Corporation for New Jersey Local Media

About Corporation for New Jersey Local Media

When New Jersey Hills Media Group, the publisher of a network of respected local news outlets serving dozens of towns across northern and central New Jersey, faced an uncertain future, many feared it would become the next casualty of this national trend. The possibility that these publications could fall into the hands of an owner that would dramatically reduce local news coverage galvanized local residents, business leaders, journalists, and civic advocates. What happened next was nothing short of extraordinary. Rather than watch generations of local journalism disappear, residents and civic leaders across the region came together to create a new solution. They believed local news was not simply a business — it was a public service essential to democracy. They believed communities deserved journalism accountable to readers rather than distant investors. And they believed these publications were worth saving. Their answer was the Corporation for New Jersey Local Media (CNJLM). Founded as an independent nonprofit organization, CNJLM worked to preserve local journalism and keep community news in community hands. Donors, public officials, volunteers, and civic leaders rallied behind the effort. In what became one of the most closely watched local news rescue efforts in the region, the organization raised the funds necessary to acquire New Jersey Hills Media Group and bring its local news outlets under nonprofit ownership. CNJLM officially assumed ownership of New Jersey Hills Media Group publications in 2022, ensuring local news coverage would remain focused on serving readers rather than shareholders. The acquisition preserved reporting in communities throughout Morris, Somerset, Hunterdon and Essex counties — protecting an essential civic institution at a time when similar outlets across the country were being shuttered, consolidated, or stripped of resources. Since then, CNJLM has continued to strengthen local journalism and to fight for local news.