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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President

For Immediate Release February 17, 1998

STATEMENT OF VICE PRESIDENT GORE

ON THE CLOSING OF THE NASHVILLE BANNER

I was very sad to hear that the Nashville Banner will close after 122 years of operation. It will be sorely missed.

I have read the Banner all my life, and I greatly respect not only Irby Simpkins, Jr., its publisher who is my good friend, but also all of the talented and dedicated editors and reporters who put the newspaper together every day. As a former journalist, I feel a sense of loss whenever a newspaper is forced to close. In this case, the irony that makes the loss even keener is that the quality of the product had reached a real pinnacle in recent years and months.

The Banner was a true Tennessee institution, and I will miss it greatly.