N.J. gets a new investigative news site

After more than a decade of massive legacy media cutbacks, a new nonprofit newsroom wants to revitalize the state’s media landscape by prioritizing investigative journalism – something many newspapers have abandoned.

Veteran journalist Krystal Knapp started the new site earlier this year as a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom with a focus on investigative reporting.   She created the site to make up for a dearth of investigative reporting that has been caused by the decline in print and local journalism.

“The Jersey Vindicator was founded in 2023 as an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to high-quality investigative and public-service journalism about New Jersey government and urgent statewide issues, including elections, voting, public records, education, economic development, health, housing, the environment, criminal justice, human trafficking, and more,” their website states.

As media goes through significant changes – responding to digital platforms and fewer subscribers, for example – there have been significant challenges in understanding what the role of journalism is and what its focus should be.

“I see less and less in-depth investigative and accountability reporting being done because it requires tremendous resources in terms of time and money,” Knapp said to the Globe. “The sale of the Bergen Record to Gannett was a huge blow for investigative reporting in the state. Gannett has slashed the staff at The Record and at newsrooms around the country.”

It is worth noting that while the decimation of local and print journalism is a national phenomenon, it is most acutely felt at the local level, leaving some residents without access to news or critical information.

“Some rural, urban, and suburban areas in the state are total news deserts,” Knapp added.

Such a decline of news outlets has contributed to the explosion of misinformation and the weakening of civic engagement.

These issues were explicitly addressed in a report released last week by South Jersey Forward (SJF). That report found “the state of local news coverage in South Jersey is…not good” and made a direct call for intervention to save the industry.

Knapp, a former Trenton Times reporter who founded a hyper-local news site, Planet Princeton, more than a decade ago, is keenly aware of all of these concerns.  She views The Jersey Vindicator as a key element to saving and revitalizing the state’s media landscape.

“I founded The Jersey Vindicator to try to help fill this gap. Our focus is on doing original in-depth investigations, explanatory features, and solutions journalism,” Knapp said.

While the focus is on providing New Jerseyans key information, Knapp would also like The Jersey Vindicator to be a hub of sorts for journalists throughout the state, as she emphasized that “collaboration is critical.”

“In addition to conducting original investigative and accountability reporting, we also want to support and nurture investigative reporting in the state,” Knapp noted. “We are creating a hotline for local reporters to contact us when they need advice on how to approach an investigative story or public records issue, and we will open up special training events for our staff to other local news outlets.”

Knapp also noted that she is “not in any way trying to disparage any of my colleagues,” and that “the ones who work for corporate-owned media are working under very difficult circumstances.”