The final print edition of Victorian newspaper Geelong News will be published this week as the New Corp-owned Geelong Advertiser Group struggles with dwindling circulation.

The newspaper’s final publication will be delivered to the Geelong area on June 29, marking the end of an era for the 50-year-old paper.

General manager Daniel Clarke blamed ‘large scale shifts in media consumption’ for the decision to shut down the Geelong News’ free print edition.

The group’s star player the Geelong Advertiser has also hit tough times, with consecutive circulation falls recorded for the last 13 years.

The Geelong News’ print circulation peaked at around 70,000 per weekly publication.

Victorian newspapers are doing it tough this month as News Corp also revealed its plans to shut down seven of its community print mastheads by July.

Geelong marketing agency Adcell is also set to close two of its print publications, Business News and Ruby. Business News had been in print for 23 years, and sister publication Ruby was released only three years ago.

The wave of newspaper shut downs across Australia closely follows media giant Fairfax’s bleak predictions about the future of print publications with forecasts of digital only publishing models.

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