The Islip Bulletin, which covers the south western portion of Islip Township (Bay Shore, Brightwaters, East Islip, Islip, West Islip, Islip Terrace and Great River) was first published 1948. Due to a fire, details of some of the ownership records were destroyed.
Edward Hartung owned the paper from 1954-1966, followed by J.N. Fanelli and LeRoy Van Nostrand from 1966-1980. In June 1980, a neighboring paper in Sayville, the Suffolk County News purchased the Bulletin. The owners were; JoAnn O’Doherty, Mary Lou Cohalan, John J. Hart and Donald A. Rettalliata.
Finally, both the Islip Bulletin and the Suffolk County News were sold in August 1985 to John T. Tuthill, III. and wife Lorilei P. Tuthill. Tuthill was the publisher of the Long Island Advance, a 150 year old newspaper based in Patchogue, until his death in September of 2018. His son, John "Terry" Tuthill IV became publisher at that time after spending over 25 years in the family business.