As Local As Local News Gets…

An event on your Main Street may not make the top story on WWOR’s 10 p.m. newscast, or the front page of the Star Ledger. But in some places, the news you really can use comes from independent websites and blogs that cover your hometown like a blanket.

A popular one in northern Monmouth County is Red Bank Green, “a town square for an unsquare town,” founded by former newspaper reporter John T. Ward.

The site contains a mix of local crime, arts, politics, and business stories. Its coverage area spans from Lincroft to Sea Bright. Ward objects to the term blog because “it makes you think of a guy in pajamas sitting with a bottle of whisky and writing.” He calls Red Bank Green an on-line newspaper that is fair and balanced. 

Ward was inspired by the localism of a blog — Baristanet, the feisty Montclair-based website whose founder Debra Galant we profiled last spring www.njmyway.com/content/view/62/65/. The Baristas have broken the pajama-and-whisky mold — these gals are so wired to local cops and politicians that they’ve become influential opinion makers in town.

Another blog coming on strong is Hoboken411. It began nearly two years ago as a portal with a focus on business, but is now steeped in local news, community happenings, and advertiser-based videos that make celebrities of local shop owners (http://hoboken411.com/archives/6468). 

This is a blog, no question — open to all, no holds barred. But there’s no better place to figure out what to do, see, eat, or buy in the Mile Square City.

At the southern Shore, Cape May Times just makes you want to take off for the weekend and head down there. No bad news, just great coverage of the local arts scene and the area’s natural wonders, plus everything you need to know about dining and lodging.

These sites are updated all day long with changing news and breaking stories. You’ll be connected all the time… because they are the new voice of your hometown.
 

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