The Seattle Post-Intelligencer prints its final edition Monday evening and starts the instant after as strictly seattlepi.com.
The Hearst-owned outlet employs about 180 people and will employ 40 in the morning, including 20 in the newsroom under executive producer Michelle Nicolosi, who promises a different way ahead with a revamped site.
The P-I becomes the largest newspaper to move to an online-only operation and its successes and struggles will be scrutinized likely more than any other outlet its size in the western world.
Nostalgia is deserved. Its 146 years of publishing is no small accomplishment. When any media perish, the loss applies to a committed community of contributors and consumers. In other words, journalists and other newspaper employees lose something, but so does the audience, in terms of a shared experience.
In its stead are promised a strong form of community engagement, a more flexible production team, and a theme of innovation. A successful seattlepi.com will be a model, and at this stage, most everyone is looking for a successful model. Who wouldn't wish them well, all the while regretting so many others can't make the trip?
Below is a newsroom video featuring the P-I publisher, Roger Oglesby, on the final edition.