BOSTON — Boston Mayor Tom Menino says the city is willing to offer a $200,000 loan to prevent the city’s financially struggling African-American weekly newspaper from shutting down permanently.
BOSTON — Boston Mayor Tom Menino says the city is willing to offer a $200,000 loan to prevent the city’s financially struggling African-American weekly newspaper from shutting down permanently. The 44-year-old Bay State Banner suspended publication and laid off 12 employees this month, blaming a steep drop in advertising. Menino tells The Boston Globe that the loan will come from the Boston Local Development Corp., a private nonprofit administered by the Boston Redevelopment Authority that provides cash to struggling small businesses. The free paper has often been critical of Menino, but the mayor says the loan is not an attempt to curry favor but to help a business that’s important to the minority community. The Banner’s executive editor had no comment on the loan. ______ Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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