The Journal News

The Journal News was created through a merger of several daily community newspapers serving the lower Hudson, which had previously been organized under the Gannett Suburban Newspapers umbrella; the earliest ancestor of the paper dates to 1852. Although the current newspaper's name comes from the Rockland Journal-News, which was based in West Nyack, New York, and served Rockland County, the Rockland Journal-News was actually the third-largest newspaper that Gannett merged to create the larger newspaper. The Reporter Dispatch from White Plains, New York, and the Herald Statesman in Yonkers were larger and served Westchester County.

For years prior to the October 12, 1998, merger that created The Journal News, ten of the newspapers shared some content and printing presses, although the Rockland Journal-News, formerly The Journal-News, the Rockland County Evening Journal and the Nyack Evening Journal, operated its own full composing room and printing press until fall 1996. The Rockland Journal-News had an independent staff of editors, writers, photographers, an artist, etc., from the time of the 1964 purchase by Gannett until the 1996-1998 consolidation period. In that, there was a fierce independence that led to exceptional reporting and photography on both sides of the Hudson River.

Gannett acquired nine of the newspapers in 1964 from the Macy family and added The Star in Peekskill, New York in 1985.{{cite web|url=http://www.gannett.com/about/map/ataglance/gsubur.htm|title=About Gannett: The Journal News|author=Gannett Co., Inc.|access-date=2006-10-26}} These newspapers previously appeared on newsstands in the evening. In 1989, Gannett created a morning edition for Putnam County, Westchester, and the Bronx called The Sunrise,{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/04/10/business/sunrise-paper-in-new-york-suburbs.html|title=Sunrise Paper in New York Suburbs|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 10, 1989|access-date=August 15, 2019}} but it folded after a year. Today, The Journal News appears in the morning like other New York dailies.

Newspapers that merged in 1998 to create The Journal News:

• Rockland Journal-News (West Nyack)
• The Citizen Register (Ossining)
• The Daily Argus (Mount Vernon)
• The Daily Item (Port Chester)
• The Daily News (Tarrytown)
• The Daily Times (Mamaroneck)
• The Herald Statesman (Yonkers)
• The Patent Trader (Mount Kisco) (itself the product of a 1956 merger of Northern Westchester papers) was subsequently acquired by Gannett and folded in 2007.

File:Paperboy license 1970 New York State.jpg

• The Reporter Dispatch (White Plains)
• The Standard-Star (New Rochelle)
• The Star (Peekskill)

The Journal News successfully launched Putnam Magazine and Rockland Magazine in 2005, and Scarsdale Magazine (originally InTown Scarsdale) in early 2006.

In 2005, The Journal News expanded its Custom Publishing division and began publishing a series of suburban lifestyle magazines about the Lower Hudson Valley region. The first of these publications was InTown, which covered the Westchester market with hyper-local editions targeting different regions of the county:{{citation needed|date=January 2013}} In late 2006, these numerous editions were all consolidated into one county-wide publication, InTown Westchester, which publishes 10 times a year.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

• Bronxville/Tuckahoe/Eastchester
• Larchmont/Mamaroneck
• Northern Westchester (Bedford, Chappaqua, Katonah, Mount Kisco)
• River Towns (Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, Irvington, Tarrytown)
• Rye/Harrison/Purchase
• Scarsdale
• White Plains

The Journal News also publishes five ultra-local community weekly Express newspapers serving Northern Westchester, Putnam, Yorktown/Cortlandt, Sound Shore, and White Plains as well as the Review Press, a weekly newspaper covering Bronxville, Eastchester, and Tuckahoe.

The Journal News' website, LoHud.com, features daily news updates, more than 40 blogs, as well as Varsity Insider, an online source for varsity sports, featuring rosters, schedules, and statistic for high school teams throughout the Lower Hudson Valley region.{{cite web|website=lohud.com|url=http://www.lohud.com|publisher=The Journal News|title=LoHud}}

On March 7, 2010 The Journal News closed its press and outsourced printing.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

On August 7, 2013, the newspaper laid off 26 staff members, including 17 journalists, and its editor, Caryn McBride.{{Cite web|last=Skriloff|first=Dylan|date=2013-08-07|title=Janet Hasson Fires Caryn McBride|url=https://www.rocklandtimes.com/2013/08/07/janet-hasson-fires-caryn-mcbride/|access-date=2022-02-13|website=The Rockland County Times}}{{Cite web|last=Taliaferro|first=Lanning|date=2013-08-06|title=The Journal News Cuts 26 Jobs|url=https://patch.com/new-york/scarsdale/the-journal-news-cuts-26-jobs|access-date=2022-02-13|website=Scarsdale, NY Patch}}

In February 2022, The Journal News ran an advertisement for an upcoming article on the East Ramapo Central School District, which Agudath Israel of America condemned as reproducing classic antisemitic tropes similar to those found in the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.{{Cite web|date=2022-02-08|title=Agudath Israel Protests Bigoted Rockland Journal News Imagery |url=https://hamodia.com/2022/02/08/agudath-israel-protests-bigoted-rockland-journal-news-imagery/|access-date=2022-02-09|website=Hamodia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220208152548/https://hamodia.com/2022/02/08/agudath-israel-protests-bigoted-rockland-journal-news-imagery/|archive-date=February 8, 2022}}{{Cite web|last=M|first=Josh|date=2022-02-08|title=Agudah Protests Antisemitic Cartoon in Monsey Newspaper|url=https://vinnews.com/2022/02/08/agudah-protests-antisemitic-cartoon-in-monsey-newspaper/|access-date=2022-02-09|website=VINnews}} The Anti-Defamation League's New York / New Jersey branch also condemned the advertisement, stating that it "draws from the worst of millennia-old antisemitic tropes about Jews".{{Cite web|title=Lohud Slammed for Posting Antisemitic Image on Twitter and Instagram|url=https://www.rocklanddaily.com/news/lohud-slammed-for-posting-antisemitic-image-on-twitter-and-instagram|access-date=2022-02-10|website=Rockland Daily}}{{cite tweet|user=ADL_NYNJ|number=1490812981743136768|title=This image draws from the worst of millennia-old antisemitic tropes about Jews. At a time of rising #antisemitism, this is not only irresponsible but dangerous. This image should have never been published. @lohud - your readers & the entire community deserve an immediate apology.|author=ADL New York / New Jersey|author-link=Anti-Defamation League}}

In 2022, Mary Dolan, who oversaw five years of dwindling circulation and online readership, was sacked as news director and replaced with former photo editor Carrie Yale as Gannett once again cut editorial staff.

On December 22, 2012, The Journal News published an interactive map showing the names, addresses and home addresses of all pistol permit holders in Westchester and Rockland Counties.{{cite news|title=Journal News gun permit map used by burglars to target White Plains home?|url=http://newyork.newsday.com/news/nation/journal-news-gun-permit-map-used-by-burglars-to-target-white-plains-home-1.4441678|newspaper=Newsday|date=2013-01-13|author=Timothy O'Connor|author2=Meghan E. Murphy}} Both Westchester and Rockland residents and major, national news organizations sharply criticized the newspaper.{{Cite news|last=Wemple|first=Erik|date=January 2, 2013|title=The 4 mistakes of the Journal News|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2013/01/02/the-four-mistakes-of-the-journal-news/|url-status=live|access-date=May 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925121022/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2013/01/02/the-four-mistakes-of-the-journal-news/|archive-date=September 25, 2013}}{{Cite news|last1=Maas|first1=KC|last2=Levs|first2=Josh|date=December 27, 2012|title=Newspaper sparks outrage for publishing names, addresses of gun permit holders|work=CNN|url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/12/25/us/new-york-gun-permit-map/index.html|url-status=live|access-date=May 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224111725/https://www.cnn.com/2012/12/25/us/new-york-gun-permit-map/index.html|archive-date=February 24, 2020}} Despite this, the newspaper's editor and vice president, CynDee Royle, said that they had sought to publish even more detailed information, to which the counties had denied The Journal News access, and that the newspaper sued neighboring Putnam County for refusing to provide similar information.{{Cite news|last=Jonsson|first=Patrik|date=October 4, 2013|title=New York paper that published gun-owners map sues county for names|work=The Christian Science Monitor|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2013/1004/New-York-paper-that-published-gun-owners-map-sues-county-for-names|url-status=live|access-date=May 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200118165649/https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2013/1004/New-York-paper-that-published-gun-owners-map-sues-county-for-names|archive-date=January 18, 2020}}

The following day, blogger Christopher Fountain published the names and addresses of the staff of The Journal News.{{cite web|url=http://www.newrochelletalk.com/content/map-where-are-journal-news-employees-your-neighborhood |title=Map: Where are the Journal News employees in your neighborhood? | Talk of the Sound |date=26 December 2012 |publisher=Newrochelletalk.com |access-date=2013-01-14}}{{cite web|author=AF Morten Bay, Los Angeles |url=http://politiken.dk/kultur/tvogradio/ECE1853686/lokalavis-afsloerer-ejere-af-skydevaaben/ |title=Lokalavis afslører ejere af skydevåben |language=da |publisher=Politiken.dk |access-date=2013-01-14}} The newspaper and some of its staff responded by hiring armed security guards, a move that critics called hypocritical considering the paper's anti-gun stance.{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/02/news-journal-hires-armed-guards_n_2396998.html |title=Journal News Hires Armed Guards After Its Map Of Gun Owners Causes Backlash: Report |work= Huffington Post|first=Ron |last=Dicker |date=2013-01-02}}{{cite news|last1=Connelly|first1=Eileen AJ|title=Putnam County, NY, won't give gun info to paper|url=https://news.yahoo.com/putnam-county-ny-wont-gun-paper-164105018.html|access-date=June 2, 2015|work=Yahoo! News|agency=Associated Press|date=January 3, 2013}}{{cite news|last=Spiering|first=Charlie|title=James O'Keefe meets and films armed security at the homes of Journal-News journalists|url=http://washingtonexaminer.com/james-okeefe-meets-and-films-armed-security-at-the-homes-of-journal-news-journalists/article/2518592#.UPWiTKX3B-U|newspaper=Washington Examiner|date=2013-01-15}}

Rockland County law enforcement officers condemned The Journal News' map, saying that it endangered lives, including those of corrections officers.{{cite news|last=Armaghan|first=Sarah|title=Journal News gun permit map endangers officers, officials say|url=http://newyork.newsday.com/news/nation/journal-news-gun-permit-map-endangers-officers-officials-say-1.4407323|newspaper=Newsday|date=2014-01-04}} Several newspapers also published reports of victims of domestic violence, rape, or other violent crimes who reported that their attackers now had possession of their home addresses.{{cite news|last1=Fund|first1=John|title=Guns for Me but Not for Thee|url=http://www.nationalreview.com/article/337035/guns-me-not-thee-john-fund|work=National Review Online|date=January 7, 2013}}

As a result of the publication, protests were held at the State Capitol in Albany,{{Cite news|title=In wake of Journal News publishing gun permit holder maps, nation sees push to limit access to gun records|work=Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press|url=https://www.rcfp.org/journals/wake-journal-news-publishin/|url-status=live|access-date=May 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200306122810/https://www.rcfp.org/journals/wake-journal-news-publishin/|archive-date=March 6, 2020}} and the New York State Legislature passed a law allowing gun owners in the state to opt out of having their identifying information be available to the public. This catalyzed other states across the country to pass similar privacy measures.

Newsday reported that police were investigating if The Journal News pistol permit map played a role in a burglary in White Plains, New York. According to police, at least two burglars broke into a home on January 12, 2013 and unsuccessfully attempted to open a gun safe containing legally owned weapons. Police were investigating what role, if any, the Journal News database played in the burglars' decision to target the home.{{update after|2013|5|23}}

On January 19, 2013, the newspaper removed the interactive map,{{Cite web |url=http://www.lohud.com/article/20130119/NEWS05/301190057/The-Journal-News-pulls-gun-permit-data |title=The Journal News pulls gun permit data |access-date=2013-01-21 |archive-date=2013-01-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121005414/http://www.lohud.com/article/20130119/NEWS05/301190057/The-Journal-News-pulls-gun-permit-data |url-status=dead }} although the information it contained was subsequently leaked on the Internet.{{Cite web|url=https://news.slashdot.org/story/13/01/20/0317245/|title=New York Pistol Permit Owner List Leaked - Slashdot|website=news.slashdot.org|date=20 January 2013 |access-date=August 15, 2019}}

Irving Brecher is now a sportswriter for The Yonkers Herald Press Staff (March 21, 1937). [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GycbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=C0wEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2144%2C2189535&dq=writing-sports-yonkers-herald "Youth Pens Radio Gags; Fellow Who Jibbed Milt Berle Becomes His Author for Network Show"]. The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved August 29, 2020. and Michael Gallagher is an investigative reporter.

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Magazines published by The Journal News:

• {{cite web |url=http://www.intownconnect.com/ |title=InTown Westchester |access-date=2006-08-07 |archive-date=2006-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925004351/http://www.intownconnect.com/ |url-status=dead }}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.putnammagazine.com/ |title=Putnam Magazine}}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.rocklandmag.com/ |title=Rockland Magazine}}
• {{cite web |url=http://www.scarsdalemag.com/ |title=Scarsdale Magazine}}

{{White Plains, New York}}

{{Gannett}}

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Category:Daily newspapers published in New York (state)

Category:Westchester County, New York

Category:Gannett publications

Category:Rockland County, New York

Category:Newspapers established in 1852

Category:1852 establishments in New York (state)