The Ocean Grove Times 1896-1998
We first bought a home in OG in 1998. Blogfinger.net has been publishing since 2009 and has had over 4.5 million “hits.”
Our philosophy at BF.
Blogfinger mascot. If we had a football team we would be “The Ocean Grove Cows.” Go cows! Moooooooo would be heard echoing across the stadium
By Paul Goldfinger, MD, Hyperlocal editor of Blogfinger.net: Supporters of freedom of the press and speech and anything else not banned by our laws.
We hope to design a Go Cows tee shirt. We also support “Buy American.” except for Greek yogurt and Brooklyn pastrami.
In the latest issue of the Tri-City News, the headline proclaims that Asbury Park now has its own”hyperlocal” news website. It is a branch of a news service called TAPinto.
They say that they will make money with advertising as they provide “community journalism.” There was a similar concept a few years ago called the Asbury Park Sun, but it folded its tents and rode off into the sunset.
Grovertown had its own newspaper from 1896 to over 100 years later—1998. There is a piece of that paper above. The Asbury Park Press used to have a reporter watch the Grovarian news closely, but that is over. APP pays little attention to us unless a body is found hanging from the pier. (which actually happened-)
The Coaster isn’t much of a newspaper–you all know what that is about.
So the new publication in A. Park has high hopes, but the idea of “hyperlocal” news is nothing new, even on the Internet.
We founded Blogfinger in 2009 with the unique idea that we could cover the news in town with the help of volunteers, and we called it “information sharing.” We hoped that informed citizens could help us, but that never worked out. For a few years we had two professional news people writing for Blogfinger, and they were wonderful, but Charles and Mary moved back to Philly around 2015.
So we are what we are: We emphasize Ocean Grove with original photographs and news stories when something interests us.
We have little concern anymore regarding what goes on at the Neptuner Mother Ship or anywhere else in the OG business and “what-have-you” community. We are interested in OG lifestyles, and some issues do light our fire, such as the North End or the Camp Meeting, and people sometimes tell me that we are their source of news for OG, but we don’t make any such claim.
We have never made a dime or any other denomination from Blogfinger. It’s something that I enjoy, and the NJ Press Association has recognized us.
If I had to make a claim, I would say that what we do is unique. Especially with our multimedia approach to original photography including providing a soundtrack for those still photos, something like the use of music for motion pictures. You cannot go into a museum or gallery showing photos and find a soundtrack like we do.
And what publication do you read which provides original poetry with music and photography as we do, although George Held says that someone once set a poem of his to music.
Here is an example of what we do on Blogfinger.net:
2021. Blogfinger post with music and an original photo
So, we would welcome anyone who would open an honest newspaper or other hyperlocal site in town.
FROM THE SOUNDTRACK OF QUARTET: This song is by Gilbert and Solomon. (He was Jewish, you know). “So please you, Sir, we much regret.”