Joe Donohue

Politicker.com managing editor James Pindell was elected to the Capital Beat Board of Directors

Capitol Beat, an association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, gave out awards over the weekend for the bets of statehouse reporting in 2008.  The Star-Ledger won honors in three categories: In the Single Report category, first place went to Susan Livio and Mary Jo Patterson for their story on “Problems Beset Program for Troubled Kids”  Patterson, the wife of former Star-Ledger political reporter David Wald (now the spokesman for Attorney General Anne Milgram) has taken the newspaper buyout, while Livio will remain at the Star-Ledger.

Dunstan McNichol and John Martin won second place honors in he In-Depth Reporting category with their story “Waiting in pain” McNichol and Martin have both accepted buyouts. Joe Donohue, who is leaving the Star-Ledger to join the Gov. Jon Corzine's administration, won an Honrable Mention in the Beat Reporting category.

Sources familiar with the Star-Ledger newsroom say that Robert Schwaneberg, Joe Donohue, Rick Hepp, Dunstan McNichol, Kate Coscarelli, Matt Reilly and Tom Hester Sr. are among the veteran reporters who have accepted a buyout agreement.   Josh Margolin, Claire Heininger, Susan Livio and Tom Martello are part of the group that will stay on.

Two longtime Star-Ledger reporters, Robert Schwaneberg and Joe Donohue, are among a group of reporters who will accept the newspaper's buyout offer and retire this year, according to sources familiar with the Star-Ledger newsroom. Schwaneberg covered the state judiciary for many years (before his wife, Helen Hoens, was named Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court) and is now covering the race for United States Senator.  Donohue covers the statehouse.

Sources at the Star-Ledger say that publisher Jim Willse has decided that all reporters should carry digital cameras and will be required to capture still shots and video while they are covering stories. The sources say some of the reporters are not happy to have the new photographer responsibilities added to their work load.

The hype on Bob Martin, the self-funding Republican Senate candidate in the 15th district against Shirley Turner, turned out to be exactly that. Martin has raised $124,221 and spent $106,925 -- not exactly an exorbitant amount in a strong Democratic district, and less than half what his campaign boasted he was spending. He's been outspent Turner, who has $445,141 in her warchest to spend if she was nervous, which she is not. So basically, Martin is a self-funder being outspent by his opponent in a district his party hasn't won since 1993.