Spotlight Newspapers
The Spotlight Newspapers is made up of 3 weekly newspapers in the suburban communities in the Capital District of New York State. The group began in 1955 with The Spotlight. History The Spotlight first appeared as a four-page penny saver in Delmar, New York on December 1, 1955. It was founded by Mrs. Charles E. Walsh, Jr., (as she listed herself in the paper at the time) with its “offices” at a residential address on Roweland Avenue. Tracy Walsh sold the paper to Robert G. King, a former Advertising salesman for the Times Union, in 1957. Nathaniel A. Boynton, a Slingerlands resident and former Associated Press writer, purchased the paper in 1975 and began a full-coverage news policy. Boynton stopped the free distribution of the paper and promoted subscription sales. In 1980, Boynton sold the paper to Richard Ahlstrom, a retired vice-president of Westchester-Rockland Newspapers owned by Gannett. Ahlstrom turned The Spotlight into an 11- by 15-inch tabloid format, which allowed him to nearly double the news layout and photo content of the paper. He also started the Colonie and Loudonville editions of The Spotlight. Ahlstrom sold the papers to Eagle Newspapers in 1998, which formed Spotlight, LLC. Spotlight, LLC