The Press of Atlantic City


The Press of Atlantic City is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey, United States. Originally based in Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The newspaper designated market runs from Waretown in southern Ocean County down to Cape May. It also reaches west to Cumberland County. The paper has a combined print and digital daily circulation of 72,846 and a Sunday circulation of 95,626. The Press closed its printing facility in Pleasantville in 2014, at which time it outsourced printing to a facility in Freehold. That printing plant closed in 2017, with most of the New Jersey printing and production operations consolidated in Gannett's Rockaway plant.
Coverage focuses largely on local and regional news, with limited state, national and international news appearing on the Nation & World page in the Money section on page D3. The Press also publishes various other products, including At The Shore, the area's entertainment guide. Presented in tabloid format, it is inserted in the paper each Thursday and an additional 20,000–40,000 copies are bulk dropped to key tourist locations throughout the year. Other specialty niche publications include Bliss, a twice yearly bridal magazine; Real Estate Monthly; Summer Fun; The Atlantic County Living Guide; and The Cape May County Living Guide, among many others. Two branded editions of the paper, Press Extra and Sunday Saver, provide very limited coverage of the area.
Because The Press focuses on local issues, with an emphasis on local and school events – particularly high school sports – other daily papers have penetration in the area. These include The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Asbury Park Press, Cherry Hill's Courier-Post and the Vineland Daily Journal.

History

The newspaper was founded in 1895 by Walter Edge as the Atlantic City Daily Press. In 1930 the name of the paper was changed to the Atlantic City Press, and in 1971 the name was changed to The Press. In 1988, its name was changed again to The Press of Atlantic City, the name currently in use.
The paper was owned from 1951–2013 by Abarta, a privately owned Pittsburgh-based holding company largely known for Coca-Cola bottling, and oil and gas operations in Pennsylvania. On January 14, 2013, Abarta officials announced they were selling the paper to focus on their other business operations. On July 18, 2013, an asset purchase agreement was signed with BH Media for $9.6 million and the paper became wholly owned by BH Media, a Berkshire Hathaway company, on August 11, 2013.
In 2014, BH Media bought the Current and Gazette newspapers. In 2015, BH Media bought Atlantic City Weekly.

Business office personnel

The Press of Atlantic City is available in several formats. It is published in print and in several digital formats. In May 2013, the paper shifted from a traditional business model of separate paid subscriptions for print and digital, and created All Access Passes which give readers access to the news across all available platforms for one price. Current rates range from $16.50 a month for full digital access with Sunday home delivery or no home deliver, to $23.50 for seven-day print home delivery plus full digital access. The print newsstand rate is $1.00 for the daily edition, and $2.00 for Sunday. Prices are higher in Toms River and north.
On October 15, 2011, PressofAtlanticCity.com became a paid content website, and was the first daily newspaper site in New Jersey to request payment for access to its digital content. It is also available in a replica e-edition that allows viewers to see the entire paper digitally as it appears each day in print, along with page-turning technology and links. In addition to news and sports, both web editions have local auto, real estate and job pages within the respective sites. Readers may currently view up to five pages on a free trial, after which they are asked to subscribe.