Due to financial woes, the New York Sun has reported that it may close its doors at the end of September, unless the papers publishers can raise sufficient moneys.

Readers of the New York Sun were given a heads up of the newspapers potential closing in an article released yesterday and written by Seth Lipsky, the editor. Others in the industry are looking to the papers newness as another reason for its closure – the New York Sun was launched in April of 2002. Tenure in the newspaper industry could be a valid attributor the Sun’s announcement, as the cost of the necessary supplies for printing and distributing a newspaper (gas, and paper itself) have increased substantially since 2003 and newer publications lacking entrenched supplier relationships have suffered more from rate hikes, versus those with multi-decade old supplier footholds. It is important to note that the cost attributed to producing a newspaper is another reason new players on the scene have chosen a Web only play – perhaps this could be a viable option for the Sun.

According to Seth Lipsky, the New York Sun is “one of the few newspapers in America to see substantial increases in print advertising revenues not only last year and the year before but also so far this year”. Lipsky went on in his piece to explain, “the expense of producing and distributing the paper exceeds our revenues.”

written by Beverly Crandon