The Jersey Journal Newspaper Will Close Entirely Feb. 1

JERSEY CITY, NJ — The Star Ledger newspaper will move to an online-only format, ceasing print publication, and the Jersey Journal newspaper — which is owned by the same company, Advance Publications — will close entirely.

The major news was announced Wednesday morning: The Star-Ledger, New Jersey’s largest newspaper, will stop printing newspapers on Feb. 2, 2025, and move to an entirely online format, the Star Ledger announced here.

Earlier this year, the Star-Ledger made the decision to close its printing plant in Montville, which is where the Jersey Journal, the Trenton Times, the South Jersey Times and the Express-Times of Easton, PA, were all printed. All of these newspapers are owned by NJ Advance Media/Advance Publications, the largest privately-held media company in the nation.

All four of those newspapers announced they will cease print publication because of the decision to close the Montville printing press.

The Star Ledger, Trenton Times, South Jersey Times, Easton Express-Times and the weekly Hunterdon County Democrat will all move to an online-only format starting Feb. 2.

However, the Jersey Journal is the sole newspaper in the Advance Publications group that will close entirely. It will not move to an online-only format.

“We fought as hard as we can for as long as we could,” the Jersey Journal’s editor and publisher David Blomquist said in the NJ.com announcement. “An online-only publication simply would not have enough scale to support the strong, politically independent journalism that has distinguished The Journal.”

The last Jersey Journal newspaper will be printed on Jan. 31, 2025. The Jersey Journal said it would be too expensive to find a new printer, and cited its small circulation.

In 2023, another century-old Hudson County newspaper, the Hudson Reporter, a weekly, laid off all its staff, stopped printing and sold its domain name to an unknown company. The Hudson Reporter still operates online — with "reporters" some say are fake. Multiple Patch reporters have accused the Hudson Reporter of stealing their work. Read: NJ Journalists Claim They Were Replaced With AI Reporters

Jersey Journal a training ground for cub reporters

For decades, the Jersey Journal was located in Journal Square in Jersey City, which is named after the newspaper (similar to how Times Square is named after the New York Times).

The Jersey Journal briefly moved to Secaucus, renting space for their newsroom in an office building off Meadowlands Parkway (1 Harmon Plaza, where the Chase bank branch used to be located), but then moved back to Jersey City.

The Jersey Journal currently operates out of 30 Montgomery Street in Jersey City. Kushner Companies now owns the former Jersey Journal building in Journal Square, and Kushner plans to tear it down and build a 68-story apartment building there.

However, the iconic orange Jersey Journal sign will remain above the bustling Journal Square until the end of the century (2100), according to the Journal Square redevelopment plan.

The Jersey Journal has been the print newspaper of record in Hudson County for 157 years, since it was founded in 1867. The Jersey Journal had a strong internship program for young journalists, and was known as a place where cub reporters could get their first entry-level job in the news business in the competitive New York City market. Many "Jersey Journal interns," as they were known, have gone on to esteemed media careers including for Politico, People magazine, ROI-NJ, the Star Ledger and the New York Times (disclosure: this Patch reporter was once an intern reporter at the Jersey Journal). In fact, George R.R. Martin, who grew up in Bayonne, was once an intern at the Jersey Journal. The newspaper says he wrote his mega-hit "Game of Thrones" after observing Hudson County politics as a young man in his 20s.

Journalists from the Star Ledger will continue to cover Hudson County on NJ.com.