Please allow me to introduce myself. Or rather, re-introduce myself. As Editor Derek Kirk moves on to his next chapter to earn his Master’s Degree I have the honor of stepping up to become editor of the Sullivan County Democrat.

Having worked here as a reporter for a few years I am excited to return and take on another role–one that will undoubtedly come with challenges but also moments of significance. 

I look forward to realizing my vision for the paper and I encourage you to reach out, drop me a line: editor@sc-democrat.com and let me know what you want to see inside these pages. 

But enough about me. I would like to take this moment to talk about the great importance of community newspapers. How many of you know that the Sullivan County Democrat began in 1891? That’s 134 years ago.

Many people think that the Democrat is affiliated with the Democratic party, but that is not the case. In the 1700’s and 1800’s when newspapers were forming they had alliances to political parties, hence names such as the Press-Republican out of Plattsburgh or The Wayne Independent. So even though today we are not aligned with any political party, the name stuck because why mess with tradition? 

And it is our tradition to keep our reporting objective, fair and unbiased. Our opinion pages are filled with opinions on both sides. And if we make a mistake we own up to it, and a correction is issued. 

While the Democrat began 134 years ago it has been in the Stabbert family for 98 years, beginning with Fred Stabbert Sr., who was born on a farm and came to work on staff in 1926 before running the paper until 1963. 

At the time, there were many newspapers dotted around Sullivan County, likely one for each town and some bigger towns like Monticello and Liberty having three papers to call their own. But as time went on little by little they shuttered their presses. The Democrat remains a stalwart of Sullivan County, and is only one of a few twice-weekly papers published in New York State.

Across the country local newspapers are closing, or merging with bigger organizations, oftentimes losing its hyper-local coverage. According to a report by Northwestern University, the country is on track to lose a third of its papers, and over half of counties in the United States have just one or no local news outlets.

We will continue to bring you not just the news but also events, community columns, sports, classifieds, special sections and more–the legacy continues.

Isabel Braverman

Editor