Pendleton, Miramar lose print newspapers - Marine Corps News

Pendleton, Miramar lose print newspapers - Marine Corps News, news from Iraq - Marine Corps Times

Pendleton, Miramar lose print newspapers

By Gidget Fuentes - Staff writer
Posted : Monday May 4, 2009 5:40:56 EDT

SAN DIEGO — The recession has trickled down to the San Diego area’s three major base newspapers, forcing their publisher out of business and leaving the Marine Corps and Navy to publish local content only online for now.

The Scout, serving Camp Pendleton, Flight Jacket, serving Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and The Compass, which covers Navy life in and around San Diego, all terminated their joint contract with publisher TFM Associates in April after it struggled to meet its contractual agreements, officials said. A handful of civilians employed by TFM to help produce the weekly papers were laid off in early April.

Marine Corps Installations-West and Navy Region-Southwest plan to find a new publisher, but it’s not clear when that will be.

The Scout, which has served Camp Pendleton since its inception in 1942, exists now online at http://scoutnewspaper.com. It had a weekly circulation of about 30,000 papers, which were distributed throughout the base and at several locations outside the gates, and over the years garnered several top awards from the Defense Department.

Pendleton officials intend to maintain the Scout’s online presence after the new contract is issued. “We are going to continue this, regardless, because it provides up-to-date news,” said Maj. Kristen Lasica-Khaner, a base spokeswoman. “That more mirrors what the local papers do.”

The base, which runs Pendleton’s main Web site, www.pendleton.usmc.mil, and The Scout’s, has linked with I Marine Expeditionary Force and other major commands to get more stories and photographs onto the newspaper’s site, she said.

The Flight Jacket, which distributed about 10,000 printed copies weekly, exists now in a digital format at Miramar’s Web site, www.miramar.usmc.mil. Officials opted to keep the same broadsheet format — The Flight Jacket is created as PDF files, without ads — so Marine combat correspondents who write, edit, take photographs and lay out the pages can continue to get the experience, said Maj. Jay Delarosa, Miramar’s spokesman. Marines “still need to keep up with the basic skills they need to learn,” he said.

The Compass, which distributed about 35,000 copies weekly, can be found now at http://navycompass.com. But it’s not just short news items being posted there. The paper’s staff of one chief petty officer and four mass communications specialists is still writing and reporting on happenings at commands and aboard ships throughout the San Diego area, said Brian O’Rourke, a spokesman for Navy Region-Southwest.

“Our folks are still covering new things that are going on,” he said. “We’re definitely still covering the waterfront.”

Like the Marine bases, Navy officials want to bolster The Compass’ online presence even after the newspaper returns to a printed edition.