EVERYTHING EAST END | |
Owner(s) | Schneps Media |
---|---|
Publisher | James J. Mackin, Jessica Mackin-Cipro |
Editor | Rick Murphy, Jessica Mackin-Cipro |
Managing editor | Bridget LeRoy |
News editor | Stephen J. Kotz, Rick Murphy |
Director of Interactive | Ty Wenzel |
Language | English, Spanish |
Ceased publication | 2020 | (print)
Headquarters | 74 Montauk Highway
Suite 19 East Hampton, NY 11937 |
City | East Hampton, NY |
Country | United States |
Circulation | 20,000 |
OCLC number | 38838851 |
Website | https://indyeastend.com/ |
Free online archives | http://www.indyarchives.com/ |
The Independent is a local website, formerly a newspaper, published in East Hampton, New York by Schneps Media. [1]
The Independent was founded by James J. Mackin, President; Bridget LeRoy, Vice President; Lee Minetree, Treasurer; and Jodi Della Femina, Secretary. [1] The first issue (vol. 1, no. 1) of the newspaper was released on September 1, 1993. [2] The paper, originally named The East Hampton Independent, was renamed The Independent when they expanded to cover the entire East End. [1] The paper was owned by East Hampton Media, and previously known as The East Hampton Independent News Co. [1]
In 2005, the Independent acquired the Traveler Watchman. The Traveler Watchman is a newspaper from North Fork, Long Island, dating back to the 1800s. [1]
Ultimately, Jerry Della Femia became a partner and was the majority owner of the paper until 2017. [1] Jerry Della Femina is the father of daughter and co-founder of The Independent, Jodi Della Femina. [3] On Wednesday April 19, 2017, the paper was sold to billionaire investor Ronald O. Perelman. [4] Perelman, a resident of East Hampton himself, wanted to support and generously fund the paper's initial mission. [5] In an article for Patch East Hampton he stated "As the paper's new owner, I am absolutely committed to supporting The Independent's mission with a continued focus on covering local news and events while enhancing and expanding the paper's focus and coverage of the vibrant local arts, culture, dining, social scene and real estate." [5]
Every Wednesday, The Independent published coverage of local news and events on the entire East End. [6] The print version of the paper is divided into several sections. [1] In addition to the expected sections such as news & opinion, it included several unique sections such as Indy Style which discussed latest trends, store openings and designers and Indy Snaps which highlighted photography from all aspects of East End life. [1]
The website was divided into five sections, news & opinion, arts, real estate, sports & health and the camps guide. [7] The categories were then further divided into subsections encompassing the most important parts of each section. For example, the news & opinion header was separated into six sections, such as police [8] and obituary. [9] Within the sports section & health section of the paper, there was an entire subdivision focused on high school sports within the town. [7] While The Independent covered all high school sports teams on the East End, they often covered sports within Pierson Middle-High School. [10] One unique section of the newspaper that ran in the spring and summer months is the Camps Guide. [11] The Camps Guide described children's summer camps throughout the New York Area such as Future Stars Camp [12] and the Art Farm. [13] The article contains a directory of camps with extensive summaries in addition to providing links and contact information for each camp. [11]
In addition to the paper's online presence, The Independent has an online archive section of 767 copies online going back more than ten years. [14]
On June 9, 2020, The Independent announced that it would be merging with competitor Dan's Papers to form a new media entity, Dan's Independent Media. [15] While the merger was attributable partly due to falling advertising sales at the two publications as a result of COVID-19, discussions regarding the merger reportedly began in February 2020, prior to the major economic effects of the COVID-19 recession. After the merger, The Independent became online-only [15] In September 2020, Dan's Independent Media was acquired by Schneps Media. [16]
At the 2018 New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest Awards held in Albany, NY, The Independent won 21 awards. [17] It won five first-place awards and nearly a dozen other awards; it additionally was awarded six honorable mentions. [17]
The most prestigious award in the design category of the better newspaper contest is the Richard L. Stein Award for Overall Design Excellence. [17] Although The Independent didn't receive this award, they received a significant honorable mention for the overall design and appearance of the entry provided. [17] In addition to awards for individual contributors as well as presentation and design, Executive Editor Jessica Mackin-Cipro and Managing Editor Bridget LeRoy received awards for their writing. [17]
At the 2019 New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest Awards held in Albany, NY, The Independent won 31 awards [18] under the direction of Executive Editor Jessica Mackin-Cipro. The Independent won journalism awards like the Stuart C. Dorman Award for Editorial Excellence, Past Presidents Award for General Excellence, Richard L. Stein Overall Design Excellence, and Photographic Excellence.