NewsBeat

22 NewsBeat August 2019 By MICHELLE TRAURING — Edited for NewsBeat W ith more than 280 years of history between them, two award-winning news organizations — The Sag Harbor Express and the Press News Group — have merged to form the largest media group on the South Fork, combating challenging journalistic times by pooling their resources to better serve their communities on the East End. Sag Harbor Express Co-Publishers Gavin and Kathryn "Georgie" Menu will helm the new entity as co-publishers, aided by the Press News Group's current publisher, Joseph Louchheim, during a transitional period over the next several years. "All of my energy is going toward supporting and integrating these businesses, and helping Gavin and Georgie succeed beyond their wildest dreams — and I'm really fired up to do it," Mr. Louchheim said. "Combining these companies under young and energetic leadership is going to make them both stronger, and that's good for the business–and great for the communities we serve." Joseph Shaw will remain an integral part of the editorial leadership as executive editor of the company, which in addition to the weekly Sag Harbor Express and its website, sagharborexpress.com, will include the weekly Southampton Press Eastern and Western Editions, The East Hampton Press, and their umbrella website, 27east.com. Along with her duties as co-publisher, Ms. Menu will continue to serve as editor of The Express and will also serve as editor of the company's lifestyle and magazine content. Press News Group sales manager Paul Conroy will remain an integral part of the sales department, leading the team alongside Mr. Menu, who will remain a sales representative for the Sag Harbor territory in addition to serving as co-publisher. The Express changed hands and expanded several times, welcoming new technology in 1988 with new owner Gardner "Pat" Cowles, who also owned the Three Village Herald in Stony Brook at the time. Bryan Boyhan became publisher and part-owner in 2000, and sole owner in 2011. "If it wasn't for Pat Cowles, none of us — not me, not Georgie, not Gavin — would be here. It's through his generosity that we are able to be in the position that we're in right now," Mr. Boyhan said of the former owner, who died in January at the age of 82. "I'm happy to see Georgie and Gavin are keeping the paper thriving and alive, and I think that the merger with The Press is a smart one. I'm looking forward to this. I think it's going to be an interesting adventure." In 2014, the couple became co-publishers of The Express — Ms. Menu already was managing editor and Mr. Menu was director of advertising — working side by side with Mr. Boyhan. The 100-year anniversary of the Press News Group in 1997 welcomed Joseph Louchheim to the table as co-publisher alongside his father, Donald. "It was never my intention to run this paper," the younger Mr. Louchheim said. "In fact, my father did everything he could to talk me out of it. This has never been a family business. It's turned out that way, but that was never the intention." A daily newspaperman his whole working life, the elder Mr. Louchheim had earned his stripes as a copy boy with The New York Times before reporting and editing as a foreign correspondent at The Washington Post. He landed on the East End in the 1970s during an 18-month leave of absence, instead choosing to focus his attention on Harvard Business School and, the summer before graduation, Sag Harbor Express and Press News Group to merge under Menus' leadership Press News Group Publisher Joseph Louchheim, left, with Sag Harbor Express Co-Publishers Kathryn and Gavin Menu. Michael Heller photo

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