Carrboro Citizen ends publication after 5 years

After five and a half years, The Carrboro Citizen published its last issue on Thursday.

Publisher Robert Dickson wrote in a Thursday column, “The Citizen bids adieu,” that he was forced to stop publication after efforts to sell the paper proved unsuccessful.

Dickson wrote in a column in August that he would be forced to stop publishing if he couldn’t find a buyer, but readers said they did not know Thursday’s paper would be the last.

Susan Dickson, editor-in-chief of the Citizen, said that although buyers expressed interest, it’s a difficult time for newspapers.

“With this, you really need the right person to come along,” she said. “And we just didn’t find that person.”

But Carrboro isn’t quite ready to give up its only local paper, with some citizens proposing to continue it in a nonprofit structure.

In 2012, the Citizen printed 7,500 copies every week, said Susan Dickson. More than 90 percent of those were picked up.

She said the Citizen decided not to move to an online-only publication because its physical product was more popular than online, and it would have seen a decreased revenue stream from advertising.

Robert Dickson said in his column that he first vocalized his idea for the paper in Jock Lauterer’s community journalism class at UNC in 2006.

Robert Dickson was visiting the class as a guest lecturer, said Lauterer, a senior lecturer in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UNC and director of the Carolina Community Media Project.

“I asked him, ‘Why do you live in Carrboro?’ and he said, ‘Because it’s cool,’” Lauterer said. “Then he muttered, almost under his breath, ‘And because Carrboro needs a newspaper.’”

Lauterer said the rest is history — Robert Dickson started publishing the Citizen six months later. Lauterer wrote a column called “A Thousand Words” for the paper for the last three years.

“I think in the last five and a half years, there has been a growth in Carrboro’s sense of self and identity,” Lauterer said. “I attribute that to The Carrboro Citizen.”

Although the Citizen has stopped publishing, Susan Dickson said she has heard Carrboro residents discuss efforts to revive the paper.

Carrboro Alderman Randee Haven-O’Donnell requested that those interested in funding, publishing or editing contact her.

“The Citizen has conveyed the heart and soul of our hometown,” she said in a comment on Robert Dickson’s final column. “The loss of her voice has brought a small group of folks together with interest in how to move forward.”

Susan Dickson said a nonprofit structure would be a good way for the Citizen to continue publishing.

“This paper belongs to the community,” she said. “I think a nonprofit mindset would be great for the paper, because then it would really belong to the community.”

Lauterer hopes the Citizen is not finished yet.

“This newspaper is too important to Carrboro to be allowed to fail,” he said. “I’d like to hold out hope that the fat lady hasn’t sung yet.”

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.