The Pots Weekly (破報), a publication dedicated to the coverage of issues concerning the younger generation and minorities in the country, announced yesterday that it would suspend publication at the end of this month.
The final edition of the weekly newspaper will be issued on Wednesday next week, the publication said.
The newspaper’s editorial department said it was instructed by the company’s higher management to produce a special edition to mark the final publication.
Shih Shin University College of Journalism and Communications dean Chen Ching-ho (陳清河) said suspending the publication was a painful decision to make.
“The university is operating on a tight budget due to a decrease in enrollment and the tuition freeze ordered by the Ministry of Education. The university has decided to suspend the weekly newspaper for at least one year and will determine whether publication should be resumed after an evaluation of the university’s financial situation,” Chen said.
Founded in 1995, the newspaper was originally a special section of the Taiwan Lipao (台灣立報), a newspaper funded by Shih Shin University to cover mainly educational issues. Pots then became a weekly newspaper that is available free of charge.
The newspaper’s Web site said the alternative newspaper has a circulation of about 80,000 copies per week. Free copies can be picked up at university and high-school campuses, as well as bookstores, pubs, live music houses, coffee shops, performance arts venues, art galleries and museums.
Controversies surrounding the newspaper began when its first edition was issued in September, 1995, with the publication of a cover story titled One Hundred Attitudes Toward Abortion.
The Taipei Rapid Transit Corp originally allowed Pots Weekly newsstands in Taipei’s MRT stations, but the publication drew criticism over its progressive view on social issues and potentially “jeopardizing the health of young people.” The newsstands were later removed from the MRT stations.
The publication prided itself for having a similar style to the New York-based weekly newspaper The Village Voice, with reporters covering social issues and Taiwan’s cultural scene.
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