Atlanta's Newspaper Is Ditching Print

After more than 150 years in print, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution will end its run as a physical newspaper this December, shifting all resources to its digital operation, the outlet said Thursday. President and publisher Andrew Morse, who postponed a planned print exit in 2023, says the newspaper's digital product is now ready, per the New York Times. Morse cites the logistical headaches and declining effectiveness of print delivery, while editor in chief Leroy Chapman Jr. describes the switch as inevitable, noting the newsroom has already been functioning with a digital-first mindset.

The Journal-Constitution is one of the largest dailies to make such a move, per the Times. Most major US cities still have some version of a daily print paper, even as print profits dwindle and advertising dollars migrate online. While about a third of the country's dailies still print every day, others are trimming frequency or, like New Jersey's Star-Ledger, shuttering print altogether. Cox Enterprises, the paper's owner, has poured $150 million into the AJC's digital revamp, rolling out new bureaus, digital teams, and partnerships. Morse had initially hoped for 500,000 paid digital subscribers by 2026, though that looks out of reach, with 75,000 digital-only subscriptions at present.

The paper is seeing growth, but industry headwinds remain fierce, including a 40% drop in Google-driven traffic due to changes in how people find news online, often taking advantage of artificial intelligence search features, as the New York Post reports. About 40,000 print subscribers remain, down from 94,000 four years ago. The Dec. 31 print finale will mean job losses for about 30 workers. "It's a lot of change," Morse says, but says the alternative is risking the very survival of local journalism. "I love print," he tells the Times, "but I love journalism more."