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CNHI Papers Drop Comics Page

Published: June 22, 2026 1 minute 9 comments

It is becoming increasingly likely that the 70-80 newspapers that make up the CNHI (formerly the Community Newspaper Holding Inc.) are all dropping the comics page from their newspapers. Earlier this month we reported on the North of Boston Media Group, a subdivision of CNHI, dropping the comics (second item).

1800 miles southwest of Boston are a group of CNHI newspapers around Dallas-Ft. Worth where we recently see the exact same headline and column in a number of newspapers, the exact same headline and explanation we saw in the North of Boston group.

OUR VIEW: We miss the comics,too

It’s no secret but deserves more conversation given the vocal response from many readers: We discontinued the funnies. Before any further discussion, let us stress that this was as hard a decision for us as it is one to accept for fans of the comics.

From Texas this past week we get the statement from The Athens Daily Review, The Gainesville Daily Register, The Jacksonville Daily Progress, The Weatherford Democrat, and The Corsicana Daily Sun where you can read the column here.

Overall it was decided, the elimination of the comics, we determined that a full page of funnies in each edition is not the best use of space in relation to the size of the newspaper. Now, we are using that space to feature more local news, opinion pieces, event stories and calendar listings to keep everyone up to date with the entertainment and recreational opportunities available to you locally and beyond. Hopefully, you’ve seen and enjoyed the results.

Yes, the “zombie” comic strips are part of their excuse:

Meanwhile, we noticed that the “classic” comic strips are reruns these days, with no new comics having been written in decades.

The CNHI newspapers are east of the Great Plains, with a batch in Texas and Oklahoma east of the panhandles and then most of the rest east of The Mississippi and north of the 37th parallel.

CNHI newspaper locations

CNHI newspapers between Massachusetts and Texas are also running the communication. The Greenburg Daily News in Indiana says “We miss the comics, too.”

Seems CNHI is trying to improve their newspapers’ bottom line to make them more attractive to buyers.

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Comments 9

  1. The two Niagara region papers that carry my weekly editorial cartoons are CNHI-owned sister publications. When I noticed the missing comics page a couple of weeks ago, I felt the need to write a specially tailored email to the publisher:
    “Allow me this Charlie Brown moment of anguish:
    AAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHH!!
    What happened to your wonderful array of comics from Andrews McMeel Syndicate?
    I see a link to Comics Kingdom from King Features, but they don’t have Pooch Cafe!
    Granted, I can always hop online to Universal’s GoComics for my komics kibble, but it just ain’t the same experience ☹️.”
    I received a thoughtful response and a request to see my own (in hibernation) online comics to see if there was an opportunity to run a locally created strip. Wishful thinking? Probably, but worth a shot.

  2. One of my old papers is included. But the last time I dropped in, the newsroom staff was less than a third what it had been when I left. As for cuts to make a sale possible, they started that when I left — two owners ago.

    Ask not for whom the bell tolls.

  3. If these papers were honest, they’d admit that they’re not cutting the comics to use “that space to feature more local news, opinion pieces, event stories” etc. They’re cutting the comics and printing fewer pages, full stop.

  4. If it’s true that papers are dropping the comics page because long-running strips are going into reruns, then maybe reruns need to stop. Open up the space for new strips when the old ones end. It seems like reruns are causing (more) unnecessary damage to the comics business.

  5. If they were worried about “zombie” comics, nothing was stopping them from replacing those with active comics. I think that either they fell for the “doorman fallacy” or they couldn’t figure out a less subtle way to drop editorial cartoons critical of the current regime.

  6. When I wrote a letter to the Brazosport Facts, decrying the use of “zombie strips”, my missive was “misplaced”. Oh, well, I tried…
    You think Pearls Before Swine and other strips critical of Obnoxious Orange might have something to do with cancellation?

  7. A little off topic: Did you know Tribune Publishing, owners of the Chicago Tribune, just completed its acquiring of the Arlington Heights Illinois Daily Herald?

    1. The employee-owned newspaper sold itself to Alden Global Capital!
      https://localnewsinitiative.northwestern.edu/posts/2026/06/23/daily-herald-suburban-newspapers-local-news/index.html
      “The next steps will likely follow the same trail that Alden has blazed many times before: significantly cut costs, particularly journalists, and reduce the publication’s ability to provide in-depth local coverage at scale. According to Crain’s Chicago Business, the Tribune sent a memo to Paddock, only committing to retaining staff at their current salaries and benefits through the end of 2026.
      “This comes after Paddock, which maintained ownership of 19 other newspapers in Central and Southern Illinois, abruptly shut down 13 of them in early June with little notice given to subscribers.”

      1. So could it be by the end of 2026 and start of 2027 the Arlington Illinois Daily Herald will unify the 2 pages of daily comics and its Sunday comics that the Naperville Sun, the Daily Southdown, Lake County/Waukegan News-Sun, Aurora Beacon News, and Elgin Courier-Review do?

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