The ''News & Messenger'' was a daily
newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...
that was published in
Manassas, Virginia
Manassas (), formerly Manassas Junction, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. The population was 42,772 at the 2020 Census. It is the county seat of Prince William County, although the two are separate jurisdi ...
and was one of a number of competing local papers covering the
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
s and
exurbs in the region. The paper was owned by
Berkshire Hathaway's World Media Enterprises division, which also published the weekly
Stafford County Sun.
In August 2010, ''The Potomac News'' and ''Manassas Journal Messenger'' combined into one daily paper called the ''News & Messenger''. The Woodbridge office was closed and all the printing and page layout was done in other cities. The publication was based in the Manassas office.
''The Potomac News'' rose to national prominence twice in the 1990s, first with its coverage of the
John and Lorena Bobbitt
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
scandal (both were Manassas residents) and then later for its coverage of the
Beltway sniper attacks.
In June 2012, Berkshire Hathaway purchased most of
Media General's newspapers, including the ''News & Messenger'', folding them into the World Media Enterprises division.
The paper printed its final edition on Sunday, December 30, 2012; Berkshire Hathaway cited that the paper was losing money, and was unable to compete with other media properties in the region. The paper's website, ''insidenova.com'', was acquired by another media group, Northern Virginia Media Services, publisher of ''Prince William Today'', one of two weekly papers (the ''Prince William Times'' is the other) that launched in January 2013 following the closure of the ''News & Messenger''. ''Prince William Today'' is now called ''InsideNoVa/Prince William'' and is distributed to 26,000 households a week.
WTOP: "Manassas News & Messenger prints final edition", January 1, 2013.
/ref>
References
External links
Official website, archived Nov 11, 2012 (before domain acquisition by new owners)
Prince William County, Virginia
Berkshire Hathaway publications
Publications disestablished in 2012
Defunct newspapers published in Virginia
Defunct daily newspapers
Newspapers established in 2010
{{Virginia-newspaper-stub