NewsBeat

June 2019 NewsBeat 23 Schneps-Yunis added, "We really engage in the community and when buying these papers became a possibility, we felt that if we're going to be in community journalism in the New York region we better be the biggest and the best and I believe that's what we have become." To accomplish a smooth transition for all parties, Schneps-Yunis says they decided to keep all the top leadership that was already in place and combine operations serving the Queens and Long Island area together into one office and the Brooklyn and Manhattan operations into another. Schneps added that communication was a tremendous help. "We have a very clear vision, and we communicated from the second we were introduced to the staff what our vision is, where we want to take the company, what direction we want to go in, and what our priorities are." The duo also explained to E&P their methods for steady growth in today's difficult industry. By EVELYN MATEOS Schneps Media Triples in Size After Recent Acquisitions Victoria Schneps-Yunis Joshua Schneps A s newsrooms reduce in size or shut down, Schneps Media has continued to grow and expand, and in doing so, recently became one of the largest news chains in the state of New York. Schneps Media was founded in 1985 by Victoria Schneps-Yunis with one title, the Queens Courier. With the recent purchase of Community News Group and NYC Community Media last September, Schneps Media now owns more than 50 print publications. The company is run by Schneps-Yunis and her son Joshua Schneps, who serves as the company's CEO and co-publisher. When E&P asked the mother/son team about the decision to purchase the two new companies, Schneps said, "First and foremost, we very much believe in the media business and we feel that whenever there is a risk, there's opportunity." "I think having a very focused niche— which our niche is local—but we've also diversified our media company for print…We've invested a tremendous amount in digital and we've been successful digitally from a revenue perspective," Schneps said. Schneps Media currently receives 2.5 million monthly pageviews. However, the pair believes that other factors also apply to their success, such as the company's events. They include conferences recognizing women in business and large scale food and drink festivals, which can attract anywhere from 100 to 10,000 guests. The most important lesson the mother and son have learned so far is to "stay focused on your mission," said Schneps-Yunis. — Reprinted from Editor & Publisher

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