The field of journalism is a whole different world in its own right. There are many topics to be discussed, learned, and deciphered in the field of journalism, and these topics can be covered on many different viewing levels. Although it is always important to know what is going on in the world on a national or even global scale, local journalism has been around the longest, and for a good reason. Local journalism is the foundation of all journalism.
Wedged between Morris and Sussex County, New Jersey, is the largest lake in New Jersey: Lake Hopatcong. Lake Hopatcong continues to witness history and memories being made while countless families grow into adulthood. Additionally, the local Lake Hopatcong News has been the one to accentuate these memories and experiences of everyday citizens. One local journalist in particular is named Karen Fucito, the Editor-In-Chief of the Lake Hopatcong News.
Fucito has been in charge of Lake Hopatcong News for over a decade, taking over shortly after its inception in 2012, and she has been a journalist even longer, for about 45 years. As the official website states in the headline: “The tradition of telling the stories of the lake community continues,” exemplifying the importance of local journalism and how it has been with us for centuries, perhaps even millennia.
Karen Fucito explained what got her so interested in journalism, stating that she has “been interested in becoming a journalist ever since she was in middle school.” She started her passion by writing for her middle and high school newspaper, and despite not being an athlete herself, she “loved to write about sports.”
During her high school career in West Caldwell, Essex County, she began freelancing for the Caldwell Progress. But it wasn’t until Fucito went to East Stroudsburg University where her journalism career would form its stone foundation. It was during her years at East Stroudsburg that she found her love for photojournalism. She facetiously recalled the story of how one of her superiors asked her “to take photos of their college football team during a game” which she had never done before.
She explained how when she had taken all the photos to the dark room “none of them came out because [she] had never done anything like it before.” Little did she know; that this would be the start of a lifelong passion for photojournalism. After she graduated from East Stroudsburg, she worked for the Daily Record of Morris County, where she and many others would take photos for their daily publications.
She worked at the Daily Record for about twenty years, having fun adventures while also stressing to meet strict and inflexible deadlines while doing arduous tolling work. It would not be until 2011 when her very close friend, Jessica Murphy, the editor of Lake Hopatcong News, offered Fucito a deal. Jessica Murphy was going to be the President of the Lake Hopatcong Foundation and unfortunately, that would mean “she had to pick one or the other, being in charge of both Lake Hopatcong News and the Foundation would be too much work.”
After much pondering and thought; Jessica Murphy offered Fucito the position of Editor of Lake Hopatcong News. Fucito, who at that point had been living in Morris County for decades, and around Lake Hopatcong for many years, decided that she would love to take the position.
It is this job that she still works to this day. She explains that, although the work-life balance can be a lot to handle because “journalism is a 24/7 job,” she absolutely loves this job.
During our interview, Fucito explained how she ran into a man at the Main Lake Market who had a nice antique boat from 1970 and out of curiosity questioned him about it. What made this man’s boat unique was that it was built in a warehouse on the lake, and to this day had never left Lake Hopatcong.
It was just an ordinary day, and that simple conversation with some stranger in the community led to a story that will be published in the Lake Hopatcong News in next Summer’s edition. She explained afterward that one of her favorite parts of Lake Hopatcong News is how “incredibly personal it is [to the community], for one of my goals [for Lake Hopatcong News] is you to know your neighbor, that has always been my goal.”
The Lake Hopatcong News Website states boldly at the top “The tradition of telling stories of the lake community continues,” and Fucito wholeheartedly proved that she believes in this statement as she explained, “local news is the cornerstone of all news.” Without local or personal news you would not have all these large news organizations that have sprouted up and covered statewide, nationwide, and international audiences. Journalism started here, from a printing press of a local community newspaper. “Everyone deserves to know what is going around in the community around them.”
Despite the rapidly changing crazy world we live in; many traditions continue to live on in the day-to-day lives of average local people. Karen Fucito’s Lake Hopatcong News, the successor to old canceled newspapers from years prior, demonstrates her mission to continue the tradition of local coverage for our wonderful little community with its heart as Lake Hopatcong. Based on her decades of experience, it is foreseeable that Lake Hopatcong News, with love from the community, will be around for a very long time.
Photo Courtesy of Lake Hopatcong News and New Jersey Highlands.
