NEW Magazine hits Jersey City newsstands
By Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal
April 30, 2010, 5:55PM

The inaugural copy of NEW Magazine under its new ownership hit Jersey City this week.

Jersey City Independent, which purchased the magazine from founder Amanda Assadi-Rullow in December, celebrated the latest edition with a party at the Iron Monkey last week.

The party took over the second-floor of the Downtown bar. Jersey City Independent Publisher J. Shane Smith and Editor Jon Whiten greeted over 100 guests, handing out tote bags filled with copies of NEW and giveaways from Iron Monkey, Javiera Magaly jewelry, Milagros Clothing Design, Bowski Bites dog biscuits, X Shave shaving cream, and Lollibomb Beauty.

Local designer Mark Welsh was on hand screening limited-edition t-shirts and bands Heather Duby, The Touristas and Land of the Look Behind performed.

The event drew Jersey City Independent and NEW contributors and readers as well as 2009 City Council candidates Norrice Raymaker and Andrew Hubsch; artist and founder of The Distillery art gallery, Irene Borngraeber; artist and founder of Create Grove Artist Market Uta Brauser; and Dan Falcon, founder of JC List, among others.

Smith said they printed 15,000 copies of the free magazine, and doubled the number of distribution locations, which are concentrated Downtown and in The Heights. The next issue is expected to debut in late September or early October.

Man Bites Dog?Website Buys Magazine

By David Cohen
Dec 11, 2009

Man bites dog?hyperlocal Web-only alternative newspaper buys print magazine.

Going completely against the grain in the media world, the Jersey City Independent acquired four-year-old arts, culture and lifestyle magazine NEW, which publishes twice annually and also covers Jersey City, N.J.

Jersey City Independent co-founder and editor Jon Whiten has served as managing editor at NEW since 2007.

Terms of the deal, which was finalized earlier this month, were not disclosed. The first issue of NEW under its new owners will be published in April.

Whiten said:
When (NEW founder) Amanda (Amanda Assadi-Rullow) approached us about purchasing NEW, I knew that we had a great opportunity to build on the success of our online work with a print product. The magazine will enable us to explore the arts and culture scene in Jersey City more fully while we continue to cover that scene?plus local news and politics?on the Web.

We're not looking to go back to square one here. We want to build on the solid foundation the magazine already stands on and continue to invest in the best writing, photography and design we can put out there.

Independent publisher and co-owner Shane Smith added:
We're an independent, locally owned, forward-thinking alternative to the publications that are out there, and so is NEW. In a fairly small media market, it made a lot of sense for us to join forces.

People love to say that print is dead, but we know that we'll be able to connect with a whole new audience with a print publication in a way that complements what we offer on the Web. That furthers our mission of providing the community with an alternative to the local daily, and it's great for our bottom line.

And Assadi-Rullow said:
This is a completely natural progression, as well as a necessary transition that will ensure outstanding journalism. I have always wanted NEW to be an independent, refreshing voice for our community, and this move will only enhance that effort.

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