The Southern Moving

As noted on the Beetlejuice blog, the Southern Illinoisan is closing its Marion office and consolidating all operations in Carbondale. It is my understanding that the expansion to Marion in 2007 was part of a larger plan to de-emphasize Carbondale coverage and focus more on Marion and the rest of southern Illinois. The feeling at the time was that Carbondale coverage (and subscriptions) was saturated while Marion and surrounding areas provided more opportunity for growth. The opening of the Marion office signified an expanded focus on Marion with a commensurate growth in subscriptions and advertising. Apparently that didn't work.