New York Daily News Editorial Writer to Take Helm of Free City Newspaper.
Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News September 17, 2003 By James T. Madore, Newsday, Melville, N.Y. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News Sep. 17–A prize-winning editorial writer from the New York Daily News has been hired as the top editor for amNewYork, a free daily newspaper set to debut later this year in New York City. go to website new york dailys
Alex Storozynski, 42, is expected to take the helm of amNewYork’s newsroom late this month after 7 1/2 years at the Daily News. He was among that paper’s writers of editorials in 1998 about financial mismanagement at the historic Apollo Theatre in Harlem that won a Pulitzer Prize.
In an interview yesterday, Storozynski described joining amNewYork as “a once in a lifetime opportunity” to attempt to get young people to read newspapers. “I want them to find out what’s going on in their world and in their city,” he said.
The tabloid is the latest attempt to reach area youth; the Daily News closed its short-lived Express edition two years ago. AmNewYork has received undisclosed financial backing from Tribune Co., which is the majority owner of a new holding company, Tribune New York Newspaper Holdings LLC. Tribune Co. also owns Newsday, the Los Angeles Times and RedEye, a youth-oriented edition of the Chicago Tribune that debuted last fall. site new york dailys
Storozynski and others characterized amNewYork as providing a quick digest of news, sports, entertainment, features and analysis for harried commuters. “It’s going to be short news stories,” said Storozynski, adding some articles would be written by staff reporters while others will be from The Associated Press. “It’s going to be very big on local content.” Coverage of area news and events would make amNewYork different from giveaway dailies elsewhere, in particular the Metro papers in Philadelphia, Toronto and Montreal. Those papers largely consist of news briefs and articles of about 200 words from wire services. There is little local content beyond the advertising.
AmNewYork hopes to tweak the Metro model, which has been successful in 16 countries around the globe, in part because the new paper is the brainchild of Russel Pergament, who launched Boston Metro, which includes more local stories than the typical free daily.
“We will have virtually everything you see in a conventional daily, only it will be briefer in amNewYork,” said publisher Pergament, who grew up in Hollis. “We will have some investigative reporting and some editorials when they are warranted,” though it will be nonpartisan.
The tabloid will have a business and news staff of about 40 people, including two reporters assigned to cover the city. It will average from 24 to 28 pages with about 12 devoted to articles. Copies largely will be distributed in Manhattan by hawkers, called “street promoters,” who will be dressed in red jackets.
Officials at four of the city’s five dailies — The New York Times, Daily News, New York Post and The New York Sun — declined to comment on their new rival.
Journalism experts praised this attempt to reach young people. Paul Levinson, chairman of the mass communication and media studies department at Fordham University, said, “I think kids are better off getting their news from papers like amNewYork than talk radio.” TRB, NYT.A,
