Did Jersey Journal Editor Delete Reddit Account After HudPost Jab?

Apparently being qualified to write a Hudson County political power list is like being an expert in bird law because you watched the cult TV show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Thus it’s no surprise that the few who bothered to comment on Reddit felt my power list was “wack” and “whoever wrote this clearly doesn’t understand Hudson County politics.” Both of those comments are probably accurate, but another comment instantly stood out.

It was a laugh when HudPost publisher James de los Santos told me someone wrote “Zzzzz. HudPost fails. again. how about another 2 month hiatus? please.” That’s because it sounds a lot like something Jersey Journal Editor Ron Zeitlinger would say and I enjoy a good zinger.

In response, HudPost jabbed back “Ok, Ron” and the account in question was deleted shortly thereafter. An email notification showed the username was BirdLawExpert99, a Google search revealed the account had been active on Reddit for the past four years, and a search of Zeitlinger’s X account produced two tweets referencing bird law.

To every person thinking of saying “I was told there’d be no math,” instead say “I’m an expert in bird law. … yeah, it’s a thing.”

— Ron Zeitlinger (@ron_zeitlinger) September 27, 2018

Zeitlinger did not respond to an email asking if he operated BirdLawExpert99 on Reddit. Seems like something the editor of a newspaper – which has embedded HudPost content in their stories – should be able to quickly answer with a yes or no.

Why the operator of ‘BirdLawExpert99’ quickly deleted their account after HudPost’s response is open to speculation. If it was Zeitlinger, it would be a hilarious example of the domino effect meme.

In all seriousness, it’s true that HudPost hasn’t published news to its website routinely. Ironically, the Journal will cease publication on February 1, 2025, for the same reason – there isn’t a viable business model to support local journalism.

The journalism crisis in Jersey City isn’t something new, I wrote about the problem two years ago. Among the many complex challenges state policymakers must address, developing a public finance system for independent journalism should be at the top of the agenda for Gov. Phil Murphy’s final year in office.

Correction (January 12, 2025): This article previously misstated the Reddit username as “BirdLawExpert99.” The correct username is “ExpertinBirdLaw99.” An email inquiry referencing the incorrect username was sent in error. We regret the mistake, though the facts of the report remain unchanged.