Sforza: Some stories to be exclusively for subscribers in recognition of reader support

For more than a century, the New Jersey Herald has provided Sussex County residents with news that has told the story of life in northwest New Jersey.

That's more than a century of covering Sussex County, from its beginnings as a rural farming community to the suburban community it has become as part of the larger North Jersey landscape.

Over that time, the Herald has worked to deliver information that's important to you, to your families, to your businesses and to your future.

The NJ Herald still does all of that, landing on news stands and in your driveways each day. But it has changed over the years. And more recently, the changes have included widening the scope of its coverage while still retaining the local flavor of Sussex County.

First and foremost, we have transitioned to a powerful storytelling platform that provides award-winning articles, fantastic videos, photo galleries, newsletters and more.

That shift, which brings local news to you around the clock on your mobile phones, laptops and tablets, has also changed how we support the journalism that is so intrinsic to the way we live and to our democracy.

Now more than ever before we are relying on our subscribers to support our news gathering.

In recognition of that growing reliance on our readers’ support, a portion of our reporting will be available only to subscribers, starting today. This will include many of our exclusive stories unavailable from other news sources. These will be labeled “For Subscribers” on the New Jersey Herald web site and our mobile apps.

Often, readers will tell me that they get their news through Facebook or Twitter. But behind the stories you find on social media networks are organizations like the New Jersey Herald, where hard working journalists are doing the on-the-ground reporting to get to the bottom of a scandal, tell you about the newest restaurant opening, or keep tabs on the latest move by the county government.

It's important to acknowledge that the content provided through social media is not generated by social media.

The success of local media will increasingly depend on support from our most loyal readers — those of you who subscribe to the New Jersey Herald.

In addition, as New Jersey is comprised of more than 500 towns, it's important to keep watch on what is happening in our local governments. Only reporters from the New Jersey Herald are keeping tabs on our politicians, our school boards, our downtowns, our health organizations, public transit agencies and the environment.

This type of reporting is critical to a functioning democracy. It's critical to watching how your tax dollars are spent. And it's critical to how you make decisions that are in the best interest of your family, your business and your career.

None of this would be possible without our subscribers.

If you don’t have a subscription, we believe you’ll find it well worth your investment.

We have great new offers for print and digital available by clicking the blue Subscribe link at the top of our web site.

All print subscriptions are full-access, with unlimited views of our digital reporting, which offers interactive databases, long-form projects, video stories and far more than we can fit into print. You also get an electronic edition of the printed newspaper, so you can see the same pages we send to the printing plant each night. If you're on the road and love having your print newspaper, this is a great way to read "the paper" electronically.

If you already subscribe to us in print, that's great! Thanks!

As a lifelong resident of New Jersey, I know how passionate we all are about the role the New Jersey Herald plays in our lives. And I'm grateful to everyone who supports our efforts.

Daniel Sforza is the executive editor of the New Jersey Herald, The Record, NorthJersey.com and The Herald News. He can be reached at sforza@northjersey.com, on Twitter @sforzadan.

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: Some NJHerald.com will be available exclusively for subscribers