Flash! Virginia Communications Hall of Fame Inducts Editor Harwood came to Virginia as a student at Washington and Lee in 1970 and decided to stay. He began working in broadcasting as a student, and continues to produce a show called The Anti-Headache Machine for W&L's radio station. It's arguably one of the longest-running non-syndicated shows produced live by the same person in the country. After graduating, he worked for a Waynesboro radio station, became news director, then began the local news department at WREL in Lexington. He left that job and began working as the editor for the Buena Vista News, stayed there for a dozen years, then started the Rockbridge Advocate in 1992. He is the editor, publisher, etc. Throughout his career in Rockbridge County, he has broken the news of nearly every local scandal. He has a reputation for meticulous research, and for not being intimidated by anyone, from the Klan to prominant local politicians and institutions. And he has unearthed a wealth of historical information that hasn’t been seen before, ranging from swindles to a remarkable and completely forgotten trial that challenged the very institution of slavery. |
This is the home page of The Rockbridge Advocate, a fine little news magazine based in a fine little portion of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. You will find very little from the magazine on this page - why give away what we sell? Then again, you will find very little from this page in the magazine.
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The
Rockbridge Advocate
The Advocate draws its material from the culture of Rockbridge County - the people, the news, the gossip, the troublemakers, and the way of life. Without the county, and without the kinks that make it unique, there would be no Advocate. The Advocate, then, shows the local color of one corner of the globe, something that some folks seem to be trying to stamp out or ignore these days most everywhere.
If your electronic wanderlust got you this far, you might be interested in a fine description of a battle the Rockbridge Militia fought against the British in the American Revolution, written by Odell McGuire and published in the Advocate in December of 1995. (History is big in Rockbridge County, especially the War Between the States.) Odell also described an invention of his called the Slidewhistle Mousetrap for the magazine in April 1993.You could also find out a bit about our colleges, our politics, or our mountains.
You may also be interested in the "global village" virtually erected in honor of our actual village, or the pages of the Rockbridge Regional Library or Lexington photos. We are stubbornly provincial, even as we concede that a few things might happen outside of Rockbridge County. The example of our hero has stimulated us to contemplate bold new ventures - maybe a sister publication in another fertile locale.
| "When journalists start
to feel smug, they should remember that the last newspaperman elected
as president was Warren Harding." - anon. "The trouble with this business is nobody gets drunk anymore"
For the last 40 years (going on 41 next October, but who's counting), the editor has hosted a pioneering radio program called The Anti-Headache Machine every other Saturday night (it keeps him off the streets) on WLUR-FM, Lexington. The show airs from 8 PM until midnight, except when the station bumps it to broadcast a W&L basketball game. Through the wonders of the internet, the mostly vinyl music show (no news, no chat, no format, no requests) can now be heard by all the ships at sea. Rockbridge Forum - Lively electronic discussion over any news that's fit to chat about. Do not click on this unless you are very, very brave. |