Upstate Dispatch was formed in September 2014, and back then there were very few print or online resources for visitors and transplants to the Catskills. Before starting Upstate Dispatch, I had been working for several local news outlets and magazines that struggled to exist and ultimately shuttered for good, or changed direction.

I still wanted to write, so I simply started my own magazine. Journalism is a calling and connects the writer with their local community and I sought that connection.

At the time, I billed UD as a newsmagazine devoted to the city folk who are making the country their home and building businesses here, written by a writer with a background in business. It was to be an online journal assisting urbanites navigating their way from the city and beyond, in addition to showcasing all the gorgeous Catskills have to offer them and the tourists who visit.

Fast-forward to almost 12 years later and there are more than enough websites and social media profiles devoted to advertising all that the Catskills have to offer. Upstate Dispatch has instead evolved into something more autobiographical: a Catskills Diary, if you will. I recently went through the website to condense and refresh it, looking at all 2577 posts and it’s been quite extraordinary to note how many local business, especially restaurants, have closed. The site is becoming more like a historical document with each passing year and most of what I have written has been moved to the Country Life category in the blog section.

More recently, in the past two years, Upstate Dispatch has become a creative hub with a new HQ in Margaretville that acts as a consultancy, writer’s room, studio and gallery, and publishing house, showcasing local talent. There are so many artists that have moved to the Catskills for peace, quiet, fresh air and space to work.

In the last few years, it has become apparent to us artists that AI will probably steal most of the art we put online and the only option we have to protect ourselves is to move back into the real world, or put our content behind a paywall.

To this end, I have started an Analog Project, an attempt to really engage with the local community in a meaningful way. Upstate Dispatch will be returning to print with the publication of the next two seasons of the journal and a memoir, which you will find on Substack. There’s a growing movement of people who want to reduce their digital presence and spend more time in the real world.

You’ll also still find me writing about arts and culture for the local newspaper, The Mountain Eagle/Catskills Chronicle, under the editorship of Matt Avitable. 

Thanks for reading!

Jenny Neal April 1st, 2026