Daily Transcript of San Diego to close after nearly 130 years in newspaper business

The Daily Transcript of San Diego said Wednesday it will publish its last edition Sept. 1, ending a nearly 130-year run in the newspaper business.

The newspaper is no longer viable due to rising costs for health care and other expenses and an uncertain future for the industry, Publisher Robert Loomis wrote in a note to readers.

The privately held Daily Transcript began publishing in 1886 and provided extensive coverage of local businesses, legal affairs and government. It gave a start to many journalists who went on to work at other San Diego publications, including The San Diego Union-Tribune, the city's dominant newspaper, and Voice of San Diego, an online publication.

The newspaper's subscription-based website, www.sddt.com , will continue to operate for a short time. Loomis didn't give a firm date for the site to shut down but said the company will cease operations on Sept. 21.

"While many cost savings measures have been initiated in the past, including the enthusiastic embrace of rapidly changing technology, producing the daily news, data and information for which the company is known requires a relatively large number of employees with related support systems," Loomis said.

The Daily Transcript, which is owned by the Revelle-Scripps family, has a small but influential following. It reported a daily print circulation of 6,506 during the six-month period ended Dec. 31, 2013, and its website had 88,545 unique visitors in January 2014.

Readers have an average annual household income of $342,700 and 80 percent are college graduates, according to the newspaper. Their average age is 49 years old.

Loomis, who has overseen the newspaper's operations since 1994, didn't say how many people would lose their jobs and didn't immediately respond to a phone message.