Press: Washington Loses a Newspaper

After investing $85 million, Time Inc. shuts down the Star

Rumors of its impending demise had been circulating for a decade. Legions of readers and advertisers had defected, pushing losses to intolerable levels. But the Washington Star gamely hung on, and in 1978 it got a reprieve: Time Inc. bought the paper for $20 million and pledged $60 million for its revitalization. Said James R. Shepley, then Time Inc.'s president and later chairman of the board of the Star: "It is vitally important that the greater Washington area continue to have the services of...