Longtime Weekly NJ Newspaper Chain, Hudson Reporter, Announces Closing

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — In a New Jersey county known for its heated politics, the longtime Hudson Reporter weekly newspaper group was a steady presence since the 1980s. But Friday afternoon, the group's owners told the staff via a Zoom call that the papers would shut down.

[UPDATE: Other weeklies have also shut down in NJ; click here for more.]

Two reporters at the chain said on Friday that the reason given was "revenue vs. expenses."

Reporter Daniel Israel, who had worked for the chain for more than two years, said Friday there was no advance notice given of the layoffs, and no severance pay offered.

Jordan Coll, who was hired three months ago to cover Hoboken and Jersey City, said in a phone call with Patch on Friday that the announcement was a "bit of a shock."

Coll said that the staff was asked to participate in the call at 2:30 on Friday, after their weekly editorial meeting.

The chain had included the Hoboken Reporter and Bayonne Community News, covering news in Hoboken, Bayonne, Jersey City, North Bergen, Union City, and other nearby towns.

Readers were saddened by the news Friday, with one commenting on Facebook, "Oh no. Where will I post my husband’s memorial every year for his anniversary. Sad great little paper."

Another wrote, "Democracy is weakened without strong local journalism."

Among other investigative stories, in 2018 the paper tracked down the source of false national stories that were spread about the newly elected mayor, claiming he had canceled Christmas because of his religious background.

The newspaper group was founded in 1983 by Hoboken-based real estate developer Joseph Barry as Hoboken began revitalizing, then sold to his two partners in 1999. Co-owners Lucha Malato and David Unger shepherded the chain through a time of growth for the county, but sold it to Newspaper Media Group in 2018.

The new owners undertook three rounds of layoffs, thinning the staff to two reporters for New Jersey's most densely populated county, located directly across the Hudson River from New York City.

On Friday, the owners told the reporters, sales staff, and art staff that the chain would close, staff said.

Newspaper Media Group also runs several weekly papers in Central New Jersey.

Coll, who will graduate from Columbia Journalism School this spring, said he has always believed in the importance of journalism, and has worked on several investigative series, including as a writer for the Miami Herald.

"I was looking for a publication for over a year," Coll said Friday. "I applied to like 80 jobs. The Hudson Reporter ended up finding me. It was great."

Recently, he had filed important stories on proposed changes to Hoboken's Rent Control Ordinance, and other matters.

Reporters often relied on the Hudson Reporter's online archives to verify facts about the county's political history.

The chain was also a training ground for several reporters and editors who went into long media careers. NJ Spotlight's David Cruz Tweeted:

Coll, who lives in Jersey City, said, "Doing the work we do is not for the faint of heart. But if done properly it can change the world for the better."

"We're the kind of business that the public takes for granted," said a former staffer, "when they're not hating us. But we're their link to the truth."

General Manager Brandon Chamberlain did not respond to a message from Patch.

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