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The good news is that the 33-year-old Metro Times will live and breathe in 2014, and hopefully for many years to follow.
Detroit's alternative weekly was founded in 1980 and sold to a Pennsylvania company in 1999.
The other news is that it just became part of a new group of four alternative weekly newspapers based in across the state line in Ohio.
Here's part of Monday evening's announcement at the local paper's website:
Metro Times is now part of the newly-formed, Cleveland-based Euclid Media Group, along with the San Antonio Current, Cleveland Scene and Orlando Weekly.
Euclid was formed by Andrew Zelman, Cleveland Scene publisher Chris Keating and San Antonio Current publisher Michael Wagner.
The seller is Times-Shamrock Communications of Scranton, Pa., owner of the Detroit paper since 1999.
The Cleveland group says it "will continue to provide hard-hitting, culturally savvy alternative journalism in each of its local markets."
The only locally owned news publications are Crain's Detroit Business and Real Detroit Weekly. The News, Free Press and Michigan Chronicle are owned by corporations based elsewhere.
At Crain's, media beat report Bill Shea provides background on the Metro Times deal:
Metro Times Publisher Chris Sexson announced on his personal Facebook page on Dec. 9 that he tried to buy the newspaper, but he said his offer was rejected. . . .
The free tabloid, published every Wednesday, was founded in 1980 and as of March 2012 reported a circulation of 59,979. . . . In 1999, it was about 110,000 copies.
In the past three years, Metro Times reduced its circulation area — halting distribution in Windsor, Toledo and north of New Baltimore.
The paper, which has steadily reduced its staff, circulation area and how many issues it puts on the streets in recent years, has been unprofitable for some time, even with a brief surge in medical marijuana advertising, a source with knowledge of the newspaper's financial situation told Crain's for an August 2012 profile. . . .
In October, Metro Times left its downtown Detroit space . . . after 33 years and moved into office space in Ferndale.
