Publisher acquires Amsterdam newspaper

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bethany Bump

The Recorder, an Amsterdam-based newspaper covering Montgomery County, is undergoing its second ownership change in as many years.

Port Jackson Media LLC has finalized a deal to sell the newspaper and its five sister publications to Recorder publisher Kevin McClary through his company, McClary Media Inc., according to a story in Tuesday’s Recorder.

The other publications include a mix of paid and free weekly newspapers: the Fulton County Express, the Adirondack Express in Old Forge, the Hamilton County Express, the Sacandaga Express in eastern Fulton County and the Courier-Standard-Enterprise in western Montgomery County.

Robert Kosineski Jr. and Robert Kosineski Sr. bought the papers from William J. Kline & Son Inc. in June 2013 through their company, Port Jackson Media LLC. They changed The Recorder back to an afternoon newspaper and started the Fulton County Express, a new weekly newspaper covering the cities of Johnstown and Gloversville. The publication gained a circulation of 13,500.

The sale to McClary was prompted by an increase in business at Benchemark Printing, the parent company of Port Jackson Media, located on Maxon Road Extension in Schenectady, according to The Recorder.

“The goal was to continue the tradition of local ownership of the company while creating a climate for future growth,” the article said.

The Recorder, a six-day-a-week newspaper that dates to 1878, had faced some of the same difficulties other newspapers were dealing with in the digital age during the 2013 change in ownership, including a dwindling staff and forced cost-cutting. The paper stopped printing its Sunday edition in 2010.

The Kosineskis had plans to “beef up” the news and advertising staff, and even considered launching a newspaper in Schenectady. It’s unclear what became of those plans.

Robert Kosineski Sr., who will remain involved with the publications in a consulting and advisory role, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

McClary was born in Amsterdam and has worked at The Recorder since 1982. He became general manager in 1985 and publisher in 2006. He did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed.