Old Mole Staff to Publish Again As Part of New Media Collective

The Old Mole-a prominent Boston underground newspaper which started two years ago and ceased publishing this fall-will re-emerge this Friday, somewhat changed, as the New Old Mole.

The New Old Mole and 13 other papers will be the product of a Cambridge-based media collective. The new collective of 14 groups, which include many old staff members, will use the old offices of the Mole to put out their papers.

Each of the 14 papers represents a specific group such as women (Hysterla), gay people (Lavender Vision), law students (Outlaw), tenants (People's South End News), labor (Mass Strike) and others.

The original Old Mole suspended publication this fall. "A lot of people were dissatisfied with what was going on in the paper. They thought it was too closed, and that we had no right to speak for the people," a member of the collective said.

Towards the Movement

After publication was halted the staff of the Old Mole held several meetings to determine guidelines for future papers.

The New Old Mole will come out once every three or four weeks, but its staff also hopes to put out a weekly journal of Cambridge news, a staff member said.

Approximately 40 people are working part time on the New Old Mole, putting together its first edition. It will be 28 pages long, and contain several articles on political movement dropouts and rent control.

The New Old Mole, like its predecessor, will be oriented towards "the movement," rather than any specific group, one staff member said.

The staff of the New Old Mole and their paper will not be in a dominant position in the collective. At present, however, because they have had the most experience in publishing a newspaper, the staff is in a "special position," according to one member of the collective.

Asked about the financial support for the collective, one contributor said, "Everybody gives what they can." A New Old Mole staff member said sales would be a primary source of income.