PoliticsNJ website revived

Political news junkies in New Jersey just got a new I.V. drip and that is good news.

PoliticsNJ had been a daily staple for many over the past few years and developed a large and stable following.

That reputation rested -- in PT's humble opinion -- on a three-legged stool composed of

• the anonymous 'Wally Edge' who has an encyclopedic knowledge of Garden State political lore, stats, players, grudges and achievements;
  
  
• David Rebovich, the Rider College professor whose astute analysis and assessment of the odds on any given question made him New Jersey's answer to Jimmy the Greek; and
  
  
• Steve Kornacki, adept and razor-witted reporter, who had excellent smoke-and-mirrors sensors and covered the daily flow of news, puffy releases from the pols and scanned the horizon for the next big thing.

That all started to fall apart when Kornacki left. The site seemed not to be able to keep up to speed and often PT found that it was rehashing news that he had found on his own in other places and days earlier. Things got so bad that I was forgetting to check it out at all for weeks at a time.

All that has changed.

The site was bought out by Jared Kushner, owner of the New York Observer, about a month ago and the fresh, clean new iteration went live last Thursday.

Surprisingly the only notice PT spotted was an AP feed, which he first picked up from Newsday -- the LONG ISLAND newspaper -- and later spotted on the Asbury Park Press. Where was the Ledger?

Wally Edge, who keeps his anonymity, will still be involved with the enterprise. Rebovich also stays. Kornacki returns and that is great news.

Other new contributors include former US Senator Bob 'Torch' Torricellli and former Governor Christine 'Christy' Todd Whitman. That should make for some interesting reading.

The site has been completely revamped and tidied up -- boy did it need it!

Gone is the annoying mandatory ad portal that was inflicted on all comers. Though the site has an advertising link,there are not any ads as of today. PT's guess is that they are renegotiating the advertisers that were up before -- who would be well-advised to pony up whatever increase is probably being asked for and get on with it.

There are also options for registering (though it's not clear exactly what you would be registering FOR -- they need to work on that) and RSS feeds. Geeky readers will appreciate the feeds, which deliver the headlines to your news reader in real time without your having to go to the website or wait for a periodic email (if they are keeping that function).

A quick glance this morning gives an idea of the freshness of the coverage -- the Hudson County shakeup gets covered, plus the latest on who's dropping out and dropping in for the 2007 elections, and an entry titled 'Bridge for Sale.'

This is going to be a happening site, folks. Stroll on over to the new PoliticsNJ and check it out.

-- Dan Damon

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