Anderson Valley Advertiser
Newspaper covering Mendocino County
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Anderson Valley Advertiser is a newspaper covering Mendocino County.[1] The paper was published weekly in broadsheet starting in the 1950s until 2024, when it went digital only. Under longtime publisher Bruce Anderson, the paper has achieved a cult status due to its controversial writing. The New York Times, Editor & Publisher, Newsweek, Los Angeles Times and The Irish Times have each profiled the paper.[2]
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Bruce Anderson |
| Founder | Eugene Jamison |
| Founded | 1952 |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | Boonville, CA 95415 United States |
| Website | theava |
History
In 1952, Eugene Jamison published an eight-page brochure that was periodically mailed out to residents in the Anderson Valley.[3] On January 25, 1955, this brochure was expanded into a weekly newspaper called the Anderson Valley Advertiser.[4]
In 1984, Bruce Anderson purchased the paper. Anderson claimed to publish "the liveliest, most interesting county weekly anywhere." He penned a column called "Eyesore of the Week" critiquing local buildings or roadways, and in his editorials criticized everything from McDonald's chicken nuggets to county welfare programs.[5]
In 2004, Anderson sold the paper to David Severn, a longtime contributing writer and hardware store clerk. Anderson then moved to Eugene, Oregon and launched a new publication called The Eugene AVA.[6][7][8] The paper failed after three months. In 2007, Anderson reacquired the Advertiser in Boonville from Severn.[9][10] In 2024, the Advertiser discontinued its print edition and went online only.[11]
Masthead
The old masthead in the print version billed the paper as "America's last newspaper."[12] It featured mottoes borrowed from the French Revolution and the Industrial Workers of the World:
- Fanning the Flames of Discontent! (The IWW's Little Red Songbook is sub-titled "To Fan the Flames of Discontent")
- Peace to the Cottages! War on the Palaces! (The motto of Georg Büchner's Hessian Courier)
- All Happy - None Rich - None Poor
Various quotations are distributed throughout every issue of the paper. Examples include:
- "Be as radical as reality."[12] - Lenin
- "Newspapers should have no friends."[12] - Joseph Pulitzer
Contributors
Contributors include:
- Robert Mailer Anderson
- Alexander Cockburn
- Jeffrey St. Clair
- John Jonik
- Flynn Washburne