Stone’s Throw: Paper Retires, Examiner Digital Reboots

Donations Needed Now for Digital Revamp

By Adam Stone

One restless evening in the summer of 2007, I told my beautiful wife Alyson – in the wee hours no less – that I’d suddenly decided to start a newspaper, after scratching out a chicken scratch “business plan” hours earlier on a tattered yellow legal pad in our basement.

Her response was some loving iteration of “that’s nice, honey.”

George W. Bush was president. Something called an iPhone had just been invented. Our baby daughter Maddie was about five months old.

Much has changed in the ensuing 17-plus years, but one thing that remains the same is the almost impossible and bruising task of running a sustainable print newspaper business in the digital age.

So let me share the unambiguously sad part: This week’s four Examiner print editions, our 908^th week in publishing (not that I’m counting), marks our final planned paper run.

Due to company financial restraints, I’m forced to lose most of my incredibly loyal, hard-working, and talented staff, with the hope to hire some people back.

We are now going all digital.

What this decision will produce in the next few months isn’t entirely clear just yet.

But we’ve run out of company cash, and can’t proceed in print.

Truest Truth

As you probably know, the systemic challenges facing community news run deep.

Beyond the closure of our longtime/affordable printer in November and the proposed 25 percent White House tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods (most newsprint, including ours, comes from Canada), we’re also grappling with a host of industry challenges: particularly in generating sufficient revenue from local ads.

That said, I’ve always tried my best to tell the truest truth in these columns. And today’s truth is particularly tricky to say out loud.

Or at least it’s a tough one to explain the right way.

Here’s the truest truth: I’m also seeking a change for personal reasons, whether there was a viable path forward in print or not, via a single edition strategy.

Pathways

We’ve confronted financial crises too many times to count since I launched this somewhat quixotic and highly improbable newspaper group, conceived during that frenzied, tennis-and-adrenaline-fueled six-week whim in the summer of 2007.

From the Great Recession to the pandemic, we’ve reorganized often, like most small businesses that have weathered economic challenges the past two decades.

Is there a potential long-term path to do the same now with our paper products? Maybe, but probably not.

Yet I’m also just tired of being a print newspaper publisher and owner, even if the right financing deal emerged. (More on that in a moment.)

For quite a few years now, I’ve often felt worn out by the grind of running a grueling race without a finish line, scrapping and clawing to get by.

At the same time, professionally-reported, fact-checked local news is more important than ever. If the right person decides to enter our space in print to fill this void, I’ll gladly serve as a passionate goodwill ambassador for their work.

I hope someone will.

In fact, I came within inches of selling my company in recent days, after beginning talks with a potentially stellar new Examiner owner in July.

Despite the best of intentions on both sides, the deal didn’t quite work.

I had a contract from a true New York newspaper business leader, with a commitment to keeping me on and retaining all our employees, but for various reasons, I couldn’t sign the pact late last week.

While it’s deeply difficult to say goodbye to this print chapter, knowing that the organization will continue in some form gives hope that it can evolve and thrive again in ways we can’t yet fully imagine.

Road Ahead

Regardless of what happens in print, I’ll be able to continue publishing online, at least my own reporting, and hopefully build up a budget for staff help, not to mention journalistic support from a talented crop of area interns.

While I desperately want to do justice to the poignancy of this melancholy moment – especially given the employee impact – it’s important to emphasize how this announcement is many miles from a goodbye.

In fact, from a personal standpoint, I think my best local journalism to service this area resides directly in front of me.

While the transition will be deeply complex in the coming weeks and months, I’m also more excited than I’ve been in nearly 20 years about my career path, all while being heartbroken on our staff and the community’s behalf.

Over the weekend, I asked our wonderful webmaster Dean Pacchiana to hurry a tentative redesign of our website, in preparation for the new approach.

I will keep publishing my reporting and writing on TheExaminerNews.com and in our Examiner+ email newsletter, not to mention seek digital advertising support.

For any of our paid Examiner members, I hope you continue to support this work.

If you want to help The Examiner News with a donation, visit theexaminernews.com/support or even just sign up for our free newsletter.

Not to sound crass, but I’ll need some pretty significant annual donations to manifest what I’m envisioning.

Newsletter readers will receive my in-depth Stone’s Throw columns, concise news updates, chatty local talk, and curated content delivered straight to their inbox, ideally bolstered by contributions from other writers, with the goal of establishing a near-daily weekday rhythm, including quick hits.

But before I get to the most exciting aspect of Examiner 3.0 later in this piece (spoiler, it’s a national healthcare podcast to complement my written reporting on the critical topic) let me say a few words about the most central characters in my work journey.

While there are tons of people in my professional orbit to thank privately in the coming months for their collective support, one person I wanted to give a special public shout out to here right out the gate is my father, Peter Stone.

Dazed and Confused

I was just 29 when I started this local news operation, and I was completely overwhelmed and unprepared.

My father, a self-made Hungarian immigrant who came to the United States six decades ago, ultimately joined Examiner Media not long after we debuted, bringing vast business ownership experience.

He directed our administrative ship, eventually with my sister Laura Markowski joining the crew, allowing this vessel to sail smoothly every single day since, from an operational standpoint.

He became history’s most underpaid chief financial officer in the process, a distinction I know he (quietly) wears proudly.

Thanks to my father and sister’s efficiency, and their past work together running a Brooklyn-based candy manufacturing business (started by a great-grandfather on my mother’s side in 1921) we became a well-oiled machine, from a systems standpoint, eventually publishing four print editions per week across a wide swath of Westchester and Putnam counties, accompanied by our popular digital products.

People occasionally ask me for Examiner Media’s secret to newspaper survival, as thousands of publications across the country have perished over the last generation.

Unfortunately, my real answer was never very helpful – having a sister and a father who are more than willing to perform flawless executive work for peanuts isn’t exactly a transferable, scalable business model for other entrepreneurs.

To avoid false modesty, I’ll also admit to being proud of my role as a solo owner in creating and overseeing every aspect of this small yet significant local institution, learning invaluable lessons along the way, through failures and successes alike.

BFFs

Speaking of family, my best friend and sister Laura is the reason why I’ve maintained my professional sanity, not to mention why our organization still runs so smoothly.

Her incredible humor and no b.s. smarts are the driving force that has kept this Little Engine That Could on track. She’s a perennial Examiner MVP candidate and our secret weapon.

My endlessly supportive wife Alyson, my remarkable daughters Maddie and Mia, my loyal cheerleaders/in-laws Sharon and Ken Foley, and my inimitable niece and nephew, Jordan and Ariel, have all helped me maintain my equilibrium, despite the ceaseless professional stressors of managing print logistics.

As for Examiner Media’s heart and soul, that would obviously be founding Editor-in-Chief Martin Wilbur, my partner in journalistic crime ever since late 2002, when we started as colleagues at the former New County News in Yorktown, where most of our core staff also previously worked.

If there’s such a thing as a journalistic kindred spirit (Martin “Old School” Wilbur wouldn’t be caught dead using such purple prose), he’s exactly that for me.

It’s not that we always hold the same opinions. We’ve engaged in plenty of respectful disagreements. It’s just that our sensibilities complement each other remarkably well.

Martin’s unimpeachable integrity, strict sense of right and wrong and unbeatable work ethic have been the editorial backbone of this operation since day one.

His steady hand and unbreakable dedication to the craft of community journalism set a standard that inspired everyone around him, myself as much as anyone.

He’s always been the co-conscience of this small media outlet, aiming to ensure stories we told were fair, accurate and meaningful.

Simply put, there would be no Examiner without Martin, and I’m forever grateful for his friendship and mentorship.

I’ll be doing all I can to support every member of our staff in this transition period.

All-Star Team

But what has made the often-arduous professional journey of print newspapering most worthwhile? That answer is simple: the opportunity to make a real positive impact in our towns and villages.

Whether it’s covering the local fireman’s parade or real accountability journalism, forging community and meaningful civic dialogue has always been the goal.

Sports Editor Ray Gallagher, along with a talented team of stringers, have also produced countless scrapbook memories for local families. We never would have broken through without his fighting spirit, dynamic personality and colorful voice.

Founding Sports Editor Andy Jacobs’ Sports Illustrated-level photo skills catapulted us right out the gate, and I’ll never forget the vision of student-athletes feverishly pouring through pages of Andy’s work outside Pleasantville Pizza the week we launched.

Meanwhile, Deputy Editor Rick Pezzullo and I often joke that he’s like a Hall of Fame baseball stopper, coming in to spell relief in countless ways.

I’m indebted to you all.

Clutch Crew

The list of people to thank is too long and too personal to cover here but I’ll try to name some: Lifesaving production chief Annette Van Ommeren; skilled reporters Abby Luby and Andy Milone; sports contributors Tony Pinciaro and David Taber; copyeditor (Eagle Eyes) Steve Biren; O.G. Examiner columnists Bill Primavera (our “Home Guru”) and Nick Antonaccio, our wine connoisseur; newer columnists Morris Gut, Brian Kluepfel, Brian McGowan, Alan Feller, Michael Gold, and the late Mike Malone; sales reps Jeff Ohlbaum, Ken Gulmi, Mary Keon and Chris Sniffen; distributors Rich Arbiter and Fred Valenti; local game-maker Edward Goralski; crossword puzzle creator Myles Mellor; former news and sports editors and reporters and photographers Andrew Vitelli, Nikki Gallagher, David Propper, Anna Young, Anna Moser, Pat Casey, Kerry Barger, Janine Bowen, Alex Weisler, Sam Barron, Keenan Steiner, Colette Connolly, Zach Smart, Steve Corvino, Jordan Goodman, Jackson Hoffman, Gregg Vigliotti, Peter Gerken, Al Coqueran, Danny Lopriore, Joan Gaylord, Sherrie Dulworth, Jamie Opalenik, Jack Walsh, Anna Carpinelli, Caitlyn Ferrante, Robert Diantonio, Andreia DeVries, and Erin Maher; original business manager Donna Cravotta and sales reps Lorna Whittemore and Nina Harrison; graphic artists Kathy Potter, Mekea Fishlin, and Dina (Happy Halloween) Spalvieri; attorney Todd Fishlin, distributors David Rocco and Gus Amador, early interns Ashley Studley, Lana Lingbo Li and the late Laura Treanor; along with countless other key prior players I’ll inevitably regret neglecting to mention.

Senior Account Executive Paul Cardi’s drive to support our mission with tireless ad sales efforts also occupies a unique place in Examiner history, allowing us to stick around all these years. His loyalty will never be forgotten. Ditto to Jeff Ohlbaum.

There are also so many special readers, sources, friends and past guides (such as area residents Julia Rellou, Judith Sage, David Friedlander, Kristin Noel Raniola, Medina Cecunjanin, Dawn Greenberg, Lloyd Trufelman, Michael Peppard, Natasha Cohen, Amy Oringel, Susan Lipkins, Marlene Canapi, and Shane McGaffey) who inspired me to produce my very best work with their encouragement and thoughtful feedback.

Industry colleagues like my local publishing pal Grace Bennett (founder of Inside Press) offered sympathetic support through the years, with a unique understanding of what this road entails.

I also hope to continue to sponsor great area events like the Pleasantville Music Festival, and youth leagues such as Mount Kisco Little League Baseball and KLBS softball: I’m looking at you Andy Sullivan, Bob Byrns, Ken Diorio, Scott Spolasnky, and Marshall Tilden III.

More Thank Yous

Former journalistic colleagues and friends have played a larger role in shaping my (and this outlet’s) sensibilities than they could ever know: Random Banter-in-Chief Brian Howard, the best man at my wedding; Susan Chitwood; Jim Roberts; John Roche; Henry Naccari; Kevin Gorey; Lisa Mockel; Jerry McKinstry; Ron Gumucio, Mike Gannon, Eugene Driscoll, Oliver Mackson; Gayle Williams, Anne Greenidge; Jim MacLean; and too many others to list, including folks who wouldn’t remember me.

Joe Berger’s New York Times piece about our unlikely launch in 2007 also played a pivotal role in our early splash and regional street cred straight out of the box.

Supporters from the start, such as university communications pro Cara Cea, Pour Wine Bar owner Anthony Colasacco, comms pro Mike Dardano, former Pleasantville mayor and Westchester legislator John Nonna, Stacey Cohen of Co-Communications, and the leadership team of Thompson & Bender – Geoff Thompson, Elizabeth Bracken-Thompson, and Dean Bender, of the Briarcliff-based firm – were incredibly helpful in those early days and throughout.

Good local people like Kevin Kane of Saw Mill Club, and Mount Kisco Chamber of Commerce Co-Executive Directors Loretta Brooks and Beth Vetere-Civitello always had our back.

As not just a local publisher, but also a local resident, naming special Westchester/Putnam friends and neighbors would be dangerously long, and invite too much unintentional omission danger, but I see and thank you all.

I also deeply appreciate our industry’s many strong advocates, including Zachary Richner, founder of the Empire State Local News Coalition, and his father, Stuart Richner, publisher of Richner Communications; Steve Waldman, president of Rebuild Local News; and Michelle Rea, the longtime (and now retiring) executive director of the New York Press Association.

My trips to the Capitol in Washington, D.C., and the statehouse in Albany with fellow publishers to lobby for local news the last two years were especially memorable.

Biz Matters

Local business owners like Bill Flooks of Beecher Funeral Home, Raffaele “Ralph” Farraioli of La Barberia, Matt Jaros of Glass Onion Originals, and Barbara Clemmens of Aardvark Pet Supplies in Pleasantville supported us from the jump, and there are too many people to thank here.

We’ve also loved championing so many great local nonprofits over the years, and Support Connection comes to mind, especially given our long-standing relationship dating back to when Rick was managing editor at North County News.

Under the great leadership of Kathy Quinn, Support Connection continues to do incredible work for those affected by breast, ovarian and gynecological cancers.

One other favorite area proprietor is Will Shortz, the legendary New York Times crossword editor/owner of the Westchester Table Tennis Center in Pleasantville.

A cherished memory is when my late grandmother, Brew Grunther, a crossword fiend, drove up from Long Island to attend our 2012 event at the table tennis center, where local elected officials competed in a ping-pong tournament. (For those keeping score at home, a village clerk, Peter Brewster Hansen, won the tournament, defeating Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner in the final round, and I beat Vitelli in our amateur games yet again.)

Over the course of running a business, it’s also hard to avoid developing some problematic relationships, too.

I’d like to think if I was doing this all over again, my 46-year-old self could have handled a few thorny relationships more mindfully.

You know who you are, you made me better, and I wish you all the very best.

Eras Tour

While I did next to no reporting and writing for our newspapers for the first 13 or so years of our existence, that started to change when the pandemic broke out.

Since 2020, my desire to return to my roots as a full-time journo grew exponentially.

The death of my friend and our digital editor, Robert Schork, in May 2023 accelerated my desire to return to my professional passions.

Robert and I worked closely together in COVID’s aftermath, trying to modernize, aided immeasurably by participating in Substack Local, Sally Lehrman’s Trust Project and the Facebook Accelerator program, with guidance from brilliant local media minds like Tim Griggs and Claudia Laws.

Robert’s influence played a major part in the decision to hatch my Stone’s Throw reporting-based opinion columns in the spring of 2021.

And I’d be remiss if I didn’t quickly salute my late mentor Bob Greene, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Newsday legend and bear of a man, an almost cartoon version of the stereotypical hard-boiled investigative reporter.

Two of my other Hofstra University journalism professors, Ellen Frisina and Carol Fletcher, remain dear friends, playing a monster role in any success I’ve enjoyed.

You

But the most game-changing aspect of the post-pandemic Examiner era came from you.

Hundreds of readers gave us small donations totaling tens of thousands of dollars and overflowing verbal support, lifting our finances and morale amid the chaos and small business closures COVID caused.

As a direct result, I’ve had the privilege in recent years to prepare an array of multipart series – from showcasing area environmental problems and UAP reporting that sparked intrigue to chronicling the spiritual realm of near-death experiences and shining a light on issues impacting local disabled people.

I recently learned from Assemblyman Chris Burdick that my 2023 investigation into ACCES-VR, a state Education Department-run program for job seekers with disabilities, helped change restrictive hiring rules that had left counselor positions unfilled, overwhelming staff and leaving clients without proper service.

Other personal pieces that evoke cherished memories include my first-person account from Mets Fantasy Camp, a column about my high school bud Jeff Ahn’s entry into pro softball team ownership, an examination of Reiki’s role in holistic healthcare, an interview with Northern Westchester Hospital Executive Director Derek Anderson, and a profile of Pleasantville astrologer Colin McPhillamy.

I’m excited to do much more impactful journalism in the months ahead, with my Examiner+/Stone’s Throw e-mail newsletter work at the forefront, including a planned deep dive into Transcendental Meditation, highlighting a local Katonah TM center, and an eventual exploration of how Mount Kisco’s Mouth to Hand Learning Center empowers non-speaking people to communicate.

Pod People

I also have a major piece of good news to report, despite the profound unpleasantness of today’s news and the human toll.

Even before the severity of our cash crisis crystallized in recent days, I’d been working to launch a national podcast that delves into corporate health care, building on my past reporting about Optum/UnitedHealth.

It should be ready to roll out by March, if not sooner.

The show – “Sick Care” – will be produced by Peabody-winning producer Sean Cannon, who reached out to me after the Dec. 4 assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City.

Our four-person team also features Jane Marie, an award-winning journalist best known for creating “The Dream,” which explored the world of multilevel marketing, and Heather Schroering, a Columbia Journalism School-trained investigative journalist and producer who worked on the popular podcasts “Joe Exotic” and a season of “Dr. Death.”

Sean traveled from Kentucky a few weeks ago to meet me, and we began taping at Hotel MTK in Mount Kisco.

This new venture will build on the kind of journalism that has earned humbling recognition in the past, including accolades last year from the New York Press Association and the Silurians Press Club, winning best Freedom of Information journalism and a Certificate of Merit for Health and Science Reporting respectively, among other honors.

Click here if you want to hear an early preview of the “Sick Care” trailer.

My health care reporting included allegations that Optum engaged in efforts to improperly seek reimbursements from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services through unsupported and misleading diagnosis codes.

Early last year I also uncovered a nonpublic Department of Justice probe of UnitedHealth, which contributed to evidence in a major legal action led by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the country’s biggest public pension fund.

Our podcast intends to build on this type of work of the past two-plus years.

Naivete

For now, I just want to end with a zillion thanks to our fiercely loyal readers and advertisers alike for your unending support.

I’ve gotten to know so many of you personally over the years, and this creator-audience relationship will unquestionably continue, even if the details remain a work in progress in the coming months.

Back in 2007, when I left a staff reporting job at North County News to go freelance, I was definitely diving into the professional unknown.

I secured a few assignments from The New York Times and the Daily News before finding community journalism love again with a $75 freelance job for the Bedford Record-Review (gracias, R.J. Marx, online chess soon) to cover a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting.

That experience played a pivotal role in propelling my decision to start The Examiner.

Fueled by naive confidence, I often joke that my other bright business idea at the time (other than launching a print newspaper in the internet era) might as well have been starting a beeper sales company.

I lost that naivete long ago about the massive business challenges facing paper publications. Our opening editorial had emphasized the notion that print isn’t dead. And there’s still plenty of reason to believe in pulp-based media’s unique ability to foster a coffee shop-style community of readers with its tactile charm, offering a niche future even amid significant economic challenges.

However, it’s not just about the delivery system, but rather the journalism itself.

Small News Is Big News, as our motto insists, no matter where or how it’s published.

Donate

My confidence in the deep public hunger for professionally-reported local writing hasn’t waned one iota.

And I’m still here to try to feed that appetite, so please be in touch.

I’ll do my best to reply to all e-mails and calls in the days ahead, even if I’m less verbose or responsive than usual.

Lastly, I’m just gonna be “that guy” and unapologetically ask again: Please contribute to the cause at theexaminernews.com/support.

Examiner magic will rise out of the print ashes if you do.

Keep it here.

With infinite gratitude,

Adam