CAMDEN -- The Courier Gazette and The Camden Herald are combining to form a new tri-weekly publication called The Herald Gazette.

The first edition was published today. The paper is available in Knox County at newsstands and by home delivery.

Eight positions were expected to be eliminated through the merger of the papers, according to Village NetMedia, which acquired the papers four months ago.

Company executives cited demographic and economic factors as reasons behind the merger.

"Combining these publications will achieve paper, distribution, postal and personnel savings while continuing to provide the same quality news reporting that readers of both publications have come to expect," Chief Operating Officer Ron Belyea said in a statement.

Village NetMedia also publishes The Republican Journal in Belfast, The Bar Harbor Times and Capital Weekly in Augusta. The company also operates the VillageSoup Web sites in Knox, Waldo, Hancock and Kennebec counties