Newark Star-Ledger

Eric Kallgren    Boulder, Colorado USA

Posted at 10:42pm on Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

A group of former Star-Ledger journalists have started a web site to compete with their former employer, Editor & Publisher reported on April 27, 2009:

"So what do you do when you have lots of newspaper experience and a year's salary from a recent buyout at The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.?

You start a Website.

That seems to be the view of some 40 former Star-Ledger staffers who took the lucrative early retirement last fall and have since banded together to form newjerseynewsroom.com.

"We had started talking about doing this even before the buyouts were made," said Matt Romanoski, who spent five years at the paper, leaving as deputy sports editor. "There were several people involved early on."

The buyouts were among 151 in the Star-Ledger's 330-person newsroom last fall. They occurred after the paper threatened to close or sell if cost-cutting was not achieved.

The Web site launched two weeks ago and is headed by three former veterans of the Advance Publications daily - Romanoski, Garrett Morrison, and Andrew Lagomarsino."

Eric Kallgren    Boulder, Colorado USA

Posted at 6:20pm on Thursday, February 19th, 2009

February 18, 2009: The Star-Ledger will share content with four other newspapers in the region. From the press release:

"Five major newspapers in the northeast today announced an agreement to share editorial content. The New York Daily News, Albany Times Union, The Record (Bergen Co., NJ), The Buffalo News, and The Star-Ledger have formed the Northeast Consortium, a cooperative arrangement that will enhance each publication's coverage in the region by exchanging articles, photographs and graphics among the newspapers.

Jim Willse, editor of The Star-Ledger, said, "The consortium is an opportunity for strong newspapers to become even stronger by sharing coverage. We look forward to contributing and receiving a variety of great stories."

Heather Sickels    Boulder, CO

Posted at 3:18pm on Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

Taken from an online New York Times articles published January 18, 2009--

"But among the 20 highest-circulation newspapers in the United States, 19 have changed their top editors in this decade — several of them more than once. The lone exception is The Star-Ledger, in New Jersey, whose editor, James P. Willse, has had his job since 1995."

Eric Kallgren    Boulder, Colorado USA

Posted at 3:24pm on Thursday, November 20th, 2008

In yet another story of the woes of the newspaper business, Joe Strupp wrote at the Editor & Publisher web site on November 19, 2008 about cutbacks at The Newark Star-Ledger:

"When a newspaper cuts its staff, those who remain in the depleted newsroom become valuable. But as The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. slowly says farewell to 151 newsroom folks who took buyouts last month, at least two longtime journalists have been reassigned to the mailroom.

"Reporter Jason Jett and Assistant Deputy Photo Editor Mitchell Seidel have been filing, sorting, and delivering mail for more than a week, according to sources.

"Jett and Seidel, who could not be reached for comment, apparently declined to take one of the buyouts offered this fall as part of a companywide move to cut costs.

"Publisher George Arwady threatened to sell or close the Advance Publications daily last summer if at least 200 buyouts were not taken and new deals forged with two unions.

"In the end, the buyouts were met, with 151 of the newsroom's 330 staffers taking them, along with other non-newsroom employees. In recent weeks, news folks have been leaving little by little, with all of those taking buyouts expected to depart by the end of the year."