Hearst Corporation Announces State-Of-The-Art Print Facility For The Albany Times Union

Hearst Corporation today announced a capital project to expand the Albany Times Union’s existing headquarters in Colonie, NY, by 70,000 square feet to accommodate a new state-of-the-art printing and packaging facility. The announcement was made by George B. Irish, president of Hearst Newspapers and Mark E. Aldam, publisher and CEO of the Times Union. The project should be complete by the end of 2011.

With roots dating back to 1856, the Times Union is the leading multimedia information source in New York’s Capital Region today, reaching over 454,000 adults every week.

“For more than 150 years, the Times Union has serviced capital region readers with the finest and most trusted source for news and information,” Irish said. “And, by the end of 2011, we will continue that mission with full color available on every page, greatly enhancing the vibrancy of the newspaper, in addition to achieving greater flexibility in product design and format. While much of the newspaper industry is contracting, this announcement reaffirms Hearst’s and the Times Union’s commitment to a printed newspaper.”

“This investment positions the Times Union to provide our print customers with the highest level of quality and flexibility,” said Aldam. “The new press and packaging equipment will enable us to diversify our products, responding to our customer’s demand for more options to enhance the effectiveness of their advertising. As media competition continues to intensify, the Times Union products and services should be best in market – and this investment ensures that our print products will be for decades to come.”

“Contemporary offset presses and inserting machines operate at faster speeds with higher capacity levels, enabling the Times Union to provide printing and packaging services to other publishers across the region,” Aldam added.

Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com) is one of the nation’s largest diversified media companies. Its major interests include ownership of 15 daily and 31 weekly newspapers, including the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle and Albany Times Union; as well as interests in an additional 44 daily and 38 non-daily newspapers owned by MediaNews Group, which include the Denver Post and Salt Lake Tribune; nearly 200 magazines around the world, including Cosmopolitan and O, The Oprah Magazine; 29 television stations through Hearst-Argyle Television (NYSE:HTV) which reach a combined 18% of U.S. viewers; ownership in leading cable networks, including Lifetime, A&E, The History Channel and ESPN; as well as business publishing, including a joint venture interest in Fitch Ratings; Internet businesses, television production, newspaper features distribution and real estate.

Timesunion.com is the most accessed media website in the Capital Region, with more than 218,000 unique visitors and 17 million page views each month. The pioneering timesunion.com website has also won numerous national awards. As part of its ongoing commitment to the Capital Region, the Times Union gives back to the community through projects such as the Classroom Enrichment Program, providing educators a way to help bridge the gap from classroom to the real world, the Jefferson Awards, honoring outstanding community volunteers, and the Times Union Hope Fund, a new program developed to serve the needs of the area’s children living in poverty.