Further expanding its commitment to local journalism, Schneps Media — publisher of more than 70 daily, weekly and monthly publications across New York City, Long Island, Westchester and Philadelphia — has acquired the leading group of local political news websites in New York City.
Founded in 2014 by Stephen Witt, KingsCountyPolitics.com became the go-to source of local political news and information. Over the past several years, Witt expanded into Queens and Manhattan, developing local political websites dedicated to each borough.
Schneps Media, a family-run business owned by Victoria and Joshua Schneps, has deep media roots throughout New York City and the surrounding region. In addition to the company’s print products, they also publish dozens of websites, social media channels and email newsletters, boasting over half a million email newsletter subscribers, as well as being the leader in hosting business, industry and consumer events.
As part of the transaction, the sites’ founder and editor-in-chief, Stephen Witt, will join Schneps Media as its political editor-in-chief along with his team of reporters. Witt joins Schneps Media as it gains a stronger presence reaching deeper than ever into the communities, in which we live and serve.
“We have great respect for Steve and the business he has developed,” said Victoria Schneps, president of Schneps Media. “We have the best local news team in the business and now have a leader and more resources to provide in-depth political coverage for each district in the city.”
The 2020 presidential election, which led to record voter turnout, raised awareness around the importance of paying attention to politics at all levels — city, state and federal.
Schneps Media hopes to keep New York City readers further engaged in local politics and government, especially with the important 2021 municipal elections approaching this spring. They also aim to provide content informing the public not just about their choices on the ballot, but also the important issues at stake as they head to the polls.
“The focus of our political coverage will be hyper-local as we want our readers informed about those who will guide the future of their neighborhoods, as well as issues on education, public safety, real estate values and quality of life,” said Joshua Schneps, CEO of Schneps Media. “We also intend to be a critical source of information for those interested in public policy and the impact of legislation coming out of City Hall and Albany. We look forward to dramatically expanding our political coverage across several verticals including the websites, our newspapers, email newsletters and events.”
“I’m extremely thrilled to be joining the largest media company team covering community news in the New York City metropolitan area,” said Witt. “This is an exciting time for local politics with the citywide elections this year. And make no mistake that while the mayoral race matters so do local city council races. We look forward to continuing the media’s historic government watchdog role in ensuring the Big Apple comes out the other side of the COVID pandemic bigger, brasher and stronger than ever.”
Make sure to sign up for our political email newsletter by visiting kingscountypolitics.com/subscribe.
