So, the Loudoun Independent and the Loudoun Times-Mirror are merging, in another change to the local Loudoun media market. You may recall that Leesburg Today went through bankruptcy last year, and LoudounExtra was scrapped by the Post. The number of independent media voices in our county – the richest in Americ – will be further reduced.
Two Loudoun newspapers announced Thursday that they are merging their print and online operations.
The Loudoun Times-Mirror and the Loudoun Independent are combining, Peter Arundel, president and chief executive of Times Community News, said in an article on LoudounTimes.com.
The Times-Mirror will continue to be published Wednesdays, and the Independent will move to Fridays. – The Washington Post
The consolidation and reduction in independent media does not mean that the quality of reporting and news in Loudoun will be improving.Recall, for example, the totally made-up “news” story based on a non-scientific poll of an insignificant number of self-selecting website readers that the Loudoun Independent ran last week. As Daverunner opined then:
The Loudoun Independent is owned by William Dean, who also runs engineering firm M.C. Dean, Inc., headquartered in Sterling, VA. Ironically, Bill Dean personally donated $2,000 to Mr. Black’s campaigns when he (Black) served as Delegate for the 32nd District.
Even more ironically, M.C. Dean Building intelligence Inc. is also on record as having donated $19,500 to Mr. Black while he was a delegate, dating back to 2000. – Loudoun Progress
We will watch closely the editorial bent of the Times-Mirror in light of this merger. Money buys access, and sometimes even coverage and spin. Here’s hoping the Times-Mirror’s historical independence will not be sullied by Mr. Dean’s Independent investment.
It sounds like a consolidation of Republican media influence in advance of 2011 County races to me. Would that there were a truly independent voice for Loudoun in the media.
This is among the reasons I strongly prefer Leesburg Today.
http://www.loudountimes.com/in…
It will be interesting to see the dynamic between Mr. Dean and the Times’ Editor-at-large Nicholas Graham, who was formerly press secretary to 2 Republican U. S. senators, as well as formerly being the senior policy director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Mr. Graham has been very fair in his editorials; let’s hope that doiesn’t change.