A Personal Note
As 2025 begins, I’m nearing nearly eight years as a staff writer for Pascack Press and Northern Valley Press, which seems both short and long. I’ve covered a swath of northeast Bergen County towns, councils, school boards, organizations, and most of all people who generally do largely unnoticed work to help local government operate efficiently and effectively in the 21 communities our two newspapers serve.
But. also the more I travel I often need to look far and wide to find another weekly newspaper that covers “local” news, including town councils, school boards, and lets you hear the voice of the residents living in the area. You just cannot find them, because they don’t exist.
In other words, a newspaper that provides regular coverage of community news, government, and groups and organizations is a rare find, indeed. This newspaper is a rare commodity. So many weekly newspapers have disappeared across America, their losses are too numerous to count.
And they are missed, too, at least by some but their absence creates a larger void, which is filled with social media posts, gossip, and speculation, often based on rumors, or worse, lies and misinformation.
I am proud and very lucky to continue to work for a newspaper (and editor) that works day in and day out to be an independent source of local news coverage. I know how lucky I am; I hope most of our readers also realize their own good fortune.
Thanks for being there.