NJN Final Broadcast

[MickeyD]

I/We don't really care what anyone thinks of NJ.

No one is asking you. The state is supposed to present a positive image to the rest of the country in order to attract new business and new jobs. The media can do that. Too bad there's no media left in the state. If media companies won't stay in NJ, and instead move to NY, why should any other business? MSNBC used to broadcast from Fort Lee, but they moved back to NYC. Why the high taxes? Business keeps leaving. Declining tax base. What happened to all the auto plants in the state? Gone. The only employer left is the state itself. If the state used media to present a positive impage, perhaps some business might move back. Instead they spend taxpayer money propping up aging horse tracks. How often do you go to the track? But you pay for it.

MSNBC never used to broadcast from Ft. Lee it was built and remained in Secaucas, NJ until they consolidated it back to NYC. The State of NJ gave MSNBC a huge tax break in order to bring jobs to NJ. CNBC still maintains a huge, and new, broadcast facility in Englewood Cliffs, NJ. CNBC used to broadcast from Ft. Lee and is now the home of the local Telemundo affiliate.

 

[TheBigA]

CNBC used to broadcast from Ft. Lee and is now the home of the local Telemundo affiliate.

And how does any of this help the image of NJ?

 

[MickeyD]

CNBC used to broadcast from Ft. Lee and is now the home of the local Telemundo affiliate.

And how does any of this help the image of NJ?

Just correcting all of your misinformation. MSNBC WAS given a huge tax break to come to NJ to create jobs. Our image will be improved when it is a decent state to do business in again and dumping NJN was a good start.

 

[TheBigA]

Just correcting all of your misinformation. MSNBC WAS given a huge tax break to come to NJ to create jobs. Our image will be improved when it is a decent state to do business in again and dumping NJN was a good start.

The only right decision was to give the operations to an NJ company. Otherwise, it's just another bad deal, like MSNBC.

 

[MickeyD]

Just correcting all of your misinformation. MSNBC WAS given a huge tax break to come to NJ to create jobs. Our image will be improved when it is a decent state to do business in again and dumping NJN was a good start.

The only right decision was to give the operations to an NJ company. Otherwise, it's just another bad deal, like MSNBC.

MSNBC was bad deal? There were over 600 jobs created in NJ and most moved to NYC? Your comments are not factually based. Let the people that pay taxes in NJ take care of NJ. Worry about Upstate NY.

 

[TheBigA]

Your comments are not factually based. Let the people that pay taxes in NJ take care of NJ. Worry about Upstate NY.

The issue here is NJN. The citizens of NJ were not consulted about this. NJ residents were fired, and replaced with employees of WNET. How is that good for NJ? What does Upstate NY have to do with this?

 

[MickeyD]

Your comments are not factually based. Let the people that pay taxes in NJ take care of NJ. Worry about Upstate NY.

The issue here is NJN. The citizens of NJ were not consulted about this. NJ residents were fired, and replaced with employees of WNET. How is that good for NJ? What does Upstate NY have to do with this?

Simple. You do not live here it is not your concern. What happened at NJN happens in the private sector all the time. One company takes over another and people are displaced. I look forward to seeing some of your postings when the FCC allows foreign national to own broadcast stations and Americans are replaced by foreign nationals. Before you say it, it certainly can happen.

 

[TheBigA]

Simple. You do not live here it is not your concern.

Huh?

 

[MickeyD]

Simple. You do not live here it is not your concern.

Huh?

Is this how you handle questions that you cannot answer? If you ever worked in radio you must have been wonderful using this method with listeners. Throw out as much misinformation as you can and when you are called on it dance around it.

 

[TheBigA]

Throw out as much misinformation as you can and when you are called on it dance around it.

It is not misinformation when I say: 1) It was wrong to give a state resource away to another state rather than to an in-state entity; 2) that the governor didn't do this to lower taxes or save money; 3) That media is not unimportant or non-essential; and 4) That coverage of NJ issues and news will not improve under this deal, So I don't know what you're refering to.

And I haven't "danced around" anything. I've addressed every issue head on. I'm a broadcaster, and when a state does something that affects broadcasting, it is my concern. Especially when it's a state that I'm familiar with. And I think I've demonstrated that I'm familiar with the facts in this case. The only difference is that you disagree. The state assembly voted 45 to 30 against the governor's plan. Obviously there are quite a few people in the state who agree with me. "Giving NJN to New York makes no sense," said the resolution’s sponsor Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex) before the vote. "We need to make NJN stronger and not give it away." I agree. So does US Senator Lautenberg: "It is a shame that the State Senate is allowing Governor Christie to ship an important New Jersey resource across the river to New York," U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg said. "This is a bad deal for the people of New Jersey that was written behind closed doors and threatens to further reduce local broadcast coverage of New Jersey news." The will of the people has been ignored for political reasons, and the state won't save any money. Those are the facts pure and simple.

 

[MickeyD]

Throw out as much misinformation as you can and when you are called on it dance around it.

It is not misinformation when I say: 1) It was wrong to give a state resource away to another state rather than to an in-state entity; 2) that the governor didn't do this to lower taxes or save money; 3) That media is not unimportant or non-essential; and 4) That coverage of NJ issues and news will not improve under this deal, So I don't know what you're refering to.

And I haven't "danced around" anything. I've addressed every issue head on. I'm a broadcaster, and when a state does something that affects broadcasting, it is my concern. Especially when it's a state that I'm familiar with. And I think I've demonstrated that I'm familiar with the facts in this case. The only difference is that you disagree. The state assembly voted 45 to 30 against the governor's plan. Obviously there are quite a few people in the state who agree with me. "Giving NJN to New York makes no sense," said the resolution’s sponsor Patrick Diegnan (D-Middlesex) before the vote. "We need to make NJN stronger and not give it away." I agree. So does US Senator Lautenberg: "It is a shame that the State Senate is allowing Governor Christie to ship an important New Jersey resource across the river to New York," U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg said. "This is a bad deal for the people of New Jersey that was written behind closed doors and threatens to further reduce local broadcast coverage of New Jersey news." The will of the people has been ignored for political reasons, and the state won't save any money. Those are the facts pure and simple.

Are you kidding me you have your dancing shoes on while you write this. I have been in the network TV part of the business for over 30 years and this is not unusual. It doesn't surprise me that you quote the same career politicians that put NJ in the financial mess we are in now. I live in NJ and NJN's "local" programming was a throwback to the 80's. It does not matter where programming originates and the stuff NJN produced was a couple of notches above public access. I have seen it and you have not. NJN needed the plug pulled on it a decade ago. We didn't need it, couldn't afford it, and if it were as valuable as you say it was would have had some sort of ratings to substantiate it's existence. They couldn't produce it because it just did not exist!
Those are the facts plain and simple from a broadcast professional and a resident of NJ.

 

[TheBigA]

I have seen it and you have not. NJN needed the plug pulled on it a decade ago. We didn't need it, couldn't afford it, and if it were as valuable as you say it was would have had some sort of ratings to substantiate it's existence. They couldn't produce it because it just did not exist! Those are the facts plain and simple from a broadcast professional and a resident of NJ.

All of those things are wrong. First of all, I HAVE seen it. You don't know me so quit putting words in my mouth. NJ needs local media coverage. It has decreased, not increased, during the past ten years, mostly because of corporate consolidation. NJ residents found the service to be valuable enough to raise over $4 million a year to keep it on the air. Now that money, and all other revenues, are in doubt. And if WNET loses money, the state of NJ will be required to replace it. You better hope that CPB isn't defunded, or NJ taxpayers will have to pay WNET over $2 million. That is on top of the other $4.7 million they will continue to pay.

 

[MickeyD]

I have seen it and you have not. NJN needed the plug pulled on it a decade ago. We didn't need it, couldn't afford it, and if it were as valuable as you say it was would have had some sort of ratings to substantiate it's existence. They couldn't produce it because it just did not exist! Those are the facts plain and simple from a broadcast professional and a resident of NJ.

All of those things are wrong. First of all, I HAVE seen it. You don't know me so quit putting words in my mouth. NJ needs local media coverage. It has decreased, not increased, during the past ten years, mostly because of corporate consolidation. NJ residents found the service to be valuable enough to raise over $4 million a year to keep it on the air. Now that money, and all other revenues, are in doubt. And if WNET loses money, the state of NJ will be required to replace it. You better hope that CPB isn't defunded, or NJ taxpayers will have to pay WNET over $2 million. That is on top of the other $4.7 million they will continue to pay.

Well if WNET has financial problems perhaps NYC should consider pulling the plug on WNET. Wait until the bandwidth auctions start and we will see if NJN or NJTV still exists.
Why do you think they still have the licenses when they were ready to dump them? The people in the Governor's office are good listeners.
Which brings me to the the question why you aren't leading the charge against the FCC and WH taking OTA TV's bandwidth? I guess because it is a liberal cause and that makes it okay.

 

[TheBigA]

Well if WNET has financial problems perhaps NYC should consider pulling the plug on WNET.

Huh? WNET is an independent station. They don't have financial problems, and don't rely on NYC for funding.

Maybe you need to read the actual deal. This was written as a no-lose deal for WNET. There's a clause that says if costs of running NJTV exceed revenues, the difference has to be made up by NJ. That's why so many legislators were against it.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/06/wnet_13_will_take_over_njn_but.html

Which brings me to the the question why you aren't leading the charge against the FCC and WH taking OTA TV's bandwidth?

Huh? Search my comments on this issue. I'm against any federal takeover of the people's airwaves. This isn't about liberal or conservative.

 

[MickeyD]

Well if WNET has financial problems perhaps NYC should consider pulling the plug on WNET.

Huh? WNET is an independent station. They don't have financial problems, and don't rely on NYC for funding.

Maybe you need to read the actual deal. This was written as a no-lose deal for WNET. There's a clause that says if costs of running NJTV exceed revenues, the difference has to be made up by NJ. That's why so many legislators were against it.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/06/wnet_13_will_take_over_njn_but.html

Which brings me to the the question why you aren't leading the charge against the FCC and WH taking OTA TV's bandwidth?

Huh? Search my comments on this issue. I'm against any federal takeover of the people's airwaves. This isn't about liberal or conservative.

WNET is a PBS station and it relies on the same funding every other PBS station relies on. I don't care whether they run NJN or pull the plug on it. They have been running WLIW for years and I can't see a difference in before or after. Yes, When you consolidate an operation people are let go but that happens frequently in the private sector as well. I am not too concerned about the deal they have with WNET. If they sell the BW, that they paid nothing for to begin with, they will put the video on cable and satellite. So it won't go away it will simply be on cable or satellite and knowign this government they will pay for certain people to get cable for free. Just like they dropped a BILLION DOLLARS for analog to digital OTA boxes.

If the airwaves belong to the public, then the public wants them back for wireless services. Radio and TV station licenses were free prior to Clinton. Clinton is the one that started the auction process.

So if station licensees didn't pay anything for them and they will be paid for their bandwidth, in the name fo the public, then I don't see a problem with it.

 

[musichead1029]

The first things to go when restructuring a budget are the nonessentials. NJN was justifiably near the top of that list.

You can't convince a lifelong broadcaster that broadcasting isn't essential. Especially on a broadcasting message board. You may get politicians to agree, but not me.

There are several broadcasters in this thread alone that disagree with your assessment of NJN as essential. Most of the broadcasters I converse with believe that commercial (self-sustaining) broadcasters do a better job of serving the public than government-run networks. In NJN's case (and in Maryland) that's particularly evident. When you get outside of politically correct circles (and look at the ratings), it's actually a widely-held belief.

In my view, race tracks are non-essential, especially when they lose money. Owning and maintaining a governor's residence, especially when he chooses not to live in it, is not essential. All of the state cars given to employees are not essential. And they're not required by union contract. But they still get them year after year. There's a ton of fat still in the budget. There is nothing you can say that leads me to believe giving away limited broadcasting channels is less valuable than giving state employees a car.

Agreed, they should get rid of all of it. NJN, as low-hanging fruit, is a start. The others have fat-cat political constituencies that will have to be worn down over time.

 

[TheBigA]

There are several broadcasters in this thread alone that disagree with your assessment of NJN as essential. Most of the broadcasters I converse with believe that commercial (self-sustaining) broadcasters do a better job of serving the public than government-run networks.

Really? Then why are they all moving out of NJ? What has WWOR done for NJ? What has WNET done for NJ? You only have two stations, NJ101.5 and cable Channel 12 that spend any real time covering NJ news. No one else. The state is mainly covered by a few dozen low wattage AM stations, most of which run syndicated or ethnic programming. The reason NJPBA was started 40 years ago was because there was a huge shortage of NJ news coverage. The consolidation of commercial radio since 1996 has not helped that situation one bit. Commercial broadcasters like Greater Media are cutting local coverage, not expanding it. Millennnium Radio was just saved from bankruptcy by an investment bank, and I'm not expecting them to increase news coverage in the state. So I'm really wondering who you're talking about.

I'm not defending NJN, because their work was not good. But to say that commercial broadcasters do a better job is still not solving the basic problem that there is no broadcast TV service covering news in the state. And most of the commercial broadcasters, partcularly in the north, have left the state for NYC.

As a lifelong broadcaster, I resent the idea that broadcasting in non-essential or low hanging fruit. I think that kind of thinking is why commercial broadcasting hasn't lived up to its potential, and why so many companies cut staff and services to their communities.

 

[JerseyShor]

Really? Then why are they all moving out of NJ? What has WWOR done for NJ? What has WNET done for NJ? You only have two stations, NJ101.5 and cable Channel 12 that spend any real time covering NJ news. No one else.

And cable channel 12 does NOTHING for South Jersey.

You can't even get "News 12 NJ" in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem Counties!

As for Ocean and Mercer, where you CAN get the station, the programming is clearly not targeted at those areas.

The only Mercer County news I've ever seen them cover is news that effects Northern & Central NJ residents.

The only Ocean County news I've ever seen them cover is news that effects tourists coming from Northern & Central NJ.

 

[KyleSmith1988]

For NJ news, does WMGM-TV really make up for the lack of News 12 NJ in South Jersey?
Surely nowhere on the scale of 24/7 news or talk like News 12 or 101.5,
but I sure hope they're trying, as that's pretty much the only choice in South Jersey.

 

[MickeyD]

For NJ news, does WMGM-TV really make up for the lack of News 12 NJ in South Jersey?
Surely nowhere on the scale of 24/7 news or talk like News 12 or 101.5,
but I sure hope they're trying, as that's pretty much the only choice in South Jersey.

WMGM can only do what it can afford to do because it is commercial. If the support isn't there to support it then the public cannot be that interested.