In October 2024, The Saipan Tribune, one of the Northern Mariana Islands’ principal newspapers, announced it would be ceasing operations at the end of 2024, and so it did on December 31. In a public statement, management cited a confluence of factors including broad economic troubles and a shift to more digitized media.
The Tribune was founded in 1990 by Mark Pangelinan and Larry Hillbloom and acquired by Pacific Publication & Printing in 1993. For the first decade of serialization, the Tribune was exclusively published in print, beginning their website in 1999. Until its closure, the Saipan Tribune retained a strong physical presence, printing a paper five days a week, and the Tribune has been a staple of Northern Marianas news for years.
The Tribune’s management attributed the closure primarily to economics and a change in news consumption. “The increased availability of internet access and mobile devices has led consumers to demand instant information, prompting many industries to reshape their business models and move online. This change has redefined the need for the Saipan Tribunes. In addition, unforeseen calamities in recent years and continuing local and economic challenges have thwarted our best efforts to sustain the business,” their statement read. Northern Marianas residents and readers will be affected by the impact of the Tribune’s closure.
Along with Marianas Variety, the commonwealth’s other primary news source, the Tribune accounted for a vast majority of residents’ access to timely and accurate information. The Saipan Tribune’s content will remain online as an archive with the new Marianas Press looking to fill some of the coverage gap its closure caused.
0 Comments