(COVER PHOTO: Courtesy Atlanta Journal-Constitution through NCS Newsource)
By Liam Reilly, NCS
(NCS) — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution introduced on Thursday that it will print its closing bodily newspaper version on December 31, making it the newest storied newspaper to discontinue providing its information in print.
The changeup means the AJC will be a digital-solely publication beginning January 1, 2026. The AJC mentioned the transition is meant to remodel the paper right into a “modern media company,” in addition to liberate cash to put money into its journalism.
The AJC’s digital readership has outpaced its print circulation, a shift that’s “only accelerating,” Andrew Morse, president and writer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, mentioned in an announcement.
“Embracing our digital future means we can focus every resource and every ounce of energy on producing world-class journalism and delivering it to each of you in the most impactful way,” Morse mentioned in a letter to readers.
“We knew this day would come and have been planning for it,” he added.
Despite casting off its bodily media, the AJC will proceed producing an ePaper and launch an app this fall.
The digital-solely transition follows a two-12 months interval throughout which the 157-12 months-previous AJC has added muscle to its digital choices. The publication has up to date its newsroom, revamping its digital product companies and introducing a collection of digital merchandise to customers, together with newsletters, podcasts, and authentic video content material. The AJC has additionally prolonged its ambitions past Atlanta, opening new workplaces in Athens, Macon and Savannah. It plans to succeed in extra markets.
As a results of its transformation, the AJC mentioned in an announcement that it has skilled “double-digit digital subscriber growth and has expanded its audience in key content areas.”
Alex Taylor, chair and chief government of Cox Enterprises, AJC’s dad or mum firm, hailed the change as “an important decision in the evolution of the AJC.”
“Journalism is critical to our community and society — and so is the way we produce it,” Taylor mentioned. “I’m proud of our team for making these decisions, as much as I will miss the nostalgia of seeing the paper in my driveway every morning.”
The AJC is just the newest periodical to discontinue its bodily version. Between diminishing bodily circulation, dwindling bodily advert income and excessive manufacturing and distribution prices, a number of publications have discovered it troublesome over the past decade to rationalize sustaining a bodily format.
Just in February, the New Jersey’s Star Ledger opted to put off its print version solely. Others have lowered the frequency of their bodily circulation. In January, Iowa’s Dubuque Telegraph Herald and The Cedar Rapids Gazette introduced they’d print solely three days every week.
Still, there are some exceptions to this development, particularly the place area of interest audiences are involved. The Onion, the satirical newspaper that revived its bodily newspaper in August 2024, has seen its print version thrive.
Some magazines, which readers usually view as extra premium experiences, are additionally partially having fun with a renaissance after years of battle. In mid-August, The Spectator introduced it plans to double the print output of its U.S. version to 24 points this fall, as a part of its relaunch.
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