American Journalism Review will cease operation after almost 38 years of publication. The announcement was made on the publication’s website Friday evening. The news comes exactly two years after it ceased the production of its print edition. The magazine was published by Phillip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.
“Over many decades, American Journalism Review has been an incredible value both to the college and to American journalists,” said Merrill College Dean Lucy Dalglish. “Unfortunately, we are unable to provide the resources needed to keep AJR the vibrant, innovative online publication it deserves to be.”
The magazine will no longer be publishing “original” content. However, the existing archives will still be available on the website.
AJR’s death comes almost one and a half year after its redesign in late 2013. In an interview to Poynter following the redesign, Leslie Walker, Co-editor at AJR said that the new look was reflective of their “new mission to promote excellence and inspire innovation in journalism.”
American Journalism Review first launched in 1977 as The Washington Journalism Review. Former managing editor Lori Robertson wrote about the publication’s early days. It included the sale of a VW bug to get funding and working above The Threepenny Bit, an Irish clothing store. Rem Rieder became editor in 1992, and one year later, the publication was renamed American Journalism Review.
In 2011, Phillip Merrill College of Journalism took over ownership of AJR from the University of Maryland Foundation. AJR originally published 11 times a year and, later, cut down to just three. In June, Rieder left to work as a media editor and columnist for USA Today. In July 2013, AJR announced they would end production of their printed product and go digital only.
