The end of the print edition was ruled Tuesday afternoon
The Tucson Citizen as we knew it is officially no more.
The print edition, which could have been reinstated if a judge ruled in its favor, was denied Tuesday afternoon.
The idea that the Citizen could come back actually made me a bit giddy. The thought of being back rubbing elbows and ideas with those I miss at this cavernous office was an exciting premise.
It would have also been quite interesting to see, if the judge had ruled to continue the print edition, how one would have been pasted, scrambled and cobbled together for publication the next day.
I figured I get to luck out and sneak a photo of my dog on the cover.
One more question was whether or not my pals who had been laid off would have come back if requested or walked away in a rebellious huff.
Monday’s hearing, which almost put me to sleep, did bring up some interesting information:
• Gannett said issuing a print edition of the Citizen was losing the company $10,000 each day
• The Attorney General’s representative argued that newspapers were worth saving because they print Macy’s coupons
• The judge has a granddaughter he had to pick up from school at 5 p.m. and he seemed like he’d make a cool grandfather.
At least those are the highlights I most remember.
Some former staffers stuck with a measly two week’s severance pay are kind of bummed.
Those who had longer, like photographer Val Canez who worked here for more than a decade, had a different take.
“I’m kind of relieved it’s over,” he said on the phone as he was calling to confirm the judge’s decision.
The saga began back in January when we got the first announcement of pending closure. The suspense dragged on worse than weekends between soap operas.
“It was like one big, long pin prick,” Canez said, “and the pin kept getting deeper.”
What do you think?
Are you relieved the historic saga is finally over?
If the judge ruled it back into print, could the Citizen have regained its former glory?
Should Gannett have sold it for the $200,000 offer, well below the $800,000 it was asking?