MCLEEN, VA: Today Ocean County Scanner News announces a definitive agreement to be absorbed (acquired) into the new NJ Today Network to serve New Jersey residents. OCSN began in 2013 as a hyper-local media page in the under-served Ocean County, NJ market area. The NJ Today Network is being formed out of various independent local news outlets around New Jersey, but organizing them under one corporate umbrella. This will provide a uniform and consistent media brand users can trust- a brand users are familiar with.

Vice President Ted Sheckler of the NJ Today Network tells the press that “…OCSN laid the groundwork for modern breaking news reporting, but we can come in and do it more refined- more profitable.” Sheckler further explains that the NJ Today network might turn off some readers as they will think it is corporate propaganda like their other news outlets. He reassures the fans that most parts they love about OCSN, MCSN, ACSN and these other unorganized grass-roots media organizations will remain. VP Sheckler further explains “These scanner pages used to be ignored and laughed at among us in the president’s office, but once we began to see these people are capable of producing better news than our professionals, we had to step in and open our checkbooks.” “The future is in this kind of journalism…” Ted states during a pre-recorded audio release not yet publicly available, with the Vice President telling listeners that NJ Today will focus on the parts of OCSN that worked, and will remove the negative and unprofessional aspects of these outlets.

Ocean County Scanner News administrators were saddened for the loss of local journalism here in Ocean County when the sell out was announced at an internal staff meeting on 03/30/2021. As of press time, it us unknown how many former OCSN staff members will be retained after the merger. While OCSN (the page) is being absorbed and grown into a larger news network, the bulk of the content will become property of NJT Network. This is after an undisclosed cash offer was made to OCSN earlier in March. Attempts to reach multiple OCSN admins went unanswered, and a telephone number listed only directs to a penthouse at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, NV. An unidentified butler answered the phone, but only said all OCSN staff members were “downstairs winning money and eating steak.”

OCSN has not yet issued a full press release explaining the acquisition on their social media pages, but the changeover of logos and color themes will begin immediately on the OCSN website (www.ocsn.news). In an email statement to the NJ Department of Transparency, Newly-Elected OCSN Vice President of Media Relations, Chaim Moshe tells the state this merger will satisfy all requirements of the department of justice. Moshe explains that “OCSN has the reach and following of what a good news outlet can be, but the rough and uncouth style of journalism here is no longer welcome in today’s world of professionalism and equality.”

The NJ Department of Transparency applauds the buyout with hopes the corporate takeover will ease the yelling of scanner pages, and the public, which demand police dispatch channels remain open, or clear (unencrypted) for them to listen to. NJ Officials explain that with the amount of corruption rampant around the state, we need these police chiefs to keep their radio systems locked down to avoid full transparency in policing. “The public doesn’t have to know nothin’ about what we do in the field everyday” explains one unnamed NJ representative when asked why police can hide their daily routine operations behind secret radio systems taxpayers pay for. “If they [the public] want to listen to our channels so bad, let them apply to become a cop and see what we deal with” is the attitude of most departments as explained in this statement given from the NJDT. One NJ senator further wondered why NJ residents don’t trust police, and was concerned if media outlets like OCSN were capable of monitoring police dispatch channels- people would really know what is happening in their towns and cities. “You would think we want people knowing what police are doing, you know- maintaining that level of transparency” said NJ Senator Frank Lautenberg when asked about the big stink regarding police encryption. “However after speaking to most chiefs of police here in NJ, the verdict is they demand to remain behind a cloak of secrecy with their multi-channel encrypted, or scrambled radio systems.” If NJ residents truly knew the crime and dangers in their own cities, most would move out- or demand better from our current elected representatives.

OCSN VP Chaim Moshe reassures the NJ representatives that “NJ Today will no longer press the police transparency issue, and we will focus on trusting our local police and government leaders.” With no further discussion on that issue, the attention was brought to the upcoming changes to Ocean County Scanner News, and the widespread rollout of NJ Today Network. “Eventually we will have a local news bureau in each county, staffed by diverse, compassionate and caring journalists who wish to make news as friendly and non-offensive as possible.”

“NOT SO FAST” said one NJ representative whom wanted reassurance from NJ Today Network that an earlier March offensive photo caption degrading Jewish Women would never happen again. “We recognize this error was NOT an OCSN issue, but indicative of a corporate ownership model of local journalism” said one NJ Councilwoman. “All of us here at the NJ Today Network are trained in world religions, women’s studies, and other courses to ensure we have a world-view of the stories and communities we serve” reaffirmed OCSN VP Moshe.

A full press release regarding the new corporate structure will be released in coming weeks. In the meantime, NJT executives will begin purging and censoring 8 years worth of “garbage” posted on the OCSN website.