By James FitzPatrick
Contributing Writer
With its announcement of the new monthly Current of Linwood, Northfield and Somers Point, The Press of Atlantic City also revealed that the remaining six weekly Current and Gazette newspapers would be discontinued. The family of publications, which were a vital source of timely community news for more than 20 years, is gone for good.
It was sad news for former Current/Gazette staff members who poured everything they had into making the group of free publications a valued and trusted part of the communities they served. It marks the departure of week-in-week-out local news coverage that may never be seen again by some of the communities served by The Currents and The Gazettes.
Unlike Shore Local, which provides quality stories on interesting people and events in a region, The Current Newspapers, in the era before corporate ownership, were known for their hyperlocal coverage, meaning they focused on one or two towns per edition.
Former Current employees have fond memories of what the papers were able to achieve.
“One of the most lasting impressions I have from covering Egg Harbor Township for The Current was how much our community valued being proactively informed so they could participate in civic decision making,” said Laura Stetser, who reported for The Current of Egg Harbor Township full-time from 2011 to 2017.
“Proudly, I feel our hyperlocal coverage enabled and empowered our fellow community members to take action and have their own voices heard. It also created an environment where the elected and appointed officials needed to value this feedback.”
Being hyperlocal meant The Currents could dive deep into issues that would otherwise not receive close attention, such as city budgets and local elections.
Sue Marino, who was a full-time staff writer from 2004 to 20018 covering Downbeach and the Mainland, said The Current helped readers make informed decisions about who runs their cities and schools. Sometimes it was a really big job.
“There were 13 candidates running for the non-partisan Margate City Commission,” said Marino, recalling one example. “Some ran with teams and others solo.”
The Downbeach Current ran in-depth coverage weekly leading up to the vote, giving each candidate the same questions and the same amount of space to respond. Marino even managed to get all 13 candidates in front of City Hall for a photo.
“It ran on the cover of The Downbeach Current one week prior to the election with the headline: ‘Which Three Will It Be?’ The voters had been given the information on each candidate over many weeks to make an informed choice on the ballot.”
Then there were heart-breaking stories that demanded extra care. The papers covered tragic news with as much sensitivity as possible.
“I felt a responsibility to get it right when 14-year-old Aisling Cooke was killed by an impaired driver and followed that story through the driver’s conviction,” she said, noting how she took the same approach covering the murder of April Kauffman.
One of the most important stories covered by The Current team was the years-long aftermath of SuperStorm Sandy in hard-hit Brigantine and in Downbeach, especially Margate’s decision to resist a state and federal dune-building project.
“Although two of the municipalities south of Atlantic City welcomed the dunes, Margate fought the proposed project in Superior and Federal Court,” said Nanette Galloway who covered Downbeach from 2014 to 2017.
The dispute divided the community and led to a protracted court battle which Margate residents followed every step of the way thanks to her thorough and award-winning reporting.
“My stories chronicled the project from inception to completion,” Galloway said.
While reporters stayed on top of the big stories, they also spent time on the stories that were important only to the unique audiences of each edition.
The Currents were part of the community, sending reporters to classrooms and fire halls. If someone was turning 100 or a Boy Scout earned eagle status, The Current was there. If a veteran was being honored or a new business had a ribbon cutting, The Current found a way to get it covered.
As true community newspapers, The Currents and The Gazettes were partners with their readers, relying on submitted content not only to maximize coverage and stay in the know, but to solidify relationships.
The Current got the call because readers knew they could rely on the papers for coverage.
Schools were especially important, providing news and photos of student achievements. Their help allowed in-depth coverage of high school graduations. Chances are that if you had a child in a local school, there was a clipping from The Current stuck to your refrigerator.
“What was important in one town rarely mattered to other towns,” noted Rick Travers, former publisher of Catamaran Media, the company which produced The Current and The Gazette Newspapers. “The readers appreciated the strong local focus and the presence of local reporters in their communities, covering their schools and youth events and at their town meetings.”
Travers noted how readers never hesitated to express their fondness for the papers, a fact that inspired staff to do even better.
“With all of that praise and love, I believe it made our staff want to do that much better week in and week out,” he said.
It was a fun job, but it was important work.
“Thanks to The Current, residents found out where their tax dollars were going, who was spending them and why,” said Joan Kostiuk who was an associate editor for Catamaran Media from 2005 to 2018. “But it was also where they learned about the disabled veteran who sat on the sidewalk every day waving a greeting to passing cars, or the 4-year-old who was battling a rare bone disease.”
The six papers that were shuttered were the remainder of the 12 distinct local editions that were in operation when The Press took full control of Catamaran Media in 2014. The remaining six names were the last vestiges of what was once a thriving family of successful weekly publications.
Atlantic County readers might remember The Current of Egg Harbor Township; The Current of Downbeach; The Current of Absecon and Pleasantville; The Current of Galloway Township and Port Republic; The Current of Hamilton Township, Egg Harbor City and The Brigantine Beachcomber News.
In Cape May County there were The Ocean City Gazette, The Wildwood Leader, The Cape May County Gazette, The Upper Township Gazette and The Cape May Gazette. Some dated back to the 1880s. There were also The Free-Time and The SandPaper summer publications.
Although it was The Press of Atlantic City that ultimately got rid of The Current Newspapers, it was also The Press that got things started in the first place back in 1994 with the launch of the original Current of Linwood, Northfield and Somers Point, followed quickly by The Current of Egg Harbor Township.
When competition heated up between The Currents and The Gazette Newspapers, a new partnership was born in 1997 called Catamaran Media.
“The management and ownership of the daily newspaper remained totally at a distance from the weekly newspaper operation,” Travers recalled. “Further, there was total support as the weekly newspaper group was expanded by design at a rapid pace.”
Today The Press has wiped the slate clean.
“Because this product has a new content, distribution and design model, we do not consider this newspaper a relaunch of the former Current produced by Catamaran Media,” said Allison Altobelli, publisher of the new monthly.
While not a relaunch, Altobelli said she is happy to have the goodwill built by the old Current.
“I am glad we were able to retain the name The Current given its brand recognition in these areas,” she said.
James FitzPatrick was the editor of The Current Newspapers from 1997 to 2017.
