Triad Business Journal is ceasing its weekly newspaper after nearly 40 years of publication and turning its focus to selling digital news and attendance to events.
The move, slated for late June, reflects the quickening pace of news by online outlets and social media and “will enable TBJ’s newsroom to better meet the needs of today’s readers,’’ said Mark Gendle, the Greensboro newspaper’s publisher and president of American City Business Journal’s Triad Market.
Charlotte-based ACBJ also publishes weekly newspapers covering the Charlotte and the Triangle markets, as well as more than 40 markets elsewhere in the U.S. Aside from covering news, the publications sponsor events addressing topics such as economic development, the workplace and mentoring. In exchange for paying attendance fees, participants receive an opportunity to learn and network.
“When Triad Business Journal was started in 1998, a weekly newspaper was sufficient,” Gendle said in an online article yesterday. “Today, business moves so quickly, we need to focus on getting accurate news and information to our readers much more quickly so they can make informed decisions that directly impact the success of their business and career.”
The sweeping shift to digital content is hammering traditional print news publications. Last month, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution moved to an all-digital plan last month after printing newspapers for 157 years. In Pittsburgh, the owners of the Post-Gazette said last month the paper will cease publication in May, after years of losses.
The TBJ will continue to will print its annual Book of Lists while introducing print special reports, most often tied to events.
The article said ACBJ is “investing significantly in digital content and technology as its business grows.’’
Gendle declined to share how the move will affect costs and staffing.
“Although the way we deliver news and information is evolving, we remain focused on telling the stories of local businesses and the people who run them,” said Whitney Shaw, CEO of ACBJ, the largest publisher of local business news and information in the U.S.
The company is owned by New York-based Advance, a private business owned for generations by the Newhouse family. In 1995, Advance bought ACBJ, then a publicly traded company led by the Shaw family in Charlotte, for about $258 million.
Its other investments include Conde Nast, publisher of Vogue, The New Yorker and other publications. Advance is also a major investor in Charter Communications, Reddit and Warner Brothers Discovery.
