Center for Cooperative Media
- College of Communication and Media
The Center for Cooperative Media brings journalists and communities together to strengthen local news, from statewide collaboration in New Jersey to a growing national network.
- Social Media
About the Center
The Center for Cooperative Media is a grant-funded program of the College of Communication and Media at Montclair State University. It was founded in 2012 in response to the downsizing of New Jersey news organizations and changes in the ownership of regional public media, shifts that hurt the volume of local news in a state that has historically had limited coverage of its own due to its proximity to New York City and Philadelphia. With 564 municipalities packed into a densely populated state, New Jersey was, and is, ripe for innovation in local journalism.
The Center coordinates statewide and regional reporting, connecting more than 300 local news and information providers through its flagship project, the NJ News Commons. The Commons helps partners share content and encourages them to collaborate and support one another. The Center also conducts research on local journalism, business models and ecosystem mapping, and convenes national programs to foster stronger collaborative journalism across the country.
Explore the Center's Resources
The Center's main site, with program details, NJ News Commons membership information, and open research on the state's local news landscape.
A dedicated hub for the national Collaborative Journalism Resource Hub, including guidebooks, case studies and cohort applications.
Center Staff
Joe Amditis
- Associate Director of Operations
Cassandra Etienne
- Associate Director, Programming & Membership
Stefanie Murray
- Director, Center for Cooperative Media