Program on saving the Reporter

The unsettling prospect of Shelter Island’s community newspaper, the Reporter, ceasing publication in 2024 galvanized a response from local residents seeking to retain or replace the paper.

That effort, recently chronicled by Islander, and former Reporter staffer, Jake Williams in a series of podcasts, “Out of Print: the Unmaking of American News” will be discussed in a Zoom forum convened by the Shelter Island Public Library on Friday, Jan. 30 at 4 p.m.

The program will be moderated by Library Head of Adult Services Sara Garcia and will include a Q&A session for viewers to participate. The forum will include Jake Williams; Reporter Editor Ambrose Clancy; Community News Editor Susan Carey Dempsey and former Reporter staffer Sara Verwymeren.

Jake Williams’ documentary-style podcast has been described as a “love letter to local news, and a reminder of what we lose when small-town newspapers disappear.”

Episodes of his podcast can be found on NPR, Apple podcasts and Spotify.