MERCER COUNTY AREA

Today marks The Herald's debut as a morning newspaper after more than 138 years as an afternoon publication.

In joining some of the country's finest newspapers as a morning edition, The Herald will be in a position to offer timely local news and advertising information to its thousands of Mercer County area readers.

"This is a strategic move that we had contemplated for the last several years," said Herald President and Publisher John L. Lima. "With the sale of The Herald to Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. last March and subsequent transfer of printing operations from Dow Jones to the New Castle News, it provided us with the production window to finally carry out our plan."

The Herald had been owned by Ottaway Newspapers Inc., the community newspaper subsidiary of Dow Jones and Co. Inc., since 1971. CNHI bought The Herald and three other Ottaway newpapers on March 29. CNHI has owned the New Castle News for several years.

"We look at this as an opportunity to give information to our readers in a more timely fashion," Lima added. "It's our hope that, now seven days a week, the news and advertising in The Herald will be available to you in a more timely manner to better plan your day."

The Herald had been a six-day afternoon newspaper until September 1990 when it added a Sunday edition. With the addition of a Sunday publication, The Herald switched its Saturday cycle to morning as well, leaving it as an afternoon newspaper Monday through Friday.

It's the goal of The Herald to be delivered to subscribers by 6:30 a.m. Monday through Friday and by 8 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Both The Herald and the New Castle News will be printed in early 2003 at a new production plant, which is being constructed near Sampson Street, about a mile from downtown New Castle.

That facility will offer a new, state-of-the-art printing press in addition to new, fully-automated mailroom and packaging equipment.