TAP Into John Lee

On Friday, February 9, 2018 the Nutley High School journalism class had the opportunity to interview TAP Into Nutley’s editor and publisher, John Lee. TAP Into Nutley is an online news outlet for the town of Nutley, where people are able to read about upcoming events and recent, community news.

John had moved from place to place often when he was a child, stating, “Every place is home and no place is home.” When asked where he comes from, though, he says that his answer must be England. John wasn’t brought into the United States until he was in high school, settling down in San Diego, CA. It was during his time in high school that he realized he had an interest in writing and journalism. John eventually left San Diego after being granted a full academic scholarship to Rutgers University.

The first Saturday of his freshman year at Rutgers, John invited himself to a pizza party event that was being held at the university. He soon realized that the event was being held by the school newspaper, and he left the campus with a writing assignment. “I always had a passion for writing stories,” John states. “I want to find out about everything.” With his writing assignment and the school’s newspaper gaining a reporter, John couldn’t complain.

John came to Nutley eight years ago, and purchased the TAP Into Nutley website with his friend and business partner in August of 2016. The official launch of this website was September 10, 2016, a date that he remembers by heart. His first publication on the site was a letter from Mayor Scarpelli.

Of the approximately 28,000 residents in Nutley, approximately 20,000 of them check the TAP Into Nutley website on a monthly basis. People are able to submit articles, letters and events to this website, though they must be approved by John Lee first.

It seems to John that the people of Nutley were originally very apprehensive about the idea of an online news outlet. People were more used to hard copies of printed newspapers rather than looking at the news from screens. “Tradition is great, but sometimes you need to stay with the times,” John states.

The TAP Into Nutley news outlet allows people to stay updated and receive news faster than a physical paper.