This wasn’t an upset. Or a long shot coming in. And please don’t call it a miracle, either. When the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission on Tuesday awarded the first New Jersey gubernatorial debate to On New Jersey, a streaming TV network in just its third year of existence, it was an acknowledgement that streaming services can compete with linear television networks.
It also was an acknowledgement that hard work – and excellence – can be recognized in a crowd.
ONNJ, co-owned and run by Lisa Marie Falbo and Gerald D’Ambra, has been the leader in debate coverage in the state since it began a partnership with David Wildstein and the New Jersey Globe as well as Micah Rasmussen and Rider University.
The channel, which launched in February of 2023, has hosted 12 statewide debates with the Globe and Rider. Which is just one of the reasons it was selected over stations in New York City and Philadelphia, New Jersey staples (NJ Advance Media, News 12 and NJ PBS) – as well as two prominent national outlets (CNN and MSNBC).
Of course, that didn’t make it any less surprising. Or noteworthy.
“What happened was unprecedented in the media world,” Falbo told BINJE. “Here we are, the new guys coming in with this new platform – this new way of doing things – and we were selected over all these established brands.”
That’s a credit to two things.
Earlier this year, the team professionally handled the gubernatorial primary debates, including a contentious Republican effort. And, last year, they handled a U.S. Senate debate between Andy Kim and Curtis Bashaw in which Bashaw had a medical emergency during the debate.
Then there’s this: ELEC appeared to recognize a streaming platform can perform in ways traditional channels cannot.
ONNJ treated the gubernatorial primary debates hosted at the Donald M. Payne, Sr. School of Technology in Newark in May as a happening – not just a debate.
ONNJ produced more than 12 hours of coverage around the event. Sure, there were numerous pre-debate and post-event programming, but there also were segments about the school and Essex County (featuring County Executive Joe DiVincenzo) and the event itself (a behind-the-scenes look at the production).
The coverage didn’t stop there.
ONNJ and the New Jersey Globe re-ran the primary debates a total of 16 times. C-Span, which picked it up nationally, ran 28 hours of coverage.
Wildstein, who has been running debates since 2020, said joining up with ONNJ has been a game-change for the Globe.
“Our alliance with On New Jersey and Rider University has a chemistry that works because we all bring different skills,” he said. “And it works because we’ve established a reputation for fair, unbiased, issue-focused debates.”
ONNJ also is earning a reputation for non-stop New Jersey coverage.
Even if it didn’t start out that way.
ONNJ was born out of the pandemic. Falbo and D’Ambra, longtime friends and colleagues, started a weekly live morning show from their kitchen tables.
The fact that Falbo was pregnant at the time didn’t matter.
“We were just looking for something to do – like everyone else during the pandemic,” Falbo said.
The show quickly found a following around the Garden State – and in the Midwest. Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting Co., in the process of buying MeTV-WJLP in Middletown for its MeTV network, saw the show and wanted the team to produce their local programming.
The team launched Your New Jersey, hosted by Falbo, and New Jersey Politics with Laura Jones – as well as nine daily news updates.
That relationship, which began on Jan. 1, 2022, is still going strong.
“It’s been unbelievable,” Falbo said. “We’ve won awards; we’ve gotten Emmy nominations – it’s been a dream working with Weigel and MeTV.”
The two enjoyed the partnership so much that they took D’Ambra’s existing on-demand platform and rebrand it as On New Jersey (ONNJ), launching the streaming channel on Feb. 2, 2023.
Falbo said launching a streaming channel was a natural progression for the industry.
“The linear TV model is outdated,” she said. “People want to watch when it’s convenient for them. The future, as ELEC has shown, is in streaming television.”
D’Ambra said the hope is that ELEC has shown others that media excellence can be found outside the mainstream.
“We were honored to be selected and appreciate their commitment to supporting local news organizations,” he said.
Wildstein said he hopes others will follow.
“The ELEC commissioners should be commended for recognizing and embracing changes to the way people get their information in 2025 and for their strong support of local media,” he said.
The ONNJ led debate, featuring Mikie Sherrill (D) and Jack Ciattarelli (R), will be held Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. at Rider University. After that, the possibilities seemingly are endless.
“To see where we have gotten to in only two and a half years is just mind boggling,” Falbo said. “I can’t wait to see how far we can go.”
