Moniebogue Press
Encyclopedia
The Moniebogue Press was an "alternative" newspaper on Eastern Long Island
, New York, United States
, that lasted for thirty issues, from July 1971 to October 1972. Based in Westhampton Beach, its free distribution was 7500-15,000. Funded by local advertising, it served the communities of Riverhead
, Center Moriches, East Quogue, Hampton Bays, and Southampton
. Its co-founders and core staff were editor James L. Dudley (1940-2003), publisher/art director Van Howell (1948- ) and ad-man/writer/agitator Dean Speir (1940- ).
It was noted for its unpredictable editorial policies; for example, Dudley endorsed the Congressional run of Conservative Party of New York State candidate Robert David Lion Gardiner (1911-2004), the eccentric "16th lord of the manor" of Gardiner's Island, against incumbent Democrat Otis Pike when the Congressman threatened to turn the island into a park. The token Marxist columnist, Richie Marsalla, wrote of the Pope as a Godfather operating a gambling empire - referring to bingo in churches. Other articles exposed conditions in local trailer parks and migrant labor camps. The newspaper also lead the successful charge to keep a consortium of real estate speculators and developers from constructing 237 garden apartment condominiums on wetlands on the edge of Moniebogue Bay. Interview subjects included Bo Diddley
and an escapee from the Central Islip State Hospital.
In the second issue, an article about the proposed Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant
by Lorna Salzman summed up most of the arguments that would be used over the following fifteen years in the successful campaign to forestall and ultimately thwart the plant's operation. The environment was a major theme, including Eric Salzman
's in-depth coverage of "Mysteries of the Mycelium
" and on-going discussions of whether local snapping turtle
s (a/k/a "toropes") should be exterminated or celebrated. Like most of the dozens of off-beat little newspapers that sprang up in suburban and rural areas while the big-city underground press
was expiring, the Moniebogue Press was addressed to the general public, (usually) avoided obscentity, and didn't promote drugs. It was a member of the Alternative Press Syndicate. It survived a lawsuit brought by a member of the East Quogue Taxpayers Association who objected to being characterized as "the Wicked Witch of the East," but ceased publication several years later. Dudley moved on to a job at Forbes
magazine, and later edited newsletters promoting obscure gold mining companies. Howell later founded the East End Independent (Karl Grossman
, editor) and The Long Island Foghorn, while working as a labor organizer, illustrator, and self-employed philosopher. Speir is still writing, having enjoyed a career as a movie reviewer and later a firearms journalist. C.L. Moss, whose bill-collecting prowess kept the paper mildly profitable, was convicted of murder in the 1970s.
In 2006, microform copies of the Moniebogue Press were in the collections of sixty-one university libraries in North America, and at the National Library of Australia
. http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/top3mset/3180952959fb6ead.html
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, that lasted for thirty issues, from July 1971 to October 1972. Based in Westhampton Beach, its free distribution was 7500-15,000. Funded by local advertising, it served the communities of Riverhead
Riverhead
Riverhead may refer to:* Riverhead, Kent, England* Riverhead, New Zealand* Riverhead, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada* Riverhead, Nova Scotia, a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia* Riverhead , the debut album of Goldenhorse...
, Center Moriches, East Quogue, Hampton Bays, and Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
. Its co-founders and core staff were editor James L. Dudley (1940-2003), publisher/art director Van Howell (1948- ) and ad-man/writer/agitator Dean Speir (1940- ).
It was noted for its unpredictable editorial policies; for example, Dudley endorsed the Congressional run of Conservative Party of New York State candidate Robert David Lion Gardiner (1911-2004), the eccentric "16th lord of the manor" of Gardiner's Island, against incumbent Democrat Otis Pike when the Congressman threatened to turn the island into a park. The token Marxist columnist, Richie Marsalla, wrote of the Pope as a Godfather operating a gambling empire - referring to bingo in churches. Other articles exposed conditions in local trailer parks and migrant labor camps. The newspaper also lead the successful charge to keep a consortium of real estate speculators and developers from constructing 237 garden apartment condominiums on wetlands on the edge of Moniebogue Bay. Interview subjects included Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley
Ellas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
and an escapee from the Central Islip State Hospital.
In the second issue, an article about the proposed Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant
Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant
The Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant was a completed General Electric nuclear boiling water reactor located adjacent to the Wading River in East Shoreham, New York...
by Lorna Salzman summed up most of the arguments that would be used over the following fifteen years in the successful campaign to forestall and ultimately thwart the plant's operation. The environment was a major theme, including Eric Salzman
Eric Salzman
Eric Salzman is an American composer, author, impresario, music critic, and record producer.After studying composition with Morris Mawner at the New York High School of Music and Art , he continued his studies at Columbia University , where his teachers included Jack Beeson, Otto Luening and...
's in-depth coverage of "Mysteries of the Mycelium
Mycelium
thumb|right|Fungal myceliaMycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. The mass of hyphae is sometimes called shiro, especially within the fairy ring fungi. Fungal colonies composed of mycelia are found in soil and on or within many other...
" and on-going discussions of whether local snapping turtle
Snapping turtle
The common snapping turtle is a large freshwater turtle of the family Chelydridae. Its natural range extends from southeastern Canada, southwest to the edge of the Rocky Mountains, as far east as Nova Scotia and Florida and as far southwest as northeastern Mexico...
s (a/k/a "toropes") should be exterminated or celebrated. Like most of the dozens of off-beat little newspapers that sprang up in suburban and rural areas while the big-city underground press
Underground press
The underground press were the independently published and distributed underground papers associated with the counterculture of the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and other western nations....
was expiring, the Moniebogue Press was addressed to the general public, (usually) avoided obscentity, and didn't promote drugs. It was a member of the Alternative Press Syndicate. It survived a lawsuit brought by a member of the East Quogue Taxpayers Association who objected to being characterized as "the Wicked Witch of the East," but ceased publication several years later. Dudley moved on to a job at Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine, and later edited newsletters promoting obscure gold mining companies. Howell later founded the East End Independent (Karl Grossman
Karl Grossman
Karl Grossman is a full professor of journalism at the State University of New York College at Old Westbury. For more than 45 years he has pioneered the combination of investigative reporting and environmental journalism in a variety of media...
, editor) and The Long Island Foghorn, while working as a labor organizer, illustrator, and self-employed philosopher. Speir is still writing, having enjoyed a career as a movie reviewer and later a firearms journalist. C.L. Moss, whose bill-collecting prowess kept the paper mildly profitable, was convicted of murder in the 1970s.
In 2006, microform copies of the Moniebogue Press were in the collections of sixty-one university libraries in North America, and at the National Library of Australia
National Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia is the largest reference library of Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the...
. http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/top3mset/3180952959fb6ead.html