New Ownership for The Birmingham Times
The state’s oldest African American newspaper has a new owner.
The Birmingham Times, was purchased by the Foundation for Progress in Journalism, a Birmingham non-profit. Sam Martin will be the paper’s new publisher. Martin was formerly the publisher for the Montgomery Advertiser.
“We believe there has been a void in the coverage of the African-American community. We will look to fill that void. We will cover a lot of events,” says The Birmingham Times’s next executive editor, Barnett Wright, former political reporter at The Birmingham News.
“That doesn’t just mean things that are related to race,” says Wright. “Taxes, corruption, finances, health…all those things have an impact on the African-American community.”
The Times was founded by Dr. Jesse Lewis more than 50 years ago at the height of the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement.
This is a historic day for me personally,” Dr. Lewis said in The Birmingham Times. “I’m glad to see that The Birmingham Times will continue to live on. When I first published the newspaper in 1964 it was to give the Black community a much-needed platform. The need for that platform continues to exist, so I am honored that The Birmingham Times will continue to exist.”
This nation has the fastest rising rate of cancer cases — and deaths — in the world
According to a new report, cancer rates are skyrocketing in this tiny country. What's causing this to happen? And what steps can be taken to turn the tide?
Iceland reports the presence of mosquitoes for the first time, as climate warms
The discovery of three Culiseta annulata mosquitoes was confirmed this week by the Natural Science Institute of Iceland, which said the mosquitoes likely arrived by freight.
Alabama board seeks to ban books that ‘positively’ depict trans themes from library youth sections
The Alabama Public Library Service Board of Directors is considering a proposed rule change that expands the existing requirement for youth sections to be free of “material deemed inappropriate for children.” The new proposal said that includes any material that “positively depicts transgender procedures, gender ideology, or the concept of more than two biological genders.”
After months of the same songs on the Hot 100, ‘Billboard’ tweaks its rules
Billboard has revised its system of removing songs from the Hot 100 singles chart once they've gotten too old to qualify as contemporary hits.
Greetings from an Indian Railways coach, with spectacular views from Mumbai to Goa
Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR's international team shares moments from their lives and work around the world.
Alabama inmate asks to meet with governor ahead of execution
Anthony Boyd is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening by nitrogen gas at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility. A jury convicted Boyd of capital murder for the 1993 burning death of Gregory Huguley in Talladega County.