Snitch Newsweekly
Encyclopedia
Snitch was a free, alternative weekly
newspaper
published in parts of the United States
covering crime
and police
news. Perhaps the most notable feature was the ZIP Code
Crime Watch, which gave brief, usually "smart aleck" commentary on literally hundreds of items in the weekly police blotter
, broken down by ZIP Codes, along with crime totals for the respective areas. Snitch also ran numerous crime-themed articles in each issue, as well as advertisements and classifieds.
Snitch was started in Louisville, Kentucky
and the Media Audit showed 211,000 readers as of January 2005. There were also editions of the paper in Lexington, Kentucky
, Savannah, Georgia
, San Diego, California
, South Carolina
and Northern Kentucky
. In December 2004 the parent company, a venture capital firm named Prosperitas, pulled out of the concept, and the Louisville edition was sold to Tim Woodburn, who owned the Lexington edition. Woodburn continued to publish in Louisville and Lexington, while the San Diego, Savannah and Northern Kentucky editions had all stopped publishing (in February 2005, October 2004 and November 2004 respectively). The Columbia, South Carolina, edition continues to be published by Jim Shine and Jerry Adams on an intermittent basis.
In May 2005 the executive editor Richard Des Ruisseaux retired, having run the Louisville edition since its founding.
In July
2005, Louisville Crime, LLC, the new owners of Snitch, announced that they had been unable to reach agreement with the former owners about certain issues, so Louisville Snitch ceased publication immediately as of that date. The announcement said that the paper would reopen late Fall 2005, under a new name http://www.snitch.com/Louisville-Snitch-08-04-05.gif, although this apparently did not happen. In December
2005, Lexington Snitch also ceased publication, citing lack of advertising revenue, and pledging a replacement, The Lexington Times, in spring 2006. The Lexington Times has not published a single edition as of February, 2007.
Joseph Grove, a journalist in Louisville, Ky., developed the concept in 2000 with co-founders Mary Jacobson and Tim Sanford. The concept was inspired by a reference in "Genius in Disguise," Thomas Kunkel's 1995 biography of New Yorker founder Harold Ross, who had briefly contemplated starting a dedicated crime newspaper in New York City.
In addition to the editions cited in the main article, one in existed in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Alternative weekly
An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper, that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting local people and culture. Their news coverage is more...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published in parts of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
covering crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
and police
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
news. Perhaps the most notable feature was the ZIP Code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
Crime Watch, which gave brief, usually "smart aleck" commentary on literally hundreds of items in the weekly police blotter
Blotter
Blotter can mean several things:-*For a desk blotter, see desk pad*For blotter acid, see LSD*For an antique blotter associated with a quill pen, see fountain pen and blotting paper....
, broken down by ZIP Codes, along with crime totals for the respective areas. Snitch also ran numerous crime-themed articles in each issue, as well as advertisements and classifieds.
Snitch was started in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
and the Media Audit showed 211,000 readers as of January 2005. There were also editions of the paper in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, Savannah, Georgia
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city and the county seat of Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Established in 1733, the city of Savannah was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia. Today Savannah is an industrial center and an important...
, San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
and Northern Kentucky
Northern Kentucky
Northern Kentucky is the name often given to the northernmost counties in Kentucky...
. In December 2004 the parent company, a venture capital firm named Prosperitas, pulled out of the concept, and the Louisville edition was sold to Tim Woodburn, who owned the Lexington edition. Woodburn continued to publish in Louisville and Lexington, while the San Diego, Savannah and Northern Kentucky editions had all stopped publishing (in February 2005, October 2004 and November 2004 respectively). The Columbia, South Carolina, edition continues to be published by Jim Shine and Jerry Adams on an intermittent basis.
In May 2005 the executive editor Richard Des Ruisseaux retired, having run the Louisville edition since its founding.
In July
July 2005
2005: January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December – →-News collections and sources:* Wikipedia:News collections and sources....
2005, Louisville Crime, LLC, the new owners of Snitch, announced that they had been unable to reach agreement with the former owners about certain issues, so Louisville Snitch ceased publication immediately as of that date. The announcement said that the paper would reopen late Fall 2005, under a new name http://www.snitch.com/Louisville-Snitch-08-04-05.gif, although this apparently did not happen. In December
December 2005
-Portal:Current events:-News collections and sources:See: Wikipedia:News collections and sources....
2005, Lexington Snitch also ceased publication, citing lack of advertising revenue, and pledging a replacement, The Lexington Times, in spring 2006. The Lexington Times has not published a single edition as of February, 2007.
Joseph Grove, a journalist in Louisville, Ky., developed the concept in 2000 with co-founders Mary Jacobson and Tim Sanford. The concept was inspired by a reference in "Genius in Disguise," Thomas Kunkel's 1995 biography of New Yorker founder Harold Ross, who had briefly contemplated starting a dedicated crime newspaper in New York City.
In addition to the editions cited in the main article, one in existed in Cincinnati, Ohio.
External links
- Former official website - no longer related to the publication
- Snitch exits Lexington market - BizJournals' account of Snitch's closing
- Publisher of defunct Snitch has new plans - Lexington Herald-Leader