Since then, I've had the chance to talk with several people about that decision and what's ahead for the paper. I want to use this space today to answer some questions received or anticipated to help you better understand what's behind the merger and explore some of the changes you can expect in the coming months. Basically, it's a business decision. It is becoming more difficult and expensive to produce and deliver a distinct and quality afternoon newspaper just hours after publishing and distributing a morning paper. We are one of only 17 newspapers in the country publishing dailies on both afternoon and morning cycles, and we're certainly one of the smallest.
Trends show that readers increasingly favor a morning paper.
Today, only half those afternoon papers still publish, selling less than 10 million copies daily. There are now more than 700 morning papers with a total circulation of nearly 46 million. May 1 is the date we targeted to introduce those changes and convert to a slightly smaller page width, so merging the morning and afternoon editions seemed to be a natural tie-in with those plans. Although no final decision has been made, I anticipate we will use Athens Banner-Herald as the name for the combined editions. The Athens Banner-Herald traces its roots to 1832 when the Southern Banner was founded.