Alternative newspaper

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting local people and culture. Its news coverage is more locally focused, and their target audiences are younger than those of daily newspapers. Typically, alternative newspapers are published in tabloid format and printed on newsprint. Other names for such publications include alternative weekly, alternative newsweekly, and alt weekly, as the majority circulate on a weekly schedule.

Most metropolitan areas of the United States and Canada are home to at least one alternative paper. These papers are generally found in such urban areas, although a few publish in smaller cities, in rural areas or exurban areas where they may be referred to as an alt monthly due to the less frequent publication schedule.

Content

A SF Weekly newspaper box on Sansome Street in San Francisco

Alternative papers have usually operated under a different

personal ad sections and event listings as well.[citation needed
]

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 press associated with the 1960s counterculture. Their focus remains on arts and entertainment and social and political reportage. Editorial positions at alternative weeklies are predominantly left-leaning, though there is a contingent of conservative and libertarian, alt-weeklies. Styles vary sharply among alternative newspapers; some affect a satirical, ironic tone, while others embrace a more straightforward approach to reporting.

Columns commonly

political cartoons
are also common.

The Village Voice, based in

Marin County's Pacific Sun
, founded in 1963, is now the longest-running alternative weekly. [2][3] The Association of Alternative Newsmedia 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

New Haven Advocate
.

Creative Loafing, originally only an Atlanta-based alternative weekly, grew into Creative Loafing, Inc. which owned papers in three other southern U.S. cities, as well as the Chicago Reader and Washington City Paper.

New Times Media
merged in 2006; before that, they were the two largest chains.

The pre-merger Village Voice Media, an outgrowth of New York City's

.

.

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

antitrust investigation into the agreement.[4] 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, while the assets of New Times LA were sold to Southland Publishing and relaunched as LA CityBeat
.

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.[5] The deal was approved by the Justice Department and, on January 31, 2006, the companies merged into one, taking the name Village Voice Media.[6]

Boston Phoenix, expanded to Providence, Rhode Island in 1988 with their purchase of NewPaper, which was renamed the Providence Phoenix. In 1999, PM/CG expanded further through New England to Portland, Maine with the creation of the Portland Phoenix. From 1992 through 2005, PM/GC owned and operated the Worcester Phoenix in Worcester, Massachusetts
, but PM/GC folded that branch because of Worcester's dwindling art scene.

Nonetheless, a number of owner-operated, non-chain owned alternative papers survive, among them

, California.

Canadian examples of owner-operated, non-chain owned alternative papers include Vancouver's The Georgia Straight, Toronto's NOW Magazine, Edmonton's Vue Weekly and Halifax's The Coast. Examples outside the United States and Canada include Barcelona's BCN Mes.

See also

  • List of alternative weekly newspapers

References

  1. ^ Meyer, Daniel (February 2015). "Alternative weekly newspapers rethink their strategies". Buffalospree.com. Buffalo Spree. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  2. ^ "Support the America's longest-running alt weekly, the Pacific Sun". Support Your Local Newspaper. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  3. ^ Amatulli, Jenna (31 August 2018). "The Village Voice Has Shut Down And People Are Sharing Their Best Memories Of The Paper". HuffPost. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
  4. ^ "Competitive Impact Statement : U.S. v. Village Voice Media, LLC and NT Media, LLC". Usdoj.gov. Archived from the original on 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  5. ^ "New Times Will Buy Village Voice Media". The New York Times. 25 October 2005. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  6. ^ "New Times, Village Voice Merger Closes | Press Releases | AltWeeklies.com". Aan.org. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2014-02-20.