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Off the Record
Is New Jersey really that uninteresting?
Since the start of summer, The New York Times emptied out its two New Jersey bureaus in Trenton and Newark; in June, The Record of Bergen County announced it would shut down its headquarters and its reporters would be homeless; in July, The Star Ledger announced that it was cutting about a third of its newsroom, and its owners said they would consider selling the paper.
It’s becoming reasonable to wonder if, at this rate, there will be anyone left to cover the state soon.
“Can you cover the big stories that really mean something to people—how taxes are spent, projections for jobs, stuff you just need to know if you live here—if you have too few journalists?” said Frank Scandale, the editor of The Record. “That’s a concern I have now as a journalist and as a citizen of New Jersey.”
As usual, it all comes down to money. The Record’s publisher said it would save $2.4 million per year by shutting down its Hackensack home; Donald Newhouse, president of Advance Publications, which owns The Ledger, said the paper is losing $30 million to $40 million and needs to cut 200 jobs in order to stay afloat; The Times eliminated its bureaus amid larger job cuts.
So what caused the problems?
“The Ledger has been very badly hit by the real estate downturn,” said Mr. Newhouse in a phone interview with Off the Record. “New Jersey was a very strong real estate economy, but it soured. It is much more serious in New Jersey than in any of the other markets that we are publishing in.”
But even if the housing market is crashing, that’s cyclical. Those things don’t last. Newsday, the Long Island daily newspaper, is battered by the same things that are affecting Jersey papers, and yet it makes money—last year it had an operating cash flow of $88 million, according to its publisher, and it sold for $650 million in July.
Like Newsday, The Ledger caters, in theory, to a populous, affluent market rich in potential advertisers.
And yet it would be a stretch to imagine that The Ledger could be sold for anything like that number, since it loses so much money. (Mr. Newhouse declined to discuss precise financials.)
One reason The Ledger, or The Record for that matter, could never be the Newsday of New Jersey is simply that there’s competition.
“Those papers aren’t surrounded by water, which, believe me, helps Newsday a lot,” said John Morton, a newspaper-industry analyst. “It sort of insulates the Long Island market and Newsday owns Long Island. New Jersey, in the overall market, is one of the most highly competitive markets in the country. If you look at a map and see how many daily newspapers are in that part of New Jersey, it’s astounding.”
There are 18 daily newspapers in the state that are members of the New Jersey Publishers Association, a trade organization. A retrenchment, in retrospect, was only a matter of time.
It’s been grim.
“It almost happened overnight,” said State Senate President, former governor, and all-around Jersey cheerleader Richard Codey. Next Page >
Too bad. Didn't the Star Ledger used to be a really good paper?
The reason they're leaving is most likely they couldn't get to work because they got their drivers licenses suspended for failing to pay "driver responsibility TAXes" for asinine infractions, and then the government sent in the treasury agents to raid their bank accounts after they refused to pay, and wiped out their fking life savings.
Screw that state, that created the law that others have adopted, and one rebelled threatening to lynch their legislators(virginia) if they didn't repeal the law.
The Jersey bashing is so unnecessary and childish and played out. "Is Jersey that uninteresting?". That's the best lede you could come up with? I lived in New York for nearly 15 years and moved to Jersey 3 years ago. It is such a pleasure to not have to deal with homeless people or mutant rats or crowds or noise or smells. Drive across the bridge sometime and explore a bit, you'd probably be shocked at what you see. It's a beautiful state (keep driving past all of the huge refineries on the Jersey Turnpike) Oh yeah, one other thing. I pay 1/10th per square foot for my home than I would have paid in NY. As for the article, it's troubling...what I think is worth exploring is all of the very, very active community message boards that seem destined to be the new source of media for the Jersey suburbs. Check out wwptoday.com as an example.
"Too bad. Didn't the Star Ledger used to be a really good paper?"
It used to be a joke for decades. Under the stultifying leadership of Mort Pye, the Ledger was arguably the worst major daily in America, filled with ugly design and a bland, Chamber of Commerce mentality -- a paper for old farts, by old farts. Jim Willse changed that in the late '90s, and actually made the Ledger a viable, vibrant newspaper with much better writing. Sorry to see it regressing, just as the Los Angeles Times is losing its reputation, but that's the industry these days.
I moved to Jersey City a year ago and it's true there's no good source of local information. It was an unpleasant surprise, we're so much closer to Manhattan than other parts of NYC it feels like almost another borough, but all serious reporting stops at the Hudson. The Times even does better reporting on the Bronx than they do on NJ (not their strong point either), I can only remember one good piece in the past year that seemed timely and relevant to the urban stretch of the state that lies right across the river from the Times headquarters. Message boards are great but I don't have time to stay up on things that way, I end up getting whatever local info I get by talking to my neighbors. Nothing beats good journalism, I miss it.
NJ is certainly not a wasteland, It is one of the wealithiest states in the nation. NJ boasts some of the lovliest land and homes in America. And some of the most embarassing politicians (McGreevey/Florio)...so news we have--wasteland--Jackie O. did not think so---a home in Far Hils. It is a sign of the times and the poorly run business that is the modern day daily printed newspaper. I do feel for the employees who have dedicated themselves to the papers and no longer have a "home" or a job--that is a travesty.
Read NJ.Com (aka Star Ledger) daily, but often find more relevant news for my part of Jersey on Baristanet.com.
The NYT at least covered this over the weekend.
We're not a wasteland-but I could explain 'till I'm blue in the face to a New Yorker, that I often don't care too anymore. Their loss not to figure it out in the end.
I find it laughable that Record editor Frank Scandale offers a that he is troubled about the future of dailies in the Garden State when he has worked for the whole time he has been at that paper to gut the livelier and better written sister-paper, the Herald News. Frank, that's the epitome of the pot calling the kettle black.
I would really like to read one of these stories written in the lobby of a building. I'm sure they will all be stellar pieces of journalism that reporters will be excited to write and no doubt will be investigative in quality, uncovering the corruption so rampant in NJ. Yeah right.
It looks like Joe Sexton's fondness for (I can't even bring myself to say the word) blogging has made sleeze like former Senator Robert (The Torch) Toricelli winners.
What is it about blogging that seduces folks into thinking its a better substitute for reporting? Most of it is drivel and celebrity-driven. Is that what the Times aims for now?
This is so sad. My first paper job out of college was at The Record. They were a difficult paper to advance in since they offered part-time status more often than full time. They also had cameras on the ceiling watching people work, which if you were working didn't bother you.
Where are the unions that represent these journalists. They are weak.
But I will say The Record didn't treat their people very well. In my own experience there was a lot of favortism even in part-time status. They also kept extending your trial period and then fire you a few days before you passed trial status so they wouldn't have to pay unemployment.
I think it's going to be worse now with the MOJO status (mobile journalists) but honestly many newspapers are going that way. It's a dumb move. Whatever happened to having a presence in the area and keeping a watch dog reputation. You can't do that if you have no presence in the area.
Most journalists don't make enough to live in the areas they write about. Maybe the only good thing that will come out of the MOJO status is they will at least have to grant decent pay so that they can be within range of the area they cover. I feel sorry for the kid who has to cover the ritzy areas. At this rate they wouldn't be able to afford a studio in Patterson.
I feel sorry for the other parts of New Jersey whose papers are going away. Fortunately for us here at the south Jersey shore, we have a very good paper in Atlantic City; The Press. Sure, they're not big enough to do anything but run the wire services for national/international news, but their regional coverage of politics is positively entertaining. Sports reporting for the region, including Philly, is top-notch. Good writers, decent editing and a moderate opinion make it an enjoyable read in the morning.
You know, the newspapers, unfortunately, are irrelevant as far as informing the electorate because they keep electing the same idiots/thieves/hacks so why bother. The place is a wasteland. So what if they have some of the most beautiful land and homes? It is populated by, well, never mind..... (yes, I used to live in South Jersey so I speak from experience and my MIL lives in Bergen County and I'm forced to go there. The Costco is the biggest case for rendering individuals impotent I've just about ever seen....)
Is this a ploy by the NYO's owner to pay a lower price for the STAR LEDGER if he buys it?
I don't know much about the jersey papers because I live in nyc. But one thing struck me. You write about homeless writers for one of the jersey papers. But cnn got praise from the times today for a similiar concept.
Seems like you don't get the concept. But then again you are the observer not the times.
Refugee, I'll take the Costco in Bergen County any day over Macy's at Christmas time, Times Square at New Year's Eve, or the foul, overheated, dirty subway line of your choice.
It's happening all across America, but certainly it's alarming when it happens in Jersey, where there is so much news that needs to be covered. The weeklies have been left to take up the slack (the Reporter chain based in Hoboken is pretty good, but it still needs to keep its head above water like the others) and they can't get to everything, and if it's only them and the one remaining local daily, the Jersey Jorunal, pressing people for information and competing for news, plenty of things fall through the cracks, and it's easy for crooks to hide. But what can you do? A newspaper is a business and it has to stay viable too. What residents should do is avail themselves of all the media and help out rather than shooting it down. Read the weekly on your porch, then use your head.
The Times has nobody in its Bronx bureau now. Nobody replaced Timothy Williams when he was assigned to cover Harlem.
Frank's description of the Record's version of a mojo newsroom is simplistic at best. Funny that after all these years of disregarding the Herald News -- which frankly was always the more lively and much more imaginative of the two -- Frank is moving what's left of his newsroom to the Herald News' HQ in West Paterson. That's priceless.
If you live in Jersey City, you should be reading the Jersey Journal or the Jersey City Reporter for local information -- NOT the NY Times. Duh.
You missed a really big point in this story. The Times did not just close down its Jersey bureaus. It closed down all of its suburban bureaus --in Connecticut, Westchester County and Long Island, in addition to those in New Jersey. It no longer has a regional editor on the Metro desk. It no longer has a deputy regional editor. Albany is the only bureau left outside of NYC. What is the Times trying to tell its readers who live beyond the city's borders?
That, and the fact you can't pump your own gas make New Jersey the worst state in the nation, regardless of wealth, or proximity to NYC.
JOURNALISTS, BE AFRAID: So now The Record has no need for a newsroom? How long until it has no need for full-time staff reporters? The betting here: Within two years, The Record converts part of its reporting staff into contract employees, paid by the story and provided no benefits. Think of the savings to the bottom line!
While everyone here cries about the inevitable death of local print newspapers, the reasons seem more obvious than the decline of ad sales. Producing a print product for a small radius of local sports, small government, and stories on flowers requires too big an overhead. Moving to digital allows stories to be updated on the fly and at 3/4th the cost. Plus, reporters, like the article states, are constantly connected. So, bye bye newsroom. All you need is two or three reporters covering an area and a few editors to be online. The lighter fare, which most of these papers are made up of anyway, can be farmed out. The larger media, who have shut down their satellite offices, will sift content from these local sites for the bigger stories. One comes up? The big boys are there. Why rent space to put out this kind of product when it's already there for the picking? Let's face it: Working in the media is a glamorous job that sounds more seductive than what it actually pays. And who wants to pay for the stories these small pubs produce? Not the advertisers. And certainly not the readers. Don't be mad. I heard UPS is hiring...
Stephen Borg, the Record's publisher, not Frank Scandale, is the party most responsible for the radical attempts to redefine the paper. MOJOs started out as an innovative way to cover the news, but were hijacked by Borg and imposed across the board as a bottom-line instrument. To be sure, the Record no longer needs the Hackensack building, which is in poor shape and has been underused since the printing operation moved to Rockaway Township. But to disperse reporters and editors to West Paterson and a half-dozen other outposts reflects a profound ignorance of the ferment that defines a newsroom. Borg's paradigm comes from the company's weeklies, where he was vice president before being named publisher. Since being named publisher, he has slowly dismantled the daily staff and has begun training weekly reporters and editors to feed the Record and its website. Ultimately, it appears the daily will become a "best-of-the-weeklies" digest, produced by minimum-wage reporters and ineffectual in the face of a complex New Jersey power structure.
I think ALL newspapers are suffering a common problem. They have slowly lost their way over time. I think most newspapers have lost sight of their customer's welfare. There is a tendency to become a mouthpiece for those in power. When government is one of the biggest purchasers of Ad space, and simultaneously one of the biggest providers of news, it is natural for organizations that used to be watchdogs, to slowly become lapdogs.
So long as I know that I am going to be getting the "party" line from the newspaper, why would I pay someone to propagandize me?
New Jersey is a state that is rife with corruption. And our newspapers act as if it is beneath them to report on it.
If I could find a newspaper that I KNEW would tell me the truth, not the DEMOCRAT or REPUBLICAN truth, but the simple unvarnished unspun facts, I would subscribe at a premium.
While I know that there are many great reporters out there, I am also aware that most newspapers have a slant. Though, they pretend to be unbiased and may actually believe it themselves, (since it IS difficult to see your own bias even when you are looking for it) most papers are heavily slanted one way or the other.
As a consumer of news what I want is a paper that I know won't bend over backwards to make what I know is NOT good government seem to be so.
Most papers seem to think their job is to regurgitate BOTH sides of the issues.
1. There are always more than 2 sides.
2. I don't want to hear the spin from the R's and D's, I want the FACTS.
I don't care who get's embarassed by the facts. I don't want my paper to care either.
Unfortunately there are scandels everyday in Union County, but the papers are too liberal to report them. They all lean left and rather than report the facts they give their opinions. People want facts not opinions! Try just giving the facts and let the people decide. The StarLedger has people like Braun and Farmer who just give their opions. They do not report the facts. They have their own agenda's and thats," Liberal Democrats!" They'll tell you their Independants, but if you could check their voting records they haven't voted Republican or Independant in 40 years!
New Jerseyan's are sick & tired of the Media not educating people that NJ is world's most corrupt & racist state. People like me have stooped buying News Paper like starledger who are working for Unionized Gangsters posing as Democrats & Republicans. So no tears if star ledger is completely shut down or all the NJ news papers are shut down.
Dave Makkar
Resident of World’s Most Corrupt & Racist state New Jersey. A state which is legally corrupt and legally racially segregated. In 8,721 square miles 8.5 million people are governed by 9,000 Elected Gangsters & over 400,000 Royal Employees appointed for Political Reasons under 588 Princely Governments with a budget of $78 billion and a current deficit of $140 billion in 566 racially segregated towns with 250,000 (out of 1.4 million) students who can not comprehend in basic education in racially segregated 631 school districts with no Benches for some and Lap Tops for some. 38% resident’s lives in 46 colored towns and 62% lives in 520 towns
The inaccuracies in this story in regard to The Record and Herald News are appalling. What pathetic reporting.
....It amazes me that no one mentioned liberal bias as one of the key reasons the newspapers in the USA are going down the tubes. The overwhelming majority of people working for newspapers are of the liberal persuation and the "slant" comes through loud and clear in their stories, editorials, opinion pages and their so called reporting.
I enjoyed reading the Ledger and Bergen Record in my earlier years but will no longer give my money to these auxilaries of the DNC.........and there are many many more like me out there. Oh, BTW, I would bet a large portion of people who vote Democrat never bought a newspaper in their life.