The Onion - Distribution

Distribution

The Onion's print edition is distributed free in Madison, Milwaukee, Chicago, Denver, Indianapolis, Boulder, Austin, Omaha, Santa Fe, Toronto, Ann Arbor and Columbus. It is also available by mail through paid subscription. From 2005 to 2009, Los Angeles and San Francisco editions were published but discontinued in May 2009 because of a lack of advertising revenue.

In October 2010, The Onion announced four new business partnerships with media organizations across the U.S. including The Denver Post, Austin American-Statesman, St. Paul Pioneer Press and Wisconsin State Journal. Under the terms of the agreements The Onion maintains complete creative control while the four partnering media companies assume business management responsibilities for the newspaper's local distribution. Shortly thereafter, The Onion announced a similar deal with The Philadelphia Inquirer that brought the paper to Philadelphia for the first time, increasing the total number of markets where The Onion is printed and distributed to ten.

In March 2012, the Washington, D.C. & Philadelphia editions of the publication ceased publication with Mark Block of Philadelphia Media Network—the publication's local partner—stating the print edition did not make enough money, "We put together a business model and it wasn't working to our expectations. But we do believe The Onion has great potential to find a partner where that success can be achieved."

In July 2012, the Toronto, Ontario, Canada edition of the publication ceased operations with Toronto Star publisher and SMG president John Cruickshank—the publication’s local partner—stating, "We are announcing today that Star Media Group will be suspending publication of the Toronto edition of The Onion, the U.S.-based weekly news parody newspaper, due to economic pressures that have resulted in declining advertising revenues." Additionally, the Minneapolis print edition ceased publication, after the July 4th long weekend.

In October 2012, the New York City edition of the publication ceased operations with the publication’s president & CEO Steve Hannah stating, “Our focus in recent years has been on the digital side of our business. Unlike cities like Providence or Chicago or Denver or Austin, we have been unable to find a franchise partner in New York, a very crowded and competitive market for print advertising. If a viable partner emerged, we would be eager to resurrect print in New York. Unlike a lot of mainstream publications, we have never had a problem with readership.”

In the November 1, 2012 national print edition of the The Onion, a letter appeared on page 3 of the publication from President and CEO Steve Hannah stating that it was the last issue of the national print edition. Hannah cited the growth of the publication's online business model & success of franchise businesses. Included in a paper was a photocopy of U.S. Postal Service Form 3526 (Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation) showing the circulation of the national edition as 1,530 as of November 1, 2012 which was signed by the publication's director of finance. News of the the demise of the national print edition appeared on The Onion's website.