AIM ceases publishing

VERNON — AIM newspapers ceased publishing this week, on the heels of being sold from the Borg family to Gannett, one of the largest publishing companies in the country.
In the last five years, many of the largest newspaper companies, including Gannett, which publishes USA Today and 100 other daily papers, have been buying up independently owned papers and merging them or shutting them down. At the same time, independently-owned hyper local publications, such as the Advertiser News North and Advertiser News South, have continued to do well.
Editor and Publisher, a trade publication for the newspaper industry, reported last summer that "small, community newspapers across the country are not just surviving, but — in many cases — actually thriving.” The article quoted Chip Hutcheson, president of the National Newspaper Association. "It's not the doom and gloom that major market papers face," he said.
The owners of North Jersey Media Group were not available for comment by press time.
AIM history Joe Deerie started AIM in the 1980s to provide an advertising vehicle for local businesses to grow. He began circulating in Oak Ridge, and over time expanded the news coverage and circulation to Newfoundland and other areas. Deerie eventually sold Aim Community News to the Borg Family, which also published the Bergen Record.
In commenting on the closure of the AIM paper, Jeanne Straus, president of Straus News and publisher of the Advertiser News North and Advertiser News South, said “we are sorry to see AIM close. Their being on the scene alongside us helped keep us on our toes. More inquiring reporters out on the beat, covering town meetings, and asking questions are good for our community and our country.”