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The Wave Welcomes Ryan Schwach As Community Editor



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This past week, Schwach joined The Wave as the new community editor after working as a freelance reporter for the last two years and following in the footsteps of his grandfather Howard Schwach, the former longtime managing editor of The Wave.

It was Dec. 26, 2008 when 9-year-old Ryan Schwach had his first byline in The Wave as a part of “Kids Korner,” a series of Rockaway students writing about their favorite sports and teams. Schwach, a four-foot-tall fourth grader at the time, roamed the locker room of the Brooklyn Aces, a now defunct minor professional hockey team based at the Aviator on Floyd Bennett Field, with a notepad and pen in hand and determined to get the job done.

I love hockey, and I love going to Aces hockey games with my father and grandfather,” wrote Schwach at the time. “Since no one was covering the team in the newspaper, I came up with the idea of interviewing two Aces players.”

Little did Schwach know that this simple idea would sprout into a much higher calling 13 years later. 

This past week, Schwach joined The Wave as the new community editor after working as a freelance reporter for the last two years and following in the footsteps of his grandfather Howard Schwach, the former longtime managing editor of The Wave.

“When I was younger…he would bring me to the old Wave office on Beach 88th Street, and I would be running around [the] cubicles with my brother,” said Schwach. “He did some great stuff with The Wave…trying to represent the voice of the Rockaways, and I really hope I can continue that, the legacy that he did for so many years.”

Schwach, a fifth generation resident of the Rockaways, grew up in Belle Harbor before moving to Arverne late last year. As a student, Schwach attended P.S. 114 and the Scholars’ Academy, where his passion for writing initially came out.

“My middle school made the mistake of giving us iPads in seventh grade…but I just used it to write it in the middle of class,” said Schwach. “I wrote these really crappy short stories, and that sort of was a really big thing for me…I kind of caught that bug in sophomore year of high school.”

In high school, Schwach’s knack for editing became evident when he would find errors in the school paper and point them out to the dismay of his teacher. This prompted Schwach to start his own online newspaper in the school, an endeavor that ultimately failed.

It wasn’t until Schwach started classes at Brooklyn College in 2017, however, that his passion for writing and desire to meet new people would bring about a true interest in journalism.

“Journalism was always something that…I always ‘flirted with’ growing up,” said Schwach. “I appreciated it. My parents both worked on high school and college newspapers…but I never saw it as something I would do full time.”

To get involved on campus, Schwach joined The Kingsman, one of the school’s student newspapers, and quickly worked his way up to managing editor, a position he would serve until May 2019. Heading into his junior year, Schwach was tasked with assisting a merger between The Kingsman and The Excelsior, the school’s other student newspaper, and this time around, Schwach succeeded and helped found The Vanguard that fall.

After one year as The Vanguard’s managing editor, Schwach became the paper’s editor-in-chief as a senior from late 2020 until early 2021 when Schwach graduated from Brooklyn College with a B.A. in Film Production. Along with various short films filmed throughout the Rockaways, Schwach had also built a portfolio of work between The Kingsman and The Vanguard, including an investigative piece into Brooklyn College’s koi pond and reporting on the alleged exploitation of lower level employees at the school.

“That sort of gave me a lot of opportunities, a lot of bylines, a lot of experiences as a reporter, kind of learning on the fly, teaching myself, sort of learning by doing,” said Schwach. “The bylines there got me jobs at The Rockaway Times for a year and then with the New York Daily News as an intern and then a freelancer covering all five boroughs.”

Young Ryan Schwach Interviews Aces’ James Brannigan. Photo courtesy of the Schwach Family.

Looking for a full-time journalism job, Schwach seized the opportunity when former community editor Ray Vann left The Wave in late March to become Councilwoman Joann Ariola’s communications director, a bittersweet moment.

“He’s such a good guy,” said Schwach. “He was always willing to hear my pitches even if they weren’t good. He definitely was encouraging of me getting out there and doing a lot of local stuff.”

Vann, and other editors over the course of Schwach’s still short career have helped him learn the ins-and-outs of journalism. 

“Dylan Campbell and Quiara Vasquez at the college papers, Professor Anthony Mancini, Barry Paddock and Esha Ray at the Daily News, there’s a lot of people who taught me how to be a reporter, and I’ll always be learning,” said Schwach.

Schwach knew that joining The Wave as community editor would be no easy feat as Vann left behind big shoes to fill. It was Schwach’s rich experience, however, that convinced The Wave that he was the guy to take on that challenge.

“Trying to find a replacement for Ray Vann was an exhaustive process,” said The Wave’s Editor In Chief Mark C. Healey. “I interviewed several excellent candidates, but in the end, Ryan [Schwach] had the most complete skill set of the group. His experience running The Vanguard at Brooklyn College, and his internship work, which included the NY Daily News, played a key role in my final decision. He’d been working with us as a freelancer since 2020, so he knows the Rockaway beat as well. I’m really excited to have him join the team.”

“Ryan [Schwach] is a solid choice as an editor with The Wave,” added Vann. “He’s inheriting a great legacy passed on from his grandfather, and I am sure he will continue to keep The Wave’s strong reputation for journalistic integrity alive for years to come.”

With only one week under his belt, Schwach has already hit the ground running by covering the breaking news of Rockaway’s beach closures and juggling other stories as well.

“I’m doing everything that I was doing as a freelancer…just on steroids,” joked Schwach.

Of course, the hustle and bustle of being a reporter is nothing new to Schwach, but he admits that sitting at a desk and copyediting will take some getting used to. For the last five years, Schwach has worked across the street from The Wave office at PICO on Beach 129th, bussing tables and serving food.

“My bosses at PICO were definitely reluctant to cover my shifts but were very encouraging about me taking a step in my career,” said Schwach. “Realizing that I don’t need to be sprinting up and down a hallway with a burrito is nice, but it’s also going to take some getting used to.”

 

 

 

 

 

One response to “The Wave Welcomes Ryan Schwach As Community Editor”

  1. ssweiser@aol.com says:

    How can I donate to the Fatima Jenkins Family?
    Thank you!

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