The Inquisition (underground newspaper)
Encyclopedia
The Inquisition was an underground newspaper produced by high school students and their various friends bi-monthly in Charlotte, North Carolina
from April 1968 to late 1969. Inquisition was the first Underground Press Syndicate
member from the U.S. South and a member of Liberation News Service
. Copies of Inquisition are found in 15 university libraries.
After a first issue of only 81, the magazine went to 450 then doubled again by the third issue. By its final issues, the newspaper inspired emotional rejections by parents and became an underground icon for teens.
Inquisition was the subject of a landmark First Amendment case, Inquisition vs City of Charlotte, pitting Freedom of the Press against a city zoning ordinance in March - May, 1969. The case, which was partially decided by placing the sound of the paper's small printer against the sound of a power mower, was found in favor of Inquisition.
Inquistion reporters are rumored to have taped one of Jimi Hendrix's last concerts.
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
from April 1968 to late 1969. Inquisition was the first Underground Press Syndicate
Underground Press Syndicate
The Underground Press Syndicate, commonly known as UPS, and later known as the Alternative Press Syndicate or APS, was a network of countercultural newspapers and magazines formed in mid-1966 by the publishers of five early underground papers: the East Village Other, the Los Angeles Free Press, the...
member from the U.S. South and a member of Liberation News Service
Liberation News Service
Liberation News Service was a New Left, Underground press news service which published news bulletins from 1967 to 1981.-History:The Liberation News Service was co-founded in the summer of 1967 by Ray Mungo and Marshall Bloom after the two of them were separated from the United States Student...
. Copies of Inquisition are found in 15 university libraries.
After a first issue of only 81, the magazine went to 450 then doubled again by the third issue. By its final issues, the newspaper inspired emotional rejections by parents and became an underground icon for teens.
Inquisition was the subject of a landmark First Amendment case, Inquisition vs City of Charlotte, pitting Freedom of the Press against a city zoning ordinance in March - May, 1969. The case, which was partially decided by placing the sound of the paper's small printer against the sound of a power mower, was found in favor of Inquisition.
Inquistion reporters are rumored to have taped one of Jimi Hendrix's last concerts.
External links
- Holding in the North Carolina Collection at University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
- Encyclopedia of Journalism By D. Charles Whitney, Christopher H. Sterling "Alternative and Underground Newspapers" Volume 1, Page 81.
- The “Inquisition” - Charlotte Talks. WFAE Radio. Recorded interview by Mike Collins with Inquisition editors Russell Schwarz and Lynwood Sawyer and researcher Suzanne Sink. November 10, 2010. Link includes audio, images of the paper, Sink's research paper on the zoning case and references to the Jimi Hendrix recordings.