With an assist from a cop and an angel, reporter Brian Donohue finds a new purpose in life, right here in Bedford Falls, er, Red Bank.
Award-winning journalist Brian Donohue, known statewide for his Positively New Jersey videos, has joined the staff of redbankgreen.
Kenny Katzgrau, CEO of Red Bank-based Broadstreet and publisher of redbankgreen, announced Donohue’s full-time addition to the hyperlocal news site’s team Friday.
“Red Bank, as far as I’m concerned, is akin to Edison’s Menlo Park for hyperlocal news,” said Katzgrau. “At redbankgreen, we’re experimenting and continually redefining what local news looks like. To do that, we need the right people who are aligned with our values of Community, the Vitality of Red Bank and Fun — and the commitment to building something that lasts for 100 years.”
“I’ve watched Brian for years, and the timing couldn’t be better,” he said. “I say this emphatically: he is the perfect fit for the mission. This is a gift to Red Bank.”
Donohue, a 20-year borough resident, created “Ledger Live,” the forerunner to “Positively New Jersey,” while working as a reporter at the Star-Ledger, New Jersey’s largest newspaper, bringing a quirky, distinctly Jersey sensibility to video stories about people and issues.
He continued honing his unique style during a brief stint at WOR-TV, and at News12 New Jersey, where he was employed for six years.
Over the course of his career, Donohue has won three New York Emmy awards. He previously earned acclaim for his work as a reporter covering politics, crime and prisons, and immigration issues at the Ledger and the Jersey Journal in Jersey City.
Donohue, a native of Union Township, is married to Diana Archila, an artist and teacher at the Red Bank Middle School. The couple have two children. In his spare time, he likes to surf, fish and bird-watch.
“Working thirty years in local journalism – and seeing the industry struggle elsewhere over the past decade – has convinced me more than ever how important it is to the fabric of a community,” Donohue said. “A chance to fulfill its mission in a place I love so much, with a team as smart and talented as this is? It feels like the perfect wave coming toward you. You paddle hard and make sure you don’t miss it.”
Broadstreet, a technology company that emerged from redbankgreen in 2012 to serve publishers of online local news sites and regional magazines, acquired a majority interest in the site earlier this year from John T. Ward.
Ward, who founded redbankgreen in 2006, continues to oversee its content, which will now include videos and written reporting by Donohue. He and Donohue worked together as reporters for the Star-Ledger in the late 1990s.
“Brian is a heavy hitter among New Jersey journalists,” said Ward. “He comes from a tradition of no-nonsense hard news reporting. But he also brings a caring, and often amusing, perspective to feature stories that resonate deeply with viewers, especially those of us from New Jersey.”
“I cannot wait for Brian to turn his attention to Red Bank, a town he, Kenny and I live in and love,” he said.
Donohue will also use his video storytelling to elevate Broadstreet’s story and vision for local news, said Katzgrau.
The 14-employee company’s mission, he said, is to give redbankgreen – and highly focused sites like it around the world – the platform they need to fight back against Google and Facebook’s total assault on news media’s share of small-business marketing budgets.
Despite widespread pessimism about the future of local news, “there is indeed a bright future, and we’re simply in a transitionary phase,” said Katzgrau.
“Some influential people in this industry seem prone to pessimism and gloom, and I find that to be wholly unproductive,” he said. “This is when we rediscover what local news is all about, and it’s also when get to try new things to serve that aim — that’s where all of the fun is.”
Thanks to borough residents Len Oppenheim and Pete DeFazio (a Red Bank cop for 35 years) for appearing in the video above; and to Tommy Cleary for camera work.
