Michael Aron

Retiring NJN anchor Kent Manahan is expected to be named as Acting Executive Director of the New Jersey Network.

The New Jersey Public Broadcasting Authority will hold a special meeting on Thursday to appoint retiring NJN news anchor Kent Manahan as the Acting Executive Director of the New Jersey Network.  Manahan would replace Elizabeth Christopherson, who announced last month that she was resigning after fourteen years. 

Zachary Fink has been a general assignnent reporter for the New Jersey Network since 1998

New Jersey Network reporter Zachary Fink was named on Friday as the new statehouse correspondent for NJN News.  Fink replaces Jim Hooker, who has been elevated to anchorman for the NJN Nightly News, replacing the retiring Kent Manahan.  Both appointments were made by senior political correspondent Michael Aron, who is the Acting News Director. 

Jim Hooker

State House Correspondent Jim Hooker will succeed Kent Manahan as anchor of NJN News effective January 2009, according to Michael Aron, interim director of NJN News and Public Affairs. 

“After careful deliberation and consultation, I am pleased to name Jim Hooker as anchor of NJN News Aron announced. “Jim is a seasoned journalist with deep background in the issues and politics of the state and credibility in the state capitol. He has represented NJN nationally and abroad, and at forums around the state. He brings weight and years of experience to the anchor chair. Jim also will be managing editor of the news and will be influential in the overall direction and tone of the newscast.”

“As NJN News State House correspondent, Jim Hooker brings two decades of award-winning reporting to build on the legacy that Kent Manahan has established as anchor,” said Elizabeth Christopherson, executive director of NJN Public Television and Radio. “We are delighted to recognize other members of the NJN award-winning team: Mike Curtis, the current producer of NJN News, who has been promoted to executive producer, and Peggy Micucci, assignment editor, who will be executive editor.”

On this final weekend before the election, NJN’s On the Record will feature a discussion of the U.S. Senate debate with Republican political analyst Roger Bodman, former Governor Jim Florio, Montclair State Political Science Professor Brigid Harrison and Monmouth University professor/pollster Patrick Murray.

That show, hosted by Michael Aron, will air Sunday at 9 and 11a.m., and again on Monday at 6:30a.m

On Reporter’s Roundtable, Aron will host Jonathan Tamari of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Charles Stile of the Bergen Record, Kevin McArdle of Millennium Radio and Matt Friedman of PolitickerNJ.com.  The reporters will discuss the U.S. Senate and Congressional races.  It airs today at 7p.m. and Sunday at 10a.m.

This weekend On the Record with Michael Aron will feature U.S. Senate candidate Dick Zimmer and Aron going one-on-on for half an hour. The show airs Sunday at 9 and 11a.m., and on Monday at 6:30 a.m.

On Reporters Roundtable, catch discussion of the financial crisis’s impact on New Jersey, the budget slush fund, voter registration and local congressional races with Star-Ledger reporter Dunstan McNichol, Gannett’s Michael Symons, The Press of Atlantic City’s Derek Harper and WBGO’s Mary Fuchs.

John Adler and Chris Myers debate on NJN this weekend. Jim Hooker was the moderator.
Tonight on Reporters Roundtable, NJN political reporter Jim Hooker will host a discussion of the Assembly Economic Relief Bill, Gov. Corzine’s economic stimulus speech, the latest New Jersey presidential polls and Bryant Trial testimony.

Discussing the issues will be Kevin McArdle of Millenium Radio; Cynthia Burton of the Philadelphia Inquierer; The Bergen Record’s John Reitmeyer and The Press of Atlantic City’s Derek Harper. 

Steering NJN's ship away from rocky financial uncertainty won't be easy. In fact, it may not even be possible according to the some of the folks on deck.

"It's difficult to steer a ship if the crew is in mutiny," stated NJN's Interim News Director Michael Aron.

Aron was commenting on the NJN proposal to transition the station from a state-licensed entity to a community licensed broadcaster.  The audience and the mission of NJN would remain largely unchanged from the perspective of Elizabeth Cristopherson, NJN's executive director. However the station would no longer have to rely on diminishing state funding  (not to mention fickle politics)  to pay its way into the 21st century. 

Selecting the next NJN anchor will certainly be a different process than what happens at the major networks, local affiliates and other public community broadcast stations.

Aside from grappling with its talent loss - filling the shoes (um, heels) of Emmy award winning anchor Kent Manahan - NJN's anchor search will be hampered by deep cuts, budget uncertainty and buyout restrictions.

Of the handful of state employees at NJN who opted for the early retirement package, all but one -- if not all -- may have to be filled from the inside. By law, the early retirement provisions stipulate that only 1 in 10 buyout positions can be filled from outside the state payroll.

For some folks like Senior Political Correspondent Michael Aron and now interim News Director, that may mean wearing two hats for a lot longer.

Wearing that extra hat also means Aron will likely be at the center of deciding who will become the next NJN anchor.

According to Elizabeth Christopherson, NJN's Executive Director, "there is a firewall between management and our news room" in describing how the anchor selection will be a personnel decision for the News Director to make.

NJN announced today that Senior Political Correspondent Michael Aron will serve as the network’s Interim Director of News and Public Affairs.

Aron takes over for Bill Jobes, who’s retiring after holding the post for 21 years.

In addition to appearing on NJN’s newscasts, Aron hosts and produces Reporters Roundtable. He often hosts and co-produces On the Record.