Grand Junction Free Press Publisher Valerie J. Smith announced in a staff meeting Monday that beginning Feb. 9, the free community newspaper will convert to a 3-day a week format.

Instead of publishing five days a week as it has since its inception in summer 2003, the Free Press will print Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Content that is popular with readers and special advertising pages will continue to be a part of the paper, as will the weekly real estate section and arts and entertainment section.

“One objective is to start 2009 in a position of strength, rather than one of vulnerability,” Smith said. “The current economic conditions and shifts in ad spending have made it challenging for us to sustain a five-day publication schedule. We feel if there ever was a time our readers and advertisers would understand the necessity to make this change, it is now.”

Managing Editor Josh Nichols said the focus of the newspaper will not change.

“Our goal in the newspapers we put out three days a week will be to give the community local news about local people that they can’t get from any other local media,” he said. “With this model, we see an opportunity to be a true alternative voice through the news we cover, the opinions we provide and the people we write about.”

In addition to the print product, the Free Press will continue to provide news updated daily on its Web site, gjfreepress.com.