 |
The Star-Ledger, New Jersey’s largest newspaper, is taking “the next step into the digital future of journalism” by shutting down its print newspaper and closing its Montville, NJ, print production facility. The Star-Ledger’s owner, Newark Morning Ledger Co., attributes the move to rising costs, decreasing circulation and reduced demand for print. The final print edition of the Star-Ledger, as well as those of the Times of Trenton and South Jersey Times will be published on Feb. 2, 2025. The Star-Ledger’s sister publication, Jersey City-based, 157-year-old The Jersey Journal, is going out of existence completely. In addition, Advance Local, which owns NJ Advance Media and NJ.com, is ceasing publication of the weekly Hunterdon County Democrat, whose subscribers will have access to the Star-Ledger’s online newspaper. NJ Advance Media’s journalists will continue to produce content that appears on NJ.com, as well as in the online newspapers of the The Star-Ledger, The Times of Trenton and South Jersey Times. NJ Advance Media president Steve Alessi said the shutdown will let the company “invest more deeply than ever in our journalism and in serving our communities.”
 |
The Washington Post has shed 250,000 subscribers—10 percent of its subscriber base—since it made the decision not to endorse a candidate in the presidential election. “It’s a colossal number,” former Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli told NPR. An article in the Los Angeles Times indicated that, after making the same decision, it is suffering too—losing 7,000 subscribers as of Oct. 28. The Times also said it had received “as many as 1,000 emails and letters protesting the non-endorsement” by that date. Post owner Jeff Bezos said his only regret about the decision was making it “known when passions are heated so close to Election Day.”
 |
NewsMatch, the largest grassroots fundraising campaign to support nonprofit news in the US, begins on Nov. 1 with what it says is a record amount of funds pledged. So far, the annual campaign, spearheaded by the Institute for Nonprofit News, has received pledges totaling $7.5 million from eighteen national and regional funders. Since 2017, participating news organizations in the INN Network have leveraged $31 million in NewsMatch funding to help generate nearly $300 million in support from their communities. This year’s drive, which runs until Dec. 31, includes a fund that supports newsrooms led by and serving communities of color, a newly launched fund to support rural newsrooms, and a variety of statewide and local funds. “We know the civic health of our communities depends on access to reliable, truthful information, and INN has been a key part of this movement to bolster access to local news,” said Tim Murphy, a program officer for the McKnight Foundation (a major INN funder).
The number of local journalists in the US is dwindling rapidly, according to a new report from nonprofit organization Rebuild Local News and PR and communications software platform Muck Rack... Washington Post columnist Joe Davidson, who wrote its “Federal Insider” column for most of the 20 years he has been at the paper, is exiting. Cites Bezos as reason for quitting... Men's Journal is returning to print, beginning with a Summer Edition featuring Matty Matheson of FX’s The Bear. 
The Reuters Institute’s 2025 Digital News Report finds that declining engagement, low trust and stagnating digital subscriptions are eroding the power of traditional news media....Anna Wintour is leaving behind her role as Vogue’s head of editorial content, though the will continue to oversee the magazine from her joint roles as chief content officer for Condé Nast and Vogue’s global editorial director... The BBC is putting up a paywall for US-based visitors who want to access all of BBC.com’s offerings. 
For the first time in history, Americans in May spent more time watching streaming content than broadcast or cable TV combined, according to Nielsen data.
High Times is preparing to resume publication of its magazine in limited-run, collectible editions, following the brand’s acquisition by RAW Rolling Papers founder Josh Kesselman... VICE Media names Adam Stotsky, a former NBCUniversal exec and president of Dick Clark Productions, as CEO... Condé Nast picks Mark Guiducci to serve as global editorial director of Vanity Fair, a newly created role, effective June 30. 
A new study reveals a significant asymmetry in media trust among Democrats and Republicans, with Democrats more likely to trust and consume a wider variety of news media, while Republicans remain more likely to distrust news organizations and restrict their media diet to a few select sources.
