NJ Star-Ledger Final Print Edition

The Star-Ledger, New Jersey's long-standing paper of record, concluded its nearly century-long print run on Sunday by printing its final edition and transitioning to an exclusively online format. With this shift, its editorial board, along with traditional elements like clippable sports photos and printed obituaries, will cease to exist, reports the NY Times.

Its sister publication, The Jersey Journal, a key asset in the Newhouse media family's expansive portfolio, will no longer be available in print or online, leaving Hudson County, N.J. — known for its political corruption — without a daily newspaper. Similarly, three other related newspapers, The Times of Trenton, The South Jersey Times, and The Hunterdon County Democrat, will stop their print editions to focus solely on digital content.

This closure aligns with a significant drop in newspaper readership across the U.S., which has led to the closure of over 3,200 newspapers since 2005, as reported by the Local News Initiative at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. The Jersey Journal, which has served New Jersey's most densely populated county for 157 years, was only selling 2,600 copies daily at the time of its closure.

The Star-Ledger's move to an online-only platform makes New Jersey the second state in the U.S. to lose its primary print newspaper, following a similar transition in Alabama by the same parent company in 2023, which focused on enhancing its Pulitzer Prize-winning digital site.

Since 2005, New Jersey has seen a 58% reduction in its print newspapers, losing 129 papers, the highest count except for Maryland, according to Zachary Metzger of Medill’s State of Local News Project. Over the last decade, approximately 3,650 newspaper jobs in the state have vanished.

Leaders at NJ Advance Media, which manages The Ledger's online platform NJ.com, assert that this shift to digital will allow for greater investment in online journalism. Steve Alessi, president of NJ Advance Media, acknowledges the nostalgia and upset among readers but emphasizes the industry's evolution. He claims they are leading this change for the right reasons, aiming to uphold high journalistic standards.

Christopher Kelly, vice president of content for NJ Advance Media, noted that moving online is a strategic response to where readers are increasingly accessing news. He also mentioned that NJ.com currently employs more journalists than it did a year ago and is actively hiring.