The news that Southern Voice and David Atlanta are in receivership is gaining some wider attention among Atlanta media outlets.
Creative Loafing and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution both weighed in today, picking up the Gay City News article that was behind a post on this site on Monday.
A brief recap: The New York-based investment company that owns a majority stake in the publishers of Southern Voice and David Atlanta is in federal receivership and being sued by the Small Business Administration. The SBA may sell the media properties as its dissolves the assets of Avalon in the coming months (or years). It’s not really clear as officials from Avalon and Window Media aren’t commenting to media outlets.
The Loaf, itself tethered to a company that’s in a financial pickle, took a more somber tone in its coverage.
What does this mean for SoVo? Well, if anyone at the newspaper or its corporate offices had returned my several messages, I might have a better idea. Based on the GCN article, it seems likely that the weekly will soon be put up for sale. Newspapers rarely have any conventional assets; their only value typically is in their brand. In other words, they’re only worth anything if they continue publishing.
It’s our hope that SoVo is able to hang in there. Hey, we know what it’s like.
The AJC, also facing financial troubles, noted SoVo’s troubles in its Political Insider column by touching on the Loaf piece.
Scott Henry of Creative Loafing has pointed one and all to a report from New York that the Southern Voice, an Atlanta weekly aimed at gays and lesbians, is in serious trouble:
The investment fund that owns the Washington Blade, the Southern Voice, Genre magazine, and other gay publications has been forced into receivership by the federal Small Business Administration (SBA), which will sell the fund’s assets and distribute the proceeds to investors.
Comments to the AJC post range from empathy to the plight of the newspaper industry overall to criticism of the paper’s management.
Here’s your newsflash: ALL newspapers are in trouble.
How do newspapers expect to survive when they give it away FREE online?
The paper began its decline when founder Chris Cash sold it. The paper lost its appeal and political importance. No one I know has made a point to pick one up SoVo in the longest time.
If it wasn’t for paying newspaper subscribers, there would be little if any news content on the Internet. If newspapers ever die, who will pay the reporters to gather and write the stuff you read on the Internet? The $300 a year I pay to subscribe to print editions of two daily newspapers is a small price to pay for everything on the Internet. All newspapers and news services should go to a fee for service for Internet readers.
