What a “free press”–pause here for laughter–means to Newark: Cowardice
For the first time in nearly two centuries, Newark–the largest city in the eighth largest state in America–will not be home to a daily newspaper. After Sept. 8, The Star-Ledger will move its operations to Woodbridge and Edison, leaving the city newspaperless for the first time since the Daily Advertiser opened in the city in 1832. That’s a big story but government-controlled media in New Jersey won’t allow a discussion of it. NJTV News–your public broadcast station–chickened out.
The implications for the city and the state are worth some comment, but, by and large, the escape of The Star-Ledger to the suburbs has gone unnoticed. That’s why it seemed such a good idea for NJTV News, or whatever the allegedly public television station is called now, scheduled a show next week on the implications of the move.
Guy Sterling, a long-time Star-Ledger reporter and Newark resident, was scheduled to be on the show–now there’s a guy who could talk about the city and its news coverage. Joan Whitlow, another veteran of the newspaper, a Newark columnist, and a city resident, also was invited, but had a conflict. I was invited, too, and I accepted, eager to discuss what had been my professional home since 1964, before much of the current management was born. To replace Ms. Whitlow, Guy and I both put forward the name of Stanley Terrell, a great reporter, columnist, editorial writer, city resident, and hero of the uprising at Rahway State Prison.
None of us was bothered when we were told the management of the newspaper would be asked to send a representative–but we didn’t know whether management would send someone. Leaving Newark is, well, an indelicate issue–but I thought, hell, Guy and Stanley and I all love the newspaper and we certainly would not make any of our former colleagues feel uncomfortable. Guy thought no one would show; I thought someone would.
Guy was right. The newspaper declined to have a current employee represent the newspaper on Michael Aron’s “Off the Record”–oh, I am sorry, that’s “On the What a “free press”–pause here for laughter–means to Newark: Cowardice | Bob Braun's Ledger: