"Finally, a newspaper war," writes Carlos Santos in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "Journalistic headbutting. A scramble for ads. Recruiting skirmishes. It's a grudge match to boot. Start the presses. Since earlier this month, two hip, breezy, irreverent, free weekly alternative newspapers have been locked in a bitter battle for advertising dollars and readers in a small market likely to sustain only one." In this corner, AAN-member C*Ville Weekly, and in the opposite corner, The Hook, launched by C*Ville's co-founder and former editor, Hawes Spencer.
Earlier this month. Hawes Spencer, editor and co-owner of C*Ville Weekly in Charlottesville, Va., was ousted from the paper by the other two owners, Bill Chapman and Rob Jiranek. The two remaining C*Ville owners are quiet on the subject, but Spencer plans to launch a new weekly, The Hook, on Feb. 7 and has taken four C*Ville staff with him..
