An
alternative newspaper is a type of
newspaperA newspaper is a publication containing news, information, and advertising. General-interest newspapers often feature articles on political events, crime, business, art/entertainment, society and sports. Most traditional papers also feature an editorial page containing columns that express the...
, usually published weekly or every other week, that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated
reviewA review is an evaluation of a publication, such as a movie, video game, musical composition, book, or a piece of hardware like a car, home appliance, or computer. In addition to a critical statement, the review's author may assign the work a rating to indicate its relative merit...
s and
columnA columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating copy that can sometimes be strongly opinionated. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs on the Internet....
s,
investigationsInvestigative journalism is a type of reporting in which reporters deeply investigate a topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or some other scandal....
into edgy topics and
magazineMagazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles, generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
-style feature stories highlighting local people and culture. Their news coverage is more locally-focused and their target audiences younger than those of daily newspapers. Typically, alternative newspapers are published in
tabloidA tabloid is an industry term for a smaller newspaper format per spread; to a weekly or semi-weekly alternative newspaper that focuses on local-interest stories and entertainment, often distributed free of charge ; or to a newspaper that tends to sensationalize and emphasize or exaggerate or...
format and printed on
newsprintNewsprint is low-cost, non-archival paper most commonly used to print newspapers, plus other publications and advertising material. It usually has an off-white cast and distinctive feel. It is designed for use on printing presses that employ a long web of paper rather than individual sheets of paper...
. Other names for such publications include
alternative weekly,
alternative newsweekly, and
alt weekly, as the
vast majority circulate on a weekly schedule.
Most
metropolitan areaA metropolitan area is a large population center consisting of a large metropolis and its adjacent zone of influence, or of more than one closely adjoining neighboring central cities and their zone of influence...
s of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
are home to at least one alternative paper. These papers are generally found in such
urbanAn urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
areas, although a few publish in smaller cities, in rural areas or
exurbanA commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commute out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
areas where they may be referred to as an
alt monthly due to the less frequent publication schedule.
Content
Alternative papers usually operate under a different
business modelA business model is a framework for creating economic, social, and/or other forms of value. The term business model is thus used for a broad range of informal and formal descriptions to represent core aspects of a business, including purpose, offerings, strategies, infrastructure, organizational...
than daily papers. Most alternative papers, such as the Houston Press, the Los Angeles Free Press, the Village Voice, the New York Press and the Long Island Press are free, earning revenue through the sale of
advertisingAdvertising is a form of communication used to influence individuals to purchase products or services or support political candidates or ideas. Frequently it communicates a message that includes the name of the product or service and how that product or service could potentially benefit the consumer...
space. They also often include ads for adult entertainment, such as adult bookstores and
strip clubA strip club is a nightclub or bar where striptease is regularly performed, and possibly other related acts such as lap dancing. While usually considered much less objectionable than more explicit adult entertainment such as sex shows, they are often the focus of morality campaigns and restrictive...
s, which are prohibited in many mainstream daily newspapers. They usually include comprehensive classified and personal ad sections and event listings as well.
Many alternative papers feature an annual "best of" issue, profiling businesses that readers voted the best of their type in the area. Often these papers send out certificates that the businesses hang on their wall or window. This further cements the paper's ties to local businesses.
Alternative newspapers represent the more commercialized and mainstream evolution of the
underground pressThe phrase underground press is most often used to refer to the independently published and distributed underground papers associated with the counterculture of the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and other western nations...
associated with the 1960s
countercultureCounterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition...
. Their focus remains on arts and entertainment and social and political reportage.
EditorialEditorials are featured in many newspapers and magazines, usually written by the senior editorial staff or publisher of the publication. Additionally, most print publications feature an editorial, or letter from the editor, sometimes followed by a Letters to the Editor section...
positions at alternative weeklies are predominantly
leftIn politics, left-wing, political left, leftist and the Left are terms used to describe a number of positions and ideologies. They are most commonly used to refer to support for changing traditional social orders or for creating a more egalitarian distribution of wealth and privilege...
-leaning, though there is a small contingent of strongly
conservativeConservatism is the diverse political and social philosophy that supports tradition and the status quo, or that calls for a return to the values and society of an earlier age, the status quo ante. However, the term has been used by politicians and political commentators with a variety of meanings...
and/or libertarian alt-weeklies. Their styles vary sharply; some affect a satirical, ironic tone, while others embrace a more straightforward approach to reporting.
Columns commonly
syndicatedPrint syndication is a form of syndication in which news articles, columns, or comic strips are made available to newspapers, magazines, and websites....
to alternative weeklies include "The Straight Dope,"
Dan SavageDaniel Keenan Savage is an American author, media pundit, journalist and newspaper editor. Savage is known for penning the internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column Savage Love. Its tone is frank in its discussion of sexuality, often humorous, and hostile to social...
's "
Savage LoveSavage Love is a syndicated sex-advice column by Dan Savage. The column appears weekly in several dozen newspapers, mainly free newspapers in the U.S. and Canada, but also newspapers in Europe and Asia...
," Rob Breszny's "Free Will Astrology," and Ben Tausig's crossword puzzle "Ink Well." Quirky, non-mainstream comics, such as
Matt GroeningMatthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter and producer. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell and the television series The Simpsons and Futurama....
's
Life in HellLife in Hell, quietly retitled Life is Swell in 2007, is a weekly comic strip by Matt Groening. The strip features anthropomorphic rabbits and a pair of gay lovers. Groening uses these characters to explore a wide range of topics about love, sex, work, and death...
,
Lynda BarryLynda Barry is an American cartoonist and author. One of the most successful non-mainstream American cartoonists, Barry is perhaps best known for her weekly comic strip Ernie Pook's Comeek...
's
Ernie Pook's Comeek, Ruben BollingRuben Bolling is a pseudonym for Ken Fisher, a cartoonist, the author of Tom the Dancing Bug.- Biography :Bolling, who has no formal art training, read many comics when he was a child, and sometimes features their styles in his work...
's
Tom the Dancing BugTom the Dancing Bug is a weekly comic strip by Ruben Bolling which presents critical commentary on modern life, current events, and conventional wisdom and clichés. The strip is carried in both mainstream and "alternative" papers, as well as on Salon.com...
, and
Ted RallTed Rall , is an American columnist, syndicated editorial cartoonist, and author. His political cartoons often appear in a multi-panel comic-strip format and frequently blend comic-strip and editorial-cartoon conventions. The cartoons appear in approximately 100 newspapers around the United States...
's
political cartoonsAn editorial cartoon, also known as a political cartoon, is an illustration or comic strip containing a political or social message, that usually relates to current events or personalities.-Modern political cartoons:...
are also common.
The
Village Voice, based in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, is one of the first and best-known examples of the form.
The
Association of Alternative NewsweekliesThe Association of Alternative Newsweeklies is the trade association of alternative weekly newspapers in North America. AAN provides services to a large number of generally liberal or progressive weekly newspapers across the United States and in Canada...
is the alternative weeklies' trade association. The Alternative Weekly Network and the Ruxton Group are national advertising sales representatives for alternative weeklies.
Chains and mergers
Some alternative newspapers are independent. However, due in part to increasing
concentration of media ownershipConcentration of media ownership refers to the degree to which media ownership is .It is also a commonly used term that refers to view that the majority of the media outlets are owned by a small number of conglomerates and corporations...
, many have been bought or launched by larger
media conglomerateA media conglomerate describes companies that own large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, movies, and the Internet....
s. The
Tribune CompanyThe Tribune Company is a large, employee-owned, American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, responsible for the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Baltimore Sun...
, a multi-billion dollar company that owns the
Chicago CubsThe Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago , the Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the...
and
Chicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company...
owns four
New EnglandNew England is a region of the United States. It is located at the northeastern corner of the US, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, Canada and the state of New York, consisting of the modern U.S...
alternative weeklies, including the
Hartford Advocate and
New Haven Advocate.
Creative LoafingCreative Loafing is the name of four alternative weekly newspapers published in four different cities by Tampa, Florida-based Creative Loafing, Inc. All four papers share some columns and articles, but each city's edition focuses on local reporting of news, culture, and entertainment...
, originally only an
AtlantaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the state of Georgia, as well as the urban core of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States....
-based alternative weekly, grew into Creative Loafing, Inc. which owns papers in three other
southern U.S. citiesThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, Down South, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, as well as the
Chicago Reader and
Washington City PaperThe Washington City Paper is a U.S. alternative weekly newspaper serving the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.Founded in 1981, and published for its first year under the masthead 1981, taking the City Paper name in volume 2, by Russ Smith, it shared ownership with the Chicago Reader from 1982...
. Similarly,
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
's
Metro TimesThe Metro Times is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area. Supported entirely by advertising, it is distributed free of charge every Wednesday in newsstands in businesses and libraries around the city and suburbs...
branched-out to include papers in
Ann Arbor, MichiganAnn Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. It is the state's seventh largest city with a population of 114,024 as of the 2000 Census, of which 36,892 are university or college students...
and
Windsor, OntarioWindsor is the southernmost major city in Canada and lies in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, although administratively separated from the county government. Windsor is located south of Detroit, is separated...
.
Village Voice Media and
New Times MediaThe New Times Media corporation was a national publisher of alternative weekly newspapers.Its papers were Cleveland Scene, Dallas Observer, Westword, East Bay Express, New Times Broward-Palm Beach, Houston Press, The Pitch, Miami New Times, Phoenix New Times, SF Weekly, and Riverfront Times.In...
merged in 2006; before that, they were the two largest chains.
The pre-merger Village Voice Media, an outgrowth of
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
’s
Village Voice, included
LA WeeklyLA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
, OC WeeklyOC Weekly, a sister publication of both LA Weekly and The Village Voice, is a free weekly paper distributed in Orange County, California and also in Long Beach. Its political coverage is generally progressive....
, Seattle WeeklySeattle Weekly is a freely distributed newspaper in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded by Darrell Oldham and David Brewster as The Weekly...
, Minneapolis City PagesCity Pages is an alternative weekly newspaper serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. It features news, film, theatre and restaurant reviews, and music criticism. It is printed in a tabloid format, and is available free every Wednesday...
, and
Nashville SceneNashville Scene is an alternative newsweekly in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1989, became a part of Village Voice Media in 1999, and later joined the ranks of sixteen other publications after a merger of Village Voice Media with New Times Media early in 2006...
.
New Times MediaThe New Times Media corporation was a national publisher of alternative weekly newspapers.Its papers were Cleveland Scene, Dallas Observer, Westword, East Bay Express, New Times Broward-Palm Beach, Houston Press, The Pitch, Miami New Times, Phoenix New Times, SF Weekly, and Riverfront Times.In...
included at the time of the merger
Cleveland SceneThe Cleveland Scene is an alternative weekly newspaper based in Cleveland, Ohio. The newspaper includes highlights of Cleveland area arts, music, dining, and films, as well as classified advertising...
, Dallas ObserverThe Dallas Observer is a free alternative weekly newspaper distributed around the Dallas, Texas area with a circulation just over 100,000. At its inception, it was conceived as a weekly local arts and cinema review publication, with the credo "Advocate for Excellence in the Arts" on the cover...
, WestwordWestword is a free alternative weekly newspaper based in Denver, Colorado.Westword was established independently in 1977. In 1983 it was bought by New Times Media. In 2005, New Times acquired Village Voice Media, and changed its name to Village Voice Media...
, East Bay ExpressThe East Bay Express is an Oakland-based weekly newspaper serving the Berkeley, Oakland, and East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
, New Times Broward-Palm BeachThe New Times Broward-Palm Beach is an alternative weekly newspaper; it is part of the Village Voice Media chain. The paper split off from the Miami New Times in 1997, under the auspices of then editor-in-chief Tom Walsh. Walsh was succeeded by Chuck Strouse, who was replaced in 2005 with Tony Ortega...
, Houston PressThe Houston Press is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in Downtown Houston....
, The Pitch, Miami New TimesThe Miami New Times is a free weekly South Florida metropolitan area newspaper distributed every Thursday; the newspaper company is headquartered in The Miami New Times is headquartered in Midtown Miami....
, Phoenix New TimesThe Phoenix New Times is a free, weekly Phoenix, Arizona newspaper, put out every Thursday. It is the founding publication of the New Times Media , but The Village Voice is now the flagship publication of that company....
, SF WeeklyThe SF Weekly is a free alternative weekly newspaper in San Francisco, California, United States. The newspaper, distributed throughout the San Francisco Bay Area every Wednesday, is published by Village Voice Media, a 16-paper alt weekly newspaper chain that also includes the New York City Village...
, and
Riverfront TimesThe Riverfront Times is an alternative newsweekly in St. Louis, Missouri that consists of local politics, music, arts and dining news in the print edition and daily updates to blogs and photo galleries on its Web site...
.
In 2003, the two companies entered into a non-competition agreement which stated that the two would not publish in the same market. Because of this, New Times Media eliminated
New Times LANew Times LA is a now-defunct alternative weekly newspaper that was published in Los Angeles, California by the New Times Media corporation from 1996 until 2002. The editor-in-chief for its entire run was Rick Barrs...
, a competitor to Village Voice Media's
LA Weekly, and Village Voice Media ceased publishing
Cleveland Free Times, a competitor to New Times Media's
Cleveland Scene. The US Justice Department launched an
antitrustUnited States antitrust law is the body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are designed to encourage competition in the marketplace....
investigation into the agreement.
http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/cases/f200700/200715.htm The case was settled out of court with the two companies agreeing to make available the publishing assets and titles of their defunct papers to potential competitors. The
Cleveland Free Times recommenced publication in 2003 under the publication group Kildysart LLC.
On October 24, 2005, New Times Media announced a deal to acquire Village Voice Media, creating a chain of 17 free weekly newspapers around the country with a combined circulation of 1.8 million and controlling a quarter of the weekly circulation of alternative weekly newspapers in North America
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/25/business/media/25paper.html?ei=5089&en=8fd5ea390aa0b372&ex=1287892800&adxnnl=1&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1139767243-Sidh4p/IvCtWEyyEXglkQg. The deal was approved by the Justice Department and, on January 31, 2006, the companies merged into one, taking the name Village Voice Media.
http://aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/ViewArticle?oid=oid:156295
Many editors and reporters of alternative papers and many longtime readers of
Village Voice felt that the merger was against the spirit of alt weeklies and accused the Village Voice Media of
selling out"Selling out" refers to the compromising of one's integrity, morality and principles in exchange for money, 'success' or other personal gain. It is commonly associated with attempts to increase mass appeal or acceptability to mainstream society...
. Others bemoan the effects such a large chain may have on the independent spirit of alt weeklies.
Nonetheless, a number of owner-operated, non-chain owned alternative papers survive, among them "
Columbia City PaperColumbia City Paper is a free alternative newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina featuring investigative articles, political commentary, humor, music, arts and entertainment coverage. Founded in August 2005 by Paul F. Blake the paper is based in Columbia, South Carolina. Columbia City Paper is...
" in
Columbia, South CarolinaColumbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 116,278 according to the 2000 census . Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into Lexington County. The city is the center of a metro area of 728,063...
,
Metro Silicon Valley in
San Jose, CaliforniaSan Jose or San José is the third-largest city in California and the tenth-largest in the United States. The county seat of Santa Clara County, it is located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region commonly referred to as Silicon Valley...
,
Salt Lake City WeeklySalt Lake City Weekly is a free alternative weekly tabloid-paged newspaper published in Salt Lake City, Utah. It began its life as the Private Eye. City Weekly is published and dated for every Thursday by Copperfield Publishing Inc...
, the
San Francisco Bay GuardianThe San Francisco Bay Guardian is a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper is owned mostly by its publisher, Bruce B...
, the
San Diego ReaderThe San Diego Reader is the largest alternative press paper in the county of San Diego, distributed gratis in stands and private businesses throughout the county, funded by advertisements...
,
IsthmusIsthmus is an alternative weekly newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin. It was founded in 1976, and has built a reputation for authoritative writing on news, arts and features. The paper prints more than 60,000 copies each Thursday, reaching an estimated 40% of all adults in Dane County, which includes...
in Madison, Wisconsin, the
Boulder WeeklyBoulder Weekly is an alternative newsweekly that publishes every Thursday in Boulder, Colo. The paper is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and is owned and published by Stewart Sallo...
, "
The Second SupperThe Second Supper is a web site and newspaper published in La Crosse, Wisconsin by students from the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse as well as writers and contributors from La Crosse, Wisconsin and Winona, Minnesota. Founded by Joe Gullo - now an employee of The Onion - it is recognized by the...
" in La Crosse, Wisconsin,
Willamette WeekWillamette Week is an alternative weekly newspaper published in Portland, Oregon, United States. It features reports on local news, politics, and culture....
in Portland, Oregon,
Independent WeeklyIndependent Weekly is a tabloid-format alternative weekly published in Durham, North Carolina and is distributed throughout the Raleigh-Durham area. Founded in 1983, it has a liberal political perspective, like many alt weeklies....
in North Carolina's Triangle region,
YES! WeeklyYES! Weekly is an alternative weekly newspaper started in Greensboro, NC. A second office was opened in November 2007 in the Arts District of Winston-Salem. In addition to local news and politics, the newspaper provides arts and entertainment news and reviews, nationally syndicated columns, and...
in North Carolina's Triad region, the
Austin ChronicleThe Austin Chronicle is an alternative weekly, tabloid-style newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demographic...
in Texas,
Artvoice in Buffalo, New York, the
Aquarian WeeklyThe Aquarian Weekly is a regional alternative weekly newspaper based in New Jersey. Founded in 1969, its focus is popular music. It is accompanied by a pull-out section, The East Coast Rocker, which is freely distributed throughout the New Jersey/New York City/Eastern Pennsylvania region.The paper...
in North Jersey and
Knoxville VoiceKnoxville Voice was a populist alternative newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was published every two weeks and available free of charge in more than 300 locations throughout Knox and Blount counties. The paper debuted on April 20, 2006 and ceased publication on January 8, 2009. The summer 2007...
in
Knoxville, TennesseeFounded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is also the largest city in East Tennessee. As of the 2000 United States Census, Knoxville had a total population of 173,890; the July 2007...
.
External links