The Jewish Week Media Group will begin publishing the New Jersey Jewish News (NJJN) as part of an agreement reached this week with the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ.
The arrangement, which will begin in mid-September, calls for a subsidiary of The Jewish Week to assume editorial, sales and administrative responsibilities for the weekly NJJN of MetroWest. The newspaper, as well as the bimonthly editions in Middlesex/Monmouth counties and the monthly edition in Princeton/Mercer/Bucks counties, will continue to highlight their award-winning local reporting, supplemented by major stories from The Jewish Week’s staff in New York and Israel.
“We are enthusiastic about the opportunity to work with the Jewish Federations in these communities ” said Stuart Himmelfarb, president of the board of The Jewish Week Media Group. “Our mission is journalistic excellence and helping to strengthen the Jewish community. We hope that by combining our editorial and marketing skills with those of NJJN and the MetroWest community, we will accomplish those goals together to the benefit of all.”
The circulation/distribution of the combined NJJN editions is 32,000.
“We have been fortunate over the years to have a publication we were very proud of,” said Leslie Dannin Rosenthal, president of the MetroWest federation. “In adapting to the changing times, one of our main concerns was maintaining that standard. The prospect of being able to continue to provide a high-quality Jewish newspaper to our community through The Jewish Week Media Group is very exciting. The level of editorial excellence that The Jewish Week Media Group is now going to provide is precisely the reason why we decided to partner with them going forward. I hope our readers continue to enjoy the mix of local, national and international Jewish news that we have come to expect each week, and I know that is the hallmark of The Jewish Week.”
Mark Merkovitz, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks, expressed enthusiasm in “working with The Jewish Week going forward. We believe it will build upon and expand the Jewish content that we have come to expect,” he said.
Naomi Lasky, executive committee member and communications chair of The Jewish Federation in the Heart of New Jersey, noted that in addition to news coverage, “the role of the Jewish newspaper has evolved — fostering caring and connection among readers, breathing more vitality into Jewish life, and creating access for people of every life stage, interest and background to the experiences, resources, and insights they value.” She said that “partnering with The Jewish Week creates an exciting opportunity to build on this success and engage more individuals and organizations from every corner of the Jewish community in thriving together.”
The NJJN publications will continue to operate out of their flagship office in Whippany, N.J., and their online editions will be joined with The Jewish Week Media Group’s web publications, NY Blueprint, geared to socially active young singles, and FreshInkForTeens, featuring articles and essays written for and by Jewish students.
The Jewish Week was founded more than four decades ago and has won numerous local and national awards for its journalism.
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