The Tracy Press announced Monday that it is changing its publishing schedule from twice a week (Wednesdays and Saturdays) to once a week (Fridays) due to financial pressures.

“We’re just responding to economic realities,” Publisher Bob Matthews said. “We’re not immune to current economic challenges, but we don’t plan on going anywhere.”

The family-owned paper said in its announcement that its mission of reporting local news will not change. Last year, the Tracy Press broke the story revealing the killer of 8-year-oldl Sandra Cantu. The paper’s 22-year-old reporter who wrote the story, Jennifer Wadsworth, appeared on national TV shows including Larry King, Geraldo Rivera and Dr. Phil.

The Tracy area was hit hard by the mortgage crisis. Thousands of homes built earlier in the decade are in foreclosure or with resale values far below their mortgage amounts.

The Tracy Press was a daily until August 2007 when it went to three days a week. Then in March 2008 it cut back to two days a week.

In September, the Matthews family closed the Sun Post, a 20,000-circulation weekly serving Lathrop and Manteca.