North Jersey Media Group announces staffing changes

North Jersey Media Group announced Monday a restructuring in several of its departments, the latest step in a major strategic reorganization that was unveiled in September.

The aim of that reorganization is to continue to meet the growing digital demands of readers and advertisers while responding to changes in the publishing industry.

The reorganization will result in job losses across the operation. Despite that, North Jersey Media Group — the publisher of The Record, the Herald News of Passaic County, NorthJersey.com, a Community News Group with about 30 weekly newspapers and the (201) magazine group — remains committed to meeting the needs of readers, advertisers and communities across North Jersey.

It comes at a highly transformative time for the media industry, especially publishers with large print portfolios.

“We remain committed to transforming the North Jersey Media Group into a digital powerhouse in response to the unprecedented change sweeping throughout our industry,” said Nancy A. Meyer, president of NJMG, which was purchased in July by Gannett Co. Inc. “Our top priority is serving our readers, advertisers and communities across North Jersey — not just today, tomorrow or next month, but for years to come. The difficult actions we’re announcing today will enable us to continue building on our strong foundation and enable us to continue to deliver award-winning journalism and highly effective sales and marketing solutions to the region.”

By week’s end, 141 employees are to receive notices required by New Jersey and federal law when significant layoffs are planned by private employers.

In September 2016, North Jersey Media Group unveiled a consolidation of its three separate content divisions. Blended with an expanded digital team, the moves made NJMG one of the largest newsrooms in New York City’s metro market. 

Gannett Co. Inc., the nation’s largest news publisher and creator of the USA TODAY NETWORK, purchased North Jersey Media Group in July 2016 from the Borg family.

Gannett already owns the Asbury Park Press and six other dailies in the state. The acquisition made it the largest local media operator in New Jersey. Even with Monday’s announcement, the NJMG newsroom remains one of Gannett’s largest.

“We are proud to be North Jersey’s No. 1 local news source,” Meyer said. “We are confident today’s actions will position us to remain that content and advertising leader while putting us in an even stronger financial position.”