The Illuminated Donkey

Why the Jersey Journal’s Hurting. An excerpt from a letter from music critic Jim DeRogatis (author of the excellent Let It Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs) about the decline of local, mid-sized newspapers and my new home city (from Jim Romanesko’s Media News).

The Journal's troubles stem from the fact that tens of thousands of new, younger residents [of Jersey City] — whatever language they speak — do not realize the importance of following the news in their own backyards. They read The New York Times or The Daily News, or they watch the New York television stations or Spanish broadcasts on WNJU, and they ignore events that happen on their own front stoops. This chronic disconnectedness from the immediate community is what's hurting the Journal, just as it's hurting countless other mid-sized papers across the country, to say nothing of the hundreds that have already folded. It is in fact the overwhelming problem in journalism today, where we have come to care more about the doings of Madonna and O.J. than the vital issues that affect our schools, our taxes, our everyday safety, and the quality of life on our streets. There is one more lesson for Generations X and Y to learn from The Jersey Journal, if it isn't already too late.