It is impossible to state what a devastation loss the closing of the News & Record will be to Halifax County. To have two newspapers in such a small market is almost unheard of and with the rise of digital media, it saddens but does not shock me to see one close.
While my desire would have been to see the right-wing, poorly written, always bad news, Gazette-Virginian be the one to go, I guess it only stands to reason that the red paper would survive in a red county.
There has never been two small community papers so different in their content and style. The News & Record always featured the positive news and the facts, while the G-V peddled bad news, often outright lies in it editorial and letters sections, and published arrest columns, and real estate transfer as if it was news.
Tom McLaughlin is a editorial genius and could have made a mark in journalism anywhere in the country, but chose to come home after college. He is one of only two professional journalist in Halifax County, the other being Mike Doan. The G-V has no relevant editorial commentary at all unless you count the personal story telling of Ms. Elliott as editorials.
I subscribed to both papers always. I read the News & Record for the facts, good news, and editorial quality. I read the G-V to keep up with the conspiracy theorist crazies like Dan Shaw and Jeff Oaks, letters that most paper wouldn't publish.
I'm glad that Tom will have a break to recharge and move on to bigger things while continuing the sister paper. The loss of his powerful voice for the Democrats and liberal thinkers in Halifax County will hurt our cause, but will not stop us from pushing for better representation in Halifax, Richmond, and Washington.
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