The Great Speckled Bird

Published in Atlanta from 1968 to 1976, The Great Speckled Bird was one of the longest-running and highest quality underground newspapers of the era. Reporting on both politics and popular culture, The Bird, as it was commonly known, linked left-leaning activists and rebellious youth throughout Georgia and across the South.

The Great Speckled Bird, named after a traditional folk song of the same name made popular by country musician Roy Acuff, originated among Atlanta's small community of New Left activists, particularly those associated with Emory University. After publishing an anti-Vietnam War newsletter on Emory's campus during the fall of 1967, graduate students Tom and Stephanie Coffin met that December with students from other local colleges, as well as with regional political activists, in the hopes of creating a multicampus underground newspaper. The talks resulted in the formation of The Great Speckled Bird.

Volume 1, Number 1, March 15-28, 1968

The first issue was published in March 1968. The newspaper became so popular with the Atlanta New Left and countercultural communities that within six months it went from being a biweekly newspaper to a weekly publication. A large part of its appeal lay in the variety of stories it published. While many underground papers dealt solely with politics, The Bird also allotted space to the counterculture. A typical issue would contain a story about antiwar protests alongside a review of a recent rock concert. It frequently published articles on the women's movement, abortion, racial issues, and gay liberation.

The Great Speckled Bird relied on a network of volunteers to sell the newspaper on street corners, college campuses, and in high schools. The radical content of the paper and the "hippie" dress of the volunteers often led to harassment by local authorities. Atlanta police, for various reasons, arrested people selling the newspaper on street corners on charges ranging from jaywalking to distributing pornographic material. City building and fire inspectors routinely visited the house in which the staff worked, and schools banned the publication from their campuses. In May 1972, The Bird's offices were firebombed, but the paper continued to publish thanks to the generous support of Atlanta media, donations, and other community backing. The dedicated staff emerged more motivated than ever, working out of temporary quarters until a new location was secured.

By summer of 1970 The Great Speckled Bird had become the largest paid weekly newspaper in Georgia, with a circulation of 23,000 copies. That number declined, however, over the next several years, and by 1976 the newspaper experienced severe financial difficulties. 

Despite efforts to keep the newspaper afloat, the final issue was published in October 1976. (Two attempts to revive the paper, in 1984 and 2006, were unsuccessful.) 

Sources: 
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/great-speckled-bird 
http://www.library.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/greatspeckled.htmThe Great Speckled Bird; Volume 5, Number 19,; May 5, 1972