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 two strong newspapers." But last week, after an expenditure of $85 million and after-tax losses of $35 million, the company admitted it could no longer postpone the inevitable. Said Time Inc. President J. Richard Munro: "Despite our substantial investment, the newspaper continues to lose money and shows no prospect of a turnaround. Regrettably, we feel we have no choice but to close it."
The company set the closing for Aug. 7, in the slim hope that a dark-horse buyer would come forward during the two-week grace period. Otherwise the nation's capital will be left with only one major newspaper, the Washington Post (daily circ. 618,000). This was cause for mourning in a city where decision makers depend on a full and vigorous airing of important public issues. "An extremely sad day," said President Ronald Reagan. Added House Speaker Tip O'Neill: "We ought to have newspapers expressing opposite philosophies." Even the victor in this journalistic struggle did not celebrate. "The demise of the Star," said Post Publisher Donald Graham, "is dreadful for Washington and for anyone who loves newspapers."
Time Inc. executives were satisfied that they had given the Star their "best shot," as Munro put it. The paper recruited top talent, including Denver Post Cartoonist Pat Oliphant and Washington Post Writer Judy Bachrach, added a second op-ed page and started a morning edition. National and international coverage —long a weak point—were bolstered with the worldwide resources of the Time-Life News Service. Five new community editions broadened the metropolitan coverage. Under Editor Murray J. Gart, 56, former chief of the Time-Life News Service, the Star stressed hard news and straightforward reporting over fancy writing and instant analysis. The paper won two Pulitzer Prizes (for editorials in 1979 and criticism in 1981) and numerous other awards. Said Henry Grunwald, Time Inc. editor in chief: "Many observers, including very sharp critics, have said that the Washington Star is the best afternoon daily in the U.S. I would go further and say that it is one of the three or four best and most responsible newspapers, morning or afternoon, in the country."
Unfortunately, its circulation and advertising figures did not improve along with the editorial product. The downward march paused briefly in 1979, but resumed when the local economy slumped and the Star stopped offering cut-rate subscriptions, an enticement for new readers that proved too costly. After 3½ years, daily circulation had slipped from 349,000 to 323,000 and Sunday totals had dropped from 337,000 to 294,000.