Twenty-first Century
After almost 58 years on Government Street, the Mobile Register moved to its current modern facility on Water Street in June 2002. Days before the big move, the Register switched to the new MAN Roland AG printing press, which is viewable from large windows stretching from top to bottom on the new building. This location within historic DeTonti Square and the City of Mobile's business district was chosen as part of an effort to revitalize the downtown area and southwest Alabama. Also that summer, the Register printed ballots for its first ever Reader's Choice Awards, where readers can choose their favorite local attractions, food, people, and much more.
In September 2004, the Register's new found strength within its 2-year-old building was put to the test when Hurricane Ivan rolled across the Gulf Coast and into the northeast. Unlike "Frederic", the Register continued operation during and after the storm's arrival. Less than a year later, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast as it made landfall on August 29, 2005, along the Louisiana-Mississippi border, knocking out power and communications throughout the region. After floodwaters swept into downtown Mobile and knocked out power to the Register's building, a special Hurricane Edition of the Mobile Register was published at the Pensacola News Journal facility on August 30, 2005. Subsequent editions were published in Birmingham while utilities came back on line in the days immediately following the storm. In the devastating aftermath of Katrina's assault on New Orleans, the Times-Picayune was published at the Register facility, and transported daily to New Orleans. During this time, the Register also housed employees of the Mississippi Press, whose offices were wiped out by the storm. In the weeks and months following the hurricane, the Water Street headquarters published three daily newspapers at its facility – the Mobile Register, Times-Picayune and Mississippi Press.
On April 2, 2006, the Register restored the Press-Register name, something that has stayed with longtime residents in south Alabama over nine years after The Mobile Press ceased publication. Besides being a welcome sight for long-time readers, the return of the Press-Register name reflects the newspaper's expansion into Mobile's surrounding areas. The twice-a-week "Mobile County Neighbors" section replaces the area-specific sections that appeared every Thursday. Stock market coverage was reduced to daily summaries and a Saturday recap of the week's events, including four pages of stock and mutual fund listings.
The circulation of the Mobile Press-Register is just over 94,000 daily readers for Monday to Saturday and 111,368 for Sunday, making the Press-Register the second-most-read newspaper in Alabama.
The single copy rates are: Wednesday/Friday, $0.75 & Sunday/day after Thanksgiving Day, $2.
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