Protest Bay Guardian’s Closure, Celebrate Newspaper’s 48-Year History on Weds

This press release just came across my desk (I mean, in my email inbox, but you know, whatever). I’m cutting and pasting it here so I don’t muck things up.

On Weds. Oct. 22, the first time in 48 years that the San Francisco Bay Guardian will not deliver a new issue, city and community leaders will hold a rally to protest the newspaper’s closure and urge its revival.

The 12 Noon rally, marking the “First Wednesday without the Bay Guardian,” will feature speeches by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano and other community leaders, Bay Guardian editors, music.

The rally will celebrate the Guardian’s groundbreaking history as one of the nation’s premier alternative weeklies, and look to the future with the message: “The Guardian must live on.” Organizers will distribute copies of the Guardian’s election endorsements.

“The Guardian is part of the lifeblood of this city, a vital journalistic and progressive voice that cannot be silenced,” said organizer Christopher Cook, a journalist and former Guardian city editor.

Steven T. Jones, the editor-in-chief of the Guardian when it closed last week, said the staff is working to ensure the paper’s legacy lives on, and he will announce the latest efforts at the rally.

“We’re talking to the company about how to preserve our archives so they remain publicly accessible,” Jones said. “Purchasing and reopening the paper is also still an option.” He added, “We’re planning to put out a commemorative edition of the paper to truly celebrate its rich history. We’re not giving up on the Guardian and we hope that our community will continue to support the need for an independent, progressive media voice in San Francisco.”

For more information, please visit: www.tinyurl.com/DayWithoutGuardian.

See you there!