The Schneps Media local news playbook

The Schneps Media story is a blueprint for how local publishing can still work when it’s treated like a real business, not a civic charity. Josh Schneps explains how he and his mother built a diversified local empire by combining print, digital, and events into a single ecosystem that feeds itself. He talks about why print still drives more than half of their revenue, how they use events to build relationships and coverage, and why proximity—not scale—is the true advantage in local media. We also get into the economics behind their acquisitions, the logic of staying focused on New York, and how they’re adapting to AI and shifting audience habits without losing touch with their roots.