Steve speaks! (IYKYK)
The Dispatch's cofounder, Steve Thurston, left without a peep. Here's why — and a discussion about AI, newsletters and the future of journalism.
So many of you — about half actually — have been with the Dispatch since our first month or so, a fun fact that humbles me to no end. It means you’ve been here as we tried new things, got the kinks out, suffered some pretty bad typos as we got used to a daily crunch time…and you’re still here.
And it means you remember my co-founder (and friend), Steve Thurston, who was half the Dispatch until he slowly exited stage right without a peep.
I wasn’t able to announce why he was leaving (I can tell you now; he got a dream job as the Chief of Staff to the mayor of Glens Falls). For more info, keep your eye on the Glens Falls Chronicle, which teased its story on the changes in our northern neighbor’s mayor’s office today on social media — and plans to have the full story out by Christmas.
Without further ado, Steve speaks!
Abby: When you left without a word, I think some of the Dispatchers out there thought we had a falling out or something.
Steve: Oh, no. I mean, “Please support Abby — the Dispatch is absolutely necessary.” Saratoga needs its own daily news outlet.
Abby: You were handling most of the hard news; I was doing mostly food/wine and the performing arts. I can’t do it all (ha!), so filling that void is still a work in progress. The political stories I have done did extremely well — I’ll be doing a “Top Stories” post soon for the end of the year, and I’m interested to see where they fall.
Steve: The politically connected readership are a stalwart bunch, and they are really interested in making sure that news gets out, and that you survive so that you can continue to tell that news.
Abby: Since local journalism is my absolute passion, that speaks to my heart.
Steve: Since I left, I have seen a number of changes — especially the tone and style. It’s still really great coverage, still interesting stories, but at the same time, just a little tweak that I think is in the right direction. Maybe with me hanging around, we never would’ve made those changes, but with me out of the way…
Abby: You were very concerned about AI, and the one thing that AI cannot take away from you is your personality. I still want the information in there, but our community is a friendly, tight-knit community, and I want the Dispatch to feel like it’s not only a part of it, but doing what local journalism is supposed to be doing — bringing us together.
Steve: That’s where news seems to be going. I might have gotten too stuck in my ways and wasn’t ready to make that kind of a change. And I think that change is going to be significant.
Abby: I was going to ask you what you’ve noticed that’s different, but you went straight to it.
Steve: It really is the voice. It’s fun to read, you’re a good journalist and a good writer, and you are clearly connected to so many people in this community in a way that I never was. I appreciate your journalistic reach.
Abby: It’s so cyclical. There was so much to do in Saratoga over the holidays that I was working all day, every day to try to get it all in. I expect to settle into some more newsier stories and small business coverage as we move into January and February.
Steve: That will be an opportunity to catch up on some different areas and try new things.
Thank you, Steve!