New Jersey's future hangs in the balance

by: Hopeful

Wed Jan 20, 2010 at 11:37:20 AM EST

As everyone should know, the newspaper business is really an advertising business, and the economic collapse, competition from online ads, and the loss of readers to the internet have crushed the poorly run, debt-ridden publishers. Your subscriptions to the newspapers (if you still have one) really pay for the physical printing of the paper, it's the ads that bring in the money. Blogger Newsosaur recently posted an  analysis of how long papers can continue printing and there are scenarios where the death of physical papers is only a decade away. Even an internet triumpalist like me has to worry who will report on New Jersey news when very few people if any can make a living at it.

We've discussed before that newspaper publishers had a big meeting last year where they plotted to charge their internet readers. You've probably noticed, though, that no one followed through in our area. That's changing soon as the New York Times says it will begin charging in 2011:

Starting in early 2011, visitors to NYTimes.com will get a certain number of articles free every month before being asked to pay a flat fee for unlimited access. Subscribers to the newspaper's print edition will receive full access to the site.

We'll see what happens. If you think this is obviously a good decision, I direct you to this study of how it's worked out elsewhere:

A puny 2.4% of print subscribers is the average number of people paying for online content at the handful of daily newspapers that have been bold enough to erect pay walls, according to a new survey.

If you lose more in web advertising than you gain in subscriptions, it's hard to see what publishers have gained. But the sad reality is that web ads don't bring in enough to run newspapers as we have known them. New Jersey needs someone to solve the problem, so I'll be watching the Times experiment with great interest.

Adios, Tina Kelley

by: JRB

Fri Dec 11, 2009 at 05:58:10 PM EST

Tina Kelley, who corresponded from many-a-Jersey dateline in The New York Times, has taken a buyout. She wrote a wonderful poem about reporting here. Go have a read.

It is magic, writing news. We have an honored front row seat in life,
the chance to walk through the bat cave for six hours seeing the last
ceilingsful of bats, mysteriously dying. It is a privilege to listen

Quote of the Day: Paul Krugman-Al Franken-Rush Holt Edition

by: Rosi Efthim

Mon Jul 06, 2009 at 12:04:55 PM EDT

That doesn't sit well with Krugman, who points out "Al Franken's dirty secret is that ... he's a big policy wonk."

I used to go on Franken's radio show, all ready to be jocular - and what he wanted to talk about was the arithmetic of Social Security, or the structure of Medicare Part D.

In fact, the only elected official I know who's wonkier than Al Franken is Rush Holt, my congressman - and he used to be the assistant director of Princeton's plasma physics lab. (The campaign's bumper stickers read, "My Congressman IS a rocket scientist.")

So what will Franken do to the level of Senate discourse? He'll raise it.

Krugman's slam-dunk right about Franken. As huntsu mentioned to me this morning, you have to understand politics be able to satirize it. Franken always did that well.

During the 2005 Governor's race, my boyfriend and I helped put together an event at the Stress Factory Comedy Club for Corzine. A kind of fusion event - part fundraiser, part message. We had Franken on stage riffing on the piped-in live audio of the last Corzine/Doug Forrester debate. Corzine creamed Forrester; in the club we heard it punctuated by Franken's rat-a-tat-tat off-the-cuff reactions. He was pretty specific, and it was a lot of fun listending to him stick pointy knives into Forrester.

It was worth waiting 20 years for the Al Franken Decade. Particularly since Franken will hold his friend Paul Wellstone's seat in the Senate.

The name of Krugman's New York Times blog  - The Conscience of a Liberal - is, of course, also the title of his well known book. But before then, it was the name of Paul Wellstone's autobiography.

I like the symmetry of that.  

The New York Times Gets It Right

by: Marc Abanto

Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 01:07:59 PM EDT

A week after the the Washington Post completely botched their assessment of a second stimulus package, the New York Times turns around and nails it.

Their editorial entitled "No End in Site" lays out perfectly what the next few steps should be to help the economy whether this current storm. They begin by stating the obvious:

Lawmakers need to start crafting the next stimulus bill — without repeating the mistakes of the last one. Composed mainly of tax rebates, as the White House wanted, the first stimulus was too broad to deliver a powerful punch.

Amen. It is clear that the first round of stimulus checks didn't work. The editorial then confirms what many experts have been saying is a real potentially relief-filled measure that Congress needs to take with the second stimulus package:

The next package has to focus on actions that are known to yield big economic benefits: bolstered food stamps, which rapidly boost consumption; and aid to states and cities so they can continue to provide essential services.

Lawmakers should also invest in infrastructure projects, like repairing bridges and roads. If not, projects that are already under way may have to be canceled, creating more unemployment.

Thank you. The fact that state and city governments are not asking for money to continue radical spending on pet projects, but instead to protect essential services like education and health care seems to be lost on the minds of those who are not in favor of including state aid in a second stimulus package. Every week there are stories upon storiesof states being forced to slash budgets, pay, and jobs. They are a linch pin of the economy and no one seems to notice. And investing in infrastructure will ensure that we don't add thousands of workers who make their living off of said infrastructure projects. The construction industry has been hit hard enough as is.

The editorial also touches on a response to the home foreclosure crisis:

Congress also needs to ensure that a $4 billion grant to states and cities to buy up vacant properties is quickly and efficiently distributed. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is developing the formula for allocating the money, and early indications suggest it is on top of the process. But the White House is contemptuous of the grant, calling it a gift to speculators when it is actually a lifeline for ailing communities.

If you aren't a Bush republican who just hates any sort of aid not aimed at the highest income bracket, then the main criticism of this effort is that is simply not enough to have an impact on the housing market. Whether or not this is true remains to be seen, but it is still $4 billion to help turn foreclosed properties that the states with said properties currently do not have. In that regard it is a stabilizing factor, even if it is not the stabilizing factor that ultimately turns the foreclosure crisis around. As the editorial says, it is a lifeline for ailing communities who simply do not have the money do to anything with these foreclosed homes.

The time for action is now, but because Congress is in recess the time for action will actually be September. The article suggests the difficulty with creating a second stimulus package in an election year, but brings up the most important point of them all:

Millions of Americans are already suffering. And we fear millions more will be hurt before this crisis ends. They cannot wait until after the election for help.

A very valid point. It's hard to care about battleground polls, attack ads, and town halls when you're losing your job and your home.

US Senate newspaper endorsements

by: Scott Weingart

Mon Jun 02, 2008 at 10:10:58 AM EDT

Paper	Democratic	Republican
Jersey Journal	Andrews
Courier Post (Cherry Hill)	Andrews	Zimmer
New York Times	Lautenberg	Zimmer
Star Ledger	Andrews	Zimmer
Philadelphia Inquirer	Andrews	Zimmer
Gloucester County Times	Andrews
Bergen Record	Lautenberg	Zimmer
Herald News (Passaic County)	Lautenberg	Zimmer
Daily Record (Morris County)	Andrews	Pennacchio

If you know of any endorsements that we're missing, post them in the comments and we'll add them to the table.

New York Times Editorial Board Questions Andrews' Credibility

by: Nick Lento

Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 03:43:51 PM EDT

http://theboard.blogs.nytimes....

Friday, April 11, 2008
By: NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD

           For members of the House of Representatives, running for the Senate is a gamble. Senate and House elections are both held in even-numbered years, which means that to campaign for the Senate, a House member has to give up his seat.

           Or does he? That's what people are suddenly wondering in New Jersey.

           

For more, see below...

NYT: Investigate Chris Christie

by: Juan Melli

Thu Feb 14, 2008 at 11:11:42 AM EST

Alberto Gonzales may be out, but the country is still waiting for a full accounting of how he and his White House patrons cynically politicized the Justice Department. Congress is rightly asking questions about the actions of yet another United States attorney: New Jersey's Christopher J. Christie. The House also needs to stop procrastinating and vote to hold witnesses in contempt for refusing to testify in the wider scandal.

Federal prosecutors must be scrupulously nonpartisan. Mr. Christie, a Republican activist who got his job despite a lack of trial and criminal-law experience, has gone up to the line of acceptable behavior - and possibly crossed it.

He began an investigation of Senator Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, late in a hard-fought election campaign. The charges now appear baseless, but at the time the news provided a big boost to Mr. Menendez's Republican opponent. Mr. Christie went against a long Justice Department presumption against opening investigations or bringing indictments right before an election, to avoid affecting the outcome.

There are also questions about Mr. Christie's decision to award, without competitive bidding, a lucrative contract to monitor a company accused of consumer fraud. The winner? Former Attorney General John Ashcroft, an influential Republican who was once Mr. Christie's boss. Senate and House leaders have asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate.

NJ looking to change way electoral votes are given?

by: mconvente

Fri Jan 04, 2008 at 01:54:37 PM EST

There's a New York Times mini-article mentioning a proposal from the New Jersey Senate that would allot our 15 electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote - in effect, the candidate who wins New Jersey may not win their electoral votes.

NYT Profiles Jay Lassiter

by: Scott Shields

Mon Jul 02, 2007 at 06:45:00 AM EDT

It seems that the Jonathan Miller profile of our very own Mr. Lassiter set into motion a chain of events that led to the state police yanking his pass. They said that some had questioned if "too many people had gotten access to State House ID's."

Whatever. Long story short, Jay will still be reporting from Trenton, but only after going through the somewhat annoying process of getting a visitor's pass. (Thanks, Gray Lady...)

As Miller points out, Jay is part of the vanguard of bloggers joining traditional media to cover our statehouses as "blogger reporters." And as the recent press pass situation tells us, the political establishment hasn't quite wrapped it's head around the trend just yet.

We couldn't be more proud of Jay for going where no blogger has gone before, right down into the thick of things in Trenton. Here's hoping he's reporting from the capitol for some time to come.

*Update* (Jay): the article is now in the NYTimes Archive.  So if you don't wanna pay to get his scoop, follow the flip for the full text of the story.

'08 Will Be Tougher For NJ House Republicans

by: JRB

Fri Nov 24, 2006 at 11:51:21 PM EST

First, Tom Schaller writes in this month's The American Prospect:

[President Bush's] cowboy foreign policy, coupled with "big-government conservative" spending and governmental intrusions from the start of life (stem cells) to the end (Terry Schiavo), may have appealed to his southern base. The rest of the country, however, wasn't buying it. This November, since they could only vent their anger about the war in Iraq and the direction of the country on the nearest Republican, the non-Southerners voted out their own. The great irony of ... 2006 is that those largely Southern conservatives who were leading the Republican Party's downfall will survive to legislate another day, while many reluctant Rust Belt Republicans became unwitting victims....

G.O.P. leaders are preparing to walk away from their most basic constitutional responsibility - passing a budget. Instead of finishing work on government spending bills needed for the next year, they're reported to be planning nothing more than a cut-and-paste, short-term continuing resolution. That will allow them to run out early from their lame-duck session, leaving the mess to the incoming Democrats in January.

Stopgap resolutions create a budget autopilot that does not allow for shifting conditions and costs in education, housing and other major agencies. Administrators warn that it will cause cuts in school breakfasts and shelter for the poor. There is no need for this angst except that Republican strategists plotting a comeback clearly want to pour sand into the Democrats' agenda even before they take the gavel.

At times, Republicans like Rep. LoBiondo can be appreciated. He stood up to President Bush and the House Republicans when they repealed prevailing wages and worker protections after Hurricane Katrina. But his efforts took effect almost two months too late. Nevermind the fact that a Democratic Congress would have never let the repeal happen in the first place.

You and others were lousy at bringing your party back from the brink while you were in the majority. Think about what will happen if you are just as ineffective in the minority -- if you stand by while your leaders engage in petty antics to make governing the country even harder after the mess you made? People won't find your 'moderate' brand of Republicanism refreshing -- they will find it enabling.

If we can only expect more news like this, then call your friends on K Street, because you're soon to be out of a job.

NYT, Princeton Packet Endorse Stender

by: Juan Melli

Sat Oct 21, 2006 at 12:05:58 PM EDT

In the neighboring 7th Congressional District, which includes Montgomery and Rocky Hill, incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Ferguson continues to impress us with his sincerity, his principled stand on issues and his willingness, on occasion, to buck his party's leadership on matters ranging from gun control to the minimum wage.
  But on balance, Rep. Ferguson's principles tend to guide him toward policy positions that are out of step with those of his constituents. An implacable foe of abortion and embryonic stem-cell research, and a slavish defender of the Bush administration's rose-colored assessment of the war in Iraq, the three-term congressman is, in our view, out of the mainstream, even in the Republican-leaning 7th District.
  His opponent, Assemblywoman Linda Stender, a former mayor of Fanwood and Union County freeholder, rejects Rep. Ferguson's assertion that the U.S. forces are "making progress" in Iraq. She sensibly calls for diplomatic efforts to rebuild America's standing around the world, and to redouble our nation's efforts to achieve energy independence. She vows to fight against the GOP's assault on programs that provide assistance to the poor and the middle class, and to roll back tax cuts that have benefited only the wealthy.
  Assemblywoman Stender characterizes this race as "stay the course vs. change direction." We agree. We encourage voters who believe, as we do, that a change of direction in needed in Washington to elect Linda Stender to Congress.

New York Times endorsement isn't online yet.

Lazy NY Times

by: Juan Melli

Tue Sep 12, 2006 at 10:18:33 AM EDT

Hmmmm....is he an independent? I thought his dad was a Republican. Gee, I'm not so sure any more. Maybe we can figure this out by process of elimination. Let's check out that other guy...

Ahhh this one is sneaky, too! He almost got me with the smaller font, but if you're patient enough to read his logo all the way to the end, you can see where he grudgingly admits to being a Democrat. They must have shoehorned it in there, a technique the New York Times seems to be pretty good at.

Catch of the Day

by: Media In Trouble

Fri Apr 28, 2006 at 09:51:38 AM EDT

Today's NYTimes headline "G.O.P. Senators Hurry to Quell Furor Over Gas" is quite honest enough, though, it would have been more accurate to say something like "GOP Takes Senator Menendez's Plan and Pisses All Over It."

I refer to the fact that they want to relax environmental regulations, drill in ANWR (how many heads does this hydra have?), and despite lack of interest from oil companies, increase refining capacity. Oh they also want to send everyone a check for $100, which ought to play great in the Red States.

However, what really piqued my interest and basically made this the Catch of the Day was this statement:

In a proposal expected to draw significant opposition from the oil industry and perhaps the business community at large, the Republican plan would repeal a method of accounting for inventories, known as last in first out, or LIFO. The method, which is used in many industries, gives oil companies a chance to avoid some large capital gains taxes through its accounting of sales from inventory.

The Senate had previously considered a similar provision that would have prohibited major oil companies from using the LIFO method for one year. It was expected to raise about $5 billion, but it generated a storm of opposition from oil companies and Mr. Bush threatened to veto the bill unless lawmakers rejected it.

The new proposal would prevent all companies from using the LIFO method, not just oil companies, and the prohibition would be permanent, instead of limited to one year.

In the post I wrote yesterday, I included a press release from Senator Menendez which included this tidbit:

*LIFO – Oil & Gas.*
Under current law, businesses are generally permitted to use a last-in, first-out (LIFO) method to account for their inventories. This allows companies to create a tax advantage during times of rising prices. This proposal limits the tax benefits of this LIFO method of accounting for integrated oil companies with gross receipts in excess of $1 billion.

So, Carl Hulse, is this part of the Republican plan? Or part of Senator Menendez's plan?