Editorial Support Local Journalism

By the end of the legislative session in Albany, billions of dollars of tax incentives and subsidies will be gifted the film industry, ailing mismanaged public corporations, racetracks, and special interest groups.

What is not so clear is the state of the state’s newspaper industry, which has seen a major decline in recent years. According to the New York News Publishers Association, New York State saw its number of daily newspapers drop from 62 to 54 between 2004 and 2019. The loss was even more staggering for weekly newspapers across the Empire State, as the number plunged during those same 15 years, from 439 in 2004 to 249 in 2019.

With every newspaper closure, communities lose their voice and local governments lose a check on their power.

That is why we are urging our readers to support the “Local Journalism Sustainability Act.” If passed, the act would provide more tax credits over the next five years to newspaper publishers across the state for the purpose of employing full-time reporters and editors.

We thank state Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assembly Member Carrie Woerner, the primary sponsors of this legislation, for bringing it forward for consideration. It’s believed that legislators are considering rolling the Local Journalism Sustainability Act into the final, negotiated state budget this spring, but we need you, our readers, to reach out to your state elected officials to communicate how important local news is to you and how this bill would help your local news coverage.

Our elected representatives in Washington D.C. failed to reach a consensus to deliver much needed aide to newsrooms across the country, but we hope that both New York Democrats and Republicans recognize the value of good journalism in their communities — New York’s version ought to be overwhelmingly adopted.

The costs of supporting free and independent journalism through tax breaks, similar to those offered to the entertainment industry, are small — but the return on the investment is exponentially larger.

Without question, the Local Journalism Sustainability Act will do wonders for a New York journalism industry hard hit by years of economic difficulty — from soaring prices of newsprint in recent months to massive reductions in print advertising over the past two decades. Newsrooms across the Empire State have decreased in size; some have shuttered altogether.

From an economic standpoint, the tax credits provided through this act will help employ reporters and editors, keeping an important sector of our economy sustainable. According to the Economic Policy Institute, every 100 jobs in newspapers and related media sustains 268 additional jobs.

The Local Journalism Sustainability Act will strengthen and reinvigorate journalism in New York at a critical time. It will ensure that your local newspapers and websites will always be there to tell you what’s going on, what you need to know, and what you ought to know.

Other initiatives funded in the $227B 2024 NYS budget:

• a $700 million Film Production Tax Credit annually through 2034

• a $92.5 million tax credit for Musical and Theatrical productions in New York City through 2025

• $40 million in grants to the New York State Council on the Arts, which continues to administer $100 million in previously allocated funds.

• $92.5 million to the Olympic Regional Development Authority for facilities upgrades

When is the Best Time to Hold a High School Reunion?

In the aftermath of COVID, our new reality inspired the masses to realign their priorities and values. When bar-going opened back up as an enterprise, so too did the common practice of flocking to one’s beloved local watering hole to either officially or unofficially gather for that thing we dread — or mark it in our calendars and circle it red — called high school reunions.

The Messenger surely cosigns all blast-fromthe-past get-togethers that are as safely put on as they are chock full of nostalgia. This is especially evidenced within our coverage of Islip High School’s multi-class penchant for reunions at places like Islip Beach, Maxwell’s and Harp & Hound.

A high school reunion no longer has to be the most thoroughly planned out thing in the world, either. In fact, you don’t have to count down the days, you can drop everything and see the old gang today

Moreover, at a high school reunion, it’s all about what once was— and what can be again. And in that scenario where the person who was once mean to you when you were 14 shows up, well, that they’re there perhaps suggests maturation upon arrival.

If they’re there to bury the hatchet, let them. You may never get a chance for closure quite like this. And a decade’s worth of regulars can attest that, literally every week, there is high school reunion adjacency all around this establishment, where members of opposing cliques collide to unwind and confide like no one has since The Breakfast Club

Who knows? Maybe this was the exact burst of life allotment reassurance you needed too. You’ll share what you’ve been up to and realize it was all in your head, man, you are absolutely killing it— there was nothing to fear but fear itself.

I think my history teacher taught me that one.

Did you have her too?

So too are your fellow bargoers on this night here, forever and always, proving that success is relative, and occasional excess in extemporaneous doses is imperative.

Earlier generations would have admonished the familiar faces all around you in this bar you typically speed on by for being quote-unquote townies. But, last we checked, it’s not a bad thing to stay close to home, nor to support local business.

Conclusively put: the best time to hold a high school reunion is the time that works best for all— just as long as everyone’s invited.

Everyone that wants to go, will, and everyone who never cared wouldn’t dare.