New Jersey can’t afford fewer watchdogs

Fewer reporters means less scrutiny of government spending, contracts, and decisions

Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s proposed fiscal-year 2027 budget eliminates funding for the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium, a statewide effort dedicated to strengthening local journalism and civic information.

The proposed funding cut comes at a moment when New Jersey already has far too few reporters covering local government, school boards, housing authorities, utilities, courts, public agencies, and the State House itself.

A Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism study found that New Jersey has among the fewest local reporters per capita in the nation.

Many communities no longer have a dedicated local reporter attending meetings consistently. In some places, nobody is watching at all.

When journalism disappears, corruption, waste, inefficiency, and public distrust flourish.

That is not just speculation. Researchers have studied what happens when local news organizations shrink or close. The findings are alarming.

One landmark study, “Financing Dies in Darkness? The Impact of Newspaper Closures on Public Finance,” found that when local newspapers disappear, municipal borrowing costs increase by 5 to 11 basis points, costing governments an average of roughly $650,000 more per bond issuance. Researchers concluded that the loss of local watchdog reporting reduces oversight and transparency and is associated with worsening government efficiency metrics.

Other research has found that government inefficiency, public corruption risks, and taxpayer costs increase when accountability reporting declines.

In other words: When journalists disappear, taxpayers often pay more.

That should concern every New Jersey resident in a state where affordability has become one of the defining issues of daily life.

New Jersey homeowners already face the highest property taxes in the nation. Residents are struggling with soaring housing costs, utility bills, health insurance premiums, and local property taxes.

At the same time, residents are repeatedly told there is not enough money for schools, infrastructure, mental health services, affordable housing, or property tax relief.

Yet the state is considering eliminating a relatively modest investment in civic information and local reporting infrastructure — precisely the kind of oversight that helps expose waste and mismanagement before they become larger and more expensive failures.

The irony is difficult to ignore.

At a time when hedge funds, corporate consolidation, and collapsing advertising markets have hollowed out local newsrooms across the country, states should be looking for ways to strengthen accountability journalism, not weaken it.

New Jersey’s local news crisis is not theoretical. It is already here.

Many towns receive little or no consistent coverage of public meetings. Important decisions involving redevelopment, tax incentives, public contracts, utilities, policing, school spending, and public health are often made with minimal public scrutiny.

Fewer reporters means fewer questions. Fewer questions mean fewer answers. And fewer answers mean residents lose the ability to understand how decisions affecting their lives and taxes are being made.

The consequences are not only democratic. They are financial. Watchdog journalism is not a luxury. It is civic infrastructure.

Independent journalism helps the public understand whether government is functioning honestly and effectively. Without that scrutiny, costs rise.

The Civic Information Consortium has provided funding to support more than 50 local and statewide newsrooms and civic information projects across the state, and has supported initiatives to train the next generation of reporters.

New Jersey lawmakers should restore funding for the Civic Information Consortium and recognize that supporting local journalism is not charity. It is an investment in transparency, accountability, and the long-term financial health of the state itself.

New Jersey does not need fewer watchdog reporters. It desperately needs more.

Editor’s note: The Jersey Vindicator is a New Jersey Civic Information Consortium grantee.