Acomb’s winning streak continues

Earlier this year, Capital Region Independent Media—which publishes the Ravena News-Herald, The Columbia Paper and the Greenville Pioneer—joined over 200 other local newspapers in New York state to launch the Empire State Local News Coalition, which successfully advocated for a state tax credit to support jobs in local newsrooms across the state.

Now, the fruits of this effort are paying off.

Spurred by the Newspaper and Broadcast Media Jobs Program – the nation’s first tax credit incentivizing hiring at local media outlets – three new local newspapers launched earlier this month in areas previously impacted by newsroom closures in Westchester and on Long Island.

Two of the three Westchester communities that lost their newspapers earlier this year saw the founding of the Rivertowns Dispatch (Ardsley, Hastings-On-Hudson, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington)and The Recorder (Bedford, Lewisboro, Pound Ridge). A third newspaper, the Floral Park Villager, debuted on Long Island in a community that lost its own weekly paper during the COVID-19 pandemic, further demonstrating the program’s ability to revive local journalism and reestablish connections within these communities.

“I’ve been doing this media thing for over 30 years and one of the things that I enjoy is that no matter where I moved around the country to grow my career, when I got to these places in Asheville, North Carolina, in Roanoke, Virginia, I worked for the product that was in the lives of these people for their entire lives,” Capital Region Independent Media’s Publisher and Vice President Warren Dews Jr. said.

The state tax credit helps local newspapers stay afloat and grow.

“This tax credit allows me to continue doing what I do. I love this game of media. I love this game of keeping communities together. I love doing what I do and for years, I thought I was going to have to leave this, but this tax credit helps me and Capital Region Independent Media do what we do and that’s bringing people together, connecting communities, making sure people understand and believe the things they are reading and not just be somebody’s opinio, and do the work of journalism, so I’m happy that this tax credit is alive and well,” Dews continued. “It’s going to allow us to do the work that we do and keep people connected.”

Advocates of the legislation say it benefits not only journalism, but the community as a whole.

“When we support local journalism, our communities win,” said Zachary Richner, founder of the Empire State Local News Coalition and director of Richner Communications. “The launch of new local, independent news outlets in Westchester and Long Island is a testament to the momentum created by New York’s passage of the nation’s first tax credit for hiring at local media outlets. We started the Empire State Local News Coalition after some of these very communities lost vital news sources earlier this year and are thrilled by this resurgence in a shockingly short amount of time.”

The Empire State Local News Coalition, which represents over 200 New York newspapers, was instrumental in advocating for the program’s inclusion in the state budget, which offers a 50% refundable tax credit on the first $50,000 of each employee’s salary, with a cap of $300,000 per business over three years. The passage of this bill aims to help combat the state’s rapid decline in local journalism in New York. The state has lost nearly half of its newspapers and thousands of media jobs over the past two decades.

Publishers of the new newspapers shared their optimism and positive outlook for their industry in light of the Newspaper and Broadcast Media Jobs program. Allison Schulte, publisher of the Rivertowns Dispatch stated, “We launched the Rivertowns Dispatch to bring back local news to the communities of Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington, Ardsley & Dobbs Ferry, New York after our old local newspaper closed earlier this year. We launched the Rivertowns Dispatch because we believe starting with a shared set of facts makes for richer community life, and that newspapers can be fun as well as useful. We are thrilled for the passage of the New York Newspaper and Broadcast Media Jobs Program because it makes it easier for us to hire full-time, quality journalists to share the news and information our communities want and need. We are so grateful to the Empire State Local News Coalition for its advocacy in bringing urgency to the challenges facing New York’s local media industry.”

Lloyd Trufelman, co-founder and publisher of The Recorder, highlighted the critical role of local news in preserving democracy.

“The launch of The Recorder, a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom, shows New Yorkers recognize that a healthy democracy depends on access to reliable, quality news sources to stay informed,” he said.

Trufelman expressed hope that similar policies would continue to bolster nonprofit news outlets and support a diversified local news ecosystem.

On Long Island, Meg Morgan Norris, publisher of the Floral Park Villager, emphasized the program’s importance in the decision to launch the new paper.

“The loss of Floral Park’s longtime newspaper, the Gateway Bulletin, during the COVID-19 pandemic was devastating for this tight-knit community. With the tax credit, there is a path to long-term fiscal stability for outlets like ours,” Norris said.

As local journalism continues to face evolving challenges, the Empire State Local News Coalition and Capital Region Independent Media remain committed to advocating for long-term sustainability in the industry so that communities in places like Albany, Columbia and Greene counties have trusted local news sources. These new publications mark a hopeful step forward in the resurgence of local media across New York, with the coalition pushing for continued legislative support to ensure the long-term sustainability of local journalism.