ROANOKE, Va – After more than a century in its current building on Campbell Avenue, the Roanoke Times is now looking for a new home.
Soon, it will no longer bear the newspaper’s name.
“It’s been around for a really really long time,” said History Museum of West Virginia Manager Lynsey Allie
The building itself went up in 1910 and has been used by the paper ever since. Now it’s being listed at a selling price of more than $6 million. Staff at the Western Virginia Historical Society say the building is a community staple.
“When FDR came to Roanoke in 1934 like a parade road right by that, and it’s in the background and, you know, so that property has actually seen a lot of history,” Allie said.
Journalists with the Roanoke Times unionized last year to form the Timesland Guild in hopes of advocating for better wages and benefits.
“This is another instance in corporate management, disinvesting, and local journalism, it’s like they’re selling parts and expecting the car to still drive,” Vice-Chair of Timesland Guild Henri Gendreau said.
Berkshire Hathaway sold the paper to Lee Enterprises last year. Ultimately, it was Berkshire Hathaway’s decision to sell the building, but the journalists of the Timesland Guild say they will continue to serve the Roanoke community.
“We are still here, and we are still covering the news and we will cover the news and bring them important stories, wherever we physically are,” Gendreau said.
The staff at the Roanoke Times have been told they will find a new place to work from and relocate once the current building is sold.
10 News reached out to Lee Enterprises for comment and was told they had none at this time.