On this week's episode we're joined by Jen Russell. Jen is the founder of The Woodbury Warbler, a hyperlocal weekly newsletter covering five municipalities in southern New Jersey. She's been producing the weekly newsletter for about a year.
Jen covers court rulings and government meetings but also finds time to profile local authors and write about ridealongs with fire fighters. There's also staples like a local events calendar and an editor's note.
Jen has a full-time job too – she's a paralegal. She's also a fiber artist and digital artist. This is her first foray into journalism. She has a vast array of skills and interests and a brain that is always going. I recommend following her on LinkedIn, where she keeps a running diary of things related to her work.
Here's an excerpt from our interview, edited for clarity and length. I hope it gets you to listen to the episode, as this one is worth checking out.
What led you to starting The Warbler?
I think this is just the natural evolution of all of my interests coalesced around serving my community. I started it after the election and I just felt like our towns were funneled and fragmented into these Facebook silos of local town pages. And nobody was really communicating very well anymore, and it was really hard to watch.
So I left social media for a while and then I realized that I had no idea what was going on in town. So I joined social media again, and I figured if I'm gonna solve this problem for myself, I'm gonna solve this for my community too. So I decided to start a hyperlocal and originally it was just going to be events and information for families, some community resources, and it just evolved from there.
What was the path that got you to 1,000 subscribers?
Everything I've done from the beginning of this newsletter is an answer to one question.
How does this serve my community?
So showing up once a week and trying to be useful was my entire strategy, and that was accidentally effective.
I still don't really follow an editorial calendar or have a strict plan about what my coverage is going to be from week to week. I'm responsive to what people are interested in.
It's not really my newsletter, it's ours. So I treat it that way.
How has coming at this from an outsider's perspective impacted how you've, you've done this?
I think it's made it both easier and harder. On one hand there aren't any rules, so I can make it up as I go. But on the other hand, yes, there are rules and I need to learn them so I don't stick my foot in it. Journalism is very similar to paralegal work. You assemble facts, data, and interviews to tell a true story.
The ethics are aligned. You don't invent facts. The biggest difference that I'm finding, which makes it a challenge, is that legal writing is advocating for a position where the type of journalism I do takes the politics and the drama out of government. I take a lot of time making sure that I'm being balanced and fair because my mission is to inform, not influence in the way that I would do that work as a paralegal.
You refer to it as 'news as conversation, not product.' What exactly does that mean?
I think seeing the decreased trust in news media these days, it's helpful to show up as a human and, running a hyperlocal, as part of the community.
So I think of what I do more as a conversation with my neighbors. I listen to what they care about, what they're worried about, what they would like to see, and then I respond to that. So that's a little different from a newsroom that decides it's going to cover X, Y, and Z and just push information out.
My dad always used to say that you have two ears and one mouth for a reason. Listening more than I talk has always served me well.
You have purple hair, so you're easily recognizable. Are you enjoying being a local celebrity?
I go places and people are like 'The Warbler is here.' And I'm like 'oh geez.'
It's easy for people to approach me because I don't look like a journalist. I just look like a neighbor who has colorful hair. And I think it helps people feel comfortable talking to me.
What tips do you have for those people who are thinking of starting a hyperlocal?
Start before you think you're ready. And don't let not having gone to journalism school be a barrier.
I see people covering their communities very well on social media and they just need that little nudge into forming a hyperlocal or partnering with someone, which is something that I'm exploring with some of the folks who cover towns that I don't cover.
I think the other thing is to approach this from a community service perspective first because the money isn't gonna be there in the beginning. I intentionally didn't monetize for the first year because I focused on building a relationship with my community. And, and that is making things much easier as I launch advertising.
How has being a journalist impacted how you view the world?
Sometimes I come across things in my research that really do make me question where we are as a society, and I wanna tell somebody immediately, but I know I can't, so I have to sit with it by myself. And that's, that's a lot.
But I think overall I see my immediate community as kinder and more supportive than I did when I started this.
In 2025 we had a new episode each week and featured more than 60 guests. I don’t know that we were the most diverse journalist interviews podcast out there, but we certainly tried to be.
We look forward to bringing you more journalist interviews in 2026 but we can use your help. Tell a friend, a relative, a colleague about us and let them know that our episodes are worth their time.
A reminder to professors and teachers
You can find episode guides that you can use if you wish to integrate the podcast within your classroom. There are more than 50 available. Each one has suggested questions for discussion and activities a class can do.
I’m also happy to help you find an episode that would be appropriate for what you’re teaching. Reach out to me at [email protected].
Additionally, I’ve curated some of the 2025 episodes into groups. If you’re teaching a class or unit in any of these subjects:
- Investigative Journalism
- Feature Writing
- Covering government policy
- Social justice, immigration, and identity
- Local News
Check out the sets of episode guides that would be useful to you. I don’t have a good term for them, so I’m borrowing from Bluesky and calling them “Starter Packs” - sets of 5-8 episodes in each category that may be useful in your classroom.