Knoxville’s alt-weekly is closing after 2 years. ‘Maybe we can’t figure this out.’ – Poynter: The two-year-old publication distributed its last edition on Thursday.
"Of course, a lot of people are looking at it as more evidence of the death of print," said Jack Neely, a contributing editor. "I'm not as convinced."
The Mercury started several months after E.W. Scripps closed the alt-weekly Metro Pulse in the fall of 2014. Former Metro Pulse journalists Neely, Coury Turczyn, Matthew Everett turned down severance packages at the time, which contained a non-compete, in order to launch something the community told them it still wanted.
They figured Metro Pulse's ads alone would have been enough to run off of — even if they made less.
"Of course, a lot of people are looking at it as more evidence of the death of print," said Jack Neely, a contributing editor. "I'm not as convinced."
The Mercury started several months after E.W. Scripps closed the alt-weekly Metro Pulse in the fall of 2014. Former Metro Pulse journalists Neely, Coury Turczyn, Matthew Everett turned down severance packages at the time, which contained a non-compete, in order to launch something the community told them it still wanted.
They figured Metro Pulse's ads alone would have been enough to run off of — even if they made less.