Here’s some impressive journalism ‘ and proof of the potential for hard-hitting public service reporting in new media ventures.

During its first week of operation, NJ Spotlight ‘ a grant winner in the second year of the Knight Community Information Challenge ‘ published a report revealing that PSE&G Power, an unregulated affiliate of Power Service Electric & Gas, has failed for years to pay a state-mandated energy surcharge. In 2009 alone, PS&G Power should have paid an estimated $47 million into the societal benefits charge (SBC) fund, according to one estimate.

The very next day, NJ Spotlight published a follow-up report detailing a call by a powerful state senator for an investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. Under the state’s deregulation law, passed in 1999, all gas and electric customers are required supposed to pay the surcharge to support clean energy and energy assistance programs for low-income customer. A spokeswoman for PS&G Power, which is PSE&G’s largest customer, told NJ Spotlight that the arrangement was ‘was approved by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities in a number of open, on-the-record proceedings.’

The original NJ Spotlight story was referenced and linked in a report by The Star-Ledger, highlighting NJ Spotlight’s credibility (its founding editorial team is made up of veteran, award-winning New Jersey journalists) and the innovative partnerships that are emerging between new and traditional media.

In 2009, the Community Foundation of New Jersey received a $352,000 matching grant from Knight Foundation to create a public interest news service providing online news, continuously updated, as well as online discussion forums. NJ Spotlight describes itself as ‘non-partisan, independent, policy-centered and community-minded.’

The grant was part of Knight’s Community Information Challenge, a five-year, $24 million initiative. The matching grants are awarded to community foundations to support creative ways to use new media and technology to keep communities informed and engaged about the issues that affect their lives.