Two daily newspapers that trace their roots to the 19th Century, The Call of Woonsocket and The Times of Pawtucket, plan to merge into a single paper.
“Our commitment to being a daily news provider for Northern Rhode Island has not changed,” according to a front-page story in a recent edition of The Call, “but in order to maintain that commitment amid current business trends and increases in printing costs, we have made the decision to combine the two papers into one publication, The Blackstone Valley Call & Times, beginning Nov. 1.”
As part of the change, the Sunday edition of The Call will be eliminated and the two newspapers will publish six days a week, with a weekend edition on Saturdays.
Seth Bromley, who serves as editor of both papers, could not be reached for comment.
Between them, The Call and The Times have two news reporters, two sports reporters and a photographer.
The Times was established in 1885 and The Call in 1892. The papers maintained high print readership for many years afterward, until erosion in newspaper circulation cratered after the advent of the internet.
Both papers are owned by Rhode Island Suburban Newspapers, which acquired them in 2007.
Correction: The ownership of The Call and The Times was mistakenly reported in an earlier version of this story.
Politics Reporter Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis@thepublicsradio.org.