Watching the NJTV coverage of Governor Christie's State of the State Address was like watching a train wreck. It's no surprise that the station, run by Christie's Adubato clan, made this broadcast just the opening salvo in the governor's re-election campaign.
Of course, Christie is an excellent orator. That's part of his appeal to the average voter. But it's NJTV's job to inform the average voter, not to provide an unchecked platform for the governor. And the Democrats are just abettors in this process.
Updated 1:40 PM. Thank you NJTV for listening and offering a chance for a Democratic response.
Last summer, Governor Christie (with the help of complicit Democrats) gave a state treasure, NJN, to his cronies. The new NJTV is a shell of its former self, and does not provide a balanced approach, as evidenced by this Facebook exchange:
If you're around and available today at 10am, I hope you'll tune into Philly's NPR call-in talk show "Radio Times". I'll be the guest for today's first hour, joined my my friend and foe Brian McGovern of SaveJersey.com. The show runs from 10-11am. WHYY can be found at 90.9 on your FM dial, but you can also listen online.
With the election just 17 days away, there's a lot to debate -- pension benefits, NJN RIP, Marriage and marijuana -- and I hope you'll call in to join in the fun. The number is 1-888-477-WHYY
(1-888-477-9499)
Just in case Jersey Jazzman's excellent series on Education Reform is not enough for you, dear reader, Blue Jersey is launching another series called Blue Jersey Focus. To help you stay informed on Garden State issues, we will be featuring government officials, political figures, and other movers and shakers, in exclusive video interviews. These interviews have run over successive days, today's is the final installment
It is fitting that as we move into the holiday weekend to recognize the contributions that organized labor has made to America's prosperity, our first guest is labor leader Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo of the 14th Legislative District.
Just in case Jersey Jazzman's excellent series on Education Reform is not enough for you, dear reader, Blue Jersey is launching another series called Blue Jersey Focus. To help you stay informed on Garden State issues, we will be featuring government officials, political figures, and other movers and shakers, in exclusive video interviews. These interviews are being run over successive days.
Just in case Jersey Jazzman's excellent series on Education Reform is not enough for you, dear reader, Blue Jersey is launching another series called Blue Jersey Focus. To help you stay informed on Garden State issues, we will be featuring government officials, political figures, and other movers and shakers, in exclusive video interviews.
Just in case Jersey Jazzman's excellent series on Education Reform is not enough for you, dear reader, Blue Jersey is launching another series called Blue Jersey Focus. To help you stay informed on Garden State issues, we will be featuring government officials, political figures, and other movers and shakers, in exclusive video interviews. These interviews will be run over successive days.
It is fitting that as we move into the holiday weekend to recognize the contributions that organized labor has made to America's prosperity, our first guest is labor leader Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo of the 14th Legislative District.
My interview with Assemblyman DeAngelo will be presented on four consecutive days from today through Saturday. Each segment will be posted around 6:00 PM.
Today, the assemblyman discusses politics, the tension between the governor and legislature, collective bargaining, and the governor's response to Hurricane Irene.
Thursday's segment is devoted to education - including charter schools, tenure, and testing. My thanks to Jersey Jazzman for his assistance in providing information and questions for this segment.
Friday's segment is about jobs and the state's energy policy, and how they are inexorably interrelated. Assemblyman DeAngelo also discusses the state's transportation policy.
Finally, on Saturday, we hear about the assemblyman's views on the transition from NJN to NJTV, marriage equality, his opinion on a full-time legislature, and his priorities for the General Assembly after the November elections.
Watch for future installments of Blue Jersey Focus where we talk to other decision makers and prominent personalities that impact our lives.
If you tuned into NJTV (the state's only public TV station) on Saturday evening for news of Irene's pending wrath, you encountered a rerun about memory loss.
As the storm made landfall on Cape May? The Lawrence Welk Show.
Finally, while Hoboken was being deluged, NJTV was serving up Masterpiece Theater. (You get the picture....)
Simply put, NJN would have treated Hurricane Irene like the crisis it's been. And covered it accordingly.
But this isn't simply a critique of NJTV whose universally-panned lineup speaks for itself.
Nor is it about NJ Governor Chris Christie who hatched the demise of NJN to begin with. (The GOP has never been shy about their desire to destroy Public Broadcasting. It's part of their philosophical raison d'etre.)
While I applaud Governor Christie for his visibility during the hurricane, his appearances on national media while wearing his sweatshirt from the Chris Christie Theme Park is a bit ridiculous. Too bad he killed New Jersey's television network. Their coverage would have come in handy during this event.
UPDATE 1:06 Sen. Diane Allen, who rightly received so much good will during the time she herself was ill, is so far not voting on anything, so engrossed is she with something on her laptop computer. She's dead-silent on bills to assist other sick people, like the AIDS drug distribution program, which just failed a few minutes ago for want of any GOP support. Also GOP Sen. Kevin O'Toole just hurled invective at Sen. Rice. The exchange was well-covered both by politickernj and in our live twitter feed @bluejersey.
UPDATE 12:15: Among the revelations in today's Senate session? GOP's Sen. Cardinale just said Planned Parenthood promotes child prostitution.
Maybe it's fitting that today's much-discussed meeting of the full Senate will be the first time a major session of the NJ legislature won't be getting the gavel-to-gavel coverage we came to depend on from NJN.
We love us some Sesame Street but right now - and I am not kidding - actor Patrick Warburton is teaching a muppet the word stuck on the (so far unimpressive) NJTV. Next up, presumably, the word irony.
Deciminyan is in the Senate chamber and is live-Tweeting the session gavel-to-gavel. Follow @bluejersey. Hashtag #njsenate.
Thirty-nine separate bills will be discussed, each one of them an attempt by Democrats to restore funding for programs that assist New Jerseyans in some way - teachers for blind kids, AIDS treatment, seniors in nursing homes, health screening and treatment for poor women, postpartum education (I'm sorry, does the GOP only care about the "pre-born", not the post-born?). Senator Weinberg wrote about this this morning for Blue Jersey, Senator Buono talked about it here this weekend.
The New Jersey legislature - and in particular, its Senate - has in these last few weeks failed several crucial gut checks. Leadership in both houses seems not to lead, and sometimes not even to agree, with the caucus, or core principles. And harsh sunlight has bleached out some of the backroom deals between the shadow government that appears to make some of the real decisions in Trenton. We see the ugly things under the rock, but we know that both Republicans and Democrats in power have an interest in keeping that rock just where it is.
It's been a bad month. And it's likely to be a bad day. The Republicans, better at lockstep than the Dems are, have signaled in no uncertain terms they don't intend to help Democrats override Gov. Christie's "surprise" cuts to the budget that so "enraged" Sen. Sweeney, or appeared to, before God or Thor sent lightning down from the sky to try and snap the Senate President into reality.
But yes, we want each Senator on the record, as Loretta Weinberg says. Follow us: @bluejersey. NJ Legislature video feed is here but feed is skipping a lot.
With the Governor on vacation and Senator Sweeney's bombast being supplanted by the hand wringing surrounding the Casey Anthony verdict, you would think that Trenton's name-calling and argumentative style would be on hiatus, and you would be wrong.
With apologies to Richard Nixon: "I am not a sellout."
"It was going down, and I wasn't getting phone calls from people saying it's important to keep it alive," said Cunningham. "I think it's fine going to WNET. I felt it was the best thing for my district."
Was she getting phone calls the other way? How many would she have needed? Best thing for her district? How so? Because you can see New York from your house?
We went through a task force to analyze NJN and based on the legislation put forth it was clear to me we would not have a television station had we not opted to do what we did," said Ruiz. "It's important for us to have New Jersey news."
An out and out lie. Putting aside the Montclair State bid, a deal could have been worked out keeping NJN news on the air.
So know we know why the four Democrats voted the way they did. Stack because . . . enough said. Gill to keep her Essex County legal fees flowing. Ruiz because Joe D and the Adubatos told her to. And Cunningham because her phone wasn't working, apparently.
So Christie's political allie fierce fierce political opponent went on the Nordubato Party Network to try - one more time - to fool everyone.
Let's take look:
Shameless, truly.
I want to be a voice for the voiceless. The people who don't have the big lobbyists, that don't come out here and have all the money. I want to stand for the little guy.
Who is stopping you??? Senator you are the one who chose to be a machine hack and partner yourself with a Big Business lobbyist turned Governor.
Who is stopping Sweeney from being a Progressive, for standing up for the little guy? Oh that's right Steve Sweeney!
Maybe Sweeney should primary himself. Or Sweeney could at least do himself a favor and put his hand over his mouth - Steve's making you look like an idiot Steve.
For 40 years NJN was there. During some of the years I would watch it only sporadically, tuning into the big NY stations for news. They told me all about New York City and State politics, but little about what was happening where I lived.
However, as concern for gay rights and HIV/AIDS grew in the 80's, NJN covered local aspects of these stories. They would send a reporter and a film crew to a Newark research clinic to explain the importance of a new HIV treatment, to an ACT Up demonstration, or to a rally for gay rights. All of us with different concerns and at different times came to realize the treasure that was NJN.
Through sound and video NJN was the ears and eyes of events in our state, and so I grew more attached to its coverage. Now a NY station promises even better coverage for us. We will wait and see.
Tonight we watch NJN's swan song. For me I look back with appreciation for the wonderful gift that NJN was and with regret that I did not always support NJN as much as I might have,
If I made you feel second best,
I'm sorry I was blind.
But you were always on my mind.
You were always on my mind.
The demise of NJN has been a major bum-out, especially for political junkies; many of have come to see the station's Jersey-centric coverage as more than essential for the little state caught between two huge media markets, but lacking a cohesive TV landscape of it's own. To be sure, mainstays like Michael Aron's On The Record and Reporters Roundtable will be sorely missed, as they have come to serve important functions for NJ's political watchers and doers.
But let's take a deep breath - because as a medium, television is both hurting and evolving; when it comes to news, even more so. What once used to be a time-sensitive ritual of getting in front of the TV set in time to watch one's favorite show has ceded ground to the Internet, smartphones, time-shifted viewing and more. And while TV broadcasters used to be unique in their ability to create and spread content far and wide, that's just not the case any more.
So in the spirit of making crisis into opportunity, let's hope that the many talented, dedicated, insightful and resourceful folks who served this state so well for so long are able to find a path forward that keeps their important work alive while adapting to changes in the media landscape. Let's see podcasts, and streaming feeds and social networking and stuff no one has yet invented. It's not just an opportunity to pick up the pieces and try to find a way to move on - it's a chance to flex with the times, grow and ultimately become better. Sure, there will always be those media consumers who are married to their TVs, but their ranks are dwindling and will ultimately disappear. So no, it's never going to be the same as it was. But change - no matter how much it may suck at the time - can be good. And when it comes to media for New Jersey, by New Jersey, perhaps the best is yet to come. (And who knows? Maybe 20 people can do the work of 200 like the governor says. Also, maybe the sun will turn purple and put on sunglasses.)
Alternate, less saccharine ending: Governor Christie and those like him (Karl Rove, the Koch Brothers, etc.) would like nothing more than to silence any outlet that might threaten their agenda of privatization and greater corporate control of American society. That includes New Jersey. Then consider the analog newspapers, and the increasingly choppy waters they must negotiate. It becomes simple, and something we all already know, because we're living it: the traditional media landscape which defined the past has changed, and will continue to change, dramatically. And whoever is most flexible and adaptive to these changes will likely retain an indomitable edge when it comes to reaching people, and trying to convince them that your ideas are better than the other guy's.
NJN News is dead because the leader of the New Jersey State senate couldn't get one vote from his party to kill the Adubato giveaway deal.
After lying low, staying silent and doing nothing to try to kill the deal, probably out of fear that his bestest buddy Chris Christie would get angry at him and/or at the instruction of Boss Norcross, Sweeney failed to deliver the 21 votes needed. Tom Kean, as usual, had no problem getting unanimous support from his caucus for the Republican position.
As with last year's budget, this is another embarassment for the senate "president." The one thing he's able to do is to sell out Democrats, and deliver for the Republican governor. Beyond that, Sweeney is an inept, ineffective and incompetent leader.
A failed leader. A trojan horse. It's time for a real Democrat to take his place.
Last week, the Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution blocking the handover of NJN to WNET. Tonight, the Senate resolution, sponsored by Loretta Weinberg, failed by one vote. NJN is dead. The new network run by NYC's WNET, called NJTV, goes up Friday.
Chris Christie and North Jersey political boss "Big Steve" Adubato tag-teamed to lean on senators to vote No. Adubato's family makes out great in this deal payback. Where will WNET get most of its public affairs programs about NJ? From Caucus Educational Corp.. That's "Big Steve's" broadcaster son. David Koch, who with bro Charles is the money muscle behind Americans for Prosperity and the Tea Party, is on WNET's board. Will political coverage remain fair?
Cunningham, Ruiz, Stack, Gill ... WTF?
Nobody who watched last Thursday's intense Senate Budget questioning of Christie dealmaker Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff could come away without questioning if there was something fishy in Christie's deal. Why did the Christie administration reject what looked like a viable alternative that would have kept control in Jersey? Montclair State. University President Susan Cole testified their plan would do better for less. Compelling enough, that there should have been more time devoted to finding out if that was true.
And just to put the cherry on top, your tax dollars will be subsidizing the deal, to a tune of $4 million. This is not the best we could do.
Discussion of Governor Christie's proposal to give New York's WNET control of NJN television has correctly focused on the deal's impact on broadcast coverage of New Jersey news, public affairs, culture and history. But the agreement for WNET to operate NJN television also brings great benefits for WNET to the detriment of New Jersey taxpayers. Even though the State of New Jersey will retain ownership of NJN's television broadcast licenses, WNET's operating agreement with New Jersey gives WNET access to millions of new potential members and donors plus use of NJN's donor lists. In return WNET pays absolutely nothing and isn't required to continue current programming or hire NJN staff.
Control of NJN Moves to NYC
As part of the takeover of NJN, WNET has created a New Jersey non-profit corporation called Public Media New Jersey (PMNJ) a majority of whose governing board must be residents of the State of New Jersey. However, PMNJ is structured as a direct subsidiary of WLIW, the former Long Island station that was taken over by WNET in 2003; that is, WLIW is the sole member of PMNJ. WLIW is itself a direct subsidiary of WNET. So the supposed New Jersey non-profit, PMNJ, is actually controlled by a Long Island corporation which in turn is controlled by a NYC corporation (WNET.) The fact that the a majority of PMNJ's governing board must be New Jersey residents will have little practical impact.
