"Right now there are no plans to lay people off"

by: Jason Springer

Wed Jan 13, 2010 at 10:30:00 AM EST

A memo to staffers Monday from Publisher Richard Vezza, who took over at the beginning of 2010, states that the pledge would be lifted as of that date. Former Publisher George Arwady, who left in December to take the publisher post at The Republican in Springfield, Mass., announced last August that the pledge would be lifted.

"They had announced it to give everyone time to be aware of it," Vezza said. "Nothing is going to happen at the Ledger on Feb. 5." But Vezza did not rule out further job cuts later in the year: "I don't know, I have been there a week and I have to go in and get a look at the budget, and do my own budget. But right now there are no plans to lay people off."

New Publisher announced at the Star Ledger

by: Jason Springer

Wed Dec 16, 2009 at 01:30:00 PM EST

A native of Union City, the 61-year-old Vezza began his journalism career in 1974 as a night police reporter for The Hudson Dispatch in Hudson County. After working as an editor and publisher at several New Jersey papers, he joined The Star-Ledger's sister company, Penn Jersey Advance, in 2000 as its president.

Vezza told The Star-Ledger Tuesday that he envisioned it remaining as a daily newspaper and is not planning any major changes, despite continuing troubles in the newspaper industry.

Vezza will assume his new role on Jan. 1.

NJ Marine comes home to jubilant, relieved family

by: Rosi Efthim

Mon Dec 14, 2009 at 10:14:15 PM EST

NJ Marine returns home from Afghanistan

Star Ledger sees 22% drop in daily, 18.5% drop in Sunday circulation

by: Jason Springer

Tue Oct 27, 2009 at 12:30:00 PM EDT

Daily at The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J., dropped 22.2% to 246,006 and 18.5% on Sunday to 371,060.

Still more cuts coming at the Star Ledger

by: Jason Springer

Wed Oct 14, 2009 at 01:15:00 PM EDT

To: Full-Time Employees

From: George Arwady

Subject: VOLUNTARY BUYOUT OFFER

Consistent with my updates to you, the revenue situation at our newspaper has worsened this year, and we expect a further significant revenue decline next year.

We are working on the budget for 2010, and it is clear that we must reduce our staff significantly to offset the continuing steep decline in revenue. My best estimate is that the full-time workforce must be reduced by at least 50 people.

Accordingly, we are announcing another voluntary buyout offer. Full-time, non-represented employees can apply to receive 2 weeks' pay for every year of completed service, capped at 26 weeks' pay, along with medical coverage for the severance period. The newspaper reserves the right to reject applications based upon business needs.

We sincerely hope that we meet our staffing goals through this voluntary buyout offer. If we do not, we will need to resort to other ways of reducing our employee costs, which could include involuntary layoffs.

NJ Media Watchdog Series: "Fair and Balanced" instead of the real story at the Star-Ledger

by: Adam L

Mon Sep 21, 2009 at 02:00:00 PM EDT

There is one huge pet peeve that I have when it comes to the traditional media, and it is traced directly back to FOX News and its nonsensical "fair and balanced" meme.  This falsely presents a story as "one side against the other" as opposed to actually, you know, reporting the facts as is without having it become a "he said/she said" partisan matter.  

Yes, some things are truly partisan matters, and having each "side" give their story or quote give the story "balance" but usually it is at the expense of actual and true events.  There may be 2 "sides" to a story, but generally to me, the 2 sides are "facts" and "not facts".  The facts can be spun or presented as partisan, but oftentimes that is just one side trying to explain away or cloud the actual truths and events as something that has 2 equal cases for.  

While climate change or torture are perfect examples - 2 things that really are not up for debate, but are serious issues that have been reduced to "supporters of climate change evidence" or "opponents of torture" - it happens on a much wider scale as well.  And while many many newspapers and media outlets have been reduced to "here is an issue, get a quote from both sides", the Star Ledger has been downplaying many of the pretty serious conflicts of interest that Chris Christie has been involved with.

There certainly are some issues that are not as "big" as others, but when major actual conflicts are turned into a partisan issue, it does a huge disservice to the story, the truth and most importantly, to the voters - especially when Christie's entire campaign is based on the one premise that he is a non corrupt "crime buster" and he hasn't had anything of substance to add which isn't already a failed republican idea.

I'll point out a few cases below:

Here is an article from this past April that is about the contributions from Herb Stern's law firm - a firm that Christie gave a $3 million no bid deal to while he was US Attorney.  Since Christie is running on a platform of ethics and has decried pay-to-play, this is a really huge deal.  Yet, the headline, Foes see tarnish on Christie's sparkling image, paints this as a partisan political issue as opposed to an ethical lapse (to say the least) on Christie's part.

When it came to Christie's discussions with Karl Rove - what certainly looks like a violation of the Hatch Act, the Star Ledger posted a number of articles on this.  However, they were positioned as a partisan issue, as opposed to actually looking into the allegations of the Hatch Act violation - not even discussing what the Hatch Act violation was and why this was potentially serious.  Here are the headlines after the first one on August 11 notes that Christie and Rove spoke: Gov. Corzine says Christie, Rove talks cast doubt on tenure of former US Attorney (August 12),   Gov. Corzine wants GOP challenger Chris Christie to explain Rove talks (August 13), GOP candidate Chris Christie says nothing illegal about governor race talks with Karl Rove (August 17) and then when Federal authorities declined to honor the nonpartisan watchdog CREW's request to investigate based on the fact that it had no jurisdiction to punish Christie if he did violate the Hatch Act, the article Federal authorities will not investigate Chris Christie's discussions with Karl Rove painted this as a partisan matter - noting that "Democrats and CREW" made the charges, even though it was CREW who filed the complaint.

Time and time again, stories come out that show an abuse of power on Christie's part.  And time and time again, the Star Ledger neglects to do basic journalism and research in order to find the real story.  In the interest of lazy journalism, we get a quote from each side, but nothing that even begins to tell the full and real story.

Now, I don't know if this is because the reporters are overwhelmed, if this is a directive from their bosses or if it is the basic state of mainstream journalism now (I hope it isn't this one).  But it does show that the facts get blurred, obscured and buried time and time again for a story of "partisan bickering".

No wonder NJ voters are sick of partisan bickering - that is how every story is presented, in a dumbed down version that leaves out the most important information.

Part Two of Blue Jersey's NJ Media Watchdog Series on the state's press hits tomorrow morning, with another look at Star Ledger's coverage of the NJ Governor's race, on the implications of Christie's loan to a former underling, and his conduct during interaction with the police during a traffic accident.

Media Criticism Gets You Banned at Star Ledger

by: Winston Smith

Fri Aug 28, 2009 at 12:25:12 PM EDT

I try to emulate his approach in holding NJ media accountable.

So here's a story I'd like to share.

After publishing my Op-Ed piece "No Teeth In 'Tough" Pollution Law" in October 2006, (see: http://www.peer.org/docs/nj/07... )  Star Ledger editors invited me to blog at their site, NJ Voices.

I published scores of stories there that focused on environmental issues. Several posts were critical of media coverage of environmental issues, particularly for failure to cover policy stories out of Trenton and hold DEP accountable. (see: http://blog.nj.com/njv_bill_wo... ).

So you could say I stepped on a lot of toes.

But my NJ Voices blog was terminated by Star Ledger editors without warning in June 2009 after posting about the debate on the Lieberman bill and Obama  efforts to suppress the torture photo's. Editors agreed that I had not violated the user agreement, copyright laws, or posted inappropriate material. They explained the termination as related to trust and my failure to seek the pre-publication review of controversial material - even though pre-publication review was not even mentioned in the user agreement. This was obviously a pretext, so I think much more was going on, and that this controversial post was the last straw.

Well yesterday, after posting the below comment, I was banned from even posting comments there.

As you can see, all I was trying to do was emulate Greenwald's approach in holding media accountable - ironically, my post was on a column about searching for voices of reason in the health care debate:

Posted by nohesitation on 08/25/09 at 8:06PM

Perhaps the media has a responsibility and a role to evaluate the various "claims" against facts in search of truth. Oh, but this might take some real work and anger powerful interests (insurance, big Pharma, et al).

Instead, seeking "balance", the media portrays the debate" as a "he said she said". The "intelligent design" advocates and global warming denial "science" claims fit this dynamic - they manufacture false debates - e.g. claiming there is a valid scientific debate on evolution.

The media has abdicated its responsiblity. This enables lies and propaganda to flourish.

The swiftboat operation of the anti-health care forces is a sophisticated campaign - Town Hells. There are plenty of facts already in the public record to support the fact that organized economic forces are inhtentionally poisoning and polarizing the debate to scare and manipulate well meaning but poorly informed people (e.g. the death panels, et al)

Yet, media can't seem to call them out for it.

This column is a perfect illustration of this failure.

Very "balanced".

Highly irresponsible.

Star Ledger Stenography

by: Jason Springer

Wed Jul 08, 2009 at 10:00:00 AM EDT

The internal memo from the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services, dated July 6, lists programs for education, unemployment insurance, transportation and other areas that required the state to meet certain standards to receive money from President Obama's $787 billion recovery plan.

"This partisan report doesn't change the fact that stimulus money with strings attached leads to mandated programs that will continue even when the federal money runs out," Christie spokeswoman Maria Comella said.

The media has an extremely vital role to play, but they have to make sure they report past the talking points. Especially if the talking points completely contradict the story they've already told. I would hope for more in future stories, because Christie will continue to do this if sees he can get away with it.

Star Ledger on Garrett

by: johnconstantine

Mon Jul 06, 2009 at 10:49:06 PM EDT

Today's Star Ledger features an inaccurate "puff piece" profile of Scott Garrett.

http://blog.nj.com/njv_bob_bra...

The writer, Bob Braun, goes as far as saying that Garrett, "has a reputation as pro-conservation," which is utterly dishonest. He receieved a 0% rating by the LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS! He also thinks global warming is a hoax.

Braun sums up Garrett's political philosophy in the sentence, "People should neither blame others for their problems, nor expect others to solve those problems." While that is a good philosophy in general, it is a horrible philosophy for someone whose job is enacting laws to HELP people with problems they can't solve on their own.

Another guiding political philosophy Garrett mentions in the article is that "good people" make a good society...

I think Scott Garrett just discovered the solution to world hunger, draught, and the Middle East conflict - Good People!

When a town loses a newspaper

by: Jason Springer

Tue Mar 24, 2009 at 10:45:00 AM EDT

A glimpse into what might happen has been offered up by a new study out of Princeton University. Assistant Professor of economics and public affairs Sam Schulhofer-Wohl and Miguel Garrido looked at communities affected by the closing of the Cincinnati Post at the end of 2007, and it's not an attractive view.

The study is very small in scope, since the Post had a total of only 27,000 subscribers in Cincinnati and northern Kentucky. And it measures only the outcomes in northern Kentucky, since Ohio has not had municipal elections since the Post's closure. But even with those limitations, a few trends seemed to emerge: in towns the Post regularly covered, voter turnout dropped, fewer people ran for office and more incumbents were reelected. That is, when there were fewer stories about a given town, its inhabitants seemed to care less about how they're being governed.

In the only possible hint of a bright spot, it seemed that smaller towns were much less affected by newspaper closures than larger ones. Voter turnout in the smaller communities did not change.

While the study only looked at one newspaper, if the larger findings hold true, it?s not just areas in which a newspaper folds that will be affected. Municipalities covered by newspapers that have sharply scaled-back newsrooms, such as the Newark Star-Ledger, may also see similar trends emerging, because the papers simply cannot cover as much local news as they had previously.

the latest setback for the Star-Ledger newsroom, which has already seen the cutback of 131 staffers through buyouts last fall; threats of closure; and the merging of its statehouse bureau with longtime rival The Record of Hackensack.

In the Princeton study, they started with the quote, "Give light and the people will find their own way." That light certainly isn't as bright anymore making it much harder for people to see.

Record and Ledger combine State House bureau

by: Jason Springer

Sat Feb 21, 2009 at 02:24:26 PM EST

The editors said the new arrangement made sense in an age when budget cuts, even before the current recession, have forced newspapers around the country to dramatically reduce reporting staffs. In December, several Star-Ledger reporters left the Trenton bureau as part of a sweeping buyout program.

"At a time when newspapers have had to cut back news staffs, this cooperation allows us to pool resources and better serve all our readers," said Jim Willse, the editor of The Star-Ledger, in a prepared statement.

Frank Scandale, editor of The Record, said, "Sharing coverage while maintaining two distinct news operations is a common-sense response to the changing media landscape."

While the move creates the largest Statehouse bureau in the nation, it further reduces the competition on Press Row that once drove coverage of state government news.

The Ledger and The Trenton Times, both owned by the Newhouse family, had previously combined their Statehouse bureaus. The New York Times recently shut its three-person bureau. Gannett, which owns the Asbury Park Press, The Courier Post, The Home News Tribune and The Courier News, reduced its Statehouse bureau to two from six.

Star Ledger shrinks paper again

by: Jason Springer

Tue Feb 03, 2009 at 12:15:00 PM EST

Just two weeks after raising its newstand price, The Star-Ledger announced in today's editions that it eliminated its New Jersey news and Today features sections on Mondays.

The Ledger said shrinking the newspaper to two sections on Monday was designed to "streamline" its production process and "provide what we believe is a more efficient start-of-the-week newspaper with a full sports report."

In its front-page announcement, the newspaper said some material in the Monday Today section had been eliminated, such as the bridge column and syndicated columnists Dear Abby and Dr. Donohue, which will run Tuesdays through Sunday.

Quote of the Day: Not enough news to keep us busy

by: Jason Springer

Thu Dec 04, 2008 at 09:48:07 PM EST

He says not much will be lost in terms of covering specific members of Congress, since the paper decided several years ago to forego comprehensive reporting on the delegation in favor of beat coverage. Scott Orr covered technology and Robert Cohen tracked the Food and Drug Administration and the pharmaceutical industry. Both beats are important to New Jersey. "Frankly, the delegation doesn't produce enough news to keep two reporters busy," Willse says. "In our case, I would say that less than 20 percent of their work time was devoted to a kind of classic regional reporting. But pharmaceuticals is a big local industry, so in a sense it's regional reporting."

Gannett announces cuts including 2/3 of Statehouse staff

by: Jason Springer

Tue Dec 02, 2008 at 03:30:48 PM EST

Gannett (GCI), the largest newspaper publisher in the U.S., reported Q3 revenue of $1.6 billion, a decrease of 11% over the year, while meeting analysts? expectations. EPS of $0.76 was lower than the market?s expectations of $0.78 and was down 25% over the year.

Gannett Co. Inc. is eliminating positions today at six newspapers in New Jersey due to declining advertising revenues and the severe economic downturn afflicting the state and the nation.

The company began notifying the affected employees this morning at the Asbury Park Press, the Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, the Home News Tribune in East Brunswick, the Courier News in Bridgewater, the Daily Record in Parsippany and the Daily Journal in Vineland

The latest casualties to media cutbacks are four Gannett New Jersey statehouse reporters: Tom Baldwin, Michael Rispoli, Lisa Ryan, and Greg Volpe.  That cuts Gannett?s statehouse bureau from six reporters to two, with only Bob Ingle and Michael Symons surviving the budget cuts.

But Farmer told me newspapers are carefully edited

by: Jason Springer

Fri Nov 28, 2008 at 09:14:32 AM EST

Q: Speaking of change, you're taking over at this newspaper at a time when the newspaper industry is changing. People can go on the internet to get their opinions, to express their opinions. A lot of people say there's no need for a newspaper editorial board or opinion pages anymore. How do you feel about that?

A: Well, I hope they're very wrong. I think a very strong case can be made for newspapers and the public need of them. The problem with information on the internet is that it is unvetted, unedited, it's raw data in half the cases. As it was described by one executive, it can be "a cesspool."

  The difference is, what appears in newspapers, in both the news and editorial sections, has been researched, carefully edited, usually through more than one hand. It's dicey proposition and with all of that we still make mistakes. But we're a hell of a lot better than the internet.

Financial ills plague New Jersey's hospitals
Wednesday, November 26, 2008

PRINCETON BOROUGH -- NRG Energy said Monday its board rejected Exelon's unsolicited buyout offer, saying it "significantly undervalues" the company. It recommended its shareholders not tender their shares for the deal.

Chicago-based Exelon took its buyout offer directly to shareholders earlier this month, offering them 0.485 of its own stock for each NRG share.

One Editorial Board Member left standing at Star Ledger

by: Jason Springer

Mon Nov 24, 2008 at 11:10:06 PM EST

As The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. cuts 40% of its news staff through buyouts, it's also losing almost its entire editorial board, according to John Farmer, the new editorial page editor.

Farmer, a 26-year veteran of the paper, confirmed that all but one board member had taken the buyout.

Those include: Fran Dauth, former editorial page editor; Josh McMahon, Op-Ed page editor; Debra Jerome Cohen, deputy editorial page editor; board member Paul Wycoff; Joan Whitlow, columnist and board member; and Fran Wood, columnist and board member.

"I am going to have to rebuild all of it," Farmer, 78, said about the editorial board. "I don't look forward to that. I am losing some really good people."

The Chris Christie love fest continues

by: Jason Springer

Mon Nov 24, 2008 at 01:29:22 PM EST

It seems U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie has become the political equivalent of the popular girl everyone wants to take to the prom.

Christie proved himself a man of conviction

Mr. Christie to the rescue?

Is it Christie's time?

Christie Gives Notice, and G.O.P. Gains Hope

An impressive resume

U.S. Attorney Steps Down in New Jersey, With a Record Disproving Early Critics

No easy road for Christie (Don't let the headline mislead you here.  The APP says that Christie has been a godsend as U.S. attorney and that he could be a transformative governor.)

Poll: Corzine doesn't deserve re-election

The Shrinking Star Ledger

by: Jason Springer

Sat Oct 25, 2008 at 12:11:10 AM EDT

The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., will reduce its newsroom staff by nearly half through voluntary buyouts as New Jersey's largest newspaper seeks to return to profitability.

Jim Willse, the Star-Ledger's editor, said Friday that the newspaper accepted 151 buyout offers from its news staff, or about 45 percent of its 334 editorial employees. He said 17 buyout applications were rejected.

Some staffers already have left, and others are leaving by year's end, many after the elections.

"We've got from now to the end of the year to figure out what adjustments we have to make," Willse said. "We will be able to produce an abundance of good stories. We will still have a good paper but we have to figure out exactly how to accomplish that."

Willse said the paper has no plans to pull back its coverage or circulation area following the staff reductions. He said he did not know whether the newspaper would need to expand the use of freelancers, who now write food, travel and other items.

This is a serious problem across the industry and although I joke, we are the ones who lose out in the end with less in depth and far reaching coverage. They may want to provide the same product, but it will be much more difficult without the resources to make it happen.

Star Ledger won't be sold, Editor talks about the Future

by: Jason Springer

Wed Oct 08, 2008 at 02:06:39 PM EDT

The agreement with the drivers union means that the paper likely will go forward with the buyouts. The paper's officials did not respond to requests for comment on the total size of the paper's staff, but the buyout is likely to significantly reduce the size of the paper's editorial operations, according to sources inside the paper.

Ledger Live - 10-08-08

The Cupboard is getting bare

by: Jason Springer

Wed Oct 01, 2008 at 03:11:20 PM EDT

Sources familiar with the Star-Ledger newsroom say that Robert Schwaneberg, Joe Donohue, Rick Hepp, Dunstan McNichol, Kate Coscarelli, Matt Reilly and Tom Hester Sr. are among the veteran reporters who have accepted a buyout agreement.   Josh Margolin, Claire Heininger, Susan Livio and Tom Martello are part of the group that will stay on.