End of Star-Ledger print edition and Jersey Journal closure mark the latest changes in N.J. media
The Express-Times, which is based in Easton, Pa., also will be ending print publishing next year.
New Jersey’s media landscape will change significantly next year, with five newspapers ending their print editions and another shuttering altogether.
The news broke Wednesday that the Star-Ledger, New Jersey’s largest newspaper, would cease printing physical issues in early 2025. The Pulitzer-winning Star-Ledger was once a top-12 U.S. circulation paper. Beyond its reporting, it gained national recognition as Tony Soprano’s daily paper.
Its sister papers, the Times of Trenton, the South Jersey Times, and the Hunterdon County Democrat, will also stop printing physical editions.
The Express-Times, which is based in Easton, Pa., and is owned by the same company, also will be ending print publishing next year.
On the heels of the Star-Ledger announcement, the Jersey Journal announced it was folding after “157 years of keeping Hudson County informed.” The newspaper — which is not owned by the same company as the Star-Ledger — said it couldn’t remain in business since it outsourced its printing to the Star-Ledger’s production facility in Montville, N.J.
The ripple effect is the latest major shift within the print media industry, which has seen many changes sparked by climbing digital readership, surging print production costs, and rapidly dwindling print subscriptions.
Here’s what we know so far.
Why is the Star-Ledger stopping its print edition?
The Star-Ledger’s owner said it would close the paper’s Montville production facility, citing rising costs, decreasing circulation, and reduced demand for print.
Advance Local, which owns NJ.com — where Star-Ledger stories live digitally — said the paper’s three daily sister publications would also stop printing.
Steve Alessi, president of NJ Advance Media, said that the Star-Ledger/NJ.com newsroom staff is larger today than it was last year and that it aimed to grow more thanks to alleviated costs from ending print production. Exact staff numbers were not disclosed in his statement to the Star-Ledger. Star-Ledger leaders also acknowledged that the changes would impact existing production employees along with devoted print subscribers.
What papers are impacted by the Star-Ledger’s print plant closure?
The daily and weekly papers impacted and set to stop printing include:
The Star-Ledger
The Times of Trenton
The South Jersey Times
The Hunterdon County Democrat
The Express-Times
All of these papers will continue to be produced online, according to the Star-Ledger.
The separately owned Jersey Journal also announced its impending closure on Wednesday.
Why is the Jersey Journal closing?
The Jersey Journal — which is owned by the Evening Journal Association — announced it will cease publication entirely citing the loss of its printing facility.
The newspaper — an award-winning daily newspaper that has served its readers for over 150 years — said it would face a likely increased cost to find a new printer and that circulation is small and dependent on newsstand sales.
“We fought as hard as we can for as long as we could,” David Blomquist, the Journal’s editor and publisher, said. “An online-only publication simply would not have enough scale to support the strong, politically independent journalism that has distinguished The Journal.”
When will everything take effect?
The final print editions of the Star-Ledger, Times of Trenton, and South Jersey Times will be published Feb. 2, 2025.
The final weekly print edition of the Hunterdon County Democrat will publish on Jan. 30, 2025. All subscribers will have access to the Star-Ledger online newspaper.
The Express-Times will publish its final print edition on Feb. 2, 2025.
The Jersey Journal’s final edition will be on Feb. 1, 2025.
How are people reacting to the news?
Alessi said the news is positive and forward-thinking. “Today’s announcement represents the next step into the digital future of journalism in New Jersey,” he said. “It’s important to emphasize that this is a forward-looking decision that allows us to invest more deeply than ever in our journalism and in serving our communities.”
Still, readers and many staffers say they’re disheartened.
“This is understandable, expected, and even necessary in today’s world. But it’s still beyond sad,” wrote Star-Ledger politics reporter Brent Johnson.
Bobby Oliver, a culture reporter for the paper, called the move a “sad but necessary step for us as a digitally focused newsroom.”
CNN’s chief media analyst Brian Stelter highlighted the news in an X post that’s been viewed more than 30,000 times.
Reactions were solemn with some pointing to nationwide trends of rising print subscription costs despite less reliable and time-sensitive news. Many newspapers are outsourcing production, translating to an inability to get later-breaking news in the print editions.
News of the Jersey Journal’s closure is also hitting readers hard.
“I think this is even worse than the Star-Ledger announcement, since the Jersey Journal has a few reporters doing real work and it’s just closing entirely — not just ceasing print publication,” wrote Politico New Jersey Playbook reporter Matt Friedman.
New York Times Jersey correspondent Tracey Tully called news of the closure “devastating.”
“The Jersey [Journal] was able to attract some of the state and country’s best journalists over the years because of its aggressive and necessary coverage of NJ’s 2nd largest city,” she posted on X.