Journal Sentinel kills MKE

The Journal Sentinel said today that it was discontinuing MKE. Here's it's press release in full:

"Journal Sentinel Inc. will discontinue production of free weekly publication MKE effective July 10, the firm said Wednesday.

"Launched in 2004 and aimed at young adults, MKE struggled to attract advertising in a market featuring such free-distribution weeklies as Shepherd Express and The Onion. MKE ad revenue peaked in 2006, and has trended downward since. MKE employees are being encouraged to apply for any openings at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel."

It's worth noting as another example of mainstream media being unwilling to put the resources needed into its attempts to carve out new markets. For the past three years, I've had Marquette editing students evaluate MKE, which was considered something of a joke by JS staffers with its flip attitudes. At the start, MU students loved it -- because of that flip attitude. But the past couple of years, MKE cut back not only on staff but on attitude, and the student evaluations got progressively worse. Was it a great publication? No. But it was an attempt to capture a difference audience.

The press release says ad revenue has been declining. I was told this week by a JS staffer that the advertising sales department, like the rest of the company, was dramatically reduced in the company's downsizing two years ago -- and now virtually all efforts are aimed at retaining the large advertisers who would be unlikely to be seeking out alternative publications. I'm going to miss MKE.