New Jersey’s largest daily newspaper is ending its print edition but will continue online

The owner of New Jersey’s largest newspaper says it will stop publishing its daily print version early next year, but its online version will continue.

Newark Morning Ledger Co. said the decision announced Wednesday was due to rising costs, reduced circulation and declining demand for print copies of the Star-Ledger. The company also said it would close its Montville production facility in February 2025 and also discontinue the print version of the newspaper.

The closure of this facility means that The Jersey Journal, another daily newspaper that has been in operation for 157 years, will cease publication on February 1.

The Jersey City-based newspaper, which is owned by the Evening Journal Association, outsourced its printing to The Star-Ledger several years ago. Magazine officials said Wednesday that the newspaper will not be able to remain in operation after the closure of its production facility, that it will likely face increased costs with a new printer and that its circulation is small and dependent on newsstand sales.

“We fought as hard as we could, for as long as we could,” said David Blomquist, editor and publisher of The Journal. “An online-only publication cannot have the scale to support the strong, politically independent journalism that makes The Journal stand out.”

In another related matter, Advance Local, which owns NJ Advance Media and NJ.com, home of the online version of the Star-Ledger, announced Wednesday that it is discontinuing print publication of two daily newspapers: The Times of Trenton and the South Jersey Times and the weekly Hunterdon County Democrat. The two daily newspapers will continue to be published online every day.

The final print editions of the Star-Ledger, Times of Trenton and South Jersey Times will be published on February 2. The final weekly print edition of the Hunterdon County Democrat will be published Jan. 30, and subscribers will have access to the Star-Ledger online newspaper.

“Today’s announcement represents the next step towards the digital future of journalism in New Jersey,” said Steve Alessi, President of NJ Advance Media. “It is important to emphasize that this is a forward-looking decision that allows us to invest more deeply than ever before in our journalism and serving our communities.”

Alessi said discontinuing print will allow NJ Advance Media to reallocate resources to strengthen its main newsroom. He said there are more reporters in the newsroom than a year ago and that the organization plans to continue growing in 2025 as it looks to bolster reporting in previously under-covered areas of the state.