Thursday, October 1, 2026
For 100 years, the Nassau Herald has chronicled the triumphs, challenges and everyday life of the Five Towns.
From its beginnings as a small weekly newspaper to its role today as part of a multi-platform media organization, the Herald has remained focused on a single mission — telling the stories of the communities it serves.
The newspaper traces its origins to the 1920s, when it was known as the Rockaway Branch Journal, named for the Long Island Rail Road branch connecting Hewlett, Woodmere, Cedarhurst, Lawrence and Inwood to Far Rockaway.
In the early 1930s, readers selected the name Nassau Herald through a contest, giving the publication an identity that has endured for decades.
A defining chapter in the Herald’s history began in June 1964, when accountants Robert and Edith Richner purchased the paper with several partners. What they initially believed would be a silent investment soon became the center of their professional lives.
“Over the next few years they gave up their accounting practices, bought out their partners and became the sole owners,” Stuart Richner, publisher, said.
For the Richners’ sons — Stuart, Cliff and Donald — the newspaper quickly became part of daily life. The family lived in Lawrence, and after school the boys often walked to the Herald’s office near the firehouse. “We grew up in the business,” Stuart recalled. “It was very much an integral part of our family’s life.”
The brothers began helping with small jobs. Over time they learned the mechanics of producing a weekly newspaper, assisting with layout and paste-up.
“Our parents were very hardworking people,” Stuart said. “They believed we should learn a good work ethic from the start.”
Week after week, the Herald reported on schools, civic groups, religious congregations and nonprofit organizations across the Five Towns and Rockaways.
“One of the beautiful things about this business is that it does good for the world,” Stuart Richner said. “It’s critical to our democracy to have fair, honest information about what’s happening in your community.”
After pursuing careers as attorneys, Cliff and Stuart Richner eventually returned to the family enterprise — Cliff in 1982 and Stuart about a year later.
“One of the first things we did when we came back was tell our father we wanted to do things differently,” Cliff said. “That meant hiring full-time professional people and investing in the editorial product. We believed if we put out a better paper, we’d be more successful.”
The shift required patience.
“It wasn’t a straight line,” Cliff Richner said. “But the paper got taken more seriously. Circulation improved and the Herald became known as a strong community newspaper.”
The brothers’ partnership played a key role in the company’s growth. Cliff focused on editorial leadership while Stuart Richner concentrated on operations and finance.
“Quite honestly, without Stuart, I don’t know if the paper would still be here,” Cliff said. “Weekly newspapers are tough businesses even in good times. But Stuart was really the great behind-the-scenes person who kept everything running.”
Together the brothers expanded the company that would become Richner Communications, launching new publications and acquiring others across Long Island’s South Shore.
Growth was both strategic and necessary.
“A standalone weekly newspaper just became economically impossible,” Cliff said. “The paper that once supported one family suddenly had to support three.”
Even as the company expanded, the Herald maintained its hyperlocal focus, covering village governments, schools and the people who shape daily life in their communities.
“The difference with a local paper is that you’re writing about people you know,” Cliff said. “We knew the right people to talk to, and the stories always sounded different because of that.”
Over the decades, the Herald has documented defining moments in local history. After the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, its reporters covered the lives of Five Towns residents who were killed. When Superstorm Sandy struck Long Island in 2012, the paper reported on the devastation and the years long recovery that followed.
Today, as the Herald marks its 100th anniversary, the media landscape has changed dramatically.
“The news isn’t going away,” Stuart said. “What’s changing is how we deliver it.”
Although the Richner family did not found the Herald, he said he takes pride in helping ensure its survival.
“I’m very glad we were able to keep it alive,” Cliff said. “To keep this one healthy as a news organization — that’s something I’m proud of.”
For the Richners, the anniversary is both a celebration of the past and a reminder of the role community journalism plays in civic life.
“It’s a privilege to be able to speak to tens of thousands of people with the truth about what’s happening in their communities,” Stuart Richner said.
Rhonda Glickman, vice president of sales for Richner Communications, reflected on her 26 years with the company and growing up reading the Nassau Herald.
“Watching the Herald embrace every technological change along the way has been truly inspiring,” she said.
