By BRIAN DONOHUE
Twenty years ago, just after midnight on June 1, 2006, longtime journalist and Red Bank resident John T. Ward clicked “publish” on the first three redbankgreen posts, marking the official launch of this website.
One was a profile of legendary local musician Chuck Lambert (who’s also still rockin’). The other was a story about Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame member Debbie Harry’s house in the River Plaza section of Middletown.
And the third was an introduction to the new digital publication he and wife Trish Rusoniello were launching, based on the concept of the old village green, where the community gathered to share stories and ideas.
“It’s just an old custom brought back to life on the Web,” Ward wrote.
Referring to an earthquake that had struck New Jersey on the same date in 1927, Ward continued, “We, too, hope to shake the ground, bust some plaster, maybe rattle the local media a bit – all without injuring or killing anyone.”
Over the last 20 years, the topics and geographical area covered by the site have morphed and shifted. Ward retired two years ago. As he had predicted, no one has been killed or (physically) injured.
And remarkably – no, incredibly – redbankgreen remains an inextricable part of the fabric of the life of this town we love so much.
Because, look, folks: this kind of thing doesn’t exist everywhere.
Over those 20 years, vast stretches of New Jersey and the nation became news and information deserts as 40 percent of US newspapers have shut down and most others have been wracked by layoffs and cutbacks.
Towns ten times the size of Red Bank often have no information source besides Facebook’s outrage-fueled algorithm and fact-check free community groups or Nextdoor’s endless cascades of paranoia posts.
Instead, while the local news industry imploded, Red Bank residents have had a place to turn to for fact-based reporting by long-time professional journalists, who are still not above writing whimsical folksy stories or rubbing some Navesink River mud on our faces.
And, what’s more, thanks in part to the spinoff company Broadstreet, (whose CEO, Kenny Katzgrau is publisher of redbankgreen) the site has emerged as a model for hyperlocal news sites that have sprung up by the thousands across the country (and the world.)
How the heck did Red Bank get so lucky?
Well, it’s a story best told in conversation.
And so to mark the 20th anniversary, Katzgrau and Editor Brian Donohue sat down with Ward for an episode of the redbankgreen podcast. We discuss how it all started, what it’s like running a news outlet in this town and where it’s all headed.
You can watch in the video player at the top of this post.
The redbankgreen podcast is also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Thanks to Red Bank’s A Shared Universe podcast studio, where the episode was recorded, and to Red Bank’s legendary Ribeye Brothers for our intro/outro music.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331.
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