For those of you who missed it - I posted it immediately on my Facebook page and I Tweeted it - The New York Times announced this week that it was ceasing to publish two very important sections after May 17, 2009: the Escapes section and the Suburban Region section. If you recall, the Suburban Region section used to be called the Long Island section but a year or so ago they consolidated all regionals (Connecticut, Westchester, New Jersey and Long Island) to save money. The Times will save - according to the release - “several million dollars” by eliminating this coverage. The only local editorial that will survive will be restaurant reviews and arts listings, and they will now appear in a new incarnation in the Sunday section as yet unnamed.

This is sad news for all Long Islanders and this now eliminates an entire section that most of us held dear. Fleshed out articles about Freeport fishermen, Huntington non-profits, Brookhaven schools, East End artists, Riverhead development, and Islip political issues will not be covered now by The New York Times. This leaves Newsday(daily), and to an extent, Long Island Business News (weekly), LI Press (weekly) and LI Pulse (monthly) as the only reliable print news vehicles for Long Islanders to learn about what might be happening in other areas of Nassau and Suffolk. A major source of information is now gone. 

There are two issues for business leaders to address as a result of this news: 1) where will you reach that New York Times reader, and 2) How? It’s probably too much to assume that every New York Times reader is on Facebook or Twitter.  A portion of that readership is certainly one that keeps up with these new forms of exchange, in fact a 54 year old housewife from Manhasset commented to me on my Facebook page (after posting this news) that the Long Island section of the Times was the first section she read every weekend. That said, let’s note that the fastest growing segment of Facebook users are women 50 - 55; and that post proved it. 

To specifically reach that Long Island resident that you perceived to be a New York Times reader, you will have to purchase an ad in the Times’ metro section or tap local newspapers like The Long Islander, all the Anton Publications, Garden City Life, East and Southampton Press, Times-News Review, East Hampton Star, and the Port Times Record. Maybe that‘s how some of the print media will survive - a case of survival of the fittest! Out East, I’ve been receiving email news reports from 27east.com and hamptons.com via eNewsletters that come right to my email inbox – as news happens. I also receive The New York Times via email every morning. 

You tell me. How does the announcement of the closing of the Long Island section affect you and your marketing decisions? Is social media marketing now a more viable option? eBlasts? Ever consider a banner ad? Post your comment below and by all means call us to discuss specifics – that’s what we are here for!