ABOUT US
The New Jersey Monitor is an independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan news site that strives to be a watchdog for all residents of the Garden State.
When policy makers are making decisions, our reporters will do more than tell you what they’re doing. We’ll tell you why and how their actions matter to you. When a public official behaves badly, we’ll expose it. When there’s a story that hasn’t been told, we’ll find it.
We strive to hold powerful people accountable and explain how their actions affect New Jerseyans from Montague to Cape May.
Our content is free to readers. Other news outlets are welcome to republish our content with proper attribution.
The New Jersey Monitor is an affiliate of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, supported by grants and donations. We retain full editorial independence.
Terrence T. McDonald
Editor
Editor Terrence T. McDonald is a native New Jerseyan who has been a journalist for nearly 20 years. He has covered everything from Trenton politics to the smallest of municipal squabbles, exposing public corruption and general malfeasance at every level of government. One politician forced to resign in disgrace because of Terrence’s reporting called him a "political poison pen journalist.”
Dana DiFilippo
Senior Reporter
Dana DiFilippo is a veteran journalist who worked at WHYY, Philadelphia’s NPR station, and the Philadelphia Daily News, before joining New Jersey Monitor’s inaugural team. She also has worked at newspapers in Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and suburban Philadelphia and has freelanced for various local and national magazines, newspapers, and websites. She lives in Central Jersey with her husband, a photojournalist, and their two children.
Sophie Nieto-Muñoz
Reporter
Sophie Nieto-Muñoz, a New Jersey native and former Trenton statehouse reporter for NJ.com, shined a spotlight on the state’s crumbling unemployment system and won several awards for investigative reporting from the New Jersey Press Association. She was a finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists for her report on PetSmart's grooming practices, which was also recognized by the New York Press Club. Sophie speaks Spanish and is proud to connect to the Latinx community through her reporting.
Nikita Biryukov
Reporter
Nikita Biryukov is an award-winning reporter who covers state government and politics for the New Jersey Monitor, with a focus on fiscal issues and voting. He has reported from the capitol since 2018 and joined the Monitor at its launch in 2021. The Rutgers University graduate previously covered state government and politics for the New Jersey Globe. Before then he covered local government in New Brunswick as a freelancer for the Home News Tribune. You can reach him at [email protected].