New Jersey Network

Last updated
New Jersey Network
BrandingNJN
Country
Availabilitystatewide New Jersey
Founded1968;56 years ago (1968)
Launch date
Television: April 5, 1971;53 years ago (1971-04-05)
Radio: May 20, 1991;33 years ago (1991-05-20)
DissolvedJune 30, 2011(13 years ago) (2011-06-30)
Callsign meaning
New Jersey Network
Former affiliations
Television: PBS
Radio: NPR
Replaced byTelevision: NJTV
Radio: New Jersey Public Radio;
simulcasts of WHYY-FM

The New Jersey Network (NJN) was a network of public television and radio stations serving the U.S. state of New Jersey. NJN was a member of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) for television and the National Public Radio (NPR) for radio, broadcasting their programming as well as producing and broadcasting their own programming, mostly relating to issues in New Jersey. With studios in both Trenton and Newark, NJN's television network covered all of New Jersey, plus parts of Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut and Delaware. The radio network primarily served several areas of New Jersey that were not covered by Philadelphia and New York City public radio stations.

Contents

New Jersey Network ended operations on June 30, 2011. The television network was succeeded by NJTV (now branded as "NJ PBS"), and the radio stations were split through two separate sales to NPR-member stations in Philadelphia and New York.

Early history

The system was founded in 1968 by an act of the New Jersey Legislature establishing the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority (NJPBA). New Jersey already had a public television station licensed within the state, WNET (channel 13), licensed to Newark. However, while WNET had offices and studios in Newark, for all practical purposes it was a New York City station, effectively leaving New Jersey without a public station of its own.

With state funding and four UHF licenses assigned years earlier by the Federal Communications Commission, the NJPBA went to work building the state's public television stations. The first station, WNJT (channel 52) in Trenton, went on the air on April 5, 1971, with the other three stations signing on over the next two years. The system was known on-air as New Jersey Public Television (NJPTV) until 1981, when it adopted the New Jersey Network identity.

Due to New Jersey being split between the New York City and Philadelphia television markets, NJN's television network reached one of the largest potential audiences in the country. At the time of its closure, it potentially reached over 25 million people in parts of five states. However, it also forced NJN to compete directly against three of the highest-rated PBS stations in the nation–WNET, secondary New York City member station WLIW, and Wilmington, Delaware-licensed WHYY-TV, in the Philadelphia market. Two other PBS member stations based in Pennsylvania, WLVT-TV in Allentown and WVIA-TV in Scranton, were also viewable in portions of NJN's coverage area.

NJN spent most of its existence trying to carve out a niche of its own. One of its solutions had been to air some of the more popular PBS shows on a delayed basis, after the nearby stations had carried the national PBS feed. Programs that might be seen on WNET and WHYY-TV would air on NJN a week or two later. Another solution was to focus on its news operation. The latter worked very well, as NJN and its reporters won many awards for their journalistic efforts. In the 1980s, NJN was the first media outlet to break the "Taggart affair" political patronage scandal. NJN's news and public affairs programming was initially co-produced by WNET until 1981, and continued simulcasting on WNET for several years afterward. This was part of a longstanding agreement between the FCC, New Jersey officials, and WNET that allowed WNET to fulfill its local programming obligations (since it was still licensed to Newark).

NJN's radio network began operation on May 20, 1991, when WNJT-FM in Trenton started operations. [1] Eight other stations were established over the following seventeen years. They served mainly to bring NPR programming to the few areas of New Jersey without a clear signal from New York's WNYC AM-FM and Philadelphia's WHYY-FM.

In the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks of 2001, the station temporarily broadcast WABC-TV.

Transition

In 2008, in the face of a proposed 35 percent cut in funding, NJN officials asked the state legislature for permission to become an independent nonprofit entity. Under this proposal, the state network would have likely been transferred to its nonprofit fundraising arm, the NJN Foundation. Two consultants looking into fundraising options speculated that breaking off from the state would have triggered an avalanche of private funding. [2]

After assuming the office of New Jersey Governor in 2010, Chris Christie voiced his support for transforming NJN into a not-for-profit organization in his March 2010 budget speech. [3] Christie believed the state taxpayers should not have to support a TV and radio network which many never watched or listened to, a stand in keeping with the growing Republican interest at the time in populism.

On October 15, 2010, a bipartisan legislative task force called for a "dramatic reconfiguration" of the state network, but not full privatization. Christie nonetheless moved forward with plans to remove state funding. [4] On November 17, NJN handed termination notices to 130 employees, leading to speculation that the state network would shut down on January 1, 2011, when funding from the state would end. [5] On December 17, 2010, Governor Christie signed legislation to transfer the state network to independent funding. The legislation also suspended the layoffs. [6]

Endgame

On June 6, 2011, the split of NJN's radio and television operations was announced by Gov. Christie. They were as follows: [7] [8]

On June 23, 2011, the New Jersey State Assembly voted, 45 to 30, in favor of rejecting the WNET/Caucus proposal for transfer of control of the NJN television stations. [11] The state Senate, however, passed the resolution on June 27 by a 20 to 19 margin, allowing the deal to go into effect as scheduled on July 1. [12] All 130 NJN employees, who had been New Jersey state civil servants, either retired, were reassigned to other state agencies, or were terminated as a result of the system's closure. [13]

The last scheduled program aired on NJN television was Theatre Talk, which was followed by a previously-aired news report and a pre-taped farewell message by Janice Selinger, NJN's acting executive director. [14] NJN's website, www.njn.net, was archived and remained active for about a year after the shutdown; it redirected to the NJTV webpage, www.njtvonline.org for some time afterward. However, as of September 2014, it no longer redirected to that website, as the domain name was sold. Some of NJN's in-house public affairs programs, such as Due Process , On the Record and Reporters Roundtable, were picked up by, and continue to air on, its successor, NJTV.

Television

The NJN television stations were:

Montclair station WNJN-TV Montclair dishes jeh.jpg
Montclair station
Notes
Signal Reach

Digital television

The state network's digital signals were multiplexed:

Sub-channelProgramming
xx.1main NJN/PBS programming
xx.2NJN2
xx.3AudioVision (audio only)

After NJN ceased operations and WNET took over the operations of NJN, NJN2 was removed and sub-channel .3 remained with no programming. In October 2017, the third sub-channel was removed and the .2 sub-channel began broadcasting NHK World.

Analog-to-digital conversion

The four NJN stations shut down their analog signals on June 12, 2009, as part of the DTV transition in the United States. [15] Each of the four NJN stations remained on their pre-transition digital assignments using PSIP to display virtual channels for each NJN station corresponding to their former analog channel numbers. [16] [17] [18] [19]

Television Programming

Original materials from New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority have been contributed to the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. [20]

NJN-produced

Lottery Drawings

NJN aired live drawings from the New Jersey Lottery until the network's closure in 2011, at which point the Lottery began live-streaming its drawings (via Ustream, and later Livestream).

NJN's successor, NJTV, aired Lottery drawings from September 2011 through the end of 2012; on January 1, 2013, the drawings moved to two CBS-owned stations, WLNY-TV in the New York area and WPSG in Philadelphia. As of 2016, these drawings are now aired on WPIX in New York and WPHL-TV in Philadelphia. [21]

Radio

Unlike its television counterpart, NJN Radio covered mainly southern New Jersey, with only two transmitters in the northern part of the state. Due to the crowded state of the noncommercial end of the FM dial in the northeastern United States, the nine stations all operated at relatively low power. Much of the programming came from NPR and other public radio suppliers, with a simulcast of the audio of the television network's NJN News weekday evenings following All Things Considered .

CityCall lettersFrequency
Atlantic City WNJN-FM 89.7
Berlin WNJS-FM 88.1
Bridgeton WNJB-FM 89.3
Cape May Court House WNJZ 90.3
Manahawkin WNJM 89.9
CityCall lettersFrequency
Netcong WNJY 89.3
Sussex WNJP 88.5
Trenton WNJT-FM 88.1
Toms River WNJO 90.3

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">WNYC</span> AM and FM radio stations in New York City

WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that did business as "WNYC RADIO" until March 2013.

WHYY-TV is a television station licensed to Wilmington, Delaware, United States, serving as the primary PBS member station for the Philadelphia area. It is owned by WHYY, Inc., alongside NPR member station WHYY-FM 90.9. WHYY-TV and WHYY-FM share studios and offices on Independence Mall in Center City, Philadelphia, with an additional office in Wilmington; through a channel sharing agreement with WMCN-TV, the two stations transmit using WHYY-TV's spectrum from an antenna in Philadelphia's Roxborough section.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLVT-TV</span> PBS member station in Allentown, Pennsylvania

WLVT-TV is a PBS member television station in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Owned by Lehigh Valley Public Media, it is a sister station to Philadelphia-licensed PBS member WPPT. WLVT-TV's studios are located in the south side of Bethlehem, and its transmitter is located south of nearby Allentown atop South Mountain.

WHYY-FM is a public radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its broadcast tower is located in the city's Roxborough section of the city at while its studios and offices are located on Independence Mall in Center City Philadelphia. The station, owned by WHYY, Inc., is a charter member of NPR and contributes several programs to the national network.

WNJM is a radio station licensed to Manahawkin, New Jersey. The station is owned by WHYY, Inc., and simulcasts the public radio news and talk programming of WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

WNJZ is a radio station licensed to Cape May Court House, New Jersey. The station is owned by WHYY, Inc., and simulcasts the public radio news and talk programming of WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPPT (TV)</span> PBS member station in Philadelphia

WPPT is a PBS member television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned by Lehigh Valley Public Media alongside Allentown-licensed fellow PBS member WLVT-TV. As WYBE, the station's transmitter was located in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia; in 2018, it entered into a channel sharing agreement with Allentown-based independent station WFMZ-TV and began operating from WFMZ's transmitter on South Mountain near Allentown.

WNDT-CD is a Class A television station in New York City, affiliated with First Nations Experience (FNX). Owned by The WNET Group, it is sister to the city's two PBS member stations—Newark, New Jersey–licensed WNET and Garden City, New York–licensed WLIW —and Class A station WMBQ-CD.

WMCN-TV is a television station licensed to Princeton, New Jersey, United States, serving the Philadelphia area with programming from Shop LC. It is owned by WRNN-TV Associates alongside Willow Grove, Pennsylvania–licensed independent WTVE and Trenton, New Jersey–licensed Class A station WPHY-CD. WMCN-TV's studios are located on Dobbs Lane in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Through a channel sharing agreement with PBS member station WHYY-TV, WMCN-TV transmits using WHYY-TV's spectrum from an antenna in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia.

NJN News is a half-hour daily broadcast television news program by the New Jersey Network which also aired in New York City on WNET Monday through Friday. It was sometimes preempted on holidays by special programming.

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WTHA is a radio station licensed to Berlin, New Jersey. The station is owned by Bux-Mont Educational Radio Association, and simulcasts the public radio programming of WRDV in Warminster, Pennsylvania.

WNJN-FM is a radio station licensed to Atlantic City, New Jersey. The station is owned by WHYY, Inc., and simulcasts the public radio news and talk programming of WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

WNJB-FM is a radio station licensed to Bridgeton, New Jersey. The station is owned by The Bridge of Hope, Inc., and simulcasts the Christian adult contemporary programming of WKNZ in Harrington, Delaware.

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NJ PBS is a public television network serving the U.S. state of New Jersey. The network is owned by the New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority (NJPBA), an agency of the New Jersey state government which owns the licenses for all but one of the PBS member stations licensed in the state. NJPBA outsources the network's operations to Public Media NJ, a wholly-owned subsidiary of New York City–based The WNET Group, the parent company of Newark, New Jersey–licensed WNET and Garden City, New York–licensed WLIW. In addition to PBS programming, NJ PBS airs shows distributed by American Public Television (APT); the network also produces and broadcasts its own programs, mostly related to issues in New Jersey. NJ PBS' operations are based in Englewood, New Jersey. Its anchor studio is located at Gateway Center in Newark. Master control and some internal operations are based at WNET's studios in the Worldwide Plaza complex in Midtown Manhattan.

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New Jersey Public Radio (NJPR) is an NPR member network serving portions of northern New Jersey on four licensed stations: 88.1 WNJT-FM in Trenton, 88.5 WNJP in Sussex, 89.3 WNJY in Netcong, and 90.3 WNJO (FM) in Toms River, which were the four northernmost radio stations of the New Jersey Network (NJN) until 2011. NJPR is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), which also owns the two WNYC and two WQXR-FM stations. NJPR primarily serves northern New Jersey residents who are unable to get a clear signal from the WNYC stations. The network went on the air on July 1, 2011, after NJN ended operations the day before.

References

  1. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1995 (PDF). 1995. p. B-265. Retrieved January 28, 2011.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. Behrens, Steve. With its state aid shrinking, NJN asks for independence Archived 2011-06-17 at the Wayback Machine . Current, 2008-05-12.
  3. "Text of Gov. Chris Christie budget speech to Legislature". The Star-Ledger . 2010-03-16. Retrieved 2010-11-20.
  4. "Task force calls for 'dramatic reconfiguration' of NJN, does not support full privatization". The Star-Ledger . 2010-10-15. Retrieved 2010-11-20.
  5. "NJN employees receive layoff notices as N.J. moves station workers off payroll". The Star-Ledger . 2010-11-17. Retrieved 2010-11-20.
  6. Tom Hester, "Christie takes action to make NJN an independent TV outlet," New Jersey Newsroom, December 17, 2010 http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/state/christie-takes-action-to-make-njn-an-independent-tv-outlet
  7. "GOV. CHRISTIE SELECTS WNET FOR NJN TAKEOVER", NJN Press release (via WMGM-TV): June 6, 2011. Archived June 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  8. Jensen, Elizabeth (June 6, 2011). "WNET to Oversee New Jersey Public Television". The New York Times.
  9. Flanagan, Jenna (June 30, 2011). "New York Public Radio Acquires Four NJN Radio Stations". WNYC . Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  10. "WHYY Philadelphia Expands New Jersey Coverage, NJN Is Kaput". Atlantic City Central. July 1, 2011. Archived from the original on September 15, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  11. "N.J. Assembly rejects plan to transfer NJN management to N.Y.-based WNET". The Star-Ledger. 2011-06-23. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
  12. "N.J. Senate fails to block WNET plan, ending NJN network". The Star-Ledger. 2011-06-27. Retrieved 2011-06-28.
  13. "NJN signs off today, leaving 130 people out of work". NJ.com. 2011-06-30. Retrieved 2011-06-30.
  14. Camcorder Tests & More (1 July 2011). "The End of NJN - New Jersey Network sign-off June 30th, 2011". Archived from the original on 2021-12-13 via YouTube.
  15. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-29. Retrieved 2008-04-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. "CDBS Print WNJB".
  17. "CDBS Print WNJN".
  18. "CDBS Print WNJS".
  19. "CDBS Print WNJT".
  20. "New Jersey Network in the American Archive of Public Broadcasting". americanarchive.org. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  21. Drucker, Judith. "LIVE TELEVISION BROADCAST GIVES NEW JERSEY LOTTERY PLAYERS EVEN MORE WAYS TO WATCH THE WINNING NUMBER DRAWINGS". New Jersey Lottery. New Jersey Lottery. Archived from the original on 7 July 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  22. "www.whyy.org" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
  23. "New Jersey Public Radio".

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