By John DiMaio New Jersey’s definition of an independent contractor, and the Murphy administration’s strict enforcement of it, is a threat to the state’s struggling news industry. A free press is vital to keeping government in check as the watchdog for the people. That is especially true in New Jersey considering our state’s sordid, but earned, political reputation. Treating the men and women who deliver newspapers as employees, for the first time in state history, would cost The Star-Ledger about $3 million a year in taxes for worker benefits, and many businesses that the state could target f…