For more than four decades, Ken Tingley worked in community newspapers, including as editor of the 'Post Star' in Glens Falls. Now he's turned that experience into a play, 'The Last American Newspaper,' which opens Friday at the Capitol Repertory Theater in Albany. Based on true events, the drama takes audiences inside a newsroom confronting the changing economics of journalism, the rise of the internet, and the challenges facing local newspapers.
It follows journalists pursuing stories ranging from the opioid epidemic to a Pulitzer Prize, while asking what happens to communities when local news disappears. Ken Tingley joins us this morning to talk about journalism, theater, and his transition from editor to playwright.