While the West Essex Tribune’s regular readership will not notice any changes to this week’s issue (other than a larger page count), some are picking up our paper for the first time. This week’s edition is what we in the Trib office call a “TMC,” which stands for Total Market Coverage. It is the first of four newspapers this year that we will send to every residence in Livingston, whether or not you subscribe. So for those who are new, allow us to tell you why this paper is worth reading as you wait for that bagel to finish toasting.
We who make the Tribune are so proud to represent a town that values community reporting, and we do our best to be an essential part of your weekly media diet. While there are many other places to get news on a state and national level, no other newspaper exclusively covers Livingston. We cover the Township Council meetings, highlight local residents, and provide updates on what is happening in our schools. We make sure no appointment, resolution, or budget goes unchecked. If there is a national story, we will tell you how it affects Livingston.
Sadly, we are far removed from the days when every town had a newspaper to call its own. But in Livingston, residents can still stay up-to-date on everything happening with a quick flip through the Tribune. Just this week, all you need is a copy of the Trib to learn about the latest Township Council, Board of Education, and Zoning Board meetings, along with all of Livingston’s other current events, like our first significant snowfall of the season. You never have to risk missing a wedding announcement, a college graduation notice, or other social news. You can learn about the latest fundraiser run by the township’s many community services organizations, and be the first to know about the newest business openings.
We take the pulse of the township and put it in our pages. In recent issues, this has meant keeping readers up to date on the latest housing developments that are to be built in town, the future of the township pools, and several anti-Semitic incidents that have occurred, among many other things. We publish your letters and announce your events. On our Facebook page, we let you know about road closures, power outages, and changes that may affect your commute, and then follow up on them in the next edition of the paper. In all, we do our best not to miss a thing in Livingston and highlight what makes this township so special.
We take great pride in being the hometown paper of our more than 30,000 residents, and in being an integral part of Livingston since 1929. We are also proud to be one of the only remaining independent newspapers in New Jersey. We do our best to support the residents of this town, and in return, they have supported us right back when it mattered most; we would not have survived the early days of the pandemic without the community rallying around us. We are still standing because Livingston appreciates what we do here, a fact for which we are extremely grateful.
That support is essential to keeping the engine of this newspaper running. A community paper does not enter its tenth decade without the backing of the community it covers. For that, we thank everyone who has picked up a Tribune, whether you subscribe and read it weekly from cover to cover, or buy only the issues featuring friends and family to cut out and save the relevant articles. So to our loyal subscribers: thank you for valuing community news. And to our new readers: welcome to your community newspaper. We hope you like what you read, want to read more, and decide to stick around and support community journalism.
Whoever is reading, we are sincerely grateful that you are taking the time to thumb through this paper. We work very hard to deliver Livingston’s news to you and we hope it shows. This paper means a lot to us. Just take a look at the column on the right side of this page, written by Tribune managing editor Christine Sablynski, who “soft retired” last week after 33 years on the job, for a glimpse at how ingrained this paper is for so many in town.
The Tribune is here to serve you, so please let us know what you would like to see in the newspaper. Call us at 973-9921771, email [email protected], or stop by the office at 495 South Livingston Avenue. We love meeting and talking to our subscribers!
Thanks again for reading. We’ll see you soon, hopefully in warmer weather!
