Local Gazette Newspaper Publishes Final Edition
The Montgomery County Gazette newspaper will close and the final edition has been published. Post Community Media, the parent company of the Gazette, cited declining advertising revenue and inability to find a buyer to purchase the Prince George’s and Montgomery County editions. Earle Hightower established The Gazette in 1959 in the basement of his Rockville home, making it truly a hometown newspaper. Ironically, the newspaper folded the same week as Hightower, 92, passed away at his home in North Carolina.
In a letter to readers, the editor reflected on the past 56 years: “As journalists, it has been our duty, indeed our imperative, to expose both the good works and the machinations of government and industry, and to encourage debate as to which was which. As a community newspaper, it has also been our mission, indeed our passion, to expose the ordinary as extraordinary — a fundraiser for an ill child, a centenarian’s surprise birthday party.”
The newspaper business has increasingly become financially unsustainable, both in terms of attracting advertising dollars (which has moved from print to other media) and in gaining a foothold on the Internet. There was hope that local newspapers would be able to weather the storm because they offered something that others media could not: local content to local residents. Now the Gazette joins Patch and Rockville Central, leaving local coverage to the Washington Post, Rockville Living and the Sentinel. The Sentinel is already struggling to capture an audience and is now facing additional problems of its own making. Turns out that it published a series of cartoons over the years that that were lifted from newspapers across the country, including the Palm Beach Daily, Columbia Daily Tribune, New Yorker, and the Guardian, without attribution or payment. Now facing accusations of plagiarism and copyright violation from dozens of artists and newspapers, it’s pulled those cartoons from its website but could also be subject to lawsuits and payments that could jeopardize its future and its credibility.
Rockville’s Connections to Watergate on its 40th Anniversary
Rockvillian James McCord’s connections to Watergate uncovered by the Washington Post, June 1972
Sunday, June 17 marked the 40th anniversary of the arrest of five burglars caught in the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate in Washington, DC in 1972. Little did people know at the time that this burglary was actually part of a much larger effort by President Nixon to undermine his opponents and support his allies through threats, harassment, lies, fraud, sabotage, bribes, and crimes for many years. For those who aren’t familiar with the story, James McCord, Bernard Barker, Frank Sturgis, Eugenio Martinez, and Virgilio Gonzales broke into the offices of the Democratic National Committee to plant listening devices on the phones and in the rooms, as well as photograph financial records and donor files. When they were initially arrested, they gave false names and it was unclear who they were and who they worked for (there was some thought it might be Cuba) but two days later, Edward Martin revealed his true identity as James McCord of Rockville and that he formerly worked for the CIA. It quickly became apparent these weren’t burglars but spies–and they were working for the White House. The Watergate break-in was one of several clandestine operations coming out of the Nixon White House and as Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein stated in a recent Washington Post article, “It was only a glimpse into something far worse. By the time he was forced to resign, Nixon had turned his White House, to a remarkable extent, into a criminal enterprise.” In addition to the five “burglars,” another 35 of Nixon’s closest aides and associates went to prison. Nixon was pardoned by President Ford.
Few people know that Rockville, our fair city, had many connections to the incident that eventually led to the downfall of President Nixon. My research continues but at this point, there are at least a half dozen places Continue reading →
Max for Rockville 