In recent months, I've taken my shots at NewsBreak, the Star Tribune's once-hyped vidcast that is now retrenching.

Thanks to Nieman Journalism Lab's Ben Cohen, I finally saw a newspaper vidcast that works — although, dammit, it has subsequently retrenched.

It's done by the Newark Star-Ledger, New Jersey's leading paper. "Ledger Live" has everything the Stribcast does not: authenticity, informality, show-specific reporting, social networking and a newsroom that looks like there are actual people in it.

Check out this segment from August:

It starts out feature-y — a high school sports tease and a cat story (which is saved by the droll Sarah Vowell-like narrator). But the money part is how they take a "video letter to the editor" and critique the letter-maker!

It's not mean-spirited. The complainant to "You're the Boss" posits that NJ's low-income housing shortage would be solved if only we kicked the illegal immigrants out. No doubt a lot of Star-Ledger readers would agree.

Reporter/host Brian Donohue goes out on the street to show this easy solution isn't easy at all — talking to actual immigrants, and showing how they live in "stacks."

It's a substantive, watchable segment, pulled off by a real reporter who knows how to combine social media and visual storytelling — and who, by the way, has genuine charisma. No doubt helped by ambient Jersey attitude, Donohue is passionate yet professional, and best of all, unscripted (for the most part).

If NewsBreak wants to continue the vidcast format, it could improve immensely just by copying "Ledger Live."

However, "Ledger Live" has already morphed into Version 2.0. The live noon newscast is out, and "Ledger Not-So-Live" is basically a video blog. Stories are presented individually, and according to Cohen, Donohue also:

reaches out to viewers on Twitter and he actively presides over the show’s Facebook page. He also expenses the occasional Facebook ad, which can be highly targeted. For a recent a Springsteen-related episode, he bought a $10 ad targeting Springsteen aficionados in New Jersey. About 50 people became fans of Ledger Live’s Facebook page, which means their news feeds will include links to all subsequent episodes, Springsteen or no Springsteen.

Here are a few of Donohue's favorite segments — I'm not as wild about all of them as he is, and the Strib does some of this stuff. But again, Donohue's personality makes it, and the pieces show how newspapers can leverage existing talent to make something with a pulse.

The Great Bruce Springsteen debate:

Jon Bovi backs Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine (yes, rockers are a big deal in Jersey):

Ridding Jersey of Canadian geese — leveraging the editorial page's attitude, but also adding reporting and newsroom expertise for a very solid package:

This profile of New York Yankee pitcher Brett Tomko and his art career is great: