WWOR-TV in New Jersey Replaces Nightly News

Depending on one’s perspective, what the New Jersey-based television station WWOR is doing this month is irresponsible or innovative.

Last week, with no notice, the station canceled its 10 p.m. half-hour of news, the only newscast it had left. On July 8, it will try something new at 10, a youthful newsmagazine called “Chasing New Jersey.” The anchor, a real estate executive and onetime Republican candidate for Congress, will be called the “ringleader” on the program; the reporters will be called “chasers.” The shift in programming strategy is bound to be watched in Washington, where WWOR, broadcast on Channel 9, has been under regulatory scrutiny for years. The station is in a unique position, being the only big commercially owned broadcaster in New Jersey, whose 8.9 million residents otherwise see television news mainly from stations in New York City and Philadelphia. WWOR’s license for the public airwaves, granted by the Federal Communications Commission, comes with the condition that the license-holder pay special attention to the northern part of the state.