The Kids Behind Montauk’s New Paper, 'The Ditch Weekly'

While local newspapers across the country shutter their presses and media giants chase clicks in the digital world, a group of students in Montauk has decided to go completely in the other direction, by starting a good old-fashioned newspaper.

It’s called The Ditch Weekly, and it’s written, edited, produced, and delivered entirely by middle school and high school students between 13 and 17. In the age of smartphones and artificial intelligence, the irony isn’t lost on them.

“I was on the beach one summer,” Billy Stern, the paper’s editor-in-chief, recalled, “I noticed that all the people I was selling lemonade to were just on their phones. They were all just staring at their screens. They were paying so much money to be in one of the best places in the world in the summer. It didn’t make sense to me, and I wanted to change that.”

The timing couldn’t be more unlikely or more impactful. Over the last two decades, nearly one-third of newspapers in the United States have shut down, victims of dwindling subscriptions and the popularity of digital media. Many towns no longer have a local paper at all, leaving gaps in civic coverage and community. The emergence of a local paper feels almost radical: a new, print-first publication not just surviving but growing, and run entirely by kids.

That moment of beachside realization along Ditch Plains sparked a three-year journey that culminated in the success of The Ditch Weekly. It started with a vision: create a print publication that would give locals something tangible to read, and give kids a creative way to spend their summers. Stern and his small team got to work learning the trade, not through tutorials online, but by reaching out to local professionals.

“I met with the layout manager of The East Hampton Star, and she showed me how to use InDesign,” Stern said. “Basically, we just learned all the skills. We got a logo. I wrote the first article in February. I started hiring some people to write. I sold advertisements with my friend Harry, who’s now our head of sales.”

Despite adult guidance, which solely consisted of parents and local mentors helping to teach the fundamentals, the students emphasize that the publication itself is all theirs.

“We were doing all the work,” Stern explained. “It’s not like I had my mom writing for me. My parents started businesses, so they just taught me how to be an entrepreneur. But I learned everything else myself.”

The team has expanded to about 20 kids from different schools across the East End. Each issue of The Ditch Weekly contains three main articles: one timely news story, one creative piece, and one historical feature. There’s also a column section, managed and written by the young staff.

“We kind of just sit down and talk things out,” Stern said. “Someone pitches an idea, we give them a word count and a deadline. We assign articles and go through the whole editing process.”

The paper has grown in popularity, especially after being featured in several news outlets over the past few weeks. With that attention came more advertisers, more readers, and more kids wanting to join the staff. A delivery service was launched this summer, with young staffers biking around Montauk to get the paper into the hands, or yards, of invested readers.

“People see a kid riding a bike with newspapers, and they smile,” said Stern. “I think people are more willing to support us because we’re young. I don’t think a regular paper run by adults would get the same kind of response.”

Even as they navigate leadership challenges like managing disagreements, giving feedback, and keeping everyone motivated, the goal is to keep The Ditch Weekly “a really positive vibe, all the time.” Writers are paid for their work, and contributions are taken seriously, even if they don’t make the cut.

“We’re trying to provide an opportunity for so many different people,” Stern said. “We’ve had to learn everything ourselves. All the funding has come through ad sales that we worked really hard to get.”

Most importantly, The Ditch Weekly has become a community fixture, not just because it’s charming or different or run by neighborhood kids, but because it’s actually good.

“Everyone really likes it, which is so cool,” Stern said. “When I deliver papers, people always stop to tell me what they liked, or what we could do better. And I listen. That’s what a local paper should be.”

With the next issue set to hit on July 4, what they predict will be their best issue yet, the kids behind The Ditch Weekly are proving that even in the most unlikely hands, print isn’t just alive. It’s thriving.

And like many newspapers that came before it, The Ditch Weekly is being delivered by kids on bicycles.