As The Atlanta Journal-Constitution prepares to turn the page on its storied print edition and fully embrace an all-digital future, the tributes to the physical newspaper have mounted.
It’s a moment that feels a bit like Tom Sawyer, Huck Finn and Joe Harper attending their own funeral — watching others mourn something that isn’t truly gone, just changing form. A chapter is ending, yes, but only because a new one is ready to begin.
Count me among those feeling the pull of nostalgia. During the 39 years I’ve spent on this Earth, the AJC plopped on my dining room table has been one of the most consistent aspects of my life.
Some of my earliest memories are devouring the Sunday comics in The Atlanta Constitution. I would read the funny pages several times over, laughing at the same jokes — even if 5-year-old Ed didn’t quite understand the punchline.
My attachment ran so deep that I recall spending a Saturday night with my cousins in Kennesaw and badgering my uncle the next morning to find a Sunday paper. He dutifully tracked one down, only to discover I only wanted to read the comics.
From avid reader to being published in ‘News for Kids’
Credit: Ed Hula
Credit: Ed Hula
My readership expanded to the daily comics where I learned a harsh lesson: Some of my Sunday favorites appeared only in The Atlanta Journal, not The Atlanta Constitution, which is what my parents subscribed to.
Imagine my delight when the papers merged, printing two full pages of comics!
Like many boys, I graduated to the sports section and then skimmed the entire paper, gawking at the columnists’ headshots and wondering how they earned that honor.
Now I understand that a newspaper is an institution and columnists build on a paper’s reputation and authority.
Astute AJC archivist fiends know this is not my first published submission. Way back in 1993, the AJC’s ”News for Kids” segment ran my hard-hitting question: “Were monsters real back then?”
Shoutout to my classmates at Christ the King School, who teased me relentlessly about my question - and subsequent bragging about its publication.
Journalism needed as Georgia’s statute keeps rising
Credit: Courtesy
Credit: Courtesy
After graduating from Georgia State University, one of my first routines was walking to the convenience store near my Cabbagetown home to buy a print AJC. I soon realized it was cheaper just to subscribe.
Calling the circulation department felt like a rite of passage, as if getting newspaper home delivery bestowed some official grown-up status.
My love for newspapers has only grown, and now I subscribe to three dead-tree newspapers and I still read “Peanuts” and “Pearls Before Swine” daily.
Probably more than most millennials, I find tremendous value in the printed newspaper. Every editorial decision matters.
The impact of a large-scale photograph and banner headline simply cannot be replicated on a screen.
The way stories are arranged on a page helps make sense of the world. Stepping away from algorithms to interact with a tactile object opens new perspectives. Comic strips are funnier on paper! I will miss that daily tactile experience with the AJC.
I also understand how crucial the AJC remains to our home, which has never been more influential. As an old boss says, Georgia is “the center of the political universe,” a status that will continue for years.
We are preparing to welcome the world, hosting 2026 World Cup matches. Atlanta’s culture becomes everyone’s culture. Georgia is the best state to do business, with a dynamic economy creating previously inconceivable industries.
No matter how you look at it, we need exceptional journalism.
News will still inform, challenge and resonate
And in the end, it’s the journalism — not the medium — that matters. Having worked with AJC reporters in virtually every beat, getting to know them personally and professionally, I can say they are some of the most curious and hardworking reporters anywhere, and they care deeply about the communities they serve.
For the entire team at the AJC to bring us the coverage we want, need and rely on, it is time to complete the digital shift. The storytelling possibilities this shift unlocks are exciting and only possible if the AJC is not hidebound to tradition.
I must say that my heart goes out to the printers, technicians and carriers who made my mornings brighter with the newspaper. I sincerely thank all of you for your work, and how it has uplifted my life.
The news industry has evolved as long as it has existed. For 157 years, the AJC has done so, making tough decisions to provide the best coverage it can. Ending the print edition may be the toughest decision yet, but it is unquestionably necessary.
I am excited to continue reading the AJC in its new format — call it whatever you want. I am excited because the news will still inform, challenge and resonate in a medium that meets the moment of the 21st century.
And while the AJC’s future is bright, one vexing question remains. One that I ponder constantly. One for which no satisfactory answer exists.
How will I continue reading my beloved comics?
Ed Hula III is a communications professional who lives in East Point and has had Atlanta newspapers delivered from the moment he was born. He has served as press secretary for the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams in addition to other communications leadership positions. He wrote this essay in his capacity as a longtime reader and former Atlanta Constitution “News for Kids” contributor.
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