By Cliff Peale
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Gannett Co. Inc., owner of The Cincinnati Enquirer, announced Friday that it will not renew a joint operating agreement with Cincinnati Post owner E.W. Scripps Co.

Gannett said it notified Cincinnati-based Scripps that it would not renew the agreement when it expires Dec. 31, 2007. Gannett was required to provide three years' notice before the expiration date.

In a press release, Scripps said it will continue to publish the Post during the next four years, while "actively exploring all options for the future of the Post."

"Obviously, we're disappointed," said Alan Horton, senior vice president for newspapers at Scripps. "We would've liked to see the agreement continue. We were surprised to get the notice this early, but we were not surprised to get the notice."

The joint operating agreement, signed Sept. 23, 1977, allows the Post to continue to operate with a separate and competing newsroom, with Gannett and the Enquirer managing all business and production operations.

But Post daily circulation has dropped to 42,219 in September 2003 from about 188,000 when the agreement was signed. That joined the trend of lower circulation for afternoon newspapers nationwide. The Cincinnati Post and Kentucky Post, which circulates in Northern Kentucky, are published Monday through Saturday.

The Post was first published in 1881 as the Penny Paper.

The Enquirer, which is published seven mornings a week, posted daily circulation of 182,176 in September 2003.

Enquirer Publisher Margaret Buchanan said the Post's operating expenses continued to increase as the circulation declined.

"While it's unfortunate, the Cincinnati community has made it clear it cannot support an afternoon newspaper," she said.

Maryland-based newspaper analyst John Morton said rising costs, plus the proliferation of editorial voices through cable television and the Internet, have contributed to the decline of afternoon newspapers. "There is no market for a small second daily newspaper that would have to be competitive with the Enquirer," he said. "I'm sure Scripps realizes that, and it'll be the end of the Post."

Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken said the Post has "a glorious tradition in Cincinnati."

"As a guy who remembers the Post Times-Star when it was as big or bigger than the Enquirer, it's a sign of the times," Luken said. "I wish it didn't have to be that way."

The joint operating agreement divides annual profits between the two companies, with the majority going to Gannett. Scripps earned about $12 million from the deal in 2003, including a $1.8 million charge it will take against fourth-quarter earnings for estimated severance costs for Post editorial employees.

Buchanan said Gannett does not disclose profit numbers for its individual papers.

The Post currently employs 78 full-time and four part-time editorial employees, including reporters, editors and photographers.

The Enquirer employs 178 full-time and 11 part-time editorial employees.

In addition to The Cincinnati Post and Kentucky Post, Scripps owns WCPO-TV. Overall, it operates 21 daily newspapers, 10 broadcast television stations and properties including Home & Garden Television and the Food Network.

Gannett, based in McLean, Va., operates 100 daily newspapers in this country, including USA Today, and 22 television stations.

E-mail cpeale@enquirer.com