PUBLISHER’S NOTE

In 2006, New York’s political world lacked a publication and website of its own. Hollywood had Variety, and Washington, D.C., had The Hill (a newspaper I helped create in 1994). So, why not a New York version of these – a publication that covered the policy, politics and personalities of our fast-moving political scene?

The August 2006 issue of City Hall featured a front-page story about New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and explored his chances of becoming president one day. Even then, our award-winning reporters were way ahead of the news.

I’m writing this note just a few hours after Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation – news that was sent to City & State’s 30,000plus readers via an email breaking news alert.

The delivery of news has changed and accelerated over the past 15 years, but our mission has stayed the same. City & State strives every day to provide our readership with accurate, nonpartisan and insightful news and analysis of the multifaceted political class throughout New York state.

We’ve grown a lot since publishing a monthly newspaper 15 years ago. We created a multimedia newsroom that now produces our daily newsletters under the “First Read” banner; weekly newsletters that focus on Albany and political campaigns; as well as a bimonthly newsletter explaining the complicated topics in our political world.

We also launched a weekly magazine. Plus, we host more than 50 live and virtual events annually, which bring the most powerful people around the state to network and speak on panels about the key issues of the moment. And we publish more than three dozen power lists and recognize the people on them at ceremonies highlighting who’s up and who’s down each year in the political pecking order.

On this 15th anniversary, I want to thank the current and past employees of City & State, who have each worked tirelessly and ethically to make our brand synonymous with quality journalism and informative events. I also want to thank our many loyal advertisers and sponsors who have recognized that we can deliver to them a very powerful and otherwise hard-to-reach audience of elected leaders, decision-makers and thought leaders.

Late last year, City & State was acquired by GovExec, a fast-growing, prominent D.C.-based media and information company. Our partnership with them allowed us to successfully launch City & State Pennsylvania earlier this year. Our editorial and business model has been extremely well received from Philadelphia to Harrisburg, and we now have plans to launch in another state by the end of this year. We hope in the coming years to have City & State newsrooms across the country.

Our success shows that smart, dynamic media companies can still thrive in a world where local media has shrunk dramatically. By listening to our audience, our clients and our colleagues, we constantly innovate new products while maintaining consistent quality journalism. We look forward to celebrating many more milestones in the coming years – but for now, let’s all raise a glass and toast the great team at City & State on this 15th anniversary celebration. The best is yet to come.

Tom Allon Publisher and Founder