Farewell to print. The Star-Ledger’s legacy continues with the online newspaper

I love this newspaper.
If you were to tell me in 2000 that in 25 years The Star-Ledger would no longer publish in print, I would have laughed unapologetically in your face.
It was near impossible to imagine New Jersey’s largest and most revered newspaper — an institution — would not exist as ink on paper.
Sure, the Ledger should have a good website to host its content, but the paper is the paper, I reasoned.
Thanks to the internet, in 2000, I had already been freelancing music stories to the Ledger via email. So, when I was hired by the paper in 2003, I was among the new generation of journalists who believed the world wide web would be an essential part of our future.
I just never believed a website would supersede the newspaper, which hundreds of thousands of subscribers enjoyed paging through every morning over their hot cup of coffee.
Newspapers are portable and disposable. You can’t carry a laptop around and just plug into the internet.
That was the thinking.
Until the iPhone. And then the iPad. And by the time Facebook News and Google News had become integral to people’s news consuming habits, the newspaper industry was already turned upside down.
By 2010, no one in our industry was laughing when we saw hundreds of New Jersey’s journalists – including some at The Star-Ledger – lose their jobs as readers and advertisers moved online.
Change hurts.
And change is coming again on Feb. 2, 2025, when the Ledger prints its final newspaper.
The Newark Morning Ledger Co., owners of The Star-Ledger, said print circulation has been continued on a steady decline, currently down 21% over the past year.
“This decision was not made lightly, but the reality is that the print news model cannot be sustained,” Wes Turner, President of The Star-Ledger said in an announcement.
Journalists are a resilient bunch.
We got into this business to serve our communities, the state, the nation as purveyors of news you could use.
The core principles of journalism are fundamental values that guide journalists in their work. Among the key tenants we observe: Truth and accuracy. Fairness and impartiality. Humanity and accountability.
Delivery systems have changed over the years, but the foundations of what we do never falter.
“We will continue to provide more comprehensive, more timely, and more impactful content across more digital platforms than ever before,” NJ Advance Media President Steve Alessi told his staff on the day NJAM announced that it is ceasing print versions of its newspapers, including the Times of Trenton, the South Jersey Times, the Easton Express-Times and the Hunterdon County Democrat.
“This decision enables us to boost our local reporting and further grow our newsroom, which is now larger than it was a year ago,” Alessi said.
Not long ago, I wrote about legendary Star-Ledger sports columnist Jerry Izenberg, who as a cub reporter had to dictate his articles to an operator who would tap it on a morse code telegraph. At 94, he’s still writing. He also conducts interviews on Zoom calls.
Since I started this job as your online newspaper editor at the beginning of the year, I have felt the warmth the Ledger community has for the paper – and the journalists who bring you the news.
But let me be clear: Ceasing to print these newspapers does not mean we’re going to stop covering the state. NJ Advance Media will continue to provide the news, sports and entertainment stories you expect from us, and bring that coverage to you in The Star-Ledger online newspaper and on our website, NJ.com.
I love The Star-Ledger. And I want to make sure you know we are working hard every day to continue earning your trust and support of it – even when it becomes solely an online newspaper.
I want to hear from subscribers, what you’ve loved about The Star-Ledger over the years. In the meantime, be on the lookout for information on how to access the online newspaper, if you haven’t done so already.
The NJ Advance Media newsroom, which contributes content to the print Star-Ledger, will continue investing in the journalism you’ve come to trust, only the way it’s delivered will change.
Find me at [email protected]. Subscribers should also look for my weekly newsletter every Sunday in your email inbox. For customer support, email [email protected] or call 888-782-7533.
Enrique Lavín is editor of the online newspaper.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.