What We Are
Mission: To foster and assist local, independent journalism in New York’s Hudson Valley. Through direct financial support and by providing needed services beyond the capabilities of individual members, HVNA’s mission is to strengthen existing area news organizations, and provide a boost for new newsrooms that broaden the local news ecosystem.
Who We Serve: HVNA serves journalists, publishers and locally-owned news organizations based in the Hudson Valley whose primary coverage are the communities of the region. Locally owned and managed non-profit and for-profit news organizations, and freelancers of member and non-member news organizations can all join.
How We Help: HVNA assists local news organizations in two ways: by providing direct financial support to newsrooms that participate in HNVC news initiatives, and by providing services to publishers to enhance their operations.
More Like Us: All around the country, local news organizations are banding together to collaborate, share resources and solicit support. Here are some examples.
Current Projects
2022 Ulster County Executive Candidate Debate
A live audience debate on October 28, 2022 in the historic Shadowland Theater, moderated by veteran local journalists.
HVNA Participants: Shawangunk Journal, Kingston Wire, Hudsy.
2022 Election Project
A cross section of reporting and information about the 2022 election.
HVNA Participants: All HVNA members.
HVNA Supporting Newsrooms
HVNA’s participants include local newspapers, reporters, editors, photographers, columnists. All are vital community resources.
Hudson Valley One
Kingston, NY – Ulster County
Managing Editor: Brian Hollander
Weekly Print, Digital
Hudsy
Kingston, NY – Ulster County
Managing Editor: Jesse Brown
Digital
HV Pilot
Rhinebeck, NY – Dutchess County
Managing Editor: Eric Steinman
Digital
Kingston Wire
Kingston, NY – Ulster County
Managing Editor: Dan Barton
Digital
Peekskill Herald
Peekskill, NY – Westchester County
Managing Editor: Regina Clarkin
Digital
Red Hook Daily Catch
Red Hook, NY – Dutchess County
Founder & Editor-in-Chief: Emily Sachar
Digital
Shawangunk Journal
Ellenville, NY – Ulster County
Managing Editor: Lisa Reider
Weekly Print, Digital
The Highlands Current
Cold Spring, NY – Putnam County
Managing Editor: Chip Rowe
Weekly Print, Digital
Times Union
Albany, NY – Albany County
Managing Editor/Hudson Valley: Phil Pantuso
Daily Print, Digital
About the Founders
SHARON RICHMAN
Sharon is a founding partner of Electric Valley Media, publishers of the Shawangunk Journal, a weekly print newspaper covering New York’s Rondout Valley, and the Kingston Wire, a new digital newspaper writing about the city of Kingston, New York. She also owns Zelacom Electronic Publishing, a software development company based in Ellenville, New York. She has a background in both fine arts and computer science. She is webmaster and designer for a wide variety of websites, and provides technical support and website maintenance for many others. Sharon’s background includes stints as a computer programmer for IBM, book illustrator, and newspaper editor.
ALEX SHIFFER
Alex is a founding partner of Electric Valley Media, publishers of the Shawangunk Journal, a weekly print newspaper covering New York’s Rondout Valley, and the Kingston Wire, a new digital newspaper writing about the city of Kingston, New York. He also owns Zelacom Electronic Publishing, a software development company based in Ellenville, New York. He is a programmer and database developer by training, but a local news hound at heart. His two passions came together in NewsAtomic – a digital news publishing platform that has a variety of innovative monetization features for publishers: subscriptions/memberships, micropayments, and timed usage metering. In his insufficient spare time he raises chickens, ducks, goats and donkeys.
MARK FUERST
Mark Fuerst is founder of Innovation4Media (I4M), the first national consulting company focused exclusively on the relationship between new media and public broadcasting. With support from the Wyncote Foundation, he now serves as Director of the Public Media Futures Forums, a unique “think tank” analyzing the broad financial, competitive and technology trends affecting public media companies, with emphasis on the public broadcasting stations and networks. Prior to focusing on new media, Mark was General Manager of WXPN-FM in Philadelphia, the public radio station of the University of Pennsylvania, where he helped develop the AAA music format and launch The World Café, a daily national AAA-music program now syndicated by NPR to over 200 stations. He then expanded syndication of World Café-style programming to the (commercial) United Stations Radio Network.
Reach Out To HVNA
Sign up if you are interested in participating in HVNA’s Initiatives.
More Like Us
All around the country, local news organizations are banding together to collaborate, share resources and solicit support.
Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund
The mission of the Lancaster County Local Journalism Fund is to support, protect and expand local journalism in and for Lancaster County by promoting investigative and public interest journalism and media literacy. These efforts will ensure the people of Lancaster County continue to be informed, engaged and empowered by independent local journalism.
The Granite State News Collaborative
The Granite State News Collaborative is a statewide multimedia news collaborative that draws on and amplifies the strengths of its members to expand and add missing dimensions to coverage of issues of concern to the NH public as a whole, as well as to particular communities. Through coordinated reporting and engagement activities, the Collaborative will pursue inclusive and responsive coverage that builds public trust and holds government accountable to its citizens.
“When I brought the idea of a news collaborative to some of my colleagues last year, the response was heartening, and in a few short months, we’ve created something new and exciting for New Hampshire,” – Carol Robidoux, founding member of The Granite State News Collaborative and founder of Manchester Ink Link.
The Chicago Independent Media Alliance
The Chicago Independent Media Alliance is a partnership of independent, local, and community-driven media entities coming together in the spirit of collaboration, especially in creating new revenue streams and heightening independent media’s visibility. Our goal is to create a self-sustaining media ecosystem in Chicago to better inform and serve Chicago and all of its diverse citizens. Our 68 partners in the alliance include traditional print newspapers, independently produced podcasts, dynamic video production studios, and nonprofit newsrooms focusing on key issues that affect the fabric of the city.
New Mexico Local News Fund
The New Mexico Local News Fund aims to grow the ecosystem of local news across our state to better serve the information needs of all New Mexicans. To accomplish that ambitious goal, we work with both existing newsrooms and trusted community organizations. Our goal is ultimately for everyone to have access to the local news and information they need to thrive. The New Mexico Local News Fund is a fiscally sponsored project of the Santa Fe Community Foundation.
Colorado News Collaborative
At the Colorado News Collaborative, our vision is an informed and engaged civil society. Our mission is to be a local media resource hub and ideas lab that serves all Coloradans by strengthening high-quality local journalism, supporting civic engagement, and ensuring public accountability.
COLab helps communities like yours have better news. We’re a nonprofit that helps news outlets all across Colorado produce more fact-based news that makes a difference, and we help communities build more trust with those news outlets. That makes for better news – that is, higher quality news that serves all Coloradans.