AJC to end print after 157 years
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Morning walks down the driveway to pick up the Atlanta Journal-Constitution will come to an end later this year.
Driving the news: In a Thursday letter to readers, AJC president and publisher Andrew Morse said the news outlet would cease its print edition at the end of 2025 and move to a digital-only business model.
Why it matters: The print edition of the AJC has been serving Atlanta and the South for 157 years.
Zoom in: Morse framed the decision as a proactive measure meant to help the storied paper allocate more resources to journalism and digital products that serve readers better.
The big picture: The uptick in newspaper closures over the past decade has left more than half of the nation's 3,143 counties — or 55 million people — with just one or no local news sources where they live.
Between the lines: Unlike many newspapers that are owned by big conglomerates, AJC is one of the few major metropolitan newspapers that is still privately held by a family invested in its success.
- AJC's owners Cox Enterprises — who also own Axios — have reportedly committed to investing many millions in AJC's expansion in recent years.
By the numbers: The newspaper currently has around 115,000 paid subscribers, of which 75,000 pay only for the digital version of the newspaper, per Morse.
- Morse has said that he aims to reach 500,000 paid digital subscribers by the end of next year.
In the weeds: Keith Herndon, a UGA journalism professor and longtime AJC reporter and Cox executive, told Axios that the news outlet has the difficult task of serving a diverse and transient news audience in a sprawling area.
- However, the era-ending decision should also be recognized as a commitment to produce journalism rather than just churn out a physical product, he said.
What's next: Morse said the company plans to launch a new mobile app by the end of the year, and will add new membership perks and live events to its product offering.
- The paper's daily ePaper report will still be accessible to subscribers through the AJC mobile app and AJC.com.