You are reading

Forum on The State of Queens Media To Take Place Tuesday

(Unsplash)

Jan. 18, 2021 By Michael Dorgan 

A public forum discussing the current state of the news media in Queens – and its outlook for the future – will take place on Jan. 19 from 2 p.m.

The forum, which is being organized by the Queens Chamber of Commerce via Zoom, will feature some of the borough’s leading media experts who will share their views on the rapidly-changing industry.

The group will discuss the impact COVID-19 lockdowns have had on the local news sector in Queens.

How have media outlets adapted to reporting and producing the news during these extraordinary times? What do these changes mean for the future of newsrooms and the coverage of community news?

Christian Murray, editor and co-publisher of the Queens Post, will be among the panelists. Murray established the Post in 2010 having previously worked for Newsday and Thomson Reuters.

Murray has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and won the New York State Associated Press Association award in business writing in 2002.

Other panelists include Mark Weidler, publisher of the Queens Chronicle; Tony Barsamian, editor and publisher of the Queens Gazette; Kate Bliss, publisher of the Metropolitan Airport News; David Brand, managing editor of the Queens Daily Eagle; Walter Sanchez, editor-publisher of the Queens Ledger/Brooklyn Star News Group and This is Queensborough magazine; and Tom Grech, president and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce

Jeff Simmons executive vice president of Anat Gerstein will moderate the discussion.

Tickets to the event are free and interested participants are required to register in advance at the following link.

email the author: news@queenspost.com

One Comment

Click for Comments 
Larry Penner

Queens residents once had their own daily Long Island Star Journal and Long Island Press until they went out of business in the 60s and 70s.

Weekly newspapers based in Queens such as the Queens Courier, Chronicle, Daily Eagle, Examiner, Forum, Gazette, Times Ledger, Wave and Woodside Herald provide more in depth coverage of local news not found in the remaining major daily newspapers.

We continue to be fortunate to live in one of the few remaining free societies, with a wealth of information sources available. Sadly, most American cities and suburbs are down to one local daily or weekly newspaper. Newspapers have to deal with increasing costs for newsprint, delivery and distribution along with reduced advertising revenues and declining readership.

In NYC and Queens — we have ongoing circulation battles between a number of daily newspapers. They face competition from other daily newspapers who have a strong presence in their own communities such as Long Island Newsday, Staten Island Advance, Journal News (Westchester, Putnam, Rockland and Dutchess counties), Star Ledger & Bergen Record (New Jersey), Times Herald Record (Hudson Valley and Catskills) along with the the New York Times, Post and Daily News. There is also national editions of USA Today and the Wall Street Journal along with freebies such as AM New York Metro. More people turn to all news radio, national network news such as ABC, CBS, NBC along with thier local affiliates, News 1, FOX-5, WOR-9, WPIX-11 and PBS, cable new stations such as CNBC, CNN, FOX, BBC and the Internet for late braking news which can sometimes become stale by the time it reaches print the next day. A growing population of new immigrants support their own newspaper, radio and television stations.

I continue to be grateful that daily and weekly newspapers, afford me an opportunity to express my views, as well as differing opinions. Thanks to you, ordinary citizens have the freedom to comment on the actions and legislation of elected officials. Public officials use taxpayers dollars to promote their views, via mass mailings of newsletters, news releases, letters to the editor and guest opinion page columns. In many cases, they are produced or written by campaign or office staffers who are paid for by taxpayers. The rest of us have limited time to submit a letter. Let us thank those few brave souls who are willing to take on the establishment and powerful special interest groups in the pages of your letters to the editor section.

Please join me along with your neighbors in continue reading our Queens based newspapers. Patronize their advertisers; they provide the revenues necessary to keep them in business. Let them know you saw their ad. This is what helps keep our neighbors employed, the local economy growing and provide space on a daily or weekly basis for your favorite or not so favorite letter writers.

In the marketplace of ideas, let us hope there continues to be room for all our weekly Queens newspapers. They fill a valuable niche in the information highway.

Larry Penner
Faithful Reader and Contributor for decades!

Reply

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

South Jamaica man murdered in broad daylight a few doors away from his home: NYPD

A South Jamaica man was stabbed to death in front of his neighbor’s home just down the block from his own house near Baisley Pond Park in broad daylight during the afternoon of Saturday, Aug. 16.

Police from the 113th Precinct in Jamaica responded to a 911 call of a man stabbed in front of 150-16 119th Ave. at 4:10 p.m. Upon arrival, the officers found the 43-year-old victim lying at the curb with a stab wound to his chest. EMS responded to the location and rushed him to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition. He succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead a short while later, police said.

Suspect wanted for flashing woman multiple times while riding R train in Astoria: NYPD

Police from the 114th Precinct in Astoria and Transit District 20 are looking for a flasher who exposed himself repeatedly to a woman on board a northbound R train in Astoria on Sunday, Aug. 17.

The suspect sat across from the 34-year-old victim at around 12:50 p.m. as the subway was in the vicinity of Steinway Street and 34th Avenue and showed her his genitals multiple times, police said. The suspect zipped up and got off the train at the station and ran off on foot in an unknown direction. The woman was not injured during the encounter.

US Open returns to Flushing Meadows as most competitive and unpredictable major in tennis

Aug. 19, 2025 By Shane O’Brien

Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka  ensured the 2024 men’s and women’s US Open went with the formbook, with both favorites romping to victory at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center last September, but recent history suggests that Sinner and Sabalenka – undoubtedly the two best hardcourt players in the world – will struggle to retain their crowns this year.

Op-Ed | Quality of life and ending the culture of ‘anything goes’

Aug. 19, 2025 By Mayor Eric Adams

Every day, everywhere I go — whether it’s at a town hall, on the streets, or when participating in an interview — I hear about the quality-of-life issues that affect New Yorkers’ daily lives. I am proud of the progress we have made bringing down crime and violence over the last three and a half years — and equally proud of our efforts to improve quality of life all across the five boroughs because that is what New Yorkers see and feel every day in our city.