Menendez, Booker, nine House member slap Star-Ledger for closing Washington bureau – New Jersey Globe

Two U.S. Senators and 9 members of the U.S. Home of Representatives have despatched a letter to Star-Ledger and NJ Advance Media executives protesting their determination to shut their Washington, D.C. bureau and let veteran journalist Jonathan D. Salant go.

“This motion will instantly depart hundreds of thousands of New Jerseyans with no first-hand entry to the problems being debated in Congress or to details about how actions taken by federal companies particularly have an effect on our state,” the lawmakers mentioned.  “That is significantly regarding provided that NJAM is at the moment the one New Jersey media outlet with a full-time correspondent based mostly in Washington, D.C.

The letter was signed by Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, and Reps. Christopher Smith (R-Manchester), Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-Lengthy Department), Invoice Pascrell, Jr. (D-Paterson), Donald Norcross (D-Camden), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Ewing), Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff), Mikie Sherrill (D-Montclair), Andy Kim (D-Moorestown), and Robert J. Menendez (D-Jersey Metropolis).

“The authors of this letter have completely different political ideologies, however that is one challenge we agree on – we oppose the choice to shut the Washington bureau,” they mentioned.  “Our constituents depend on this protection to be told individuals in our democracy.”

With Gannett New Jersey ending their protection of Capitol Hill in late 2018, Salant has been the state’s lone reporter in Washington masking the New Jersey delegation.

The senators and Home members bemoaned the diminished protection of native information, together with the Star-Ledger, which has seen its circulation plummet in recent times.

“New Jerseyans used to obtain their information from quite a lot of native newspapers that lined related tales of their counties and communities. Right this moment, broad swaths of our state are information deserts with little-to-no native information protection,” Menendez, Booker, and the 9 Home members mentioned.

The lawmakers mentioned that options to declining revenues and competitors from digital platforms gained’t be reducing important workers.

“Skilled reporters like Jonathan Salant are essential elements of Capitol Hill’s media ecosystem — they hold elected officers like us accountable and constantly break information that’s related to our constituents in New Jersey,” they mentioned.

Earlier at this time, Gov. Phil Murphy known as Salant, “a reporter’s reporter.”

“A mannequin journalist who mentored numerous others and an extremely good man. His layoff, alongside these of NJ.com photojournalists, is a short-sighted determination that diminishes our civic dialogue,” Murphy mentioned.

The letter was despatched to Advance Publications Co-President Steven Newhouse, NJ Advance Media President Steve Alessi, and Chris Kelly, the vice chairman for content material.