''The Messenger'' was an American newspaper published Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays in

Mount Airy, North Carolina Mount Airy is a city in Surry County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 10,611. History Mount Airy was settled in the 1750s as a stagecoach stop on the road between Winston-Salem, North Carolina an ...

. It was delivered free to homes in the Surry County area.Mount Airy 'Messenger' Cuts Back to Publishing Three Times a Week
a January 2009 article from ''

Editor & Publisher ''Editor & Publisher'' (''E&P'') is an American monthly trade news magazine covering the newspaper industry. Published since 1901, ''Editor & Publisher'' is the self-described "bible of the newspaper industry." Originally based in New York City, ...

History

''The Messenger'' began as a weekday

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper format), ta ...

whose first edition was printed on July 9, 2007, after the purchase of ''

The Mount Airy News ''The Mount Airy News'' is a six-day-a-week newspaper published in Mount Airy, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1880. The ''News'' has a circulation of 9,263 according to The Park Library's list of North Carolina newspapers. ...

'' and Elkin's '' The Tribune'' by Heartland Publications. Several staffers, including the publishers of both ''The News'' and ''The Tribune'', left their respective newspapers to launch ''The Messenger'' as a community newspaper for the area. Combined, the publisher, Michael Milligan, and editor, Rebel Good, have more than 75 years of experience in community journalism and between them have published more than 10 newspapers and magazines.New newspaper will create competition in Mount Airy
('' Winston-Salem Journal'', accessed 12, July 2007) In January 2009, the paper cut back production to three days per week and switched from broadsheet to tabloid format due to a tough economic market. In July 2009, a lawsuit filed by Heartland against ''The Messenger's'' owners and principals was dismissed without prejudice in Surry Superior Court. On January 3, 2010, the paper ceased publications with no notification in their last issue, and closed all its operations shortly thereafter. After the community learned that the paper had closed, it was eventually reported that there were several reasons for the closing, but the continuing recession was a primary factor in their decision.

References

Defunct newspapers published in North Carolina Newspapers established in 2007 Surry County, North Carolina {{NorthCarolina-newspaper-stub