Nineteenth century The
Newark Daily Advertiser, founded in 1832, was
Newark's first daily newspaper. It subsequently evolved into the
Newark Star-Eagle, owned by what eventually became
Block Communications.
Twentieth century In 1939,
S. I. Newhouse bought the
Star-Eagle from Block and merged it with the
Newark Ledger to become the
Newark Star-Ledger. The paper dropped Newark from its masthead sometime in the 1970s, but is still popularly called the
Newark Star-Ledger by many residents of
New Jersey. During the 1960s,
The Star-Ledgers chief competitor was the
Newark Evening News, once the most popular newspaper in New Jersey. In March 1971, the
Star-Ledger surpassed the
Evening News in daily circulation, because the Newark News was on strike. The
Evening News shut down in 1972. After the
Newark Evening News moved to a high-traffic area (with the potential of trapping its delivery trucks in inner-city traffic) the
Star-Ledger opened a satellite plant in
Piscataway. The Piscataway location offered quick access to
Union,
Monmouth,
Somerset, and
Middlesex counties. The
Star-Ledger was the recipient of the
Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting in 2005 for its comprehensive coverage of the resignation of
New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, after he confessed to adultery with a male lover. The paper awards the Star-Ledger Trophy each year to the number one high school teams in their respective sport in New Jersey.
Twenty-first century In 2005, George Arwady became the publisher of
The Star-Ledger. A graduate of
Columbia University, Arwady was previously the publisher of the
Kalamazoo Gazette in
Kalamazoo, Michigan. Having worked closely with the Newhouse family for years, Arwady was asked to move to
Newark to oversee a financial revamping of the newspaper. Due to financial losses, the paper's parent company
Advance Publications announced on July 31, 2008 that it would sell the
Star-Ledger unless 200 non-union staff voluntarily left under a
buyout offer, and its unionized truck drivers and mailers agreed to concessions. On September 16, publisher George Arwady sent employees an email saying that management felt progress had been made on the buyout and concessions from the mailers, but that management is "far from an agreement with the Drivers' union." The email continued: On January 16, 2013, the newspaper announced the layoffs of 34 employees including 18 newsroom staff. In July 2014, their Newark headquarters was sold to a New York developer, according to a news article released by the paper.
The Star-Ledger continued to publish seven days a week, and retained a presence in Newark in leased office space located within the downtown Gateway Center complex, where the publisher, the newspaper's editorial board, its columnists, its magazine staff and a handful of other jobs were based. Advance Publications, the owner of the newspaper, launched a new media company — NJ Advance Media — in 2014 to provide content, advertising and marketing services for its online presence at NJ.com, and many of its New Jersey newspapers out of the offices in Woodbridge. The sales and marketing staffs moved to Woodbridge in June 2014. On September 14, 2023, the paper announced it would cease publication of its Saturday print edition, moving to an all-digital delivery of the Saturday edition beginning in 2024. On October 30, 2024, the company announced it would cease daily print publication of the
Star-Ledger on February 2, 2025, along with sister publications the
Times of Trenton and
South Jersey Times, due to rising costs, decreasing circulation and reduced demand for print. Online versions of the newspapers will continue to be offered, and newsroom coverage is not affected. ==Management==