Thirty years ago, The Atlanta Voice celebrated its first 30 years in circulation. A special section in the weekly edition dated June 22-28, 1996 — tucked between a glowing preview of “The Nutty Professor” starring Eddie Murphy and a jump page in the cover story about a Boston University study on the nuclear family — commemorated the newspaper’s three-decade milestone.
Much of the anniversary edition memorializes co-founder J. Lowell Ware, who died in 1991. Colleagues and friends recounted how the newspaperman dedicated his life to advancing the concerns of Black Atlantans. At the height of the Civil Rights Movement, he started the nonprofit newspaper with Ed Clayton, the inaugural Jet magazine editor and publicist for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. They published under the motto “a people without a voice cannot be heard.” Five years after his passing, Ware’s voice still resonated.
“Journalist[s] don’t always know how much the public depends on their word and perspectives,” wrote late photojournalist Boyd Lewis in 1996. “They see their craft as employment and their readers/viewers/listeners as people to be pandered to boost their paychecks. Mr. Ware and The Atlanta Voice set a different standard. The man who shaped the weekly newspaper demanded respect for the readership.
“Mr. Ware never played the public for dumb. He trusted their judgment. And I shall never forget that for those glorious years I spent at the Voice, he trusted me, as well.”
Ware’s daughter, Janis Ware, took over when he passed. Clayton had died early in the newspaper’s history. It was the only time the publication ever officially changed hands — an aberration given how many historically Black newspapers were carved up, sold to corporations or simply dissolved after the original owner or publisher’s death.
Even back in 1996, Janis Ware knew those challenges the Black press faced. In the special section celebrating the paper’s first 30 years, she admitted her apprehensions about the future. “The survival of our papers is very necessary and imperative, but I don’t know how many of us are going to survive,” she said. “I don’t believe all of us will. I want our readers to know that if money was the motivating issue for being in the newspaper business, we would not still be there.”
A 60-year legacy
As The Atlanta Voice faced transition, so did the city. In 1996, the Summer Olympic Games coincided with the newspaper’s 30th birthday and marked a fitting midpoint for its history. The public questioned whether Atlanta was a suitable choice for the Olympics. In Athens (Greece, not Georgia), a backlash erupted over the decision, and conspiracy theorists fueled questions about whether Atlanta-based mega-corporation Coca-Cola influenced the successful bid.
“But for those games to be the first Olympic Games, where there wasn’t a loss in profit, … catapulted Atlanta from a southern city with a little civil rights history to ‘wow, we’re a major player,’” said Donnell Suggs, The Atlanta Voice’s editor-in-chief. “But to take a population that might have been just over a million within city limits — and now it’s close to almost three million people — it’s just unbelievable what Atlanta has become over the last 30 years, in particular, since the Olympics.”
By the time Suggs joined the staff in August 2022, Atlanta had become well-known for the contributions of Black Atlantans like voting-rights activist Stacy Abrams and former mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, media mogul Tyler Perry and Outkast rapper André 3000 — Black leaders in their own rights, who built upon the foundations set by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Maynard Jackson and Congressman John Lewis.
The Atlanta Voice celebrated its 60th anniversary earlier this year, and it continues its legacy of reporting on issues that matter most to its readers, including public policies and politicians. Journalists from the Voice reported on former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 campaign. This fall, they’ll closely follow Georgia’s gubernatorial race, as candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms seeks to become Georgia’s first Black governor.
“I really do feel like for Black Atlanta, we are The New York Times,” said Suggs. “The [actual] New York Times was here on Wednesday [July 22] to cover Trump — duh, everyone was. But when they all leave, we’re still here, and we’re covering the governor’s race. We’re covering the senatorial race; we’re covering the city council.”
Upwards and onwards in the South
Staff reporter Laura Nwogu plays a prominent role in the newsroom, according to Suggs.
Pride swells in Nwogu’s voice when talking about her hometown. A “Peach State” native through-and-through, Nwogu attended the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication before starting at the Savannah Morning News.
Moving back to Atlanta was always in the cards. Nwogu grew up in the city’s metro area and never felt fully at home in Savannah, where she developed broader source-development skills but could never lean into her own background. Now, her hometown knows her as a voice from the Voice.
Nwogu said she loves going out into the city and talking to people about their personal stories and memories of the paper.
“Atlanta Voice was very integral to the Civil Rights Movement,” Nwogu said. “If you come into the newsroom, there’s newspaper clippings and frames of Martin Luther King Jr. or the old Black mayors. … And it’s also a lot of responsibility because what it means to a lot of people in the city. As things happen, they’re looking to us especially, as the Black newspaper in the city.”
And while many long-standing publications still subscribe to the classic “if it bleeds, it leads,” The Atlanta Voice pointedly avoids sensational crime coverage, Nwogu explained. Stories highlighting local businesses and emerging artists accompany politics and sports coverage on the front page. The tradition dates back to the elder Ware, who doggedly pursued “positive profiles, truthful stories and insightful information” as publisher.
Still, local sports teams like the Atlanta Falcons provide no shortage of negative headlines. You can almost hear Suggs’ voice wear thin as he recounts their heartbreaking losses.
A new Voice
“Since the very beginning, we have not missed one [print] issue — once a week, every Friday, made available in boxes around the city,” said Suggs. “Not as many boxes around the city anymore as it used to be, but definitely made available in community centers, libraries and the Municipal Market, a really popular Black-run market. It’s always been on the street, made available for everyone for 60 years. It’s free, and it’s weekly, and we haven’t missed one. Of course, the website has everything. But to have the newspaper be available at all times and have it every single week for 60 years is quite the accomplishment.”
But print prices rose for The Atlanta Voice last month, according to Chief Growth and Development Officer Jazmine Brazier. Today, 3,000 physical newspapers are printed and distributed across 150 sites. She doubts the hardcopy will ever go away, but they’re investing in digital innovation, regardless.
According to Brazier, online readers skew female, 35 to 60 years in age, with at least some college education. Most hail from the Metro Atlanta area. Newsletter subscriptions reached around 22,000 and boast an impressive 39% open rate.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is now under discussion at the Voice.
“We’re definitely using AI, capturing our data and analytics,” said Brazier. But the newsroom staff has chosen not to use AI in their newsgathering processes.
“We’re going to be doing a lot of coverage and having a few events about AI in general. We hope that will bring opportunities for us to have more conversations with the community, because we don’t want our people of color to be in the back end of using AI,” Brazier said.
Throughout her tenure with The Atlanta Voice, Nwogu has championed multimedia innovation and a more active social media presence, but she vehemently opposes AI’s use in the newsroom.
“My journey as a journalist has just been wanting to tell people’s stories,” said Nwogu. “The Atlanta Voice goes by the motto ‘people without a voice cannot be heard.’ I am doing my best to have people’s stories heard who aren’t used to being cared about, highlighted or featured. That’s been one of my biggest joys, and also one of my biggest goals as a journalist.”
Tandy Lau is an award-winning journalist currently based in Jersey City. He currently works as a staff reporter covering public safety for the New York Amsterdam News in Harlem. He can be contacted at tandylau1995@gmail.com.
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