[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 45 (Thursday, March 28, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E482]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        THE VILLAGE TIMES NEWSPAPER CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______


                         HON. MICHAEL P. FORBES

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 28, 1996

  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute and to 
congratulate ``The Village Times'' and its founder, Leah S. Dunaief, 
for 20 years of dedicated service to the people of Suffolk County.
  On April 8, 1976, as Americans were getting ready to celebrate the 
200th Birthday of their Nation, Leah S. Dunaief founded The Village 
Times as a weekly newspaper to cover the historic Three Village area of 
Long Island's North Shore. Starting off with little more than the 
notion that a newspaper should devote itself fully towards serving the 
community it covers, while always maintaining the highest journalistic 
ideals, Dunaief's business grew into a six-newspaper chain with a 
circulation of over 30,000, covering the entire North Shore area from 
Wading River to Smithtown.
  During her 20 years in the weekly community newspaper business, 
Dunaief has never wavered from that original mission. While other 
newspapers and television news outlets may have chased sensationalistic 
stories in the pursuit of a profit, Dunaief's Times/Beacon/Record chain 
has maintained what she terms ``that starry-eyed commitment to serving 
this community.'' That commitment has often meant stepping outside the 
traditional role of journalists as observers and becoming active 
participants in the events of their hometown. A recent example of 
Dunaief's commitment to her hometown was having her newspapers co-
sponsor, with John T. Mather Hospital of Port Jefferson, the Cardio-
Wise Cafe, a workshop at the hospital that taught local residents how 
to adopt heart-healthy lifestyles and nutritional habits.
  The Cardio-Wise Cafe is just one example of the projects and 
involvements that have helped Times/Beacon/Record Newspapers become an 
integral part of the foundation of the communities they serve. Each of 
the six newspapers were built by Dunaief from the ground up, growing 
into respected members of the Long Island, New York and National 
journalism community. Along the way, they have garnered journalism 
awards too numerous to list in full. ``Excellence'' is the motto of the 
Times/Beacon/Record newspaper company, and judging by the opinion of 
other journalists who have assessed the work of Dunaief's reporters and 
editors, ``Excellence'' is the word to which they are committed.
  Among the many honors bestowed upon Times/Beacon Record journalists 
by their peers are the National Newspaper Associations' awards for Best 
Investigative Reporting and for Feature Photography. The New York Press 
Association consistently honors Dunaief's newspapers with top prizes, 
including the prestigious Stuart Dorman Award for General Excellence 
for the best overall community newspaper in the state. Other New York 
Press Association awards include top honors for Community Service, 
Editorial Excellence, Best Front Page, Best Editorial Page, Best 
Advertising Campaign and Best Looking Advertisement and Dunaief herself 
has been honored for Best Column. Additionally, the University of 
Missouri Journalism School has awarded Times/Beacon/Record Newspapers 
with its Penny-Missouri Award for Best Lifestyle Section. Locally, the 
Long Island Press Association has honored Dunaief's reporters and 
editors with numerous awards for journalistic Excellence.
  After 20 years in the weekly newspaper business, Dunaief's newspapers 
have become vital members of the North Shore communities they serve, 
along the way earning the respect of readers and peers alike. In this 
age of rapidly emerging technologies, where news and other information 
are readily available via computer and the Internet, a weekly newspaper 
is still the only medium that can ably chronicle the happenings and 
define the character of an entire community. Every Thursday for the 
past 20 years, The Village Times has done an extraordinary job of 
offering its readers the kind of news, insight, and guidance that 
simply isn't available anywhere else. The Times/Beacon/Record 
Newspapers are the paradigm of what community journalism should be, 
garnering success and glory by always putting its readers' interest 
first and always striving for ``Excellence.''
  Congratulations to Leah Dunaief and her able team at ``The Village 
Times.'' May you continue to serve the community for many years to 
come.

                          ____________________