The Onion To Cease Print Publication

By Chuck Sudo in News on Nov 8, 2013 3:50PM

“America’s Finest News Source” is getting out of the newspaper game. The Onion will end its print editions in Chicago, Milwaukee and Providence, R.I. with its Dec. 12 edition, citing declining ad buys and continuing to focus on its web-based content.

Onion Inc. CEO Mike McAvoy told Crain’s Chicago Business, “It's sad to see a print edition no longer exist, but it's important to see the Onion succeed.”

The Onion was founded in 1988 by University of Wisconsin-Madison students Tim Keck and Christopher Johnson and achieved early success in Midwestern college towns such as Madison and Milwaukee, Wisc. and Urbana-Champaign, Ill. The satirical newspaper earned a reputation for smart, incisive and often devastating send-ups on current events. The launch of theonion.com in 1996 helped it reach a national audience and the expansion of its print edition to 17 markets at its peak, as well as a national edition. But the evolution of online content and declining ad revenues forced The Onion to cease printing in other markets. The paper ceased printing in Madison—its founding market—in July with a tongue-in-cheek call to arms.

Onion Inc. will now focus on its web-based content including video and sponsored content for advertisers. It contracted with Amazon.com’s production studios for a TV series called Onion News Empire and made a a series of men’s fashion videos for shoe retailer DSW Inc. earlier this year.