Atlanta Journal and Atlanta Constitution to Combine

Posted on October 17, 2001

The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution will publish as a combined newspaper seven days a week beginning Nov. 5 and will phase out afternoon delivery. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution becomes the title as it is now on Saturday, Sunday and holidays, according to Publisher Roger Kintzel.

The most noticeable change in the new Atlanta Journal-Constitution will be its expanded editorial opinion pages. Cynthia Tucker, editor of the Constitution's opinion pages, will head a reconstituted editorial board. Jim Wooten, editor of The Journal's editorial pages, will join her as associate editor. Both will continue to be featured columnists. The Monday through Friday editorial pages will contain three pages of editorials, local opinion essays, reader letters, nationally syndicated columnists and Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, Mike Luckovich.

``The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will have one of the most dynamic editorial sections in America. A key element will be a commitment to making space available for opposing views on a same or next-day basis. Our goal is to get you to think, not tell you what to think,'' said Kintzel.

The change was driven by two main developments:

Circulation in the afternoon has declined steadily over the past 10 years as lifestyle changes; heavy commuter traffic, evening and cable TV news and other factors have changed newspaper-reading preferences. The Journal has been published as an updated version of the morning paper, but with some separate features. Those features will now be combined into the morning only seven-day title, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Internet has come of age, and more and more people are turning to ajc.com for frequent news updates and information. The newspaper website, ajc.com, has recorded strong growth in users, particularly those who read the print edition and follow news on the website. The site had 19.5 million page views in September and averages more than 74,000 unique visitors each day.

The transition to morning-only delivery will require several months to complete as most employees shift to the expanded morning distribution operation. The news staffs of The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution were combined in 1982 and those positions will not be affected. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an average circulation of 418,944, Monday through Saturday, and 640,292 on Sunday.

The Atlanta Constitution began publishing in 1868 when W. A. Hemphill and James H. Anderson bought the newspaper Public Opinion and renamed it The Atlanta Constitution. E. F. Hoge, a Fulton County lawyer and former legislator, founded The Atlanta Journal in 1883. Former Ohio Governor James M. Cox purchased The Atlanta Journal in 1939, and The Atlanta Constitution in 1950.