What used to seem like a changing environment every three or so years, has suddenly turned into a persistent roller coaster ride that has more downward spirals than climbs. New Jersey’s media landscape is about to completely shift again, and this time the ride might be over for legacy print.
Pinpointing the cause is the first place to look. There are two culprits blaring clear as day.
- Digital media — what started off slow with AOL and Yahoo (which almost didn’t survive) has accelerated into TikTok influencers taking over the role of reporter on the street covering a beat. News consumers have become fond of the publish first, edit later style that allows stories to break within minutes of events happening. And legacy print just can’t compete.
- Corporate greed — over time, local papers were bought up by large organizations who tried to consolidate and eliminate roles looking for an efficiency of scale. Along the way, they removed the local tone of publications, laying off reporters who had connections with the community and stifling their own growth.
In the past few months, the sole statewide publication of the Garden State — The Star-Ledger — stopped printing completely. The parent organization — NJ Advance Media — laid off the entire editorial board and much of the newsroom. How they are still publishing any accurate news content is a question, and their webpage continues to be filled with affiliate marketing ads that resemble a phishing scam at the bottom.
Last week, the 2025–2026 state budget was passed, and as part of the package government agencies no longer have to publish legal advertisements in print publications. There are some local government gadflies who are calling foul, but I see three contradictions to this argument:
- When was the last time anyone read the legal notices section that lacks photos and is written in “legalize”?
- These same gadflies have complained for years that nobody reads the print publications and the notices need to appear elsewhere. So why do they suddenly care so much?
- No newsroom is surviving on the few hundred dollars each month that a local municipality was paying to publish legal ads. Claiming this is the nail in the coffin is simply feeding the corporate greed that led to the downfall of local media in the first place.
Instead of trying to save a dead industry, we have to change our thinking about media. Online only publications are still worthy of time and attention, but owned media is that much more important.
The rise of AI means that your owned channels are a primary news source. The more accurate — emphasizing the word accurate — content you publish on social media channels and your website, the more likely AI-powered search is to capture this information in responses.
No one is reading printed papers anymore. Instead of fighting over why, the time has come to refocus attention on ensuring accurate content prevails in the digital space. If you’re not willing to adjust your approach, then I fear you are already decades behind.
Garden State Media Landscape Shakes Up (again) was originally published in Thoughts? for Jersey on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.