Today Newspapers, a family of community newspapers serving the southern Dallas suburbs, is succumbing to the pressures of the economic downturn and will print its last editions today.

The company had two editions: one serving Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Desoto, and Lancaster; and the other serving Grand Prairie. But due to loss of advertising revenue, Today is shutting down for good, Publisher Kim Petty said.

“Everybody was hurt by the economy. Most of our advertisers were mom-and-pop type stores, and they just couldn’t keep it up,” Petty said. “There is just not a lot of hope for small-town newspapers.”

Petty said the decision to cease publishing was made after efforts to find a buyer were unsuccessful.

Today joins the ranks of other community newspapers like The Oak Cliff Tribune that have been forced to shut down due to economic pressures.

Petty said the paper planned to notify readers of the shutdown via a message on its Web site.