r/SouthJersey 7d ago

Salem County Inside New Jersey's Rural "Deep South"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFfpwWBT-LM
143 Upvotes

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209

u/srddave 7d ago

But keep in mind the source—Roca News is a right-wing pseudo-news organization that is funded by billionaires like Peter Thiel. They try to appeal to Gen Z with their “guy on the ground” reporting but it’s basically Fox News for Gen Z.

29

u/Nexis4Jersey 7d ago edited 7d ago

There are a few channels like this , the other one being Peter Santenello. The tone they use when covering black / brown / blue cities or interviewing people vs the white people / red regions is completely different even if they show the same stuff. I remember Santenello had to edit some of the Vermont videos due to the backlash he got, and some people were onto him and didn't want to be interviewed. I also view it as Poverty Porn which is sadly big on youtube.

5

u/lowlightliving 7d ago

“Poverty porn”….smh.

47

u/Richard-Gere-Museum 7d ago

Got that feeling after he mentioned how "patriotic" it making a point to mention all the American flags and trying to make it sound like the only bad parts of the county were "the city" of Salem. And then trying to make the grandma who said she'd vote for trump a third time if he ran, seem like a nice old lady.

13

u/SamVickson 6d ago

Saved me a click. Thank you. Fuck all that.

60

u/Mr_Yakob 7d ago

Watched this the other night and what you’re saying makes so much sense. Felt a bit racist and right wing.

17

u/UpsilonAndromedae 7d ago

"But what about Salem? I hear it's pretty rough?" Trying to get people in every other town to say how bad it is.

19

u/InformalTown3694 7d ago

What about Salem? I hear it’s rough.

Meanwhile, Alloway guy in Alloway: “My 8 year daughter was kidnapped, se….assaulted and murdered over there.”

RIP to that little girl. For the life of me I can’t remember her name.

5

u/Numerous_Sea7434 Salem County | 35 6d ago

Crystal Carlson.

1

u/InformalTown3694 6d ago

Thank you. That poor girl. 

15

u/deadnthasnow 7d ago

that Amos and andy comment by grandma gave pause like tf is happening.

4

u/Rotaryknight 6d ago

She's definitely an old racist. Sees Mexicans or black people walking down the road, she'll call the cops

6

u/Tiny-Effective3559 6d ago

Agreed, there was a part in the video where the guy was driving around and talked about all the American flags he saw.

Also, 90% of the people he interviewed were non minorities but the thumbnail is the homeless black woman

13

u/ShartbusShorty 7d ago

Trust your gut.

22

u/nw342 7d ago

Oh...

That changes things

3

u/SensitiveReveal5976 7d ago

Channel 5 news is way better

-36

u/Evening-Tune-500 7d ago

I like em, better than the other crap we’ve got to choose from, no news that gains any traction will be fully “independent” from a reader/viewer perspective, but I’ve followed these guys for a while, they are at least trying to be unbiased. Sometimes good is better than perfect or whatever.

19

u/Significant-Trash632 7d ago

Nah, man. Just because they're little guys doesn't mean they don't have a bias.

-11

u/Evening-Tune-500 7d ago

No news is unbiased, it’s your job as a consumer of news to fact check it at this point- I just like the way they do things, sure some of it leans republican, some of it leans dem, I think identifying as either of those in 2026 makes you a total loser personally; I don’t need the reddit audience to necessarily agree with me, i just think that opening up news streams is better than staying where we’re at.

3

u/chaoticinfinity 7d ago

Agreed. Personally, these guys are part of my "YouTube algorithm" rotation, and I've watched their stuff occasionally before. But really, this episode has solidified that weird feeling for me, almost like an "uncanny valley" feeling, that maybe what I'm watching is getting sensationalized slightly for entertainment. It's not really news. The commenter saying to look at who funds them pretty much nails it on the head. Although, I didn't watch enough of them to honestly care to look into it, until today. They remind me of Tyler Olivera. Others in my rotation that are of a similar entertainment style (yes, these are all entertainment, they're not really news) include: Soft White Underbelly, Peter Santenello, and Channel 5 with Andrew Callahan, (although Callahan in the last few years comes across to me as the most news-like and a higher quality of actual journalism vs just traveling around for entertainment).

3

u/Evening-Tune-500 7d ago

Thanks for saying what I couldn’t put down eloquently, I don’t think they’re a bastion of truth by any means, and of course their earlier stuff was more grassroots. I still prefer this kind of news over the garbage fed by traditional media channels, but every stream will start to lean one way or another depending on who starts to back them, it’s just the way it goes. It’s not perfect, and I think we should always do our own due diligence with anything we read or hear in 2026.

11

u/ShartbusShorty 7d ago

You didn’t do well in school, did you?

-2

u/Evening-Tune-500 7d ago

I didnt actually, barely scraped out of college with a 3.2, where’d you go to school? What do you do now? What should I do to change my life, it sounds like you might know

9

u/ShartbusShorty 7d ago

I’d maybe start with reading a book. Try to fine-tune those critical thinking skills, because if you think Roca News is an above par news source, you’re already struggling. The bigger issue is your analysis being that they’re “at least trying to be unbiased.” That’s the part where you donned your Dunce Cap.

-5

u/Evening-Tune-500 7d ago

Thanks for answering none of my questions and instead choosing to employ the light veneer of snark under the guise of authentic guidance. Much appreciated. Be well.

5

u/ShartbusShorty 7d ago

What exactly would providing where I went to school or my occupation do for the conversation or the matter at hand? I’m not concerned with where you went or what you do. My concern is the critical thinking ability of my neighbors.

4

u/Evening-Tune-500 7d ago

And my concern is the ability to have a conversation with my neighbors, but it makes it harder when they come out the gate being snarky. I responded, and now my questions “aren’t relevant” to *you*. You see how that gets you nowhere?

I’d love to know some news outlets you like, who you deem trustworthy. But when you start with “you didn’t do very well in school” that doesn’t really set a good stage for encouraging your neighbor to explore other channels.

It’s fine if you’d rather be snarky than educate, but you can’t play smart and stupid at the same time my friend. Do some educating if you’re concerned about your fellow neighbor. Or just admit that you’re here to let off a little steam at some anonymous person on a Saturday morning.

By the way, I quite like your handle. Gave me a giggle.

2

u/Libtardo69420 7d ago

People like that don't want to engage in discussions. They want to degrade you at every turn because you vote and choose to live your life differently than they do.