Tribune Publishing has shut down operations for its Spanish-language publication Hoy after 16 years serving Chicago’s Hispanic population
The last print edition and online content updates was Friday, December 13.
“Despite efforts of both the company and the staff… the print media industry is going through one of its most critical stages and HOY is no exception,” posted editorial director Octavio López in Spanish on Hoy’s final publication. “Due to difficult economic conditions, the decision was made to cancel all of Hoy’s operations, so this will be the final edition that the company prints and distributes.”
The message warned that the online site will disappear in the next few days.
Hoy got its start in 2003 as a daily newspaper by the Tribune Co., which at the time was the Chicago Tribune’s parent company, before it was reduced to three days a week. It was downsized to a weekly in 2017, published only on Friday.
Hoy replaced weekly pub Éxito, launched by the Chicago Tribune in 1993.
Throughout the years, staffing was slashed, leaving about a half-dozen current employees.
A spokesman for Tribune Publishing indicated they will try to provide affected employees the opportunity to apply for open positions inside the company.
The Hoy brand started in New York in 1998.
In 2000, Tribune Co. acquired Hoy New York as part of its acquisition of Times Mirror, which also owned the Los Angeles Times and launched a version of Hoy in L.A.
Hoy New York was sold to impreMedia in 2007, which in turn, shut it down in January 2009.
The LAT shut down Hoy Los Angeles’ print edition earlier this year. The future of its online property is uncertain, since the company launched LAT en español in 2018.