Courier Columnists

The Courier News has several good paid columnists. One of those is the recent addition of Jay Jefferson Cooke, new to the newspaper’s staff.

I remember when, in the early 1990’s, Carol Hunter and her husband, Tom Perry, were a team on the C-N. Carol rose to the rank of editor (close enough, I can’t remember her exact title!), while Tom wrote columns. Those were hectic days, especially in Bridgewater and Raritan, where things got hot on the Board of Education. Today, when that happens, hardly anyone takes notice, because there is no continuous coverage of what goes on there – a place where most of the township’s and borough’s real estate tax dollars are spent.

Back then, both the Courier News and the Star Ledger (even the weekly Messenger-Gazette) had dedicated reporters attending just about every meeting. It’s a situation that kept the voting public and parents very informed. Now, the school board and administration hardly get any attention, because there is rarely anyone on the scene.

Tom Perry’s columns often referred to the goings-on in school affairs and in local politics. He was very good at it. He named names and got his facts right. He was a straight-shooting columnist who felt responsible for what he wrote and was generally respected by his readers.

Jay Jefferson Cooke’s columns are more personal, and very different in style from those of Tom Perry, but both guys (ditto for Michael Riley) share the same quality of good writing which comes from the heart, the gut and the intelligence. That doesn’t mean that a person always will agree with such a writer. But it usually assures that the reader will be drawn to what such people write and will give the topic some consideration.

I missed Tom’s columns after his departure. Although Cooke's subject matter is somewhat different, he helps to pick up the slack.