West Milwaukee printing plant closes, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel printed for the last time in Wisconsin
Corrinne HessWEST MILWAUKEE - The rich smell of ink and the sound of the machines at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel printing facility have only changed a little. But the journalism industry is sometimes unrecognizable.
When the $112 million Burnham Street printing plant opened in March 2003, it was a marvel from Germany.
The computer-controlled presses on 10 acres stood five stories. They were the largest of any press at the time in North America, able to churn out 85,000 papers an hour. And the quality captured the attention of USA Today and the Wall Street Journal — both eventually printed in West Milwaukee.
On Sunday night, ink-stained hands pulled the Journal Sentinel's newspaper off the Burnham Street press for the last time. Newspaper publisher Gannett announced March 14 it would move the printing of its 11 Wisconsin newspapers, including the Journal Sentinel, to its printing plant in Peoria, Illinois.
Gary Hall's fingers have had ink on them since he started as a "fly man" — cleaning the press and emptying the trash — at Journal Communications in 1986. He's a third-generation press operator, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.
He said shuttering the West Milwaukee printing press was something most of the plant's 180 employees knew was coming. They just weren't sure when.
"It's sad to know that we've got third-generation employees, including myself, that are leaving here," said Hall, who is now the regional operations director for Gannett.
"It's also a blessing for us. A lot of our employees are at or close to retirement age. There are better days ahead."
A 5-story press made sense 20 years ago, before smartphones, tablets and laptop computers became how people consume their news. Now newspaper companies like Gannett are finding themselves with too much printing capacity.
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About 100,000 Journal Sentinel Sunday newspapers were printed this week — significantly less than previous decades.
At the same time, digital subscriptions have been rising. The Journal Sentinel now has nearly 60,000 digital-only subscribers, up from 13,000 a few years ago.
"A drop in (print) circulation has certainly been the greatest challenge, but so has adapting to the change in ownership," Hall said. "We went from Journal Communications to Journal Media Group then we were purchased by Gannett and then new Gannett when it was purchased by Gatehouse."
Hall held a job fair shortly after the March 14 announcement. He brought in five printing manufacturing companies. He said most employees have found work.
"From a timing standpoint, this is happening at a good time, there were a lot of good job opportunities," Hall said. "I'm certainly going to miss the camaraderie, team work and dedication of all the employees here. But this is a sign of the times."
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Editor George Stanley said collaboration between the press room and newsroom has made it possible to get out some of the biggest stories and best coverage for readers, whether it was because of a hanging chad in 2000 or a 2 a.m. vote in the state Legislature to build Miller Park.
"We published two extra editions each day on 9-11 and 9-12, 2001," Stanley said. "We tried to do everything we could to help when a press broke down or a big blizzard blew in. There's just example after example. I just can't say enough good things about them."
At a going away party Friday, dozens of retired and current press operators gathered to say goodbye.
Many pointed to the wall of black and white photos showing how the machines evolved from the creaky presses that rumbled for 60 some years at the newspaper’s old headquarters at 4th and State streets to the state-of-the art presses built 20 years ago.
Brothers Tom and Bill Zuba worked as press operators for 40 and 37 years, respectively. Tom retired in 2017. Bill plans to go to work for another paper manufacturing company.
Both said the time has come to close the plant.
"There are not a lot of old people left like me that want to hold (the paper) in their hand," Tom Zuba said.
Both brothers said they were looking forward to the future, but paused, and wiped tears from their eyes.
John Cissa started working in the press room in 1981. Like so many others, Cissa had family working at the facility. In his case it was a stepfather, and before that, a grandfather, who started in the 1940s.
He said leaving the job after more than 40 years hasn't really sunk in. Cissa plans to take the summer off, and then start working at another printing company.
"It has been kinda creeping up on me all week," he said. "Maybe Monday or Tuesday it will hit me when I'm supposed to be doing something and I'm not."
Corrinne Hess can be reached at chess@gannett.com. Follow her @corrihess