The world turns: Asheville Global Report newspaper will fold

The Asheville Global Report announced yesterday that this week’s issue will be its last. The weekly, volunteer-run newspaper has been publishing for eight-and-a-half years, delivering news that’s gone underreported by the mainstream media to progressive readers.

While the print version of the AGR will cease to exist, the people who produce it will continue to generate news in other media. AGR TV, the publication’s relatively new public-access television program on URTV, is now also featured on Free Speech TV on the Dish Satellite Network, and next week, the show will debut on Atlanta’s public-access channel.

Below, an e-mail from AGR Editor Eamon Martin announcing the papers’ decision to stop publication.

— Rebecca Bowe, editorial assistant

___________________________________________________________________________

From:   emartin@agrnews.org
Subject: Good Night to the AGR newspaper
Date: May 20, 2007 9:32:08 PM EDT (CA)
To:   undisclosed-recipients:;

Dear friends and family,

I don’t know quite how to say this other than just being direct. After the
publication of this week’s 436th issue of the Asheville Global Report, the
newspaper will cease to exist.

A combination of several factors has led to this inevitable outcome, and
our newspaper is by no means alone. The past year has seen many of the
strongest progressive publications meet a similar fate: Clamor, LiP
Magazine and the NewStandard, just to name a few. The difficulties in
sustaining a grassroots publishing enterprise of this sort have never been
more apparent. Though most of AGR’s reasons for stopping publication are
particular to us, we do share with our defunct colleagues many overlapping
reasons as well.

Without getting into the whys and wherefors here, let’s just say we feel
proud and lucky to have enjoyed a weekly consistent run as much as we’ve
had. Really, it’s taken several miracles to make even that possible –that,
and the crucial support of friends like you who are reading this email.

You might not think that financing 2900 copies of a news weekly would be
so difficult, but it sure is these days, especially one of our stripe.

The GOOD NEWS is that our little flagship tugboat has succeeded beyond our
wildest dreams. It’s carried us to a place where the baton has been passed
to a more sophisticated method of information transportation. The
newspaper’s passing marks not just an end, but the beginning of an
exciting new era for AGR, unthinkable a year ago, let alone over the
course of our eight and a half year print run. Through our website and
relatively new TV program, AGR is now potentially reaching 26-28 million
people, a feat that would never have been possible with the newspaper.

And these figures are growing…AGRTV can now be seen on Free Speech TV on
the Dish satellite network, as well as cable access channels in Asheville,
Raleigh, and Chapel Hill. This week marks our debut on Boone, NC’s public
access channel and next week, Atlanta’s(!!) Last month also saw a
remarkable spike on our web traffic –the most in about a year –a number
that has already been surpassed this month.

So though I’m sadly announcing our newspaper’s funeral, it’s with no small
amount of excitement and optimism for the rest of the AGR enterprise.

I’m sorry for the impersonal nature of this announcement, but I needed to
talk to as many of you as possible at once. This development will have a
direct impact on some of you who work directly with AGR, whether you’re a
volunteer, reporter, an advertiser, a member of our top-notch radio team,
or a loyal reader and supporter. Please be assured that I will be in touch
however necessary as soon as I can to talk to you personally.

Thanks again for being there for us all these years, and for me
personally. It has meant a great deal more to AGR and me than you may ever
know.

Onward and upward,

Eamon