The Press recently developed a multimedia site to accompany a cover story on Long Island's Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center and its holocaust survivors as part of its attempt to find new ways to present its journalism. Publisher Jed Morey tells AAN News it is all tied into the company's recent expansion of video journalism, which includes hiring a full-time video journalist. "It has really energized the staff and brought a whole new perspective to our reporting, because his pitches are so unique," Morey says. "Part of our growth this year is online and we're making original video a huge part of that initiative."

Continue ReadingLong Island Press Turns Cover Story into Standalone Multimedia Site

While the economic downturn hurt the paper a bit, Press publisher Jed Morey tells CNN Money there were no mass layoffs -- and the paper was back in the black by the end of last year. Morey pegs the Press' success in part to the decision of Long Island's daily paper Newsday to go partly behind a paywall last year. The Press seized the opportunity and began running more general news on the web, to appeal to those who might not pay for Newsday online. Since then, Morey says traffic has gone up 600 percent. "It is not about a newspaper, it is not about the physical product or even the experience. It's about the quality of the journalism," he says. "If you stay true to that, we think that there is several different places you can go with that. The web being one of them."

Continue ReadingHow the Long Island Press Took Advantage of Newsday’s Paywall

The KIOLI Flea Market and Farmers Market, an extension of the Press' KIOLI (Keep It On Long Island) shop local campaign, kicked off last weekend on a Long Island college campus, the Daily News reports. The market, which features more than 200 vendors, will run every Saturday and Sunday this summer. Press publisher Jed Morey says he hopes the market will help bring a sense of community to shoppers. "The mall sort of took the soul out of the flea market, so I think this is us getting a little bit of our groove back," he says. "The malling of America is hopefully coming to a little bit of a close, and we will get back to promoting local business."

Continue ReadingLong Island Press’ Shop Local Campaign Spins Off a Local Market

We're not sure how big they are, but after 15 years at the Santa Barbara Independent, Tom Morey has left two pairs of shoes to fill. According to a release from the paper, Jen Malkin and Robby Robbins will replace Morey by "dividing the awesome task of sales management." Robbins, who serves on the AAN Board as Classified Advertising Chair, "will concentrate on bringing sales in the door" while Malkin "lords over" production and marketing. And Morey isn't going anywhere: He will remain with the paper as part of the sales management team focusing on the local arts community.

Continue ReadingSanta Barbara Independent Sales Manager to be Replaced by Two People