The Independent (East Hampton)

The Independent was founded by James J. Mackin, President; Bridget LeRoy, Vice President; Lee Minetree, Treasurer; and Jodi Della Femina, Secretary.[1] The first issue (vol. 1, no. 1) of the newspaper was released on September 1, 1993.[2] The paper, originally named The East Hampton Independent, was renamed The Independent when they expanded to cover the entire East End.[1] The paper was owned by East Hampton Media, and previously known as The East Hampton Independent News Co.[1]

In 2005, the Independent acquired the Traveler Watchman. The Traveler Watchman is a newspaper from North Fork, Long Island, dating back to the 1800s.[1]

Ultimately, Jerry Della Femia became a partner and was the majority owner of the paper until 2017.[1] Jerry Della Femina is the father of daughter and co-founder of The Independent, Jodi Della Femina.[3] On Wednesday April 19, 2017, the paper was sold to billionaire investor Ronald O. Perelman.[4] Perelman, a resident of East Hampton himself, wanted to support and generously fund the paper's initial mission.[5] In an article for Patch East Hampton he stated "As the paper's new owner, I am absolutely committed to supporting The Independent's mission with a continued focus on covering local news and events while enhancing and expanding the paper's focus and coverage of the vibrant local arts, culture, dining, social scene and real estate."[5]

Every Wednesday, The Independent published coverage of local news and events on the entire East End.[6] The print version of the paper is divided into several sections.[1] In addition to the expected sections such as news & opinion, it included several unique sections such as Indy Style which discussed latest trends, store openings and designers and Indy Snaps which highlighted photography from all aspects of East End life.[1]

The website was divided into five sections, news & opinion, arts, real estate, sports & health and the camps guide.[7] The categories were then further divided into subsections encompassing the most important parts of each section. For example, the news & opinion header was separated into six sections, such as police[8] and obituary.[9] Within the sports section & health section of the paper, there was an entire subdivision focused on high school sports within the town.[7] While The Independent covered all high school sports teams on the East End, they often covered sports within Pierson Middle-High School.[10] One unique section of the newspaper that ran in the spring and summer months is the Camps Guide.[11] The Camps Guide described children's summer camps throughout the New York Area such as Future Stars Camp[12] and the Art Farm.[13] The article contains a directory of camps with extensive summaries in addition to providing links and contact information for each camp.[11]

In addition to the paper's online presence, The Independent has an online archive section of 767 copies online going back more than ten years.[14]

On June 9, 2020, The Independent announced that it would be merging with competitor Dan's Papers to form a new media entity, Dan's Independent Media.[15] While the merger was attributable partly due to falling advertising sales at the two publications as a result of COVID-19, discussions regarding the merger reportedly began in February 2020, prior to the major economic effects of the COVID-19 recession. After the merger, The Independent became online-only[15] In September 2020, Dan's Independent Media was acquired by Schneps Media.[16]

At the 2018 New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest Awards held in Albany, NY, The Independent won 21 awards.[17] It won five first-place awards and nearly a dozen other awards; it additionally was awarded six honorable mentions.[17]

The most prestigious award in the design category of the better newspaper contest is the Richard L. Stein Award for Overall Design Excellence.[17] Although The Independent didn't receive this award, they received a significant honorable mention for the overall design and appearance of the entry provided.[17] In addition to awards for individual contributors as well as presentation and design, Executive Editor Jessica Mackin-Cipro and Managing Editor Bridget LeRoy received awards for their writing.[17]

• 1st Place, Coverage of Arts Editorial Award, Jessica Mackin-Cipro and Bridget LeRoy, (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• 1st Place, Best News Story “Deportations Of Those Convicted Of Crimes Ramp Up.” Award (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• 1st Place, Best Editorial Cartoon, Karen Fredericks "Is it Just Me?" (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• 1st Place, Photography, Karen Fredericks "Is it Just Me?" (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• 1st Place, Best Spot News Photo, Michael Heller "Is it Just Me?" (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• 1st Place, Best Sports Action Photo, Peggy Spellman Hoey"Is it Just Me?" (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• 2nd Place, Best Large Space Ad, Ty Wenzel (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• 2nd Place, Best Online Dynamic Ad, Ty Wenzel (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• 2nd Place, Obituaries, Jessica Mackin-Cipro and Bridget LeRoy (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• 2nd Place, Best Large Space Ad, Ty Wenzel (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• 2nd Place, Picture Store, Ed Gifford (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• 3rd Place, Sports Action Photos, Gordon M. Grant (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• 3rd Place, Spot News Coverage, Peggy Spellman Hoey (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• 3rd Place, Art Photo, Ed Gifford (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• 3rd Place, Best House Ad/Ad Campaign, Ty Wenzel (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Honorable Mention, Best Public Service or Non-Profit Special Section (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Honorable Mention, Picture Story, Justin Meinken (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Honorable Mention, Feature Photos and Sports Feature Photos, Gordon M. Grant (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Honorable Mention, Spot News Photos, Ed Gifford (2018) - New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]

At the 2019 New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest Awards held in Albany, NY, The Independent won 31 awards[18] under the direction of Executive Editor Jessica Mackin-Cipro. The Independent won journalism awards like the Stuart C. Dorman Award for Editorial Excellence, Past Presidents Award for General Excellence, Richard L. Stein Overall Design Excellence, and Photographic Excellence.

• Newspaper Of The Year (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Stuart C. Dorman Award for Editorial Excellence (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Past Presidents Award for General Excellence (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Best Front Page (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Photographic Excellence (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Richard L. Stein Overall Design Excellence for In-Depth Reporting – Kim Velsey (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• First Place – Coverage of Crime Police/Courts – T.E McMororow (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• First Place – Editorial Cartoon – Karen Fredericks (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• First Place – Picture Story – Gordon M. Grant (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• First Place – Spot News Photo – Gordon M. Grant (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• First Place – Special Section / Niche Publication (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Second Place - Thomas G. Butson Award for In-Depth Reporting – Kevin Gray (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Second Place – Editorial Cartoon – Karen Fredericks (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Second Place – Sports Feature Photos – Gordon M. Grant (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Second Place – Picture Story – Wil Weiss (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Second Place – Spot News Photo – T.E. McMorrow (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Second Place – Best House Ad – Ty Wenzel (2019)New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Third Place – Sports Action Photos – Gordon M. Grant (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Third Place – Sports Feature Photo – Desiree Keegan (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Third Place – Best News Website (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Third Place – Spot News Coverage – T.E. McMorrow (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Third Place – News Story – Bridget LeRoy (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Third Place – Best Use of Video – Jason Nower (2019)New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Third Place – Best Online Dynamic Ad- Ty Wenzel (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Third Place – Best Online News Project or Presentation – Ty Wenzel & Jessica Mackin (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Third Place – Sports Action Photo – Gordon M. Grant (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Third Place – Picture Story – Justin Meinken (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Third Place – Special Section / Niche Publication (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Honorable Mention – Sports Coverage – Desiree Keegan & Gordon M. Grant (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Honorable Mention – Art Photo – Irene Tully (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]
• Honorable Mention – Best Special Section Cover – Ty Wenzel (2019) New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest [17]

• List of newspapers in the United States
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