I'm an e-subscriber. I read the version that looks like a tabloid on the app (feels more like a paper). I miss paper-paper, though, for its secondary uses (like cleaning windows; not sure why crumpled up newsprint works so well, but it does)
I love the Post-Star. My husband and I are always amazed at its substance and the fact that it comes out daily. I'm not a sports fan, but it seems to have a super substantial sports section (and kind of charming it recently gave more prominence to a local girls team going to the states over the national basketball championships.
I look forward to reading it even on a reduced schedule, though, I think it should have a Sunday edition.
These online-only pubs like Foothills rarely grow beyond the “hobby” stage. Weekly print papers seem to be chugging along though. Not sure the model is quite finished yet. Just dailies have legacy expenses.
where it says (at the end of the paragraph) -- Sorry, the colors indicating additions and deletions do not transfer to this substack comment.
27 1. The board of elections shall publish once in each of the two weeks
28 preceding a general election, or a special or village election conducted
29 by the board of elections, a notice specifying the day of the election,
30 and the public officers to be voted for within such county, or any part
31 thereof at such election. The board of elections shall, as soon as prac-
32 ticable, but not less than [two weeks] thirty days prior to any general,
33 special, or village election, and consistently through the date of such
34 election, prominently display on its website and social media channels
35 the date and hours of the election, the offices to be voted on in the
36 county, part of a county, or the city of New York, [and a link to any
37 poll site information or poll location tools, where available] the
38 registration deadline, the mail ballot request deadline, the mail ballot
39 postmark deadline, dates and times of early voting, and a mechanism by
40 which voters can find their polling places, including information on the
41 accessibility of such polling places, and sample ballots. Such notice
42 shall appear in all major languages spoken in the jurisdiction of such
43 election. Such information shall also be made available to local govern-
44 ments, municipalities, and community boards for publication on any publ-
45 ic-facing internet website, web application, web domain or digital
46 application, including a social network or search engine, to the extent
47 that such publication is practicable. If constitutional amendments, or
48 questions are to be submitted to the voters of the state, the notice,
49 including any online notice, shall state that fact and that a copy of
50 each such amendment or question may be obtained at the board of
51 elections, by any voter. Such publication shall [be in] include, but not
52 be limited to, two newspapers published within the county. If the county
53 contains a city or cities, at least one of such newspapers shall be
54 published in the city, or the largest city, if there be more than one.
I don't think there are 2 newspapers in each county in NY. Or that, if they currently exist, this provision will provide enough revenue to save them, financially.
Am sorry to see this change. Have been in the years gone by, a subscriber for over twenty years. Being an outsider resident of the North Country read the paper every day with a pair of scissors and a pen in hand to familiarize myself with all that is offered in the area and all I was interested in. Change is everywhere these days. I find it difficult at times to accept it and am down right unwilling to accept this as I have had a very long life and see the "old" ways more understandable and certainly caring.
We go back now. Back to the beginning when newspapers were weekly news and goosip carriers. And plentiful. Available to anyone with a printing press. Now it's a computer. So, like then, everyone could be a reporter. For a long lifetime I was a newspaper man. Now, like you all, I'm a reporter, an editor, a reader. At 86 years of age. Home again.
You are pathetic Ken. You just can't help yourself. It is Trump-like to compare the situations in Cambridge and Glens Falls. Whatever suits your perspective. just like "The Donald".
I grew up in a home where my mom and dad began each day reading The NY Times and the Rockland Independent with their morning coffee. It’s just what you did.
I recently started receiving my paper digitally and the printed version on Sunday. I had a lot of delivery issues And the cost increased so that's why and I still enjoy it, I may even read more of it. I worked at the Glens Falls Times out of high school writing obits and weddings, interesting mix, and did a little proof reading so I remember the process. Hoping it's not the end but a new beginning for our local paper.
Regarding the Post Star..........This seems to be the beginning of the end. Sad, it once was a great paper with local information (good and bad). Very little local information in the Post Star in the last few years. Mon. - Wed. and Friday you could barely call it a paper, Thurs. and Sat. were a bit better. Just not enough local news or people reporting the news. I doubt mailing the paper three days a week will satisfy most people. Perhaps it will boost their on-line sales. Many people like reading and holding the paper print while having their morning coffee. For those of us who receive our mail in the late afternoon, it certainly will be old news (especially with publication being three days a week) and perhaps become a dinner time event!
All correct observations and challenges the newspaper will have to overcome. But we have to remember, even in diminished form, the local news and journalism they do is still critical.
You buried the lede yourself, Ken. The article about the change is a masterclass in deceitful corporate doublespeak. But as best I can suss out what they're actually doing from the vague pap, it seems like they are eliminating local reporting on the non-print days (while expanding the generic wire crap. In other words, they are devaluing the product by minimizing the unique local content and increasing the generic stuff you can get for free a million other places. Why would a customer pay for that? Incredibly self-defeating. And damaging to our local communities. The loss of the FBD means leaves the PS as the only outlet providing actual journalism (not just arts coverage and family travelogues) about the GF/SGF/Qby/HF region. So diminishing it diminishes the region.
I think the reality is that with just 3-4 reporters (including sports), they did not have enough content to fill 7 days a week. I suspect the number of local stories done in a week will be about the same and that will make the three print days look a little more robust.
The Black Bears is a great mascot with a great logo! I'm really surprised that it hasn't been grabbed up earlier. Perfect for this area! And so appropriate for both women and men's teams! There are so many animals that are living in the wild here in the upstate area. It's hard to imagine why some schools would spend rare education dollars to avoid finding a name we can all be proud of. Brainstorm for a few. Massive Moose, White tailed Deer, Jumping or Terrible Trout, Brown Bears, Sucking Ticks, Belligerent Badgers, Smelly Skunks, Persnickety Possums, The Scarlet Tanagers, Belligerent Bobcats, Building Beavers, Grandstanding Groundhogs, Wild Boar, The Karner Blues, The fighting foxes, The fighting fishers, The springing peepers, The spotting Newts, The flying Eagles, ETC.
It is a VERY sad day for me too then. A friend of mine did say, however, that once she got used to digital, it was fine, I hope that’s the case for me too. Local news is important.
I've been saying for at least a while they should get rid of all wire stuff and put those dollars into hiring as many local reporters as they can. The wire crap is the stuff we can get a million different places for free. The local content is what's unique and worth paying for.
This is not 1955 anymore. Few subscribers read the local paper for national and international news. They rely on it for local news, which they can't get anywhere else. That's the value in a local newspaper. That's what they should be prioritizing because that's the most worth paying for.
But the wire crap is part of the economies of scale of being part of a chain. Lee lacks the imagination to fundamentally change the 'mile wide, inch deep' model and stop the death spiral.
Learned the quote below from a journalism professor in college. Seems even more apt now in this era of “fake news” and partisan media.
“Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed; everything else is public relations.” - George Orwell
It is a great quote. And so true.
Ken, did you know Gene Spagnoli, formerly of the NY Daily News? Great guy.
I don’t believe so.
He retired in the 80’s.
I'm an e-subscriber. I read the version that looks like a tabloid on the app (feels more like a paper). I miss paper-paper, though, for its secondary uses (like cleaning windows; not sure why crumpled up newsprint works so well, but it does)
I love the Post-Star. My husband and I are always amazed at its substance and the fact that it comes out daily. I'm not a sports fan, but it seems to have a super substantial sports section (and kind of charming it recently gave more prominence to a local girls team going to the states over the national basketball championships.
I look forward to reading it even on a reduced schedule, though, I think it should have a Sunday edition.
The "Glens Falls Black Bears." With a terrific logo. Wouldn't want to face them on the field.
Glens Falls has had a long tradition for great athletics, but I ‘m sure its nickname had nothing to do with the quality of its teams.
Also one, I think, you could use for both girls and boys teams. Names like the "Knights" always seemed a little blind to girls sports.
These online-only pubs like Foothills rarely grow beyond the “hobby” stage. Weekly print papers seem to be chugging along though. Not sure the model is quite finished yet. Just dailies have legacy expenses.
Actually, I think what is dragging the dailies down is debt.
I saw a draft bill in Albany that would require the publication of election data in 2 newspapers per county. See https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?default_fld=&leg_video=&bn=A10299&term=2021&Summary=Y&Memo=Y&Text=Y
where it says (at the end of the paragraph) -- Sorry, the colors indicating additions and deletions do not transfer to this substack comment.
27 1. The board of elections shall publish once in each of the two weeks
28 preceding a general election, or a special or village election conducted
29 by the board of elections, a notice specifying the day of the election,
30 and the public officers to be voted for within such county, or any part
31 thereof at such election. The board of elections shall, as soon as prac-
32 ticable, but not less than [two weeks] thirty days prior to any general,
33 special, or village election, and consistently through the date of such
34 election, prominently display on its website and social media channels
35 the date and hours of the election, the offices to be voted on in the
36 county, part of a county, or the city of New York, [and a link to any
37 poll site information or poll location tools, where available] the
38 registration deadline, the mail ballot request deadline, the mail ballot
39 postmark deadline, dates and times of early voting, and a mechanism by
40 which voters can find their polling places, including information on the
41 accessibility of such polling places, and sample ballots. Such notice
42 shall appear in all major languages spoken in the jurisdiction of such
43 election. Such information shall also be made available to local govern-
44 ments, municipalities, and community boards for publication on any publ-
45 ic-facing internet website, web application, web domain or digital
46 application, including a social network or search engine, to the extent
47 that such publication is practicable. If constitutional amendments, or
48 questions are to be submitted to the voters of the state, the notice,
49 including any online notice, shall state that fact and that a copy of
50 each such amendment or question may be obtained at the board of
51 elections, by any voter. Such publication shall [be in] include, but not
52 be limited to, two newspapers published within the county. If the county
53 contains a city or cities, at least one of such newspapers shall be
54 published in the city, or the largest city, if there be more than one.
I don't think there are 2 newspapers in each county in NY. Or that, if they currently exist, this provision will provide enough revenue to save them, financially.
Any thoughts?
Legal ads pay pennies.
Am sorry to see this change. Have been in the years gone by, a subscriber for over twenty years. Being an outsider resident of the North Country read the paper every day with a pair of scissors and a pen in hand to familiarize myself with all that is offered in the area and all I was interested in. Change is everywhere these days. I find it difficult at times to accept it and am down right unwilling to accept this as I have had a very long life and see the "old" ways more understandable and certainly caring.
Gunta Krasts Voutyras
We go back now. Back to the beginning when newspapers were weekly news and goosip carriers. And plentiful. Available to anyone with a printing press. Now it's a computer. So, like then, everyone could be a reporter. For a long lifetime I was a newspaper man. Now, like you all, I'm a reporter, an editor, a reader. At 86 years of age. Home again.
You are pathetic Ken. You just can't help yourself. It is Trump-like to compare the situations in Cambridge and Glens Falls. Whatever suits your perspective. just like "The Donald".
Steve Luke
I stand by the comparison, although calling it “Trump-like” might be the worst insult anyone has ever hurled at me.
I grew up in a home where my mom and dad began each day reading The NY Times and the Rockland Independent with their morning coffee. It’s just what you did.
I recently started receiving my paper digitally and the printed version on Sunday. I had a lot of delivery issues And the cost increased so that's why and I still enjoy it, I may even read more of it. I worked at the Glens Falls Times out of high school writing obits and weddings, interesting mix, and did a little proof reading so I remember the process. Hoping it's not the end but a new beginning for our local paper.
It would be nice to see more investment in reporters and editors.
Regarding the Post Star..........This seems to be the beginning of the end. Sad, it once was a great paper with local information (good and bad). Very little local information in the Post Star in the last few years. Mon. - Wed. and Friday you could barely call it a paper, Thurs. and Sat. were a bit better. Just not enough local news or people reporting the news. I doubt mailing the paper three days a week will satisfy most people. Perhaps it will boost their on-line sales. Many people like reading and holding the paper print while having their morning coffee. For those of us who receive our mail in the late afternoon, it certainly will be old news (especially with publication being three days a week) and perhaps become a dinner time event!
All correct observations and challenges the newspaper will have to overcome. But we have to remember, even in diminished form, the local news and journalism they do is still critical.
You buried the lede yourself, Ken. The article about the change is a masterclass in deceitful corporate doublespeak. But as best I can suss out what they're actually doing from the vague pap, it seems like they are eliminating local reporting on the non-print days (while expanding the generic wire crap. In other words, they are devaluing the product by minimizing the unique local content and increasing the generic stuff you can get for free a million other places. Why would a customer pay for that? Incredibly self-defeating. And damaging to our local communities. The loss of the FBD means leaves the PS as the only outlet providing actual journalism (not just arts coverage and family travelogues) about the GF/SGF/Qby/HF region. So diminishing it diminishes the region.
I think the reality is that with just 3-4 reporters (including sports), they did not have enough content to fill 7 days a week. I suspect the number of local stories done in a week will be about the same and that will make the three print days look a little more robust.
Lede
The Black Bears is a great mascot with a great logo! I'm really surprised that it hasn't been grabbed up earlier. Perfect for this area! And so appropriate for both women and men's teams! There are so many animals that are living in the wild here in the upstate area. It's hard to imagine why some schools would spend rare education dollars to avoid finding a name we can all be proud of. Brainstorm for a few. Massive Moose, White tailed Deer, Jumping or Terrible Trout, Brown Bears, Sucking Ticks, Belligerent Badgers, Smelly Skunks, Persnickety Possums, The Scarlet Tanagers, Belligerent Bobcats, Building Beavers, Grandstanding Groundhogs, Wild Boar, The Karner Blues, The fighting foxes, The fighting fishers, The springing peepers, The spotting Newts, The flying Eagles, ETC.
I like them all. Everyone just needs to be a little more creative.
It is a VERY sad day for me too then. A friend of mine did say, however, that once she got used to digital, it was fine, I hope that’s the case for me too. Local news is important.
I've been saying for at least a while they should get rid of all wire stuff and put those dollars into hiring as many local reporters as they can. The wire crap is the stuff we can get a million different places for free. The local content is what's unique and worth paying for.
This is not 1955 anymore. Few subscribers read the local paper for national and international news. They rely on it for local news, which they can't get anywhere else. That's the value in a local newspaper. That's what they should be prioritizing because that's the most worth paying for.
But the wire crap is part of the economies of scale of being part of a chain. Lee lacks the imagination to fundamentally change the 'mile wide, inch deep' model and stop the death spiral.