November 5, 2008

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Newspapers in the Carolinas are revving up their printing presses amid demand for commemorative editions following President-elect Barack Obama's historic victory.

The State newspaper in Columbia ran 10,000 copies Wednesday, boosting its single-copy run to a total of 37,000. Publisher Henry Haitz said it is the first special edition of The State since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The Sun News of Myrtle Beach is offering a press plate copy of its front page for $20.

In North Carolina, The Charlotte Observer ran an additional 20,000 newspapers on top of its usual 33,000 single-sale copies. The News & Observer of Raleigh has a poster front page for $15.95, and The News & Record of Greensboro has pages mounted on a marble or wood plaque for $75.

And newspapers like the New York Times and Chicago Tribune hustling to produce hundreds of thousands of additional copies.

Papers all over the country found crowds of customers outside their buildings clamoring for copies. There was a huge line outside the Washington Post building in downtown DC. The Post is publishing 250,000 copies of a slimmed-down commemorative edition.

USA Today, plans to sell reprints of Wednesday's edition online. Entrepreneurs have been seeking as much as $200 for the Times on
eBay.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)