By Sean Rhatican

The Trentonian is a local newspaper headquartered in Trenton, New Jersey.  The paper covers the Trenton/Ewing area and covers local topics such as sports, business and opinion.  The paper was founded in 1945 by a breakoff group from the Trenton Times.  The Trentonian, according to author Jon Blackwell,  has been described as a “feisty tabloid”, catering to the African-American community of Trenton.  The paper has also been known for its coverage of crime in the Trenton and Ewing area, and for its blistering opinion pieces. Particularly famous is their “homicide watch”, where the Trentonian logs murders and creates profiles for the victims in order to generate sympathy for the victims.  The paper is also known for its bitter rivalry with local competitor, The Trenton Times.  In the infamous “newspaper wars” of 1975, The Washington Post Company bought the Trenton Times, with editor Katharine Graham vowing to make Trenton a “one paper town”.  The paper won a Pulitzer Prize in 1974, for its focus on official corruption in the state government.  The paper is still in print, and is still going strong.

Three potential news stories/feature ideas-

• The paper won a Pulitzer Prize in 1974, what were the circumstances of this? I’d like to find the details of the story and the prize-winning article itself.
• What exactly happened in the infamous 1974 “newspaper wars”? I’d like to find articles about and chronicle this interesting time period in newspaper history.
• Why do people describe the Trentonian as a tabloid? I’d like to read through their articles and see exactly why.

Links:

http://www.capitalcentury.com/1946.html

https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86077286/

https://www.trentonian.com/site/about.html

https://www.trentonian.com/