So long Star Ledger local Section

by: Jason Springer

Thu Jan 08, 2009 at 03:00:00 PM EST

The Star-Ledger of Newark announced in its editions today that it will no longer be publishing county sections of the daily newspaper, citing the need to save newsprint and money.

The expected move, which begins in today's editions, comes at a time when newspapers are struggling with a loss of advertising revenue, while the production of the newspaper continues to climb.

In a note to readers, The Star-Ledger editors said they are consolidating the daily New Jersey and county sections, promising the pages of the New Jersey section will be customized by edition to "include a still-hefty amount of local news." In this morning's Union County section, there was only one article appearing from Union County, about the funeral of an Elizabeth firefighter.

"We are taking this action to save newsprint, and hence money," the editors wrote to readers. "Because of staff cutbacks, the depth of our town and county coverage will be somewhat less for a few weeks. But we are taking steps to rebuild the coverage so it will exceed, not just equal, what we have given our readers in the past."