By: Joe Strupp Since New Jersey's two largest papers -- The Record of Hackensack and The Star-Ledger of Newark -- announced last week plans to combine their statehouse bureaus, questions have been raised about how the two longtime rivals will work together.
Several staffers have contacted E&P, requesting anonymity, to offer concerns that the two rival newsrooms will have difficulty working together. Others wondered how assignments would be handled and determined between the two top editors.
Publishers from both papers issued a joint statement Wednesday in response to E&P inquiries on the subject. It seeks to promote the move as a positive for each paper and readers.
George Arwady of the Star-Ledger and Stephen Borg of The Record stated: "We believe this endeavor serves our readers better by maximizing resources. Before this agreement, in many instances Star-Ledger and Record reporters would be covering the same state governmental departments and topics while other areas and departments either got little or no coverage from either paper. We now will be able to coordinate assignments to avoid certain agencies not being covered at all and other agencies receiving duplicate coverage."
(Their entire statement is posted below)
Record Editor Frank Scandale declined to comment, while Star-Ledger Editor Jim Willse said only "I'll just let time answer that question."
The move comes after the Star-Ledger cut 151 of its 330-person newsroom jobs last fall through buyouts, including seven of the 11 statehouse bureau staffers. Both papers said the new combined statehouse bureau will have at least 11 people.
The entire Arwady/Borg statement follows:
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The goal of the combined Trenton bureau of the Star-Ledger and The Record is to maximize reporting coverage of the State of New Jersey and maintain the high quality of coverage our readers expect.
Today?s economic climate has caused many newspapers, including our own, to implement cost cutting measures. Our Trenton cooperation is an innovative way to maximize the news resources of both papers in the face of these economic realities. Neither paper has eliminated or plans to eliminate staff as a result of this action.
The result of this cooperative effort will be the most comprehensive statehouse coverage in the country. We will have individual reporters dedicated to important areas such as, but not limited to, the Department of Youth and Family Services, the Governor?s office, the state budget, law enforcement, the judiciary, the legislature and transportation.
We believe this endeavor serves our readers better by maximizing resources. Before this agreement, in many instances Star-Ledger and Record reporters would be covering the same state governmental departments and topics while other areas and departments either got little or no coverage from either paper. We now will be able to coordinate assignments to avoid certain agencies not being covered at all and other agencies receiving duplicate coverage.
We are not the first newspapers to cooperate in state coverage. Because this effort is new to both of us, we plan to learn from those ahead of us.
Both papers service different geographies within New Jersey. The Star-Ledger?s core circulation area consists of Essex, Morris, Union, and Somerset. The Record?s core circulation area is Bergen and Passaic counties. As such, we see our different readers and the residents throughout these six counties benefiting from this partnership.
George Arwady
Publisher
Star-Ledger
Stephen Borg
Publisher
The Record
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