Beginning with this issue, the Lawrence Gazette is pleased to welcome longtime Lawrence Township reporter Lea Kahn to its pages.
Lea joins the Gazette following the final publication of the Lawrence Ledger on May 29, after many years as a reporter there. Coverage of Lawrence Township will continue in the Gazette and online at communitynews.org.
For many Lawrence readers, Lea needs no introduction. She has been reporting on the township since the 1980s and has become one of the community’s most familiar and trusted journalistic voices.
Her work has helped chronicle municipal government, school issues, development, neighborhood concerns, community events and the people who make Lawrence such a distinctive place.
For readers who may be less familiar with her, Lea brings a depth of experience that is rare in local journalism. She began writing for the Lawrence Ledger in December 1983 and began reporting for the Princeton Packet in January 2019.
Her work has also appeared in the Cranbury Press, Hopewell Valley News and the Windsor-Hights Herald. As a Ledger and Packet reporter, she has won 13 awards for her reporting from the New Jersey Press Association.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and philosophy from C.W. Post College of Long Island University and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Georgia.
That kind of experience matters.
Local journalism depends not only on attending meetings and reporting the news, but also understanding a community over time.
Lea brings deep knowledge of Lawrence Township’s history, institutions, neighborhoods and public life to her work.
She understands the value of fair, balanced and careful reporting, and she knows the importance of being present when decisions are made and when residents’ stories deserve to be told.
Her work fits naturally with the mission of the Lawrence Gazette.
The Gazette is published monthly and delivered to every household in Lawrence Township.
That townshipwide distribution gives Lea’s reporting an opportunity to reach readers across the community, including those who may not have been regular Ledger subscribers.
Stories will also continue to be published online at communitynews.org, giving readers a timely source for important developments between print editions.
We know that the end of a longtime newspaper is a meaningful change for a community. The Lawrence Ledger has served Lawrence Township readers for many years, and its closing marks the end of an important chapter in the town’s local news history.
The Lawrence Gazette has also been part of the community since September 2007, and it will continue carrying forward that commitment to local coverage.
A local newspaper becomes part of the rhythm of a town. It records milestones, explains local decisions, highlights volunteers, follows public debate and preserves pieces of community history that might otherwise be lost.
We are grateful to the readers who have valued that kind of reporting in the Lawrence Ledger over the years.
With Lea Kahn joining the Gazette, Lawrence readers will continue to benefit from her experience, professionalism and long-standing commitment to the township. Her addition will help ensure that Lawrence continues to have thoughtful, reliable reporting in print and online.
