University of Virginia Library

Barry Cancels Plans
To Start Daily Paper

By LINDA EICHELBAUM

Rey Barry, a past reporter for the
Daily Progress, recently announced the
cancellation of plans to start a daily
newspaper in Charlottesville.

Mr. Barry planned for his newspaper
to compete with the Daily Progress,
Charlottesville's only daily newspaper,
after it was bought by a national
syndicate last summer. At that time Mr.
Barry stated that he felt the Daily
Progress had fallen rapidly in quality and
that a rival newspaper was needed. The new
newspaper would have been locally
owned.

"However," as Mr. Barry stated, "the
collapse a few months ago of the Frank
O'Neill Enterprises, involving a mass of
local investors, made it impossible to
locally raise the large amount of capital
needed to produce a top quality
newspaper."

In addition, Mr. Barry stated that the
Daily Progress has added to its staff "a
remarkable editorial writer: George
Biggers" and that this addition greatly
lessens the need for a better newspaper in
Charlottesville.

Mr. O'Neill, a land developer, recently
filed bankruptcy due to overextension of
his funds. To back his empire, he
previously relied upon mortgage bonds
financed by local merchants. When Mr.
O'Neill declared bankruptcy, these
merchants lost their money, at least for
the present time.

Mr. Barry also stated "the climate for
investment was overcast by Mr. O'Neal's
bankruptcy and people are far less willing
to make a risk than before."

According to Mr. Barry, his decision to
cancel plans for the new daily were made
last February. However, he did not
announce his decision sooner because of
the need to inform the people working
with him of his decision.

He left the Daily Progress last October
to organize the paper—which was
tentatively named The Central Virginia
Daily.

Presently, Mr. Barry is Secretary
Treasurer of Education Inc. of
Charlottesville which operates The New
School, a modified Montessori
elementary school and kindergarten. He
does not plan to leave Charlottesville or
join the staff of another newspaper.