Purcellville Gazette
Encyclopedia
The Purcellville Gazette is a weekly tabloid-style newspaper based in Winchester, Virginia
and covering the area in and around Purcellville, Virginia
. It is fully supported by amounts paid by advertisers and is distributed without charge. In addition to Purcellville, the Gazette is an Official Paper of Record for Loudoun County, including Middleburg, Hamilton, Lovettsville and Round Hill. The Purcellville Gazette was also the first local paper to publish every issue of its paper, ads included, on its website for the general public.
The paper has a decidely conservative political and social editorial stance. For example, on the eve of the 2008 United States presidential election it published a cartoon showing then-candidate Barack Obama
riding on the shoulders of Karl Marx
. Or the August 12, 2011 issue in which the Editor's column strongly advocated conservative fiscal solutions based entirely on drastic expenditure reduction rather than including any revenue increases ("Expenditures must be cut. School budgets must be reduced. The Sherriff’s budget must be reduced. County staff must be reduced . . . . Fewer hours available for libraries, shorter hours at parks" and volunteer trash collection.) Other articles and opinion pieces by its staff writers, as well as the majority of the "letters to the editor" it chooses to publish, generally take a socially and politically conservative view regarding the subject at hand.
Founded in May 2004, it took only one year before it was named one of the top three new businesses of the year by Loudoun's Chamber of Commerce in 2005. The paper was founded by Publisher R. Ben Weber, a native of the Shenandoah Valley. The paper's owner, Master Media Group, Inc., has provided political contributions to R. Ben Weber's political campaigns as a Republican
candidate and has provided political contributions through R. Ben Weber for at least one other Republican candidate.
Winchester, Virginia
Winchester is an independent city located in the northwestern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the USA. The city's population was 26,203 according to the 2010 Census...
and covering the area in and around Purcellville, Virginia
Purcellville, Virginia
Purcellville is a town in the Loudoun Valley of Loudoun County, Virginia, United States. The population was 3,584 at the 2000 census, but has undergone considerable growth since then. Purcellville is the major population center for western Loudoun and the Loudoun Valley...
. It is fully supported by amounts paid by advertisers and is distributed without charge. In addition to Purcellville, the Gazette is an Official Paper of Record for Loudoun County, including Middleburg, Hamilton, Lovettsville and Round Hill. The Purcellville Gazette was also the first local paper to publish every issue of its paper, ads included, on its website for the general public.
The paper has a decidely conservative political and social editorial stance. For example, on the eve of the 2008 United States presidential election it published a cartoon showing then-candidate Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
riding on the shoulders of Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
. Or the August 12, 2011 issue in which the Editor's column strongly advocated conservative fiscal solutions based entirely on drastic expenditure reduction rather than including any revenue increases ("Expenditures must be cut. School budgets must be reduced. The Sherriff’s budget must be reduced. County staff must be reduced . . . . Fewer hours available for libraries, shorter hours at parks" and volunteer trash collection.) Other articles and opinion pieces by its staff writers, as well as the majority of the "letters to the editor" it chooses to publish, generally take a socially and politically conservative view regarding the subject at hand.
Founded in May 2004, it took only one year before it was named one of the top three new businesses of the year by Loudoun's Chamber of Commerce in 2005. The paper was founded by Publisher R. Ben Weber, a native of the Shenandoah Valley. The paper's owner, Master Media Group, Inc., has provided political contributions to R. Ben Weber's political campaigns as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidate and has provided political contributions through R. Ben Weber for at least one other Republican candidate.