Mountain Xpress today celebrates its 15th anniversary with a mondo 96-page edition chock full of the usual goodness, as well as some interesting Xpress history and a couple of great commentaries.
I still feel new to Xpress, though I’ve watched the newspaper change and grow since its Greenline days. I’m proud to be a part of such a lively institution that’s so connected to the community. It’s really a vibrant nexus of community conversation. We have our weaknesses just like everyone else, and we’re challenged like all print publications in this age of the Internet. But we’re working hard, every day, on getting better and finding creative solutions. I hope you, the readers and the community in general, will continue to support us and keep contributing. We can’t do it without you.
Publisher Jeff Fobes has an insightful commentary on Mountain Xpress past and future. A snippet:
When Green Line morphed into Xpress and advocates lamented the loss of the former’s progressive stance, I used to counter, “We’re still practicing advocacy journalism: We advocate that people participate in civic matters, regardless of their politics.”
Taken to its logical conclusion, the slogan “Local Matters” makes us a booster for theindividual, which is about as local as you can get. The idea is that everyone wants a place at the table, a chance to participate in their own unique fashion. I believe a healthy community has a higher-than-average ratio of participants to bystanders, and Asheville is definitely rich in participants.
Fifteen years ago, launching a weekly newspaper to promote community activism was a radical act. Today, there are more cutting-edge ways to convey the news, but promoting community activism remains as radical a vision as ever. And the new technologies give everyone a shot at being a publisher/blogger/originator of information — so there’s a whole lot more room at the table.
If the premise is right, then the future should be wide open for this community of visionaries and doers. And you can expect Mountain Xpress to be right in there promoting the dialogue.
Tonight, you can hear Fobes talk about the Mountain Xpress and its history on WCQS, 88.1 FM, during the Conversations show from 6-7 p.m. You can stream it here. And you can call in and be part of the conversation – 210-4838.
1 Comment
It was nice to pick up a bulky MtnX for the first time in many a week.