Newspaper Closing In Youngstown, Ohio

After more than a century, The Vindicator will permanently cease production.

According to WFMJ TV21, 144 employees and about 250 carriers will lose their jobs on August 31, 2019, after the papers last publication.

According to the Vindicator's General Manager, Mark Brown, he has been trying to find a buyer for the paper since December 2017.

"We never thought we would be in this position, being that it was in the family you didn't want to shut it down or lose it but the only way we could see this continue is if we found another buyer," said Brown.

Brown adds that most of the revenue comes from the print product. The Vindicator will not be able to keep their website due to Google and Facebook driving down rates for advertising.

WFMJ.com News weather sports for Youngstown-Warren Ohio

The announcement came Friday afternoon, just days after the newspaper marked its 150th anniversary.  On Saturday, a letter to readers will be published by Vindicator publisher Betty J.H. Brown Jagnow and general manager Mark Brown explaining the decision.

The paper has been a fixture in the Mahoning Valley since its first issue was published on June 25th,1869.

It would eventually become the only daily newspaper in Mahoning County.

WFMJ is also owned by the same family that owns The Vindicator. In a letter to WFMJ employees dated June 28, Brown said the decision to shut down the newspaper will not affect the television station.

The closing comes at a time when newspapers across the country are struggling for their survival as news consumers increasingly turn to digital options for news and information.