Patrick Buddington named publisher of Caribbean Life newspaper

Schneps Media Inc. has appointed Patrick Buddington vice president of sales and publisher of Caribbean Life, the Brooklyn based, weekly publication targeting New York’s Caribbean-American population.

President and Publisher of Schneps Media, Victoria Schneps-Yunis in making the announcement said, “We are thrilled to have a man of Patrick’s quality join our family of community newspapers. He’s a star and will continue to soar under the Schneps banner. Welcome!”

Since 1990, Caribbean Life has been the dominant source for local news, commentary, politics, sports, arts, and culture for the Caribbean community in New York. The weekly tabloid is the largest of its kind in the USA. The publication’s website, Caribbeanlife.com, has continued this role online, keeping its readers informed concerning issues impacting their lives and livelihood, as well as news from their respective homelands and from their adopted country, the USA.

Buddington comes to his new role with more than 35 years experience in all aspects of marketing, sales, branding, product management and client servicing for a range of companies and media entities covering a wide spectrum of services.

A graduate of Hofstra University, where he obtained a BBA and an MBA Degree in Marketing, his most recent position was president and CEO of IMC Media Inc., an integrated marketing agency specializing in creating and implementing marketing programs for Diaspora communities and designing corporate identity solutions and marketing communications for small and midsize businesses.

In that role, Buddington worked with leading consumer packaged goods firms including Grace Foods, Goya, and Unilever Corporation, as well as Digicel — the largest telecommunications firm in the Caribbean — and the renowned Money Remittance firms, Western Union, and MoneyGram.

Prior to this, he served as director, sales, and marketing for New York’s first full-time, urban-formatted talk station WWRL 1600 AM, growing the station’s revenue by 65 percent over three years.

As publisher of Caribbean Life, Buddington plans to build on the publication’s impressive 22-year record of covering the lives and lifestyles of the estimated 1.5 million Caribbean nationals residing in the New York metro area. He will work with Schneps senior executives to set editorial and commercial directions for Caribbean Life, as well as representing the publication in the community to develop relationships and increase advertising sales.

In addition to Caribbean Life, Schneps Media is the publisher and producer of two major market metro daily newspapers, 33 award-winning newspapers, 28 magazines and specialty publications, 20 websites and more than 50 annual events.

In speaking of his new appointment, Buddington said, “I have been a supporter of Caribbean Life since its inception. I conducted the paper’s first readership study. Since then, I have been a reader and an advertiser through my firm IMC Media Inc, placing print ads and multimedia initiatives on behalf of several clients. I am truly honored to be working with a dedicated group of individuals, led by Ms. Victoria Schneps, to continue to super-serve New York’s 1.5 million Caribbean nationals, as well as lovers of Caribbean culture, music, and cuisine.”