One of the longest running newspapers in the world, which started as a notice pinned to a coffee shop wall, will soon permanently stop the presses. Lloyd's List, which calls itself the "world's oldest newspaper," will transition to an online-only publication by December.
It began in 1734 as a bulletin of information about ship arrivals, departures and casualties in London and continues to cover news of maritime commerce, insurance and energy.
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Currently, Lloyd's List is available both online and in print. But Richard Meade, the paper's editor, said only 25 people subscribe solely to the print edition.
“That’s why we have chosen to invest our editorial firepower online, rather than sustaining a format that cannot match our, or our customers’, demands,” the company wrote in a news release.
This shift toward digital platforms has, of course, been taking over the news industry for quite some time. In 2008, the Internet surpassed print media as the way people get their news, according to a Pew Research study, and the gap is only widening.
Lloyd’s List — often regarded as the shipping bible — has a readership of more than 60,000, but Meade hopes the shift to digital will help the company grow.
"We haven't changed that much. But now [customers] can access us in any coffee shop in the world," he told the BBC.
Image: Flickr, Daniel R. Blume