The Hudson Reporter, a local weekly newspaper that has covered all 12 municipalities in the county for the past 40 years, is abruptly closing at the end of today.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“It is with great sadness that I announce the Bayonne Community News and Hudson Reporter is no longer publishing. Today was me and my colleagues’ last day. We were told it was due to a ‘revenue versus expenses’ situation. The papers will no longer be published online nor in print,” staff writer Daniel Israel tweeted.
“It was my honor to write for Bayonne for the past three years as the last Staff Writer for the paper. I look forward to staying involved in the community and what future endeavors bring me. I wish the best of luck to my former colleagues Editor Gene Ritchings, Staff Writer Jordan Coll, Art Director Terri Bish, Ad Manager Tish Kraszyk, Senior Account Executive Ron Kraszyk, Bookeeper Sharon Metro, and Art Director Mary Helen Fink. Thank you to all the readers and I look forward to sharing my work from a new place soon!”
Israel additionally told HCV that no one on staff was offered any severance pay.
The Hudson Reporter was founded in 1983 by Hoboken-based developer Joe Barry and was sold to the Lucha Malato and David Unger in 1999.
Their office was located at 14th and Washington Streets in Hoboken between 1995 and 2016, when they relocated to 447 Broadway in Bayonne. They later moved nearby to 166-168 Broadway in the summer of June 2021.
The paper was sold to the Cherry Hill-based Newspaper Media Group, a publisher of over 50 weekly newspapers, on June 10th, 2018.
The weekly newspaper, which also featured stories at hudsonreporter.com, had eight different editions: The Bayonne Community News, The Hoboken Reporter, The Jersey City Reporter, The North Bergen Reporter, The Secaucus Reporter, The Weehawken Reporter, The West New York Reporter and The Union City Reporter.
Pour one out for Al Sullivan, a classic old newspaper guy who covered Hoboken politics. And those great T. Weed letters.
This is a county with so much news and so many town officials hoping they can slide one past the public. I am glad we still have HCV to cover the county but how sad and embarrassing Dan Donnelly and Sean Donnelly were never able to care about news and its importance to a community the way their dad used to care. They and Brandon didn’t apparently know how to keep a newspaper running or treat staff and readers the way this was done. They all deserve better then this, so do WE but that’s for the three of them to think about next time they try to sleep at night. Thanks for all the good stories over the years, staff. It’s too bad your last set of bosses couldn’t do this right and I wonder if their readers elsewhere in the state realize this. I’ve seen some of those publications and I’m sure they realize this lack. Don’t support owners who gut news.
Not sure what could have been done to save it. No one reads print newspapers anymore, and no one wants to pay for online news. Where is the revenue supposed to come from? Online ads only? That’s clearly not enough to cover costs of salaries, office rent and infrastructure.
You raised good points. There still might have been a way: test an uncharted (for them) hybrid revenue source. Start charging a quarter per issue (no vending machines); in store only. They undoubtedly know that at best, more than a few of their drop-off locations were only seeing upwards of 20% of a particular issue being taken ( and then, hopefully not to line bird cages, train puppies, or to be used as packaging materials) The point being that the real consumers of the Hudson Reporter would not mind paying for that product. Taking WNY for example. Only a handful of stores sell newspapers here. A figure no doubt equal to, or less than the traditional number of WNY Reporter drop off points in our City. If Hudson Reporter’s late management reconsiders and gets on board, perhaps they can convince their owners to also get on board to try the hybrid revenue model that includes point of sale where other newspapers are sold on a daily basis. This model would also inform how many copies of an issue are actually being read ( at least by those who initially buy them) To further promote the paper, single copies ( that of course, contain the price of the paper conspicuously at the top) could be delivered to all municipal branch libraries in the county, to help get the word out that THE HUDSON REPORTER IS BACK AND THAT THEY MEAN BUSINESS.
I admire your creativity and wish they could make it, but can’t imagine that would be a workable business model, or one an owner would invest in to give it a try.
Celebration day
Just another rag for the County/Town leaders. Real news never reported or told straight. Stooge rag of a paper.
OK. I thought like most people that they stopped publishing many years ago.
The Hudson Reporter developed a terrible reputation. I think they did it to themselves with a long-time lying editor and she drove it into an unrecoverable position. The Horse fellow in Hoboken was exposing them like crazy and HCV entered the news scene and showed who was telling the truth and it wasn’t the Hudson Reporter.
Oh yes. All hail Horsey, Hoboken’s shining beacon of objective journalist integrity.
They respected Horsey at the Hudson Reporter. Even though MSV was unintentionally making them look ridiculous. Noticed like others it was HCV and Horsey getting it right on one side and the Hudson Reporter on the other, often backing that nightmare Beth Mason with her hechmen like Mike Russo.
Graphic Avenger was the site with the real scoops and inside story because Nancy is a normal, functioning adult who would actually speak with people and get information.
“Horsey” had a few good stories, but then he just started to coast on numerous retreads of those stories (plus, his writing skills and grammar were so lacking that it was painful to read).
This was all before he went full MAGA/covid denier cuckoo for coco pops and alienated the few people left who would speak to him. Now he’s left with, what, a dead blog and few prospects?
Yeah right, speak to people like you and Ravi while taking money from Ravi and his campaign she denied ever doing.
Where’s that linked 2017 story from the Hoboken Resistance disappear showing this four figure receipts she got from Ravi?
Hey, Ravi made it past the criminal statute of limitations with the Ravi Terror flier. You must be so excited before moving on to bigger government jobs and shaking down Hoboken bars. You guys are awesome! 🫠😱🤮
That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me (“normal functioning adult”)… yes, it’s true, I spoke to a lot of folks ‘on background’ who served up hot, delicious dish; some of those folks still keep in touch, tho one dear friend who was truly an archive of Hudco political history, went to the Other Side. I have moved on, happily, and hold no grudges about the past,– well, except for a pair of money-hungry, black-hearted, matchbox car-collecting, purple pillow toting, litigious cretins- not mentioning any names! No names! Just call them Mr. & Mrs!
The closing of the Hoboken Reporter truly marks the end of the era that ended when the paper was sold. Sadly, it was on life support when the municipalities’ print editions were consolidated. Unsurprisingly, the publisher pulled the plug, never tried to make it profitable. On the positive side, a lot of fine reporters ‘cut their teeth’ there, and went on to bigger and better things. Like dear Al. Happy trails to everyone!
Did anyone notice that Hoboken411 bit the dust?
A grown man who posts things about himself on the internet all day using pet names for himself such as Horsey, “That Horse fellow” and “that big toothed horse” on other people’s websites to massage his ego and other things is very embarrassing. It was unfortunate when his gap-toothed untruths were exposed by people like Nancy since he still carries a grudge about her that his gossip website never made it. If he talked to anyone else from the basement he called it an investigative story. If only he would move on, get married, leave the keyboard by 70 that View might change. Gallop forward not backward.
The only embarrassment here is you Ravibots kneeling to Russo.
People were warned. Now they all know.
You think lying for Ravi, about where people live and his paid op is fooling anyone? Go kiss Russo’s ass, that’s your job.
https://hobokenresistance.blogspot.com/2017/12/exclusive-grafix-avenger-blogger-nancy.html
Ever heard the phrase “apples and oranges”? She does graphic design, and was hired to do design and layout of some campaign materials. What she said is she’s never been paid to be a campaign mouthpiece for a candidate on her blog. Any sane, normal adult understands the enormous difference between those to things, which are both true.
What kind of stupid are you? A rare breed, it appears.
You lie! The Hoboken Resistance reported and exposed the truth in its exclusive story. You’re not good at this Ravi op lying thing. You should go back to Ravi lying school.
THR exposed it in her own words! Stick to what your good at being a Hoboken bar shakedown artist. Just like the good old Russo Soprano bar days gone by. Oh and being a bagman crook for your boss in City Hall.
You’re not even original!
PSA. If you never saw the comically named Hoboken resistance referenced above, it’s not an oversight on your part. It was around for about a month and featured the same handful of jobless crybabies who remained on the other dead blog while the owner sank into the right-wing muck. Because he has never moved on from the brief window in his life when he had some relevance, he refers to these blogs and their squabbles as though they happened last week. When in fact no one remembers them or cares to.
With each passing day, he becomes a sadder cartoon bellowing about his forgotten past life to strangers who have current lives to attend to. It’s a cautionary tale: move on or die while you’re still alive.
“the same handful of jobless crybabies”…LOL, and they’re still around, posting comments on HCV!
The reporter actually did a great job from the beginning to the end as does Hudson county view and thank his they do. I don’t think we take time to thank them. It’s never easy in the face of constant (and sometimes bitter) criticism from those exposed or who don’t like the truth in these towns. Obviously a blogger who doesn’t have to do research is a different thing but they have a purpose and need to stop squabbling. Looks petty. Us citizens are truly greatful for the news and to those who worked so hard to keep it going for so many years, when it’s pretty clear no one’s getting rich lol than oh s for your service to us.
Good grief, you’re crazy. The HR had a few good reporters over the years and iced them while covering up for the local political rabble like that lunatic woman on Hudson, Bit Mazon.
Even the good like Timothy, Ray and Marilyn couldn’t fix how darn grifty the people atop that ship were.
The HR did a good job reporting and it probably wasn’t easy. Person posting this probably had a blog and probably wanted to get away with just writing anything without doing any work to confirm. Thanks to all of our local press HCV and HR staff too.
The Reporter was a local newspaper running on multiple platforms in multiple cities. The idea that an online niche blog with no advertising in one city had any role in the former’s demise is as dumb as it gets.
This is the hallmark of your modern right-winger. They see communists behind every tree but actually know next to nothing about capitalism. The vagaries of capitalism surprise them every time and they go looking for deep state conspiracies to explain reality.
The Reporter had an unsustainable business model. Expenses and revenue couldn’t be reconciled. They’re gone. Period. MSV is gone too, but it never had a business model and not surprisingly has no idea what they’re for.
I’d credit you with narcissism because you do nothing but talk about yourself and promote your delusions. But this time it’s just plain stupid.
Notice to everyone in BAYONNE. Special council meeting Wednesday, January 25 7 PM. Apparently local finance board approved The redevelopment area bond for studio 1888 in the amount of $65 million. This was done at their January meeting which we as residents were not notified of at all. Either at the council meeting or at the caucus, it was never mentioned. Project was amended drastically and the city still wants to give them $65 million of our tax dollars. Please show up. They have 48 hours to announce it but it’s not online yet no transparency from the administration that they ran on. Please come and ask questions… Your tax dollars are at stake!
The hr sure in lives in people’s head, probably the same people turned down for a political spokesperson job so of course they’re angry. Everyone here knows reporting is hard, just writing opinions is not. Always enjoyed seeing reporters learn their craft there but you never gonna please everyone.
Apparently the HR didn’t live in anyone’s heads as it went belly up when the realtor ads stopped.