Thursday’s Headlines: Far Above Cayuga’s Waters Edition

People are always asking me, “What’s the state of local journalism?”

Usually, I say, “How should I know? Go ask editors at outlets that are struggling to connect their readers with vibrant local news that matters to them and improves our city, because I’m not one of those!”

But all kidding (and national trends) aside, from where I sit in New York City, local news is thriving — albeit on a completely different scale and in media that didn’t exist when I got into the business five decades ago. Unlike the rest of the country, New York City has so many outlets for local news — Hell Gate, Gothamist, The City Reporter, Chalkbeat, Documented NY, and City Limits, not to mention neighborhood sites like West Side Rag, Williamsburg365, EV Grieve and Tribeca Citizen — that residents can not only get the news they need, but also multiple takes on the news they need (some neighborhoods have pro-development sites competing against NIMBY sites, even!).

Is all this news-gathering sustainable? That’s a better question — and one that I’ll be addressing today as I travel far above Cayuga’s waters to Cornell University to appear on the panel, “How Is Local Journalism Doing?” hosted by the Cornell First Amendment Clinic (full disclosure: our lawyers) and also featuring Mazin Sidahmed of Documented.

Here’s the clinic’s pitch: “New York City’s media landscape is undergoing rapid transformation. Legacy outlets are shrinking while independent and nonprofit newsrooms are emerging to fill the void. This shift raises a host of important and largely unresolved legal questions about press freedom, source protection, and newsgathering rights.” Sounds spicy.

If you want to watch, simply click this link at 3 p.m. today.

In other news:

• Once again, United Nations-award-winning filmmaker Clarence Eckerson is your one-stop shop for information on low-traffic neighborhoods.
• Beginning on June 30, the MTA will have automated speed enforcement at its New York City work zones. (ABC 7)
• Janno Lieber continues to criticize former Train Daddy Andrew Byford and the Trump administration for their plans for Penn Station. (amNY)
• Somehow Taylor Swift and the Knicks got SAPO permits during the World Cup, after the agency told us it wasn’t issuing any. (NY Times)
• Vital City has a snazzy new tool for potential city revenues from increased parking fees.
• Queens pols led by Council Member Phil Wong are sounding the alarm about overcrowding and long waits on Central Queens express buses. (QNS)
• The Post used a new lawsuit against Mayor Mamdani’s decision to end criminal summonses against cyclists to parrot a bunch of lies about bike advocates.
• Former Eric Adams chief of staff Frank Carone was arrested and indicted as other Adams NYPD officials saw their homes raided in a “sweeping” bribery probe. (NY Post)
• Some Orthodox Jews want the MTA to scrap its decades-old Museum of Sex bus ads. (The City Reporter)
• The MTA is rolling out more toilet seats at its public bathrooms in response to an investigation by its inspector general’s office. (Curbed)