The Post-Standard
The Post-Standard is a newspaper serving the greater Syracuse, New York, metro area. Published by Advance Publications, it and sister website Syracuse.com are among the consumer brands of Advance Media New York, alongside NYUp.com and The Good Life: Central New York magazine. The Post-Standard is published seven days a week and is home-delivered to subscribers on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
The Post-Standard’s parent company, Advance Media, operates a number of other media. Among them:
Community engagement[edit]
Since 1988, The Post-Standard has been challenging people of Central New York every winter by hiding a treasure hunt medallion in a public park in Onondaga County. Each day during the treasure hunt, The Post-Standard and Syracuse.com publish clues pointing treasure hunters to its location. The person who finds the medallion win's $1,000, double that if they are a newspaper subscriber. The medallion hunt coincides with Syracuse's annual Winterfest and the schools' winter break. In recent years, the medallion has been found at the Camillus Erie Canal Park,[21] Onondaga Lake Park,[22] and Green Lakes State Park.[23]
The company conducts an annual holiday fund drive, organizing employees and dozens of community organizations to hawk special editions of donated newspapers. The campaign started in 1932, during the depths of The Great Depression, to buy coal for families who could not afford to heat their homes. Donations now go to the Christmas Bureau, sponsored by the United Way and The Salvation Army, to provide gifts, food, clothing and other support for local families in need. Early each December, the drive raises more than $50,000 each year. For decades, it was known as the Old Newsboys campaign and recently became known as Hope for the Holidays.[24]
In 2013, the company launched an annual “Volunteer of the Year” award. The honoree wins $5,000.[25]
In 2015, the company partnered with the Landmark Theatre to launch the Syracuse High School Theatre Awards.[26]
For decades, The Post-Standard has conducted an annual spelling bee. In recent years, the paper partnered with WCNY, which broadcasts the finale.[27]
The company conducts annual golf and bowling tournaments, each with divisions for men, women and seniors.
Since its formation, Syracuse Media Group has hosted frequent workshops on using digital tools. Workshops have taken place at the headquarters’ building on Warren Street as well as at libraries and senior centers. Among them are how to use digital tablets, how to take better pictures with smart phones, and how to make use of social media.
In 2014, the company began hosting special events featuring news staffers with special expertise. Among them have been Talkin’ Hoops with SU basketball writers Donna Ditota and Mike Waters; Talkin’ Fish with outdoors writer David Figura; and CNY Conversations Live with Stan Linhorst, who conducts a weekly Q&A on leadership and innovation.
The company sponsors or supports a number of community organizations. Among them: Syracuse Jazz Fest, Syracuse Crunch, Syracuse Stage, Symphoria, Syracuse Opera, Onondaga Historical Association, Landmark Theatre, Taste of Syracuse and Centerstate CEO economic development organization.
War-zone coverage[edit]
Reporters and photographers from The Post-Standard have provided coverage from conflicts that drew American troops, often accompanying soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division based at nearby Fort Drum or troops with Reserve/Guard units activated from Syracuse. Among them:
Afghanistan, 2008: Dave Tobin covered combat by the New York Army National Guard's 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.[28]
Iraq, 2006: Reporter Hart Seely and photographer Gloria Wright covered soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division.[29]
Iraq, 2005: Reporter Hart Seely and photographer Li-Hua Lan covered soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division.[29]
Afghanistan, 2002: John Berry covered 10th Mountain Division soldiers.[30]
Bosnia, 1993: Frank Ordonez documented despair, fear and pain of people caught in civil war in the former Yugoslavia.
Somalia, 1992: Reporter Tom Foster and photographer Tim Reese covered the 10th Mountain Division's deployment in Somalia.
Kuwait/Iraq, 1991: Stephanie Gibbs covered the 174th Fighter Wing, an Air National
Guard unit from Syracuse, and the 8th Tank Battalion, a Marine Corps reserve unit from Mattydale.