Atlanta becomes the largest American metro without a daily newspaper printed while the newspaper-constitution becomes digital

The decision will make Atlanta the largest American metropolitan region without a printed daily newspaper, although some small newspapers in the Atlanta metro continue to print.

Publisher Andrew Morse said in his announcement Thursday that the press organization would aim to extend its audience as it continues to bring the news using online, audio and video products.

“The fact is that many more people engage with our platforms and digital products today than with our printed edition, and this change is only accelerating,” wrote Morse in a letter to subscribers published on the website of the newspaper-constitution. The AJC has about 115,000 subscribers in total, including 75,000 online only; Morse set the goal of obtaining 500,000 subscribers online.

The newspaper belongs to descendants of the Cox family. The former governor of Ohio James Cox bought the Atlanta Journal in 1939 and the Constitution of Atlanta in 1950. The Constitution of Atlanta was founded in 1868, only a few years after the civil war in Atlanta in ruins. He has become the platform of famous editors, including New South Booster Henry Grady and the anti-securityist Ralph McGill.

Morse said that the newspaper-constitution will offer a new mobile application by the end of the year and will provide an electronic edition for subscribers who prefer the paper edition experience.

Many short newspapers have ceased to print, while others have reduced their publication days. For example, the Tampa Bay Times in Florida prints only two days a week. But it was unusual that the main metropolitan daily newspapers completely abandon the impression. The highest profile example is Newark Star-Ledger, New Jersey. Once the best -selling newspaper in the state, he stopped printing in February. It is up to the Newhouse family, which has also stopped printing other important newspapers in New Jersey and Alabama.

The Northwestern University local news initiative counted 1,033 daily newspapers in 2024, down 1,472 in 2005 and 650 digital information sites.

Some still see benefits to make with printing. Decaturish, which covers the suburbs of Atlanta de Decatur, began as an online publication only but launched a weekly edition printed after being bought last year by a suburbs. Dan Whisenhunt, editor -in -chief and founder of Decaturish, said that some advertisers prefer printed publications.

“They will spend this money on print and they could also spend it with us,” said Whisenhunt, saying that the end of a printed newspaper could create new opportunities for others. “Sustainability in journalism requires multiple sources of income,” he said.

The COX family has invested in the newspaper-constitution from Morse, a former CNN executive, became a publisher in 2023. The journal-constitution hired journalists in the cities of Georgia in Athens, Macon and Savannah, has widened a black culture offer and has pushed new audio and video offers. The company also moved into a new office in the city center of Atlanta, returning within the limits of the city of a office in the northern suburbs.

The business leaders said that the printed edition was still profitable, after having outsourced the impression in another newspaper in Gainesville, in Georgia, in 2021. When Morse went on board, he paused to limit the printed edition. But the time has come, he said.

“We are going to start the new year as an entirely digital organization, as always committed, to be the most essential and engaging source of information for the inhabitants of Atlanta, Georgia and the South,” wrote Morse.