The Onion, a satirical newspaper, will halt production of its print versions in Milwaukee, Chicago and Providence after its Dec. 12 issue.
“It’s sad to see a print edition no longer exist, but it’s important to see the Onion succeed,” Mike McAvoy, president of Chicago-based Onion Inc., told Crain’s Chicago Business.
At its peak, the print edition of The Onion was available in 17 markets.
Over the past several years the company has been disappearing from newsstands steadily as advertising shrank. Its most-recent edition in Chicago, for instance, was just 16 pages and included only two full-page ads, both for Camel cigarettes.
While dropping out of some cities entirely, such as Denver, Minneapolis and Austin, the Onion outsourced printing, distribution and ad sales in others.
Also being shut down is A.V. Club Milwaukee, the last remaining city to have local content from The Onion’s entertainment arm, The A.V. Club. A.V. Club Milwaukee editor, Matt Wild, wrote a farewell letter on the publication’s website, www.avclub.com/milwaukee.
The Onion began in Madison and expanded to Milwaukee. The website, www.theonion.com, will continue.
