Aug. 28 (UPI) — The Atlanta Journal-Constitution announced Thursday it would no longer be printing paper editions of the newspaper and will instead focus only on its digital product, which is expected to see double-digit growth this year.
The newspaper, which has existed under various flags since 1868, will become a purely digital platform beginning Jan. 1, 2026, the AJC announced. President and Publisher Andrew Morse said the change will eliminate 30 full- and part-time jobs involved in producing the the physical newspaper.
The AJC reported it has invested “millions” in technology and new reporting techniques in an effort to modernize its product. As part of that investment, the AJC moved its offices back into Midtown Atlanta after operating for years in the suburbs and based reporters in Athens, Macon and Savannah.
The newspaper said it’s on track to increase digital subscriptions by 25% to 35% this year.
“We will begin the new year as a fully digital organization, committed, as always to being the most essential and engaging news source for the people of Atlanta, Georgia and the South,” Morse said in a letter to subscribers Thursday.
A Pew Research Center survey published in 2023 found that U.S. adults aren’t following the news as closely as previous years, and they’re increasingly eschewing traditional forms of media such as print newspapers, local TV news and public radio. Daily circulation rates in 2022 were less than 21 million across the country, down from a height of more than 60 million in the 1960s to 1990s.
Morse said the digital move was not enforced by the newspaper’s owner, Cox Enterprises.
Cox CEO Alex Taylor said the news organization is critical to the community.
“This change will allow us to reduce the use of trees, plastic, water and carbon, while at the same time increasing our focus on news gathering and public accountability,” Taylor said. “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.”