
James T. Madore
Newsday economy and business reporterjames.madore@newsday.comJournalism is about serving the community.
For me that time-honored maxim was never truer than during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Every story matters because it can potentially help someone to lead a better life.
Thousands of non-essential businesses were forced to shut down for months as governments tried to slow the coronavirus’ spread. Employees were laid off and entrepreneurs faced the real possibility that their dream of a thriving company would be extinguished.
In the pandemic’s early days, Newsday and the Long Island Association business group launched a webinar series to help small business owners.
Each week, hundreds tuned in as representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration and New York State government, along with lawyers, accountants and college professors, shared their expertise and answered questions from the audience. I moderated the discussions, with the goal of getting as many questions answered as possible in 30 minutes.
I also wrote nearly every day about pandemic business-relief programs such as the federal Paycheck Protection Program loans.
Desperate entrepreneurs on Long Island and around the country called or sent email messages asking for help. I tried to respond to each one, often suggesting sources of reliable information that didn’t charge a fee.
A couple of years into the pandemic, a chamber of commerce president asked me why I cared whether an individual small business lived or died. The reason is that I started and ran a small newspaper in New Hampshire during my middle school years through freshman year in college.
The Stoddard Crier was a free weekly serving summer visitors to the Granite State’s southwestern corner. The first edition in 1979 was a single sheet printed on an old mimeograph machine owned by my father. There were three articles, all written by me, and one advertisement for the local marina.
The Stoddard Crier was largely a one-man operation with me producing the articles, selling ads and laying out the pages. My mother helped distribute the seven editions each summer. In 1984, the last year of publication, the Stoddard Crier had a weekly circulation of 4,000 and turned a modest profit.
My experiences with the little paper gave me a better understanding of the ups and downs of starting and running a business. They also taught me the importance of journalism to the community – that every story matters because it can potentially help someone to lead a better life.
James T. Madore's Work
- LI tourism chief will lead Chicago's tourism bureauJames T. MadoreApril 3, 2025 11:40 am
- COVID business fraud: LIers used pandemic aid money for lavish lifestylesJames T. MadoreApril 3, 2025 5:00 am
- These LIers have been charged with stealing $98 million in COVID fundsJames T. MadoreApril 3, 2025 5:00 am
- Covering Long Island like no one else canJanuary 3, 2023 8:39 am
- Roslyn hospital only one in NYS to win top nursing awardJames T. MadoreMarch 29, 2025 5:00 am
- LI tourism chief in line for job in ChicagoJames T. MadoreMarch 28, 2025 4:28 pm
- New owner of The Harborside retirement community seeks more tax breaksJames T. MadoreMarch 28, 2025 5:00 am
- Wall Street bonuses soar to $244,700 on average in 2024James T. MadoreMarch 26, 2025 5:00 am
- Plastics maker wins more than $1M in tax breaks for factory upgradeJames T. MadoreMarch 21, 2025 5:00 am
- Homes found for seniors forced to relocate from The HarborsideJames T. MadoreMarch 19, 2025 2:59 pm
- What to know about new Social Security overpayment ruleJames T. MadoreMarch 14, 2025 5:00 am
- Feds: Ex-Freeport tax preparer stole $12M from IRS, COVID-19 relief programJames T. MadoreMarch 12, 2025 6:01 pm
- Report: LI consumer prices rose in February at faster rate than JanuaryJames T. MadoreMarch 12, 2025 2:46 pm
- LI plastics manufacturer wants tax breaks for $3.5M factory upgradeJames T. MadoreMarch 11, 2025 5:00 am
- Newsday files lawsuit against Nassau County, Blakeman for alleged First Amendment violationsJames T. MadoreMarch 6, 2025 6:37 pm
- NY factories, retailers, service firms plan price hikesJames T. MadoreMarch 6, 2025 5:00 am
- LI business leaders slam tariffs for raising construction costsJonathan LaMantiaMarch 5, 2025 5:00 am
- Tariffs are here. What do they mean for LI?Brianne Ledda and James T. MadoreMarch 4, 2025 12:18 pm
- Harborside secures state approval for shutting down its nursing home, assisted living and dementia careJames T. MadoreFebruary 28, 2025 3:27 pm
- Bankruptcy at Harborside retirement community spurs questions, fears about continuing care modelJames T. MadoreFebruary 27, 2025 5:04 am
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