MISSOURIAN TO PUBLISH SEVEN DAYS

The Southeast Missourian will become a seven-day morning newspaper this fall when it begins to publish a regular Saturday edition on Oct. 2, Wally Lage, the publisher, announced today.

"This decision follows months of research and consideration of the changing needs of advertisers and readers," Lage said. "The 48-hour window without print news and advertising exposure between Friday and Sunday morning needs to be filled considering the size of the market," he said.

Last fall the Southeast Missourian published several special Saturday issues. The Missourian switched to morning publication from afternoon delivery three years ago.

During the next few months a major redesign of the newspaper will be taking place including a commitment to publish process color on the front of sections on a daily basis, not just Sundays. Several new columns have been added and the news content has been increased so that a minimum of 20 pages is published each day of the week. The news department staffing has increased to adapt to the heavier publishing schedule.

A renovation of the newspaper offices at 301 Broadway beginning with a complete redesign and relocation of the news department has already begun. To make the many changes and improvements at the newspaper, investments "well into six figures" have been committed in equipment and building improvements, Lage said.

The Saturday paper will focus especially on sports, which is a natural for it. In addition, special emphasis will be given to coverage of the health care industry, which is a major part of the Southeast Missouri economy. "Those area Friday night basketball and football games will get full coverage within a few hours of their completion," Lage said.

Also, the "TV Update" may be moved from Friday to Saturday, but a decision has not yet been made. Increased coverage of outdoor activities especially fishing and hunting is being considered. Weekend coverage will be significantly improved because Friday news and sports results will be published on Saturday, leaving more space Sunday for fresher news, he said.

Home-delivery customers currently pay 32 cents per delivery day and all subscribers will be charged 32 cents for the additional Saturday delivery. This means that expiration dates on pre-paid subscriptions past Oct. 1 will be shortened based on the number of Saturdays. Newspaper carriers who purchase the paper at wholesale rates and sell it to customers at retail rates will have the same opportunity for profit on Saturdays as any other day.

"While the daily home-delivery rate is not being increased for the monthly subscriber, there is no getting around the fact that subscribers will be charged the additional 32 cents for the additional publishing day," Lage said.

The new home-delivery rates will be $9.74 monthly, $29.22 quarterly, $54.27 for six months and $101.64 annually. The seven-day morning Paducah Sun serves a market similar to Cape Girardeau and home-delivery customers pay $124.80 a year while the Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale has an annual subscription fee of $125.90.

An added feature will be same-day delivery for rural customers six days a week at a rate to be announced. To allow Southern Illinois customers to get the paper on the same day, the Missourian's circulation department will be arranging delivery of the paper to the Carbondale post office in the early morning hours in time for postal carriers to take the papers on the route the same day, including Saturdays. Newsstand rates will remain at 50 cents daily and $1.25 on Sunday.