JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Times-Union fired up its four three-story printing machines for the last time this weekend. Sunday ended the Times-Union’s 154-year run of printing its papers in Jacksonville.
The Times-Union’s printing machines -- two that date back to the 1960s and two that date back to the 1970s – roared one last time Saturday night, printing the last Sunday edition at its headquarters on Riverside Avenue.
Starting Monday, the newspaper will be printed at the Gainesville Sun and the Daytona Beach News Journal, both newspapers owned by GateHouse, which purchased the Times-Union from Morris Communications last year.
The Times-Union announced in December that its headquarters will be relocated to a downtown site in late 2018. Citing the significant cost of upgrading or replacing the aging printing presses, Times-Union President Mark Nusbaum said the decision to move "makes financial sense."
"It's where we need to be," said Nusbaum, citing the newspaper's focus on government coverage coming from downtown, including City Hall. "We want to be there, right in the middle of it."
The Morris family, which owned the Times-Union for three decades, kept the 18-acre site at One Riverside Avenue when it sold the newspaper to GateHouse Media in October.
The move to the new location, and subsequent outsourcing of printing duties, means about 50 jobs will be lost in the production department.
Nusbaum said the newspaper will continue to expand its digital footprint through its website, Jacksonville.com, while delivering an exceptional print product.