The Hook (newspaper)

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The Hook
The 2007-02-22 (#0608) front page of The Hook
Type	Alternative weekly
Format	Tabloid

Owner	Independent
Publisher	Hawes Spencer
Founded	2002
Headquarters	100 Second Street NW Charlottesville, VA 22902 United States

Website: readthehook.com

The Hook is a weekly newspaper published in Charlottesville, Virginia and distributed throughout Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley. It was founded by a number of employees unhappy at another Charlottesville weekly, the aptly named C-ville Weekly, including C-ville co-founder and editor Hawes Spencer in 2002. Since then, the weekly's gone on to win the hearts of eager readers and trounce its competition in the race for prizes from the Virginia Press Association. More importantly, it has shown that a small-size city really can support more than one so-called alternative weeklies.

In 2007, the Hook won the Virginia Press Association Award for Journalistic Integrity and Community Service, the VPA's highest honor.

In addition to its reputation for a more in-depth brand of journalism, the Hook is also known for such trademark features as the "HotSeat" (in which Charlottesville notables answer questions about everything from what's in their refrigerator to their most embarrassing moments), 4BetterOrWorse (a snappy, often humorous summary of local and national news items), and their extensive Culture Calendar.

One of the silliest but perhaps most popular things about the Hook is its webcam because it's always showing the lively streetscape on Charlottesville's Downtown Mall-- a pedestrian promenade that includes the Charlottesville Ice Park as well as the Jefferson and Paramount theaters.

In addition to print, the Hook branched out into other media in 2006 with the launch of its blog theHook.net and the HookCast its weekly podcast.