Philadelphia Media Network

When Verizon proposed dozens of 5G small-cell antennas along streets in Doylestown Borough (PA), the reaction was a defiant no.

[Commentary] New Jersey auctioned off a public treasure - several of its public TV stations - for possibly hundreds of millions of dollars with little public debate or any idea what the governor plans to do with the money. This windfall has received shockingly little public attention. But here's the good news: It's not too late to seize this moment and use this money to transform New Jersey into the national leader in digital public media, local journalism, and civic technology.

Gov Chris Christie (R-NJ) isn't sharing his plans thus far, but the short-sighted solution is use it to plug some of the holes in the lame-duck governor's final budget. The much better idea is to take the revenue from selling off the remnants of 20th-century public media and invest it in building innovative 21st-century public-interest media that meets New Jersey residents' information needs.

[Craig Aaron is the president and CEO of Free Press and the Free Press Action Fund.]