After more than 30 years of competition, local papers unite to provide Ocean City news together
Ocean City news coverage will change after over 30 years of intense competition between Ocean City Today and The Dispatch. These two community newspapers in Ocean City, Maryland are merging to become the primary news source for the coastal area. Once fierce competitors fighting over the same advertisers and getting a unique spin on the same news, Stewart Dobson from Ocean City Today and Steve Green from the Dispatch have decided to consolidate.
Effective Feb. 2, the new OC Today/Dispatch will combine the strengths of both papers. This consolidation, long considered, aims to better serve the community and adapt to changing market needs. Apparently unique in the community news paper industry, both papers have survived in a local news market where many others have folded due to readership from residents, nonresident property owners, and visitors.
Businesses Hoping that Costs Won’t Go Up too Much for Ads in the Combined News Source
Businesses have often felt that they have had to pay for ads in both papers over the years. Now, with the merger, many business owners have expressed relief that now they will only have to buy one ad. Ad prices may be going up, however, but most hope that the costs won’t double as a result of the merger.
Ocean City News Will Be Online Too
The merged staff will enhance on-the-ground reporting and expand digital offerings. Ocean City Today had 66,000 followers and the Dispatch had 119,000 followers on Facebook as of today. Combining the lists and making their digital presence stronger seems to be a goal for the newly merged paper as reported in their news release on the merger.
Led by Stewart Dobson as Editor and Steve Green as Executive Editor, the team comprises veterans from both papers. The new paper will operate from the former OC Today offices and undergo a redesign.
You can also get a newsfeed for Ocean City news right here on OceanCity.com: https://www.oceancity.com/news/
