The story of The Highlands Current begins with the vision of one man. He crafted it, funded it refined it and enlisted a committed group of men and women to carry it forward. Thousands now read the paper that vision informed.
When Gordon Stewart introduced the website Philipstown.info — the predecessor to The Current — 15 years ago today he did so to establish a free and objective news source for the town’s citizens after the longtime local newspaper turned ideological. In his official greeting, he encouraged readers: “If there’s something Philipstown and beyond needs to know, let everyone in on it.” Most critically, he added: “One thing we will not impose are political views. No editorials. The only opinion pieces in Philipstown.info will be yours. As to our news policy, we believe it has never been stated better than this: without fear or favor.”
Two years later, Stewart added a print paper, bucking the journalism trend in which newspapers were adding, or even being replaced by, digital news. Creating The Paper served a community used to newsprint and bolstered the business, adding advertising revenue to the support Stewart himself had been solely providing.
How to further ensure the future of the news operation? Stewart saw community-funded news as a model to sustain local journalism, so he applied for and, in 2013, received nonprofit status for the organization.
He wasn’t alone in seeing a promising future in nonprofit journalism: As Stewart was assembling his nonprofit’s board of directors in 2014, journalism’s Investigative News Network re-established itself as the Institute for Nonprofit News to support a growing network of independent news organizations that were “nonprofit, nonpartisan and dedicated to public service.” The new INN had about 100 members; today it has 500. The Highlands Current has been a member for 10 years.
The board Stewart established in 2014 picked up his vision after he died in November that year, and readers rallied to the paper’s mission to provide a vital forum for their news and views. Seeing value to readers, supporters and advertisers in expanding its reach, The Paper added the northern adjacent City of Beacon to its coverage in April 2016. The Paper then became The Highlands Current, and Philipstown.info became highlandscurrent.org.
With a public service mission and a goal of building a self-sustaining business, The Current made several strategic moves:
• As a more effective way to raise funds, it adopted a membership system in 2019 with benefits that engaged its supporters. Starting with fewer than 450 donors that year, The Current now has nearly 1,200 members. It continues to seek members from the many who pick up nearly every copy of the 4,000 papers printed every week or who read its stories online.
• The Current dedicated itself to covering not only the all-important local news and events but also the ways national issues play out locally on topics such as the opioid crisis, climate change and food insecurity. The special projects helped earn The Current the title “Newspaper of the Year” from the New York Press Association three recent years in a row. A new special project is in the paper this week, helping readers to understand the delivery, pricing and challenges of electricity.
• Believing in the importance of nurturing future journalists, The Current began the Student Journalists Program, which has attracted significant targeted support and helped to inspire the revival of student newspapers at both the Beacon and Cold Spring high schools.
• The Current has diversified its revenue stream, expanding its advertising products, identifying valuable grant opportunities and presenting fundraising events that last year included edifying conversations with New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof and with actors Kathryn Grody and Mandy Patinkin and their son Gideon Grody-Patinkin.
The board continues to look for ways to sustain The Current as journalism broadly experiences pressure from changes in the information ecosystem that include declines in print advertising, disruptions caused by artificial intelligence and the displacement of traditional news sources by social media. The latest report on the state of local journalism by the Medill School of Journalism Local News Initiative at Northwestern University, in October 2024, found that more than 3,200 print newspapers have vanished since 2005; that newspapers are disappearing at a rate of more than two per week; and that there are 206 counties across the country without any news source, making them “news deserts.”
But The Current remains vigilant and has embarked on a strategic process to position itself for the future. While committed to the weekly print product, the paper aspires to be a more consistent presence in the lives of its readers via digital channels. This will include improving the highlandscurrent.org website; publishing breaking news and original content throughout the week; providing readers with customizable email products; and leveraging social media distribution opportunities.
As it evolves, The Current remains dedicated to the vision that inspired the news startup in 2010: to be a fair and open-minded source of information for the communities it serves.
Chris Bockelmann and Todd Haskell
Co-Chairs, Board of Directors
Chip Rowe
Editor
I’m so grateful for founder Gordon Stewart, and his intelligence and generosity, especially in the unpleasant context of the time.
I would like to congratulate The Highlands Current on its 15th anniversary. Your dedication to local journalism is exemplary and the community would be much poorer if you did not exist.