Nick Acocella | |
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![]() Acocella in 2011 | |
Born | Nicholas Acocella February 7, 1943 |
Died | June 20, 2020 | (aged 77)
Occupation | Journalist |
Nicholas Acocella (February 7, 1943 – June 20, 2020) was an American political journalist and author. He was the editor and publisher of Politifax, a weekly newsletter about New Jersey politics. From 2015 he was the host of the NJTV show Pasta & Politics.
Acocella was born on February 7, 1943, at Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey, and grew up in West New York, New Jersey.[1][2] He graduated from St. Peter's Preparatory School, went to La Salle University in Philadelphia, and spent a year studying in Vienna. He then studied English literature at the University of California, Berkeley before taking a teaching job at Indian Hills High School in Oakland, New Jersey. He also went back to graduate school, attending Stony Brook University and the University of Delaware.[1]
He was married to Laura Eliasoph Acocella, with whom he has a daughter, Francesca Rebecca Acocella, and previously married to New Yorker writer Joan Acocella (née Ross), with whom he shares a son, Bart Acocella.[1] He died of cancer at his home in Hoboken, New Jersey, on June 20, 2020.[3]
In 1997, Acocella started Politifax, a weekly newsletter about New Jersey politics,[4] and was its editor, publisher, and sole writer.[5] Initially a fax service before transitioning to email, an annual subscription cost $400 for 46 issues. The newsletter's design comprised a white background with letters in a simple black font.[1] He initially covered statewide politics but later covered local politics as well.[6] The large number of governmental authorities in the state, with 566 municipalities in 21 counties, led to a need for coverage outside of the state's daily newspapers covering the "little battlefields" at the county and municipal level.[7] Acocella also wrote twenty books about baseball, of which he was a lifelong fan,[1] with one book, The Ball Clubs, comprising a history of every major league team.[6]
In 2015, Acocella started hosting a television show, Pasta & Politics,[8] on NJTV,[9] where he would interview various New Jersey politicians while making pasta dishes;[10] the show ran for five seasons.[11] Guests included Thomas Kean, Cory Booker, Chris Christie, and Stephen Sweeney.[1]
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