u/FannyBrownRiced

I know people are hating on it, and I was worried because I’m a professional writer with hundreds of pieces in the world from major publishers, but here’s what happened for me: It judged my newsletter as 98% human generated.

That 2%? Well, I welcomed one contributor to submit a short piece with a byline… he’s known for his art, but English is not his first language. I asked him if he used AI (seemed obvious he did). He said yes, he used Claude to help, so I took time to interview him and tease out original thoughts that I edited. But I also hacked at one of his AI paragraphs to make it better. That 2% AI 🤖 was right on the money. I probably left a hair there from his draft and it caught it.

Anyway, I’m sorry for those who are getting false negs, but wanted to share my experience and relief.

Edit: Or maybe the 2% is because I had a recipe in there? Who knows.

Why Hondas are getting jacked in NoHu, a WNY Riverwalk neighbor who developed something free and cool, a 9/11 memorial controversy in JC, a recipe from the head chef at Faubourg and much more in the latest Weehawken Gazette. Free to read and subscribe to since April 2024. Pledges accepted, needed, and greatly appreciated.

All in the latest Weehawken Gazette 📰 . Dropped last night. Free to read and subscribe, but pledges welcome/encouraged/come with benefits 💅

Hey there. I got two things framed in Hoboken last year, just picking out of a hat and, in fact, it was pricey and they totally ruined one of my posters (like melted the image off) with some heat process used to flatten it and they were difficult on getting a refund... I wasn't going to take it and it was trash. Anyway, so many places... any recs for Hoboken or nearish? I'd love to know. Thanks.

Hey there! One of my kids will be a counselor at a day camp near Maplewood for 2 weeks at the end of July. This is a long way from our home and I really don't know the area. Looking for recommendations of places to do stuff while she's working:

1. Places to work, as I work from wherever. Best libraries and cafes would be appreciated.

2. Swim, as I love to swim in pools, lakes, whatever and can flex my schedule to do it.

Thanks in advance for any help!

New issue up! Free to read and subscribe to since April 2024. Pledges welcome and those who give get benefits like a classified ad, thank you gift, and more. Read it here: https://www.weehawkengazette.com/

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Read the Weehawken Gazette now — free to read and subscribe since 2024. Pledges welcome! We now pay contributors thanks to the awesome people who have pledged.

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Actually might be less. Visiting family there and their guest house is rented out. This is for 1 or 2 adults as my partner is leaving LA before me.

Anyone have a line on a place? AirBnB is thin for listings and we don’t need tons of space. Have friends happy to give us their place when away but they are all the way over in Culver City and seems a schlep. If anyone has a lead lemme know and thanks.

Just thought I’d pass this on from the Mayor of Guttenberg. Weehawken Gazette asked and yes, it’s open to kids from any towns:

“Our DPW Department is hiring seasonal high school students. If interested, please pick up an application at 217-71st.”

Came out yesterday. So much news. https://www.weehawkengazette.com/p/pastries-plus-things-that-fly-and

Plus fun stuff. Like the newspaper that suggested you walk "through" Hamilton Park. Check it out. Free to read and subscribe to, pledges welcome/encouraged/massively helpful.

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I write a local/regional newsletter. Lot of word of mouth. But when I dive into how people are finding me, Facebook way over performs (even though I put way more time, posts and effort to Instagram and the other platforms) bringing 30% of traffic. Google search brings about 8%. All the other social platforms bring about 6-7% of traffic (even though Reels on Insta do great, it's not bringing people in like FB) EXCEPT X, which brings only .4% -- that's less than half a percent, about the same amount of traffic as Duck Duck Go and I've been on Twitter/X since 2011.... and have a lot of followers. It's like, a dead zone / not a traffic driver.

But odd, LinkedIn and Nextdoor bring a lot of comments and chatter but Substack shows <.1% of traffic coming from there. I even had someone kinda famous endorse my newsletter on LinkedIn but nope, no traffic.

Anyway, just wondering if this tracks with what you guys are seeing? Love to know!

Hear ye, hear ye! In mid-June there will be auditions held in Weehawken for a (unofficial) Town Crier to deliver scripted local news and sponsored announcements, in public on a highly part-time basis. No experience necessary. Costume and bell will be supplied. Audition is open to all ages, genders, ethnicities. Heck, we will audition your dog AND your baby. They won't get the gig, but it'll be adorable. Oh and we are getting about 80% women signing up... so in the interest of equality, where are the fine NJ dudes at? Show off your pecs and/or your belly and represent!

Sign up to learn more on the Weehawken Town Crier Interest Form and you'll be informed when they are happening. Yes, this is Weehawken, not Hoboken, but we are your nextdoor nabes and figure this is OK under the "Local events are allowed to be posted only once and must be in Hoboken or a neighbor city" rule.

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Hear ye, hear ye! In June there will be auditions held in Weehawken for a (unofficial) Town Crier to deliver the Weehawken Gazette's scripted news and sponsored announcements, in public, on a highly part-time basis. No experience necessary. Costume and bell will be supplied. Audition is open to all ages, genders, ethnicities.

Sign up to learn more on the Weehawken Town Crier Interest Form and you'll be the first to be informed when they are happening.

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Latest Weehawken Gazette came out this morning and is packed with amazing stories and research that took way too much time. 😆

In June there will be auditions held in Weehawken for a (unofficial) Town Crier to deliver scripted news and sponsored announcements, in public, on a highly part-time basis. No experience necessary. Audition is open to all ages, genders, ethnicities.

Sign up to the interest form to learn more via the QR code and be the first to be informed when they are happening.

Fun fact: There are no official Town Criers in Hudson County.

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Hi there. Recently 13 towns in NJ held school elections in April. Some had budget questions on the ballot. Only about 4% of registered voters showed up.

Now in Hudson County there are elections happening now and in person tomorrow, May 12.

I am a paying subscriber to NJ dot com and northjerseynews dot com (writing this way so they don't become links) but I, and no one who tried, could get a reporter to cover them, even though in one town we have the first choice on the ballot in more than a decade. Seems newsworthy, no?

Also tried Patch and all the small online news outlets that scoop up local news grant money — but nothing. The NY Times also doesn't cover it (yes, I'm also a subscriber and yes I asked) which is not surprising because they are more likely to cover someone tap dancing outside a hot dog stand in Kansas, than something happening across the Hudson.

I write a local newsletter (since 2024) with a small following, and now a bit of search traffic... and I wrote about it because people honestly had no idea it was happening, couldn't find the ballots, don't know what ward they are in or how many wards we have, etc. but my podunk (but fun!) newsletter shouldn't be the only source of news. I spent last week trying to get info on the elections, and found an official site had never updated their info with the early voting extension. It's a story...

I also do this as a public service. I started collecting pledges less than a year ago but have less than 40 paying subs because I wanna keep it free/no paywall. The money that has come in is now going to pay freelancers.

Was at a local zoning meeting last week and a neighbor complained they didn't know a recent meeting was happening, and a board member said something like, "what can I tell you, the newspapers all went out of business."

It's like people expect news and communication to flow out of a tap like water, but they pay a water bill, but don't support news or realize it's necessary.

Jersey Journal RIP, Hudson Reporter RIP, etc.

Anyone else having this problem in NJ? Love some commiseration here because I'm really sad and frustrated.

📰 Latest Weehawken Gazette dropped this morning. If you want to know about the upcoming election on May 12 and all kinds of local news you can’t get anywhere else — check it out.