‘End of an era’: Newspapers’ move to end print editions triggers strong reactions
By THE STAR STAFF
The announcement that Puerto Rico’s two largest legacy newspapers will halt their print editions has triggered a wave of public reaction, with former media executives, journalists and readers lamenting what they describe as the end of an era and a blow to the island’s journalistic tradition.
GFR Media, publisher of El Nuevo Día and Primera Hora, confirmed Monday that both papers will transition to digital‑only formats — Primera Hora on Sept. 24 and El Nuevo Día on Sept. 27 — citing shifts in consumer habits and the growth of their online audiences. The move mirrors a global trend as newspapers confront shrinking ad revenue and rising production costs.
“We continue to evolve with the Puerto Rico of the 21st century,” said María Luisa Ferré Rangel, GFR Media’s publisher, noting that the company aims to reach Puerto Ricans “wherever Puerto Rico is,” whether on the island or abroad.
The decision impacts a dozen regional and islandwide newspapers that printed their weekly or daily editions at the El Nuevo Día press, which will be shut down, the STAR learned.
The announcement also landed amid uncertainty inside the newsroom. GFR Media has not disclosed how many employees were laid off, but the Association of Puerto Rican Journalists notes that the company’s unionized workforce has already dropped from nearly 400 in 2015 to fewer than 100 in 2025.
On social media, reactions were swift -- and pointed.
“Quality is the first thing sacrificed,” wrote retired journalist Nilsa Pietri, arguing that the shift to digital risks eroding the essence of journalism. “What remains will no longer be served on paper … Now you’ll have to look for it on the web, when there’s power and signal, and paying a subscription.”
Others framed the decision as a cultural rupture.
“Ángel Ramos, Antonio Ayuso Valdivieso, Luis A. Ferré Aguayo, William Dorvillier, Manuel Casiano, Gaspar Roca and José A. ‘Pito’ Montes must be turning in their graves,” wrote Julio Semidei, an advertising executive. “End of an era.”
Pedro Correa, content creator at Primera Hora, criticized the rollout of the digital transition, saying the public messaging -- including TV ads and billboards -- contrasted sharply with the “secrecy and uncertainty” employees experienced in recent days.
“What has ‘innovation’ in this new phase is the same thing I have of being Russian: nothing,” he wrote. “Innovation won’t happen without the courage to sit with us, talk, search, suggest alternatives.”
He noted that more than 150 workers will now have to “figure out how to put a meal on the table,” including 12 veteran journalists and 36 print‑production employees who helped preserve more than half a century of Puerto Rican history on paper.
“My solidarity to all those laid off,” he added. “It hurts to lose not only great talent, but wonderful friends.”
His concerns were echoed by journalist Barbara Josefina Figueroa-Pink, who said “Journalism without journalists. It is unusual and an act of hypocrisy towards the profession. They talk about innovation, but GFR does not say that they fired dozens of people in that process, including excellent journalists who are also friends.”
The shift comes as newspapers across the U.S. mainland face similar pressures. Nearly 3,500 outlets have closed in the past two decades, eliminating more than 270,000 jobs, according to Poynter.
El Nuevo Día, founded in 1970, has chronicled some of Puerto Rico’s most consequential moments — from Pope John Paul II’s 1984 visit to the island, to the 2015 declaration that Puerto Rico’s public debt was unpayable, to the 2019 mass protests that led to Gov. Ricardo Rosselló Nevares’ resignation. Its digital site launched in 1997 and now draws more than 3.4 million monthly users; Primera Hora reports more than 2.8 million.
GFR Media has recently expanded into video‑podcast formats and plans to launch a weekly news analysis program next month.
Still, for many in Puerto Rico, the disappearance of the print editions marks a symbolic loss -- one tied to tradition, identity and the tactile experience of holding the news in hand.
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