Hudson County’s Longest-Standing Newspaper, The Jersey Journal, to Close After 157 Years

After more than a century and a half of reporting Hudson County’s stories, The Jersey Journal has announced it will cease publication on February 1, 2025. This decision follows the planned closure of the Montville printing plant that produces its paper. Known for covering news across Hudson County, including Jersey City, Hoboken, and Union City, The Jersey Journal has been a leading voice in the county since its founding in 1867.

The closure comes as a result of The Star-Ledger’s decision to end operations at the Montville facility, which handled printing for The Jersey Journal and several other New Jersey newspapers. Faced with high costs to find a new printer and a dwindling print circulation, the Journal determined it could not continue publishing. “We fought as hard as we can for as long as we could,” said David Blomquist, The Jersey Journal’s editor and publisher, who noted that switching to an online-only format would not provide the revenue needed to sustain the paper’s level of local journalism?.

With a daily print circulation down to around 2,600 copies, mostly sold at newsstands, the Journal found it increasingly challenging to reach a digital audience from its base of single-copy readers. This decline reflects broader challenges faced by print publications in adapting to an increasingly digital media landscape.

As The Jersey Journal prepares to publish its last issue, Hudson County readers will need to seek local news elsewhere. Platforms like HudPost, which focus on community-driven stories for Hudson County residents, may help to fill part of the void left by legacy media.