We Are Not America’s Enemy

NJ Spotlight | August 16, 2018 | Politics
NJ Spotlight stands with the hundreds of other news organizations across the country that today are contesting the accusation that they are an ‘enemy of the people’

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Today, across the country, news organizations are using their voice to take issue with the accusation that our profession is an “enemy of the people” and that it’s “dangerous.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Most journalists work very hard, at relatively low pay, to offer news necessary for an informed citizenry.
As a regional news site, NJ Spotlight has largely been kept out of the fray of the whole “fake news” debates. And we like to think of ourselves as a friend of New Jersey.

We began this journey eight years ago because the news business was under assault, not by the government but by changes in technology that destroyed our former business model. Our goal was to continue our mission of delivering unbiased but thorough information that the public needed. And we’ve had fun doing it.

But now we find our profession under assault again, this time by political leaders. So, we at NJ Spotlight find it necessary to join more than an estimated 900 other journalism organizations in speaking up for our institution.

We’re not perfect. Journalists make mistakes. And at NJ Spotlight we hope you call us out each and every time, when warranted. But the task we and our peers seek to fulfill has never been more critical.

We hope this small defense of journalism is taken as it’s meant — a show of solidarity and a reminder of what we’re working to do. Your support in that task has meant a lot, and we thank you.

— Lee Keough, Editor in Chief

— John Mooney, Chief Executive Officer