Each week, the Center for Cooperative Media introduces you to one of its partners in the New Jersey news ecosystem. The Center facilitates a network of New Jersey local news publishers, called the NJ News Commons, who collaborate together on projects, share content and ideas, and support one another.
Tell us about yourself:
I’ve been a journalist in New Jersey for almost two decades. I was a reporter at the Times of Trenton for almost 10 years. I took a buyout and worked as a freelancer before starting my own hyperlocal news website in Princeton. The site actually started as a Facebook page in late 2011.
Tell us about your publication:
I run Planet Princeton, a for-profit, and I am re-working my second site, Planet Trenton, a non-profit. I also do web design work and social media consulting. I am the adviser/business coach for the Princeton University Press Club, a student club for freelancers at the university. The club has been around for more than 100 years. If you have stories students could cover by phone or using public transportation, send me an email.
What makes you get up and go to work every day?
Knowing that local journalism can make a difference in the community and that people appreciate local investigative reporting.
What are you most passionate about when it comes to journalism?
Public records, government transparency, and the independence of the journalist.
What is something about Princeton (or Trenton) that everyone should know but no one does?
I like to know about places to go. Trenton has a huge arts scene and there is almost always an art-related event happening in the city. Trenton is also home to one of the few remaining traditional jazz clubs int he region, the Candlelight Lounge. People don’t think of Princeton as having a resale shop and the Candelight is in the middle of a blighted area. Well known performers form all over the East Coast perform there on Saturdays and Tuesday nights. The club attracts a large, diverse crowd, and it one of my regular hangouts. Princeton has a great re-sale shop called the Nearly New Shop, located above a plumbing store on Nassau Street. You can find fun things there, including Princeton memorabilia. Also, you can park at Princeton University’s parking deck nights and weekends for free.