May 4, 2016
Customer Care
The Ridgewood News
1 Garret Mountain Plaza
Woodland Park, NJ 07424-0471
To whom it may concern,
Please consider this note an official cancellation of my Ridgewood News subscription. I have received the Ridgewood News every Friday for the past 16 years, when I first moved to Ridgewood. I am canceling now because it has become very clear that the paper, and those who run it, are no longer attempting to be objective, as a true work of journalism should be. The paper is nothing but a one-sided promoter of very controversial issues in town at the moment. It’s unfortunate, because these issues will resolve themselves in time, but the Ridgewood News will forever be remembered for the way the paper “reported” them, be it the parking garage, the petition, high density housing, the campaign for Village Council. Our local paper comes out on one side every time. That side, it just so happens, is closely aligned with “big business” here in Ridgewood. I’m referring to developers, not Mango Jam, It’s Greek to Me, and the rest of our small shops and restaurants, although they’ve been drawn into the fight as well. Often the preference for the “big wigs” is subtle – the placement of an ad on the very page the opposition was told was “never used for ads.”
I don’t need “reporting” like this. I will miss the photos of my friends and their kids, the special events in town, the letters to the editor, which, when balanced, offer a much better perspective on what’s going on in town than your journalists are permitted to. I always thought the paper presented a kind of Mayberry, unrealistic, pollyanna shot of Ridgewood. Now I’m seeing how dark that approach can become. I will not be renewing my subscrition any time soon. I will let you know if I hear the Ridgewood News has decided to tell the truth, as objectively as possible.
Sincerely yours,
Ellen McNamara
