Joining the team: Mack Rovenolt

Tompkins Weekly serves such a large and vibrant community, but it is not difficult to see that. As the editor, I am excited to not just be a part of this community, but to serve it as well. With such a large county to cover, this is no easy task, but I am fortunate to be an ambitious person working with an incredible team of people. I would like to share a little more about myself so that you can know me as I get to know you all, our supporters and neighbors. 

While I am not originally from New York, I knew how nice this area was from my various family trips to Watkins Glen. I became a part of the community when I decided to attend Ithaca College to study journalism. During my time at Ithaca College, I grew to realize just how much I enjoyed not just Ithaca, but the surrounding areas as well. My hiking day trips have taken me all over the county and into other parts of the state. I graduated from IC with a bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in history. 

Originally, I am from Danville, a small town in Central Pennsylvania. It was here that my favorite teacher not only sparked my interest in photography, but my love for journalism as well. By my senior year, I had piloted the first journalism cooperative education program that will soon become its own class. I am incredibly proud of this as it has created more opportunities for other students like myself and I want to continue to support initiatives such as this here in Tompkins County. 

My personal focus when studying journalism was on innovation and local news because, as many people might recognize, local papers across the United States have been struggling since the early 2000s. I am glad to see Tompkins Weekly, and other local outlets, still standing strong. Local news and media innovation continues to be my career focus and passion which is why I cannot express enough how overjoyed and excited I am to be the editor of Tompkins Weekly. 

Local news is incredibly important, especially now, so thank you all for supporting this paper, this team, and myself in this role. Tompkins Weekly would not exist without a great team now, and before me…and of course without our loyal readers and advertisers that support our mission to cover local news throughout this “Gorges” area.