New Jersey loses largest published newspaper: Newark Star-Ledger

The last edition ("A tribute to The Star-Ledger’s legacy in print").

Advance Publications, a national chain of newspapers that likely was the first to reduce the number of issues published per week--in New Orleans at the Times-Picayune, which led to new competition from the Baton Rouge Advocate--yesterday stopped publication of the Newark Star-Ledger--once one of the largest circulation newspapers in the US and other publications elsewhere in New Jersey, and ceased publication of the Jersey (City) Journal entirely.

First newspapers lost critical advertising dollars as more businesses chained up and independent business declined.  Online sites like Craigslist took the classified advertising market.  And people started switching their news consumption to online sources, and stopped subscribing to local newspapers.  It didn't help that with declines in revenue came cutbacks in personnel and reduction in news coverage ("Here's why newspapers are reducing print days," Cardinal News, "Internet Crushes Traditional Media: From Print to Digital," Census).

The decision was announced at the end of October, and took effect February 2nd.

They will further the shift to digital, at NJ.com.  They claim they have more digital subscribers than print subscribers at the end, and they do publish quite a bit.

A couple of Gannett's New Jersey papers, including the Bergen Record, will still be publishing in print.  I wonder if they intend to expand their area of news coverage to more parts of the state? ("The Star-Ledger to cease publication of print newspapers in February").

NJ.com will still produce a facsimile of a printed Star-Ledger that digital subscribers can download or read online.  I don't know if this will extend to some of the others.

While digital publication is way better than nothing, it doesn't fully substitute for print.  Civic participation drops in places without newspapers ("How the disappearance of local news hurts civic engagement," PBS, "Local news has long provided a vital civic bond. Can we afford to let it disappear?," Harvard).

Newspaper issues of The Star-Ledger, The Times of Trenton, the South Jersey Times and The Express-Times of Easton, from 2014.  Mel Evans/AP Photo. "A Digital Future for New Jersey News"," Newsweek.

I know for me personally, it means that I find out less about local events like talks, those by community organizations, etc.  Digital sources do not substitute.

And when I travel, I like to read the local newspaper to find out what to do.  Increasingly, that's impossible.