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Musings on the future of NJN

By Art Gallagher

That NJN will survive is good for New Jersey, and not just because I’ve been a guest on one of the station’s best shows.

NJN has been given a reprieve from going dark on January 1 because people like it.   Tens of thousands of people like, “not hundreds of thousands,” as News Director Michael Aron told Politickernj.  

What those tens of thousands of people like, and what is important to New Jersey, is the station’s news coverage. In particular its coverage of state government and politics.  NJN was not given a reprieve because of reruns from the 60’s and 70’s of Christmas with the King Family or Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air.   If only tens of thousands of people like the station’s news coverage, how many are tuning in for 3 Steps to Piano Success?

Legislation that Governor Christie recently approved empowers the NJ Public Broadcasting Authority to work to transfer NJN from a government entity to the control of a non-profit organization or an existing public broadcasting entity.

Why not a for profit Jersey-centric commercial station with Jersey news and programing?   If HBO (The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire) and MTV (Jersey Shore) can get millions of viewers with Jersey-centric programing, a real Jersey TV station should be able to get the hundreds of thousands that Aron aspires to have.

I realize that that creates red tape and regulatory hurdles with the FCC, but it should be doable. 

Aron tells me the annual barebones budget for NJN is about $20 million, which includes “in-kind” contributions from the State for rent and other overhead items.   A good Jersey TV station should be able to sell a lot more that $20 million in advertising.  Expand the “sponsorships” to more that PSEG and the NJEA.

If we can sell advertising on our school busses, we ought to be able to sell advertising on our TV station.

Let’s find a way to make it happen and have more Jersey news, entertainment and sports.

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Posted: December 20th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: NJ Media, NJN | Tags: , | 2 Comments »

2 Comments on “Musings on the future of NJN”

  1. TR said at 11:37 am on December 21st, 2010:

    If it survives fine as long as my tax dollars do not subsidize.

    Government dollars should not support the media in a free society.

  2. Justified Right said at 2:47 pm on December 21st, 2010:

    I’ve got one thing to say to you Art:

    News 12 New Jersey.