In a move that’s sure to upset the dozens of people who still read a physical copy of the newspaper, the Lexington Herald-Leader announced Monday that it will shift its printing and packaging operations to Louisville beginning in August. The paper also plans to put its downtown building up for sale, hoping that another company with a dying business model will take its place, like a Sears or an asbestos factory. This announcement confirms what we here at the New Circle Circular have surmised for quite some time: that there’s only room enough in this town for one Harold Leeder.
Executives at the Herald-Leader wanted to assure readers that the overall quality of the publication would not be affected.
“It’s still going to be your same old hometown Lexington newspaper,” said Herald-Leader Vice President Regis N. Thursday. “It’s just going to have a little bit of that Louisville stank on it.”
The main worry most readers have is the logistical dilemma of having their papers delivered from somewhere so far away.
“That’s gonna be a tough trek for my paper boy, Seth, to make,” said Lexington resident Myrtle Grant. “I-64 seems like it might be pretty dangerous to navigate on a bicycle.”
The Herald-Leader hopes to incorporate some Louisville businesses to help with the delivery process. The paper has already begun discussions with Papa John about using his company’s warmer bags to make sure the papers arrive in Lexington as fresh as possible.
Herald-Leader employees are admittedly nervous about the switch, but some of them saw the writing on the paywall.
“I knew something was up after last week’s fire sale of all our printing equipment,” said one Herald-Leader reporter in an anonymous interview, which we’re comfortable publishing.
Other employees are curious how the move might affect their ability to do their jobs. Jerry Tipton is wondering if he should start writing negative articles about Louisville, while Joel Pett is concerned he won’t be able to get his little drawings to press in time.
Editors Note: The New Circle Circular is committed to being Lexington’s only locally sourced, farm to tablet news outlet. That’s why when the Herald-Leader’s #Lexit was announced on Monday, I, Harold Leeder, started inquiring about the soon-to-be vacant building, and have plans to maybe ask my nephew who’s good with computers to set up a Kickstarter to raise funds for an eventual purchase.