The Coaster is a weekly newspaper based in Asbury Park

Asbury Park, New Jersey

Asbury Park is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States, located on the Jersey Shore and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 16,116. The city is known for its rich musical history, including its association with...

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. The Coaster covers a number of Jersey Shore

Jersey Shore

The Jersey Shore is a term used to refer to both the Atlantic coast of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the adjacent resort and residential communities. . The New Jersey State Department of Tourism considers the Shore Region, Greater Atlantic City, and the Southern Shore to be distinct, each having...

 area communities in central Monmouth County

Monmouth County, New Jersey

Monmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...

, including: Asbury Park, Allenhurst, Avon, Bradley Beach, Deal, Interlaken, Loch Arbour, Neptune, Neptune City, Oakhurst, Ocean Grove, Ocean Township, Tinton Falls, Wanamassa, and Wayside. The paper is published every Thursday and is sold at local businesses and newsstands, as well as through subscriptions. Its layout is a tabloid format.

The Coaster was started in June 1983 by Robert F. Carroll, while he was working as an environmental reporter for the New York Daily News

New York Daily News

The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....

. Mr. Carroll began his career as a reporter for the Freehold Transcript (now called the News Transcript) and also wrote for the Asbury Park Press

Asbury Park Press

The Asbury Park Press is a daily newspaper in Monmouth and Ocean counties of New Jersey and has the third largest circulation in the state...

and The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Philadelphia Inquirer

The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...

. He is currently retired, but is still involved with The Coaster and lives in Asbury Park with his wife Doris, who is the paper's socialights editor.