Weekly newspaper Virginia Mountaineer possibly closing after 100 years

Jul. 28—GRUNDY, Va. — If a buyer or interested parties cannot be found, a weekly newspaper that has served Buchanan County, Va. for a century may be printing its last edition this August.

The Aug. 4, 2022 edition of the Virginia Mountaineer could be the last one, Publisher Sam Bartley said Wednesday.

Bartley was out delivering newspapers Wednesday before speaking with the Bluefield Daily Telegraph. The possibility of closing the Mountaineer, which started publishing in 1922, is part of the overall downturn in the newspaper industry, he said.

"We have lost a lot of local and regional advertisers over the years," Bartley said. "The digital age, it's here to stay and it's taken a toll on the newspaper industry."

Bartley said the Mountaineer staff plans to reevaluate its position after Aug. 4.

"We plan on putting out the Aug. 4 issue, and then if there are no interested buyers or interested parties at that time, we would reevaluate and see if it was necessary to close the shop," Bartley said. "I hope somebody would have an interest to come in and continue the Mountaineer."

Bartley said that he has been with the Virginia Mountaineer since he started working there part-time in 1976. Lodge Compton was the newspaper's full owner until the early 2000s. After Compton passed away, Bartley and two other people shared ownership until he became the sole owner in December 2020.

The newspaper has five staff members.

"We have a managing news editor, a sports editor, and then we have a copy editor and then we have the office manager and myself," Bartley said. "We have three local columnists who try to do a community column every week."

The Virginia Mountaineer has been the county's newspaper of record for the last 100 years, said Brian F. Shortridge, director of the Buchanan County Public Library.

"It's the best weekly newspaper consistently published in this area that I've ever seen," Shortridge said. "It shocked me when I picked up the paper today and saw that. They have such a rich history. My whole week is based around the Wednesday paper,and it's been that way almost my entire life."

The library recently started putting back issues on its website so people can access them; however, not all of the back issues are available.

"The saddest thing is almost all the Virginia Mountaineers prior to the flood of 1957 are gone," Shortridge said. "There was a catastrophic flood in 1957 and almost all the Mountaineers prior to '57 were destroyed. The library here wasn't established until '61 or '62."

Bartley said the newspaper is open to any potential buyers or interested parties. Inquires can be made at 276-935-2123.

"I'm just hoping for the best for the paper," Bartley said.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com