“We have accomplished a great deal over the past seven years, as we built The Washington Examiner into a credible and respected brand in a very competitive market. The strong foundation we established with the website and daily newspaper presents us with the opportunity to shift our focus and meet a pressing need in the political content marketplace,” said Ryan McKibben, president of Clarity Media Group, the Denver-based company that owns The Washington Examiner. “As a result of research and analysis conducted over the past year, we have determined that there is an opportunity to bring our style of investigative journalism and keen analysis and commentary to covering national government and politics. The re-positioned Washington Examiner will meet that demand.”

The company also announced it has named Lou Ann Sabatier, a long-time executive and consultant in the publishing industry, chief executive officer of Clarity’s Washington Group, which in addition to The Washington Examiner includes The Weekly Standard and the website Red Alert Politics.

Under the plan announced today, the daily newspaper will continue to be published through June 14 with the new website launching June 17 and the first issue of the weekly coming out June 20. The change will require significant staffing adjustments in editorial and operations as the Examiner eliminates coverage of local news, sports and entertainment. In addition to 88 days notice, affected employees will receive severance and other separation benefits.

Rough translation: We want to be The Daily Caller, but by having a daily newspaper, we’re forced to cover local news and sports. So let’s get rid of the daily newspaper.