Good-Bye Trenton, Hello Williamsburg

Once upon a time... up to last week, in fact... The New York Times had a section they called Metro, short for "Metropolitan." It was the paper's way of acknowledging that intelligent life (and subscribers) might exist outside of Manhattan. They even had a news bureau in Trenton, and a printing plant Edison, NJ. Now all three are history... the bureau, the printing plant and the section. Just like the proverbial "good old days," local news is relegated to the back end of the first section, under the banner New York.

In a way, it's not surprising. Hemorrhaging almost as much red ink as Wall Street, The Times... like the victim of a merger and acquisition deal gone bad, is trying to cut its way back to profitability. But its absence will be noted by some of us who reside on the west bank of the Hudson.

With about 40% of the newsroom staff of The Star-Ledger accepting buy-outs, and other papers struggling even after substantial downsizing, it looks like in-depth news coverage of the Garden State will likely become the near exclusive domain of the AP and New Jersey Network. We'll miss The Times distinctive, if at times dismissive, voice. Somehow, reading blogs on nj.com just isn't the same...