Good riddance: The Star-Ledger ceases print publication long after voters stopped thinking

In a move no one, New Jersey’s largest newspaper, The Star-Ledger, has fulfilled its announcement to cease its print edition February 5.

For decades, The Star-Ledger has been the bastion of hard-hitting journalism, gracing us with groundbreaking exposés like “Inside the unlikely pizza capital of N.J., teeming with terrific pies.” Truly, where would we be without such indispensable reporting?

The Star-Ledger, ever the champion of the establishment, has consistently defended whoever occupied the governor’s office, ensuring that the status quo remained unchallenged. Owned by billionaires who inherited their empire, the publication has always had its finger on the pulse of the common man.

Let’s not forget how New Jersey’s largest daily and once-influential newspaper left voters in the dark during the 2018 primary election, when progressive Democrat Lisa McCormick dared to challenge the ethically compromised incumbent U.S. Senator. Or how it discounted the superior contender, Larry Hamm, when hawkish neoliberal insider Congressman Andy Kim derailed the candidacy of Virginia Republican-turned-Democrat Tammy Murphy, wife of Wall Street millionaire Governor Phil Murphy.

The Star-Ledger offers various advertising opportunities, including print and digital ads, but the newspaper blurred ethical lines when it supplemented ad revenue with sponsored content. While clearly labeled, such stories are presented in a manner that mimics the editorial format used to share real news so it can mislead readers.

The Star-Ledger’s advertising practices undermine trust in the publication, highlighting the importance of transparency in distinguishing between paid content and journalism.

Maintaining clear boundaries between advertising and editorial content was once essential to uphold journalistic integrity and trust with readers despite the profit motive. Now, there is no longer such as thing as journalistic integrity and the profit motive is America’s supreme value.

So, as we bid adieu to the print edition of The Star-Ledger, let’s raise a glass to the future of New Jersey journalism as it enters the realm of fake news, but let’s remember that newspapers got this nation into the Spanish American War and George Washington directed the establishment of publications that inspired support for the Revolution.

The concept of “reliably objective journalism” in the United States has evolved over time, with significant developments occurring in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

During the Progressive Era (circa 1890s to 1920s), there was a concerted effort to professionalize journalism, aiming to establish standards of objectivity and factual reporting. That period saw the emergence of muckraking journalism, where investigative reporters exposed corruption and societal issues, striving for accuracy and fairness.

However, the ideal of objective journalism was not fully realized until the establishment of journalism schools, such as the one founded by Joseph Pulitzer at Columbia University in 1912, which played a pivotal role in promoting journalistic standards and ethics.

These institutions, and the subsequent invention of public interest broadcasting requirements embedded in TV licenses, emphasized the importance of impartial reporting and the separation of news from opinion.

The Communications Act of 1934, which established the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), included a key provision that required radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable broadcasters operate in the “public interest, convenience, and necessity.”

That worked well until Roger Ailes discovered a way to use programming that distracted attention away from problems exposing inadequacies of the Republican Party, advanced an ultra-conservative laissez-faire political agenda, and helped fuel a distorted view of reality just in time to be augmented by ubiquitous social media channels on smart phones.

The Jersey Journal will also cease publication on Saturday, February 1, because it could not remain in business following The Star-Ledger’s decision to close the production facility that prints the newspaper.

This signals an end to the strong, politically independent journalism that has distinguished itself by keeping residents in Hudson County and its 12 municipalities so well informed for 157 years. They kept electing scum like Menendez, Frank Hague, and William Musto, the double-dipping Union City Mayor who was overwhelmingly re-elected to a sixth term in the State Senate in 1981 after 35 years in the Legislature and while under a 31-count indictment on federal charges of racketeering and fraud.

New Jersey’s political landscape has been marred by numerous corruption scandals, some of which have not been adequately exposed by local newspapers.

The U.S. government once established a framework that held broadcasters accountable for their role in serving the public good. This system was designed to promote objective journalism by ensuring that media outlets provided content that was informative, balanced, and reflective of the diverse interests of the American populace.

Political connections of local news business owners in New Jersey are relationships that have led to biased reporting or the omission of critical stories about corrupt politicians, but the media mostly served as a platform for diverse viewpoints on matters of significance, thereby promoting a more informed citizenry.

But fear not, dear readers! As The Star-Ledger retreats into the digital abyss, we can place our unwavering trust in the likes of the New Jersey Globe, helmed by David Wildstein—a man whose aspirations to emulate Roger Stone are nothing short of criminally contemptable.

After all, who better to deliver unbiased news on the information highway than someone who shut down the George Washington Bridge for political retribution?

Let’s not overlook Insider NJ, the brainchild of John Graham of Fairview Insurance, a government contractor with absolutely no potential conflicts of interest. Rest assured, this platform will provide the hard-hitting journalism we’ve come to expect in the Garden State.

The again, Russia’s Internet Research Agency, utilized social media to spread divisive content, aiming to influence voter behavior and sow discord among the American populace during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Baseless assertions of widespread voter fraud circulated extensively on social media platforms, eroded public trust in the electoral process and democratic institutions.

Throughout the pandemic, false claims about the coronavirus and vaccine efficacy proliferated on social media, leading to chaotic government mandates, public confusion and resistance to commonsense health measures.

Social media misinformation promoted climate change skepticism, hindering public understanding and delaying necessary policy actions to address environmental dangers.

Echo chambers and filter bubbles on social media have intensified political polarization, making it seemingly impossible to achieve consensus, as if tech billionaires who profit from undermining democratic government set out to achieve personal power and wealth at the expense of our freedom.

Since Trump reclaimed the White House with Silicon Valley titans investing millions worth of bribes, posts related to obtaining abortion pills were recently hidden on Instagram and Facebook and some accounts were suspended, before truth, justice and the American way get restored.

With such trustworthy and unbiased sources at our disposal, what could possibly go wrong?