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| Route 1 at Henderson Road. The 7-mile stretch of the highway in South Brunswick is only two lanes. |
I have spent half of my adult life in the news business, 22 years of it covering local news. As a reporter, as an editor, my focus was on context. My belief — and it’s a belief I try to impart to my journalism students at Rutgers — is that we have a responsibility to do more than just report on what’s happening. We have to answer the important question and make it clear why the information we bombard readers with matters.
I tell my students that, when they focus on the journalist “five Ws” — who, what, where, when, and why (along with how) — they need to do so not from the perspective of their sources or even of journalists. Their responsibility is to the readers.
Take the first W, “who.” As reporters, we assume The “who” is the star of our stories — who is developing the property? Who was arrested, etc? I ask them to answer those questions, it to treat the “who” a little differently. They need to ask and answer this question: who is affected?
We can answer — and should answer — each of the w-questions in this way: What is the impact? What can the reader do about it? When will it go into effect? When can the reader act? Where will the reader see the impact? Why should the reader care?
These questions expand upon the Ws and get the reporter out of his or her head. Young reporters, in particular, but also most political reporters, tend to be captured by their sources. I don’t mean they do their sources’ bidding, but they do start to see the world through their sources’ eyes. They view he bureaucracy as most important, and end up writing stories for the people they cover, as opposed to the people who read their papers or news sites.
I’m not singling any news organization out — this approach is rampant — but I am being critical. We can do a lot better as an industry. Would this address the revenue and readership issues? I doubt it, but we can’t allow that to be our only concern.
To better understand what I’m talking about, I want to offer five South Brunswick stories I’d assign if I edited the local paper — stories designed to provide context. I chose South Brunswick because of my history as a newsman in the community. I’m curious if there are other stories others might add to this list, and what approach might be taken. Here they are:
1. When will the traffic light on Route 522 at Stouts Lane be repaired?
The light has been out and access to and from Stouts has been limited since a dump truck took out the light April 26. The impact of the light on local traffic patterns is significant — Stouts Lane is a primary access road for South Brunswick High School, the Target shopping center, and for Dow Jones employees. The closure, therefore, creates traffic problems elsewhere. When will it be repaired?
2. What can be done to resurrect the South Brunswick Square Mall?
Bob’s Furniture and the Tilted Kilt have abandoned the shopping center in recent months, Bob’s moving down the road and the Tilted Kilt just shutting its doors. Neither closing should shock locals — both storefronts have seen regular turnover in the mall’s 30 years of existence. As a reporter and editor, I’ve written about the difficulties faced by the mall, and while new stores open occasionally, the prime anchors (aside from Home Depot) have not been able to survive.
I don’t know that anyone will have the answers, but we have to keep asking. Shopping centers without anchors are a drag on their smaller stores, and empty storefronts only make it more difficult to fill storefronts. That means an empty mall, and an empty mall creates the potential for other issues.
3. Has widening Route 1 fallen off the radar?
This has long been a priority for local officials and, while it remains so, the public needs to be reminded why and brought back into the discussion — if for no other reason than public pressure could be brought to bear on state decision makers now that the state has some money available for infrastructure.
4. Will Route 522 ever be extended to Ridge Road near the NJ Turnpike?
Another priority, but one dependent on warehouse construction. What is the status, and is this still a needed project?
5. What might the township look like in a decade, with state courts — as of now — mandating nearly 1,400 new affordable housing units?
This story has a lot of tentacles — a 200-unit development proposed for New Road, the potential for 7,000 to 10,000 new housing units total to offset the cost to developers of building the affordable. Where will these proposed units go? What happens to other township facilities. After all, we are talking about an increase in the number of housing units in the township of about 30 percent. There will be an impact on infrastructure (roads, schools, parks) and there is the broader question of responsibility. There is a desperate need for new affordable units statewide, but they need to be distributed fairly. What is happening elsewhere in the state, and what should that mean for South Brunswick?
All of these are important questions, the answers of which will affect nearly all of the township’s 45,000 residents. Someone should be attempting to answer them. While some of these stories have received coverage, few are getting the deep dives that provide context and allow residents to understand their full impact. More deep dives are needed, but I don’t hold out any illusions. The cut backs at newspapers have taken their toll, making it far more difficult to pull off these kinds of time-intensive pieces. But we should try. We have to try
Hank Kalet 