2008 Woodie Awards
Advocate marks 15 years of publication
Caroline Davis
Issue date: 3/28/07 Section: News
Mr. Douglas J. Harwood has a lot to celebrate.
As the sole editor and publisher of the news magazine the Rockbridge Advocate, Harwood will mark off this year as the 15th anniversary of the paper.
The publication comes out, as Harwood says, "once a month, whether it needs to or not" and reports on everything from the cleanliness of local eateries to the overstuffed Rockbridge County jails.
A 1974 graduate of W&L, Harwood claims he started up the news magazine after he realized that a fresh publication in Lexington might work.
"I managed to hoodwink a couple of friends of mine in joining in on it and we raised some money, because I didn't have a penny," Harwood said. "And no money and bad credit is a really stupid way to start a business as folks at the C-school will tell you. But on the other hand, you've got nothing to lose. And we started it."
And so far, Harwood's entrepreneurial endeavor has paid off.
The Advocate's articles are fact-filled, easy to follow, and sometimes rather scandalous. Harwood has a flair for story titles, luring readers in with bold headlines such as "Business boss booted in Bunting bill battle." Meanwhile, the paper's consistent sub-heading "Independent as a Hog on Ice" provides readers with a snapshot of Harwood's humor, though he tries to maintain a relatively straight forward, comedy-free publication.
"I tend to be a little bit of a smart-aleck sometimes but I try to keep that out of the paper, Harwood said. "It's always a little work to do that because my natural inclination is to make fun of everything, including myself."
On a more serious note, Harwood admits how proud he is of the Advocate's growth.
"The number of new publications that have been started in this country in the last 15 years that are still around, you can pretty well count on your fingers and toes," Harwood said. "A lot of people try it and for one reason or another they fall flat on their faces. I have to take a certain amount of pride in the fact that it's still alive and well and not struggling quite like it used to be."
In addition to the growth of the paper, Harwood is particularly impressed with the Advocate's ability to dig up juicy stories.
"It's pretty much broken every scandal that has happened in Rockbridge County, Lexington or Buena Vista since the day its opened its doors, although there may be an exception to that somewhere," Harwood said."Stuff has showed up in the Advocate that hasn't been anywhere else. Period. And if it hadn't showed up in the Advocate it never would've showed up anywhere else. And I'm pretty proud of that."
As the sole editor and publisher of the news magazine the Rockbridge Advocate, Harwood will mark off this year as the 15th anniversary of the paper.
The publication comes out, as Harwood says, "once a month, whether it needs to or not" and reports on everything from the cleanliness of local eateries to the overstuffed Rockbridge County jails.
A 1974 graduate of W&L, Harwood claims he started up the news magazine after he realized that a fresh publication in Lexington might work.
"I managed to hoodwink a couple of friends of mine in joining in on it and we raised some money, because I didn't have a penny," Harwood said. "And no money and bad credit is a really stupid way to start a business as folks at the C-school will tell you. But on the other hand, you've got nothing to lose. And we started it."
And so far, Harwood's entrepreneurial endeavor has paid off.
The Advocate's articles are fact-filled, easy to follow, and sometimes rather scandalous. Harwood has a flair for story titles, luring readers in with bold headlines such as "Business boss booted in Bunting bill battle." Meanwhile, the paper's consistent sub-heading "Independent as a Hog on Ice" provides readers with a snapshot of Harwood's humor, though he tries to maintain a relatively straight forward, comedy-free publication.
"I tend to be a little bit of a smart-aleck sometimes but I try to keep that out of the paper, Harwood said. "It's always a little work to do that because my natural inclination is to make fun of everything, including myself."
On a more serious note, Harwood admits how proud he is of the Advocate's growth.
"The number of new publications that have been started in this country in the last 15 years that are still around, you can pretty well count on your fingers and toes," Harwood said. "A lot of people try it and for one reason or another they fall flat on their faces. I have to take a certain amount of pride in the fact that it's still alive and well and not struggling quite like it used to be."
In addition to the growth of the paper, Harwood is particularly impressed with the Advocate's ability to dig up juicy stories.
"It's pretty much broken every scandal that has happened in Rockbridge County, Lexington or Buena Vista since the day its opened its doors, although there may be an exception to that somewhere," Harwood said."Stuff has showed up in the Advocate that hasn't been anywhere else. Period. And if it hadn't showed up in the Advocate it never would've showed up anywhere else. And I'm pretty proud of that."
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