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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.

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50-696: SF Weekly is an online music publication and formerly alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California . It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper has won national journalism awards, and sponsored the SF Weekly Music Awards . SF Weekly was founded locally in the late 1970s by Christopher Hildreth and Edward Bachman and originally named San Francisco Music Calendar,

100-547: A Backpage sex trafficking exposé, Village Voice Media executives Scott Tobias, Christine Brennan and Jeff Mars bought Village Voice Media's papers and associated web properties from its founders in September 2012, and formed the Denver-based Voice Media Group . In May 2013, The Village Voice editor Will Bourne and deputy editor Jessica Lustig told The New York Times that they were quitting

150-842: A quarterly in April 2021. The Village Voice has received three Pulitzer Prizes , the National Press Foundation Award, and the George Polk Award . The Village Voice hosted a variety of writers and artists, including writer Ezra Pound , cartoonist Lynda Barry , artist Greg Tate , music critic Robert Christgau , and film critics Andrew Sarris , Jonas Mekas , and J. Hoberman . In October 2015, The Village Voice changed ownership and severed all ties with former parent company Voice Media Group (VMG). The Voice announced on August 22, 2017, that it would cease publication of its print edition and convert to

200-492: 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 antitrust investigation into the agreement. 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

250-418: A fully digital venture, on a date to be announced. The final printed edition, featuring a 1965 photo of Bob Dylan on the cover, was distributed on September 21, 2017. After halting print publication in 2017, The Voice provided daily coverage through its website until August 31, 2018, when it announced it was ceasing production of new editorial content. On December 23, 2020, editor R. C. Baker announced that

300-426: A host to underground cartoonists. In addition to mainstay Jules Feiffer , whose cartoon ran for decades in the paper until its cancellation in 1996, well-known cartoonists featured in the paper have included R. Crumb , Matt Groening , Lynda Barry , Stan Mack , Mark Alan Stamaty , Ted Rall , Tom Tomorrow , Ward Sutton , Ruben Bolling and M. Wartella . Backpage was a classified advertisement website owned by

350-645: A popular vote for nominees and were announced in October at the Warfield Theatre . SF Weekly was the subject of ethical controversy in January 2006, when a column about the AVN Awards misidentified the event's location and honorees. The paper's editor had apparently altered a column about a different event from years before. In July 2015, after Matt Saincome wrote Counting Cards at Graton Casino ,

400-589: A two-bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village ; that was its initial coverage area, which expanded to other parts of the city by the 1960s. In 1960, it moved from 22 Greenwich Avenue to 61 Christopher Street in a landmark triangular corner building adjoining Sheridan Square, and a few feet west of the Stonewall Inn ; then, from the 1970s through 1980, at 11th Street and University Place; and then Broadway and 13th Street. It moved to Cooper Square in

450-775: A valuable resource for reporters covering the Trump presidency. The Voice has published investigations of New York City politics, as well as reporting on national politics, with arts, culture, music, dance, film, and theater reviews. Writers and cartoonists for The Voice have received three Pulitzer Prizes : in 1981 ( Teresa Carpenter , for feature writing), 1986 ( Jules Feiffer , for editorial cartooning) and 2000 ( Mark Schoofs , for international reporting). The paper has, almost since its inception, recognized alternative theater in New York through its Obie Awards . The paper's " Pazz & Jop " music poll, started by Robert Christgau in

500-620: 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 syndicated to alternative weeklies include " The Straight Dope ", Dan Savage 's " Savage Love ", Rob Breszny's " Free Will Astrology ", and Ben Tausig 's crossword puzzle "Ink Well." Quirky, non-mainstream comics , such as Matt Groening 's Life in Hell , Lynda Barry 's Ernie Pook's Comeek , Ruben Bolling 's Tom

550-960: The Aquarian Weekly in North Jersey , the Colorado Springs Independent , the Good Times in Santa Cruz , California, New Times in San Luis Obispo and the Sun in Northern Santa Barbara County , 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

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600-749: The Editor & Publisher EPpy Award for Best Overall U.S. Newspaper Online Service – Weekly, Community, Alternative & Free in 2003. In 2005, the Phoenix alternative weekly chain New Times Media purchased the company and took the Village Voice Media name. Previous owners of The Village Voice or of Village Voice Media have included co-founders Fancher and Wolf, New York City Councilman Carter Burden , New York magazine founder Clay Felker , Rupert Murdoch , and Leonard Stern of

650-758: The Hartford Advocate and 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 . Village Voice Media and 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 Village Voice , included LA Weekly , OC Weekly , Seattle Weekly , Minneapolis City Pages , and Nashville Scene . New Times Media included at

700-1031: The Houston Press , SF Weekly , the Village Voice , the New York Press , the Metro Times , the LA Weekly , the Boise Weekly and the Long Island Press , have been free, earning revenue through the sale of advertising space. They sometimes include ads for adult entertainment, such as adult bookstores and strip clubs , 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

750-1223: The Pacific Sun , the Bohemian in California's Sonoma and Napa counties, the San Diego Reader , Isthmus in Madison, Wisconsin , Flagpole Magazine in Athens, Georgia , the Boulder Weekly , Willamette Week in Portland, Oregon , Independent Weekly , Yes! Weekly , Creative Loafing , and Triad City Beat in North Carolina , the Austin Chronicle in Texas , The Stranger in Seattle, Washington , Artvoice in Buffalo, New York ,

800-964: The Bay Guardian out of business by selling ads below cost. The Guardian won the suit in March, 2008, and was granted $ 6.2 million in damages, a figure that swelled to $ 21 million with antitrust penalties and interest by June 2010. After the verdict, the Guardian obtained court orders allowing it to seize and sell the Weekly ' s two delivery trucks and collect half of the Weekly ' s ad revenue. The offices of SF Weekly are on Market Street . Previous locations have included: 225 Bush Street , 55 Francisco Street, Suite 3800 of 185 Berry Street (China Basin Landing), and 425 Brannan Street. Alternative weekly Most metropolitan areas of

850-589: The East Village in 1991, and in 2013, to the Financial District . Early columnists of the 1950s and 1960s included Jonas Mekas , who explored the underground film movement in his "Film Journal" column; Linda Solomon , who reviewed the Village club scene in the "Riffs" column; and Sam Julty , who wrote a popular column on car ownership and maintenance. John Wilcock wrote a column every week for

900-840: The Hartz Mountain empire. After The Village Voice was acquired by New Times Media in 2005, the publication's key personnel changed. The Voice was then managed by two journalists from Phoenix, Arizona . In April 2006, The Voice dismissed music editor Chuck Eddy . Four months later, the newspaper sacked longtime music critic Robert Christgau . In January 2007, the newspaper fired sex columnist and erotica author Rachel Kramer Bussel ; long-term creative director Ted Keller , art director Minh Oung, fashion columnist Lynn Yaeger and Deputy Art Director LD Beghtol were laid off or fired soon afterward. Editor in chief Donald Forst resigned in December 2005. Doug Simmons, his replacement,

950-665: The Dancing Bug , and Ted Rall 's political cartoons are also common. The Village Voice , based in New York City , was one of the first and best-known examples of the form. Since the Voice's demise in 2018, Marin County 's Pacific Sun , founded in 1963, is now the longest-running alternative weekly. The Association of Alternative Newsmedia is the alternative weeklies' trade association. The Alternative Weekly Network and

1000-755: The GLF petitioned it to do so. Over time, The Voice changed its stance, and, in 1982, became the second organization in the US known to have extended domestic partner benefits. Jeff Weinstein, an employee of the paper and shop steward for the publishing local of District 65 UAW, negotiated and won agreement in the union contract to extend health, life insurance, and disability benefits to the "spouse equivalents" of its union members. The Voice ' s competitors in New York City include The New York Observer and Time Out New York . Seventeen alternative weeklies around

1050-575: The Magazine or Poster Art . Hildreth saw a need for local artists to have a place to advertise performances and articles. The key feature was the centerfold calendar listings for local art events. The paper was bought by Village Voice Media (then New Times Media ) in 1995. In September 2012, Village Voice Media executives Scott Tobias, Christine Brennan and Jeff Mars bought Village Voice Media's papers and associated web properties from its founders and formed Voice Media Group . Four months later, SF Weekly

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1100-544: The Reading Eagle Company, and holds the same roles at The Village Voice . After taking over ownership of The Voice , Barbey named Joe Levy, formerly of Rolling Stone , as interim editor in chief, and Suzan Gursoy, formerly of Ad Week , as publisher. In December 2016, Barbey named Stephen Mooallem, formerly of Harper's Bazaar , as editor in chief. Mooallem resigned in May 2018, and was not replaced before

1150-542: The Ruxton Group are national advertising sales representatives for alternative weeklies. Some alternative newspapers are independent. However, due in part to increasing concentration of media ownership , many have been bought or launched by larger media conglomerates . The Tribune Company , a multibillion-dollar company that owns the Chicago Tribune , owns four New England alternative weeklies, including

1200-514: 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. Alternative papers have usually operated under a different business model than daily papers. Most alternative papers, such as The Stranger ,

1250-570: The United States and Canada include Barcelona's BCN Mes . Village Voice The Village Voice is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village , New York City , known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly . Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf , Ed Fancher , John Wilcock , and Norman Mailer , The Voice began as a platform for the creative community of New York City. It ceased publication in 2017, although its online archives remained accessible. After an ownership change, The Voice reappeared in print as

1300-490: The United States are owned by The Voice's former parent company Village Voice Media . The film section writers and editors also produced a weekly Voice Film Club podcast. In 1996, after decades of carrying a cover price, The Voice switched from a paid weekly to a free, alternative weekly. The Voice website was a recipient of the National Press Foundation 's Online Journalism Award in 2001 and

1350-515: 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

1400-531: The casino notified SF Weekly of its intention to pull tens of thousands of dollars in ad buys, the publisher of SF Weekly , Glenn Zuehls, reportedly demanded that SF Weekly staff remedy the advertiser with a favorable cover story, by directly assigning the story to a reporter. The San Francisco Bay Guardian , another free alternative weekly newspaper in the San Francisco Bay Area , sued SF Weekly in civil court, alleging that it tried to put

1450-728: 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 Metro Silicon Valley in San Jose , Pittsburgh City Paper in Pittsburgh , Salt Lake City Weekly ,

1500-425: The early 1970s, is released annually and remains an influential survey of the nation's music critics. In 1999, film critic J. Hoberman and film section editor Dennis Lim began a similar Village Voice Film Poll for the year in film. In 2001, The Voice sponsored its first music festival, Siren Festival, a free annual event every summer held at Coney Island . The event moved to the lower tip of Manhattan in 2011, and

1550-516: The first time since 2018. At the time, The Village Voice was a quarterly publication. The Voice has published columns and works by writers such as Ezra Pound , Henry Miller , Barbara Garson , Katherine Anne Porter , James Baldwin , E.E. Cummings , Nat Hentoff , staff writer and author Ted Hoagland , Colson Whitehead , Tom Stoppard , Paul Lukas , Lorraine Hansberry , Lester Bangs , Allen Ginsberg and Joshua Clover . Former editors have included Clay Felker . The newspaper has also been

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1600-541: The last article to be published on the website. Two weeks after the Village Voice ceased operations on September 13, co-founder John Wilcock died in California at the age of 91. In January 2021, a new original story — the first one in two-and-a-half years — was published on the website of The Village Voice . On April 17, 2021, the Spring 2021 issue of The Village Voice appeared in news boxes and on newsstands for

1650-429: The management by some of its current writers, Hentoff himself, and by The Voice ' s ideological rival paper National Review , which referred to Hentoff as a "treasure". At the end of 2011, Wayne Barrett, who had written for the paper since 1973, was laid off. Fellow muckraking investigative reporter Tom Robbins then resigned in solidarity. Following a scandal concerning The Village Voice 's editorial attack on

1700-401: The newspaper referred to the riots as "The Great Faggot Rebellion". Two reporters, Howard Smith and Lucian Truscott IV, both used the words " faggot " and " dyke " in their articles about the riots. (These words were not commonly used by homosexuals to refer to each other at this time.) Smith and Truscott retrieved their press cards from The Voice offices, which were very close to the bar, as

1750-528: The only print alternative weekly in San Francisco. In December 2020, Clint Reilly Communications bought SF Weekly together with the Examiner . In September 2021 it announced that, at the end of that month it would cease publication "for the foreseeable future". It had been adversely affected by the loss of classified ads after the rise of Craigslist . The annual SF Weekly Music Awards were based on

1800-411: The paper for decades. Feingold was rehired as a writer for The Village Voice in January 2016. Michael Musto was also rehired in 2016 and wrote cover stories regarding subjects like Oscar scandals and Madonna's body of work. Musto returned again to write features in 2021 under new publisher Brian Calle. In July 2013, Voice Media Group executives named Tom Finkel as editor. Peter Barbey , through

1850-445: The paper rather than executing further staff layoffs. Both had been recent appointments. By then, The Voice had employed five editors since 2005. Following Bourne's and Lustig's departure, Village Media Group management fired three of The Voice ' s longest-serving contributors: gossip and nightlife columnist Michael Musto , restaurant critic Robert Sietsema , and theater critic Michael Feingold , all of whom had been writing for

1900-431: The paper would resume publishing new articles both online and in a quarterly print edition. In January 2021, new original stories began being published again on the website. A spring print edition was released in April 2021. The Voice 's website continues to feature archival material related to current events. The Village Voice was launched by Ed Fancher , Dan Wolf, and Norman Mailer on October 26, 1955, from

1950-660: The paper's first ten years. Another regular from that period was the cartoonist Kin Platt , who did weekly theatrical caricatures. Other prominent regulars have included Peter Schjeldahl , Ellen Willis , Jill Johnston , Tom Carson, and Richard Goldstein . Staff of The Voice joined a union, the Distributive Workers of America , in 1977. For more than 40 years, Wayne Barrett was the newspaper's muckraker , covering New York real estate developers and politicians, including Donald Trump . The material continued to be

2000-464: The privately owned investment company Black Walnut Holdings LLC, purchased The Village Voice from Voice Media Group in October 2015. Barbey is a member of one of America's wealthiest families. The family has had ownership interest in the Reading Eagle , a daily newspaper serving the city of Reading, Pennsylvania and the surrounding region, for many years. Barbey serves as president and CEO of

2050-515: 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. The deal

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2100-454: The publication's shutdown. Under the Barbey ownership, advertisements for escort agencies and phone sex services came to an end. On August 31, 2018, it was announced that the Village Voice would cease production and lay off half of its staff. The remaining staff would be kept on for a limited period for archival projects. An August 31 piece by freelancer Steven Wishnia was hailed as

2150-505: The same parent company as The Village Voice. In 2012, Nicholas Kristof wrote an article in The New York Times detailing a young woman's account of being sold on Backpage. The Village Voice released an article entitled "What Nick Kristof Got Wrong" accusing Kristof of fabricating the story and ignoring journalistic standards. Kristof responded, noting that The Voice did not dispute the column, but rather tried to show how

2200-448: The time of the merger 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 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 LA ,

2250-510: The timeline in Kristof's original piece was inaccurate. In this rebuttal, he not only justified his original timeline, but expressed sadness "to see Village Voice Media become a major player in sex trafficking, and to see it use its journalists as attack dogs for those who threaten its corporate interests", noting another instance of The Village Voice attacking journalists reporting on Backpage's role in sex trafficking. After repeated calls for

2300-555: The trouble began; they were among the first journalists to record the event, Smith being trapped inside the bar with the police, and Truscott reporting from the street. After the riot, the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) attempted to promote dances for gays and lesbians in The Voice , but were not allowed to use the words "gay" or "homosexual", which the newspaper considered derogatory. The newspaper changed its policy after

2350-655: Was approved by the Justice Department and, on January 31, 2006, the companies merged into one, taking the name Village Voice Media. Phoenix Media/Communications Group , owner of the popular Boston alternative weekly the 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

2400-514: Was re-christened the " 4knots Music Festival", a reference to the speed of the East River's current. During the 1980s and onward, The Voice was known for its staunch support for gay rights , and it published an annual Gay Pride issue every June. However, early in its history, the newspaper had a reputation as having a homophobic slant. While reporting on the Stonewall riots of 1969,

2450-399: Was sacked in March 2006 after it was discovered that a reporter had fabricated portions of an article. Simmons' successor, Erik Wemple , resigned after two weeks. His replacement, David Blum , was fired in March 2007. Tony Ortega then held the position of editor in chief from 2007 to 2012. The sacking of Nat Hentoff , who worked for the paper from 1958 to 2008, led to further criticism of

2500-480: Was sold to the San Francisco Media Company, owners of The San Francisco Examiner and the Weekly ' s long-time rival San Francisco Bay Guardian . The publishers then had control of three of the four major English-language newspapers in San Francisco. In 2014, San Francisco Media Co. became fully owned by Black Press . The Bay Guardian was closed in 2014, leaving the Weekly as

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