RICHMOND, Va. — Ross Catrow, founder of long-running local news site RVANews, announced this past week that the beloved site would be shutting down publication. This news was met with sorrow from many Richmonders who had loved RVANews and its local focus for nearly a decade.
We spoke with Susan Howson, editor of the site and a key player in its development.
Will you offer fans of the site a way to contribute to help keep the site up and running?
I don’t think so. We had a Patreon, but I think the archives are going to be okay no matter what. We won’t do a sponsored thing.
Is it possible the site will be sold?
There are people who have been interested – I’m not sure if that will go anywhere. It would take a lot. This has been such a project of the heart for all of us, and if we keep it going we would want to keep it going the way we want.
What was Ross’s biggest inspiration to start a site like RVANews?
It’s been ten years, but to the best of my memory, he really enjoyed doing the hyper-local community sites. He and I wrote a lot of things, kind of to nobody, about goings-on in Richmond and how we felt about them. We thought maybe we could turn this into something more than RVABlogs [a now-defunct collection of RVA lifestyle blogs]. He really admired Punchline, which was an alt-weekly here in the 90s, and the people behind that.
Do you think another RVA-targeted publication will step in to fill the void after RVANews stops publishing?
Gosh, I hope so. One of my biggest jobs is to work with freelancers, and one thing I think that we do well is pick people who maybe didn’t write professionally, and help them find their voice. And the voice we have is very specific, and we have to work at it. The people who write for us are so talented, and they’re not doing it for the money. I really hope that something will come of all this talent we’ve helped cultivate.
What has been the most rewarding part of connecting with so many other locals on a daily basis?
Every part of it has been rewarding, every single part. It’s been 100% the best, and I say that without any exaggeration. I love our freelancers, they’re always so eager to help. For me, a small town environment has a lot of perks for working in media. You can really build relationships within communities, and everyone is so excited for everyone else. I loved being a part of that, and hope to continue to be a part of that.
What has the response been so far from longtime readers?
I had no idea that people were so emotionally invested. We’ve had people coming out of the woodwork to say such wonderful things about us, and it’s really been overwhelming. It helps, and it doesn’t help (with moving on). But at the end of the day, I’m glad to hear they care.
