Virginia's 'Loudoun Easterner' Ceases Publication

By: E&P Staff The Loudoun Easterner, a free weekly in Ashburn, Va., has suspended publication after publishing continuously for 41 years.

A statement on the Easterner's Web site said: "Effective today, July 22, 2009 we have suspended publication of the Loudoun Easterner. This was a difficult decision. We appreciate the years of reader, advertiser and employee loyalty to the publication."

According to a report in the Loudoun Times-Mirror, the paper's final edition was printed July 24. The Easterner had been owned by Kentucky-based Landmark Community Newspapers, Inc. since 2005. As of Tuesday, the paper was still listed under the "Properties" section of Landmark's Web site. Neither Publisher Jeryl Parade nor Assistant Editor Mike Pettigano have made any public comment about the paper's suspension. Longtime editor Martin Casey left the Easterner early this year.

The Easterner began publishing in 1968 under the name Sterling Park Shop-N-News. In 1985, the paper was bought by the late John Geddie, former Washington bureau chief of The Dallas Morning News, who in turn sold the Easterner to Beth Miller. Geddie later founded the Loudoun Independent before his death in 2007. The paper was sold to Landmark in 2005 after Miller's death the previous year.