Greenbelt News Review
Type | Weekly newspaper |
---|---|
Format | Tabloid |
Owner(s) | Greenbelt Cooperative Publishing Association |
Editor | Gary Childs[1] |
Founded | 1937 |
Headquarters | Greenbelt USA |
Website | greenbeltnewsreview.com |
The Greenbelt News Review is a weekly newspaper that was established in 1937[2] as a volunteer cooperative shortly after settlement of Greenbelt, Maryland, and was originally named the Greenbelt Cooperator until its name was changed in 1954.[3] It has been published without interruption every week since its founding, and is distributed free by a network of carriers to all city residents.[4]
The News Review was always intended to be a newspaper created by and for the citizens of Greenbelt; "more than a voice in the town, it was meant to be the voice of Greenbelt as a whole."[5] Since its early days, many of the prominent editors and newspaper staff have been women: Mary Lou Williamson held the job of editor for the longest, over twenty-five years, and frequently shared the role with Dorothy Sucher throughout the 1960s as a result of both of them having babies.[6] Other female staffers include Virginia Beauchamp, editor in 1962; Mary Granofsky, editor from 1967 to 1972; Barbara Likowski, editor during parts of 1989 and 1990; and Elaine Skolnik, who began working at the paper in 1954 and served as editor from 1977 to 1986.[6] Harry Zubkoff was also a prominent editor, holding the position four times throughout the 1950s and 1960s and impressing other staffers with his "firebrand opinions."[6]
1970 Supreme Court libel case[]
In 1965, an article by reporter Dorothy Sucher in the News Review published two quotations of citizen remarks at City Council meetings in which they characterized as "blackmail" the actions of , a local real estate developer and member of the Maryland House of Delegates.[7] Bresler filed suit in 1966, claiming that he had become "the most hated man in Greenbelt."[8] Local volunteers formed a Freedom of the Press committee and went door to door to raise money for the paper's legal defense.[9]
Bresler received a $17,500 libel judgment from the Prince George's County Circuit Court, which was upheld by the Maryland Court of Appeals in 1969.[10]
In 1970, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled unanimously in favor of the News Review and overturned the lower courts' judgments. The Supreme Court held "that as a matter of constitutional law, the word 'blackmail' in these circumstances was not slander when spoken, and not libel when reported in the Greenbelt News Review."[11][12]
References[]
- ^ Childs, Gary, "Here Is My Story, Now Tell Me Yours", Greenbelt News Review, Greenbelt Cooperative Publishing Association
- ^ "About Greenbelt news review". Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Library of Congress. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ "About Greenbelt cooperator". Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Library of Congress. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ Knepper, Cathy D. (2001). Greenbelt, Maryland: A Living Legacy of the New Deal. Baltimore, Maryland: JHU Press. pp. 127–139. ISBN 0-8018-6490-9.
- ^ Peterson, Heather Elizabeth (1999). "The Cooperator: An Unofficial History of the Greenbelt News Review". Greenbelt. p. 3. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ a b c Longe, Sandra (20 November 1997). "Early Years" (PDF). Greenbelt News Review. p. 10. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
- ^ Hevesi, Dennis (August 31, 2010). "Dorothy Sucher, Reporter in Press-Freedom Case, Dies at 77". New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2010.
- ^ Osnos, Peter (1969-05-04). "Bresler Wins $17,500 Libel Appeal". The Washington Post. pp. Page A–11.
- ^ Peterson, Heather Elizabeth. "The Cooperator: An Unofficial History of the Greenbelt News Review". Retrieved 2008-08-19.
- ^ "U.S. Supreme Court Reverses News Review Libel Judgment" (PDF). Greenbelt News Review. 1970-05-21. pp. 1–2.
- ^ Greenbelt Co-Op. Publ. Assn., Inc. v. Bresler, 398 U.S. 6 (1970).
- ^ "Supreme Court Curbs Libel Suits Over Reporting of Exaggerated Charges". The New York Times. 1970-05-19. p. 25.
External links[]
- The Greenbelt News Review's website
- The Greenbelt News Review's searchable Archives
- Greenbelt Archive Project
- The Greenbelt News Review's Greenbelt Photo Gallery
- Defending Utopia: The Greenbelt News Review at 80, documentary film, by Susan Gervasi, at Vimeo
- Trailer for the documentary Defending Utopia: The Greenbelt News Review at 80, by Susan Gervasi, at Vimeo
- Greenbelt News Review's 80th Anniversary Celebration PSA, by Greenbelt Access Television, at YouTube
- The Cooperator: An Unofficial History of the Greenbelt News Review, by Heather Elizabeth Peterson
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Greenbelt News Review. |
- Newspapers established in 1937
- Greenbelt, Maryland
- Cooperatives in the United States
- 1937 establishments in Maryland
- Newspapers published in Maryland