NJ ADVANCE MEDIA TO LAUNCH IN SPRING New media company to drive innovation Morristown, NJ – March 27, 2014 – NJ Advance Media, a new media company, will launch later this spring to expand and improve the news and information products available to New Jerseyans. The new company will provide content, advertising and marketing services to NJ.com and the State’s leading newspapers, including The Star-‐Ledger. NJ Advance Media will begin representing NJ.com and The Star-‐Ledger for sales and marketing services in early June. It will begin providing content to the website and The Star-‐Ledger in September. In addition, it will provide limited content and sales services to other affiliated daily and weekly newspapers in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, including The Times of Trenton, The South Jersey Times, The Hunterdon Democrat and The Express-‐Times of Easton, Pa. The formation of the new company will not affect the newspapers’ publication frequencies or their availability on newsstands and via home delivery. The Star-‐Ledger, The Times of Trenton, South Jersey Media Group, Lehigh Valley Media Group and NJN Publishing will continue to operate as independent companies with their own newsrooms. Richard Vezza will remain publisher of The Star-‐Ledger and will oversee newsroom operations. "We remain dedicated to serving the people of New Jersey with top-‐quality journalism — both in print and in digital media," said NJ.com president Matt Kraner, who will be the president of NJ Advance Media. "Likewise, we're committed to developing new products and services to help our advertisers grow their businesses. The evolution of our companies is driven by a rapidly evolving digital landscape and a culture of innovation. We are positioning ourselves for the future.” Today, the companies plan to have a larger team of full-‐time reporters, columnists and photojournalists at launch than exist now at NJ.com and The Star-‐Ledger. They anticipate creating more real-‐time statewide and local content than the newspaper and website produce at present. The NJ Advance Media management team led by Kraner, will include Kevin Whitmer, as editor, VP of content; Lamar Graham, as VP of audience development; Barb Chodos, as VP of sales; and Steve Alessi, as VP of sales. In addition to NJ Advance Media, Penn Jersey Advance Central Services will be formed to provide support services for NJ Advance Media and other affiliated companies, including NJ.com, The Star-‐Ledger, The Times of Trenton, South Jersey Media Group, Lehigh Valley Media Group and NJN Publishing. Richard Diamond Jr., currently president of Penn Jersey Advance, will serve as president of the new shared-‐ services company. Launching in September, it will provide circulation, information systems and technology, strategic sourcing and financial and accounting services. In the coming weeks, employees of NJ.com, The Star-‐ Ledger, and other affiliated companies in New Jersey and Pennsylvania are being informed of how the changes will affect them individually. A number of employees will remain with their current company, and others will be offered jobs at NJ Advance Media or at Penn Jersey Advance Central Services. “We value the contributions of our employees and many will be offered positions with NJ Advance Media or Penn Jersey Advance Central Services,” Vezza said. “Unfortunately, however, some job loss is a reality, and we’ll try to handle that as respectfully as possible.” Kraner said that NJ Advance Media will build on a tradition of both award-‐winning reporting and effective advertiser solutions. “We will always remain committed to excellence in journalism,” he said. “Our new collaborative strategy will allow us to focus on innovation to best serve our readers and advertisers who rely on us to provide news and information 24/7 across print and digital platforms.” # # #