CHARLOTTESVILLE Va. (WINA) – Journalists who helped The Hook win 150-plus awards have launched a petition to return the former newspaper’s website/archive to the internet.

The publishers of C-Ville Weekly, who also published The Hook before it was shut down  in 2013, transferred ownership of its website/archive to an anonymous buyer last year. Earlier this year, the buyer removed the website/archive from the internet. The publishers of C-Ville Weekly’s have so far refused to explain why they made the decision to sell.

David McNair, Hawes Spencer, Lisa Provence, NewsRadio WINA’s Courteney Stuart, along with Rosalind Warfield-Brown, are asking people to sign a petition to restore The Hook website and its archive, which they say will protect local journalism and preserve local history.

Supporters can sign the petition here.