| Type | Alternative |
|---|---|
| Format | BiweeklyTabloid |
| Founder(s) | Jeff Nightbyrd and Michael Eakin |
| Publisher | Austin Sun Pub. Co. |
| Managing editor | J. David Moriarty |
| Founded | October 17, 1974; 50 years ago (1974-10-17) |
| Ceased publication | June 29, 1978; 46 years ago (1978-06-29) |
| Relaunched | 2016 |
| City | Austin, Texas |
TheAustin Sun was abiweeklycounterculture newspaper that was published inAustin, Texas, between 1974 and 1978.[1]
The publication was similar in nature toRolling Stone during the latter's formative years. TheAustin Sun was instrumental in advancing the careers of many musical artists, includingStevie Ray Vaughan,[2]Joe Ely,Marcia Ball, andButch Hancock.[citation needed] It also covered the first American performances ofElvis Costello, at theArmadillo World Headquarters; and theSex Pistols, inSan Antonio.[3]
TheAustin Sun was notable for being the newspaper that started the careers of many persons who later became well-known in journalism and other media. Core formerSun staff members were involved with the publicationsLA Weekly andThe Austin Chronicle.
TheAustin Sun was co-founded by Jeff Nightbyrd (formerly Jeff Shero), who had been the editor ofThe Rat inNew York City and associated withThe Ragunderground newspaper in Austin.[4] Nightbyrd established the paper with Michael Eakin,[a] a former editor atThe Daily Texan, thestudent newspaper of theUniversity of Texas at Austin. They were later joined by J. David Moriarty as managing editor, and considered to be the only person at the paper with business expertise.[3]
Unlikeunderground newspapers (and despite being so categorized by theLibrary of Congress),[1] which published much counterculture social and political commentary by volunteer contributors, theAustin Sun was intended to be a commercially viable enterprise, with formal advertising programs and paid staff positions.
The paper's first issue was published on October 17, 1974.
Despite intentions of commercial viability, most staff members of theAustin Sun needed to have full-time jobs elsewhere to provide for themselves. Jeff Nightbyrd regularly offered employees stock in lieu of salaries, though the stock, being printed paper in relation to a private company, bore no relationship to the actual value of the business.[b]
TheAustin Sun published its last issue on June 29, 1978.[1]
Following the cessation of publication of theAustin Sun in 1978, several of its writers —Michael Ventura, Ginger Varney,Bill Bentley,[7] and "Big Boy" Medlin[8] — relocated to Los Angeles, forming the core first editorial group of theLA Weekly, which commenced publication that same year.[9] Some of those same writers, such as Ventura and Bentley, became key contributors toThe Austin Chronicle when it commenced publication in 1981.[10] Both theLA Weekly and theAustin Chronicle continue to publish; both also remain associated with persons who were originally with theAustin Sun.
The social and cultural impact of theAustin Sun is recognized through the publication being indexed by theLibrary of Congress.[1][c]
A reunion ofAustin Sun staff members was held in October 2009.[13] A website was established by former staff members Bill Hood and Deborah Stall Nelson, where former staff members and readers of theAustin Sun regularly shared recollections and updates.[12]
Protection of theAustin Sun name appears to have been lost, in that for many years the name was used by anews aggregation site run by theWorld News Network, with no evident association with the originalAustin Sun ownership.[14]
In June 2016, theAustin Sun was relaunched as a website in the spirit of the original publication. FoundingSun writers Bill Bentley, James BigBoy Medlin, andMichael Ventura were contributors to the new site, along with original art directors Dan Hubig and Carlene Brady.[15] The relaunchedAustin Sun has not been updated or posted new content since the spring of 2021.