New N.J. weekly paper bets on appeal of print, local news
MONTCLAIR, N.J. — In a newsroom wedged into a Montclair storefront, reporters worked on stories about the contentious issues driving the conversation around town, such as a property reassessment that could affect taxes, and testing in the public schools. An editor read through submissions for a St. Patrick’s Day limerick contest. And Kevin Meacham, the newspaper’s top editor, was in his office, looking at a mock-up of a front page on his computer.
The team of journalists was preparing to publish the second issue of The Montclair Local.
Last month, the weekly newspaper arrived for the first time in mailboxes around town. A local family decided to pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into starting a news organization, hiring reporters to cover zoning board meetings and high-school wrestling tournaments and whatever else residents in the New Jersey suburb care about.
The investment — by a software engineer who studied artificial intelligence, no less — seems like a quixotic one when so many newspapers are struggling and many readers prefer to catch up on town news on Facebook. But the engineer, Heeten Choxi, whose journalism experience was limited to a middle school newspaper, believes there is no better way than print to deliver local news.
“It looks beautiful,” Choxi, who has lived in Montclair for three years, said as he flipped through a copy of the first issue. “News tends to be more fragmented,” he added, referring to social media. “You find out about topics you’re already looking for. You don’t get that same broad exposure to all the different things happening in town.”
The debut has touched off a modern version of an oldfashioned newspaper war, with a fledgling independent newcomer pitting itself against a community staple, printed since 1877, that has had cuts in coverage and staffing after it was bought by a major publishing company.
The Montclair Local arrives at what some view as a potential watershed moment for journalism, as the animosity President Donald Trump’s administration has directed at the news media has injected new vigor into a beleaguered industry. Major news organizations like The New York Times and The Washington Post have seen surges in subscriptions.
The new newspaper is an audacious bet that a renewed interest in journalism can trickle down to the community level. And if any place can support such an endeavor, it is Montclair.
“I don’t think I would have done it in any of the other towns I’ve lived in,” Choxi, who, with his wife, ThallaMarie, is The Local’s publisher, said in the newspaper’s office, as his daughter played in the backroom. “I feel like Montclair is a town that really does value having its people be informed and engaged.”
Montclair, a town of 37,000 people in Essex County, is a 20-mile drive from New York City, with streets lined with colonial homes set back on tidy lawns and walkable strips of small businesses. Residents brag about the absence of drive-thrus and strip malls that are fixtures elsewhere in New Jersey.
The community is known for its affluence, diversity and liberal politics, and for the large flow of commuters to jobs in newsrooms, television studios and publishing offices in New York City.
“Some people would argue that what happens on the local basis is more important than what happens on the national basis,” said Linda Moss, a reporter who covers municipal government, a beat she once had for The Montclair Times.
She noted that Montclair has among the highest property taxes in the state, and that she knew from experience readers cared about education and public safety. “These are things that hit home for people every day,” she said, “and these are the things we’re writing about and focusing on.”
Journalism’s struggles have been acutely felt in New Jersey, where the press corps covering the state government in Trenton has dwindled in recent years, and in the northern part of the state, newspapers, including The Star-Ledger and The New York Times, have reduced their staffs and their coverage.
Last year, the North Jersey Media Group, which includes The Record and a constellation of community newspapers, like The Montclair Times and The Nutley Sun, was sold to the Gannett Co. by the family that had owned The Record since 1930. Staff reductions soon followed.
Rick Green, the editor and vice president of content for the North Jersey Media Group, acknowledged some tumult as the news organization reorganized its staff, but he argued that it had continued to provide robust news coverage in print and online. He believed The Montclair Times was wellpositioned.
“Competition is good for everyone involved,” Green said. “It sharpens our skills, it makes us better and ultimately, the reader benefits from that competition.” He added: “I know we’ve been there for a long time, with a great track record, and we’re committed to doing journalism that makes a difference in Montclair.”
Choxi has hired seven journalists, most of whom either lost their jobs at the North Jersey Media Group or left voluntarily. A subscription costs $12 a year, and he is aiming to sign up 6,000 subscribers. “We want it to grow,” he said. “We want it to be sustainable. But it’s not about making money for us.”
The first issue of The Local was published on March 9 and mailed to every home address in town. Its motto: “Objectively Informing, Sparking Dialogue, and Building Community.” There were front page stories about a ShopRite store possibly moving into a shopping center and the public school budget.
A rare nod to the world beyond Montclair was a story on residents “keeping up the ‘resistance’” with letter-writing campaigns and organizing dinners with Syrian refugees.
It was met with positive reviews on community Facebook groups. At least one person who stopped by the newsroom had intended to go to a neighboring insurance office. But there were others who bought subscriptions or wanted to offer praise in person.