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48-610: The Phoenix (stylized as The Phœnix ) was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States of America by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston , Massachusetts , including the Portland Phoenix and the now-defunct Boston Phoenix , Providence Phoenix and Worcester Phoenix . These publications emphasized local arts and entertainment coverage as well as lifestyle and political coverage. The Portland Phoenix , which

96-463: A 1712 tax was imposed on newspapers based on their page counts. However, larger formats had long been signs of status in printed objects and still are in many places. Outside of Britain the broadsheet developed for other reasons unrelated to the British tax structure including style and authority. With the early mechanization of the 19th century came an increased production of printed materials including

144-492: 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

192-661: 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 , the Houston Press , SF Weekly , the Village Voice , the New York Press , the Metro Times ,

240-592: A non-profit, funded by ads for Maine's legal marijuana industry . In August 2019, New Portland Publishing purchased the Portland Phoenix relaunching it as a weekly publication on November 13, 2019. Partners of New Portland Publishing Karen Wood (former long-time Publisher of The Forecaster ) assumed the role of Publisher, and Marian McCue (former owner of The Forecaster and member of the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame) became

288-462: A traditional tabloid) on 12 September 2005. In June 2017, the Guardian announced it would again change the format to tabloid size – the first tabloid edition was published on 15 January 2018. The main motivation cited for this shift was that commuters prefer papers that they can hold easily on public transport and that other readers also might find the smaller formats more convenient. In

336-425: A weekly free paper. A year after the launch, Hanlon sold off his half to Lewis. For three years, Boston After Dark kept the four-page format, with Lewis as publisher, Jane Steidemann as editor, Stephen M. Mindich as ad salesman and Stark as full-time theater critic and copy editor, plus film reviews by Deac Rossell, who later went on to become head of programming at London 's National Film Theatre . Arnie Reisman

384-620: 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

432-508: Is called its web. The now-common 11-inch-wide front page broadsheet newspapers in the United States use a 44-inch web newsprint roll. With profit margins narrowing for newspapers in the wake of competition from broadcast, cable television, and the internet, newspapers are looking to standardize the size of the newsprint roll. The Wall Street Journal with its 12-inch-wide front page was printed on 48-inch web newsprint. Early adopters in

480-612: Is most obvious on the front page since tabloids tend to have a single story dominated by a headline, and broadsheets allow two or more stories to be displayed of which the most important sit at the top of the page " above the fold ." A few newspapers, though, such as the German Bild-Zeitung and others throughout Central Europe are tabloids in terms of content but use the physical broadsheet format. In 2003, The Independent started concurrent production of both broadsheet and tabloid (" compact ") editions, carrying exactly

528-960: 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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576-758: 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

624-683: 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

672-1223: 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 ,

720-531: The Cambridge Phoenix was April Smith , who later became a novelist ( Good Morning, Killer ) and TV writer-producer ( Cagney & Lacey , Lou Grant , Nightmares & Dreamscapes ). Following a two-week writers' strike in August 1972, the Cambridge Phoenix was sold to Boston After Dark . Mindich's merger then became known as The Boston Phoenix , with Boston After Dark used as the name for

768-662: The Phoenix , Phoenix Media/Communications Group , bought a similar publication in neighboring Providence, Rhode Island , called The NewPaper , which had been founded in 1978 by Providence Journal columnist Ty Davis. It continued under the NewPaper name until 1993, when it became the Providence Phoenix . In 1999, PM/CG branched out into Portland, Maine , by creating the Portland Phoenix . That same year

816-401: The nameplate changed from Phoenix B.A.D. to The Boston Phoenix . From 1992 through 2000, there was also a Worcester Phoenix , but it folded due to Worcester's dwindling arts market. In 2005, the Phoenix underwent a major redesign, switching from a broadsheet / Berliner format to a tabloid format and introduced a new logo in order to increase its appeal to younger readers. Towards

864-565: The 2007 financial crisis and changes in the media business, particularly the downturn in print advertising revenue, as the reasons for the closing. In November 2014, Mindich sold the Portland Phoenix to the Portland News Club LLC, publishers of The Portland Daily Sun . Although the Daily Sun would cease publication one month later, the Portland Phoenix continues to be published weekly by new owners. In January 2019,

912-470: The Boston alternative rock radio station WFNX . The company owned stations serving Metro Boston, New Hampshire, and Maine. The radio stations covered the same music , arts and political scene as the paper and sold to many of the same advertisers. The Maine station, WPHX-FM , was sold to the owner of WXEX in 2011, while on May 16, 2012, the over-the-air signal and broadcast tower for the Boston station WFNX

960-665: 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

1008-906: The New England Press Association, the Penny-Missouri Newspaper Awards , the American Bar Association Gavel Awards, Michael J. Metcalfe Diversity in Media Awards and the ASCAP -Deems Taylor Awards. In 1994, Phoenix classical music writer Lloyd Schwartz was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism . Notes Sources Alternative weekly 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

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1056-542: 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

1104-447: The United States and Canada include Barcelona's BCN Mes . Broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long vertical pages, typically of 22.5 inches (57 cm). Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner and tabloid – compact formats. Many broadsheets measure roughly 28 by 22 + 3 ⁄ 4  in (711 by 578 mm) per full broadsheet spread, twice

1152-519: The advantage of being easier to handle, particularly among commuters. In some countries, especially Australia , Canada , the UK, and the US, broadsheet newspapers are commonly perceived to be more intellectual in content than their tabloid counterparts. They tend to use their greater size to publish stories exploring topics in-depth and carry less sensationalist and celebrity -oriented material. The distinction

1200-515: 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

1248-409: The blending of broadsides and newspapers, creating the modern broadsheet newspaper . Modern printing facilities most efficiently print broadsheet sections in multiples of eight pages (with four front pages and four back pages). The broadsheet is then cut in half during the process. Thus, the newsprint rolls used are defined by the width necessary to print four front pages. The width of a newsprint roll

1296-503: The broadside, as well as the competing penny dreadful . Newspapers all over Europe were then starting to print their issues on broadsheets. However, in the United Kingdom, the main competition for the broadside was the gradual reduction of the newspaper tax, beginning in the 1830s until its eventual dismissal in 1855. With the increased production of newspapers and literacy, the demand for visual reporting and journalists led to

1344-663: 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 ,

1392-442: The downsizing of broadsheets used a 50-inch web ( 12 + 1 ⁄ 2 -inch front pages). However, the 48-inch web is now rapidly becoming the definitive standard in the U.S. The New York Times held out on the downsizing until July 2006, saying it would stick to its 54-inch web ( 13 + 1 ⁄ 2 -inch front page). However, the paper adopted the narrower format beginning Monday, 6 August 2007. The smaller newspapers also have

1440-542: The editor. On July 23, 2023, the Portland Phoenix published its final issue, citing a decline in advertising revenue related to the COVID-19 pandemic . After the closing of the Boston Phoenix and the Providence Phoenix , Mindich reassured the public that the websites would be maintained, and the online and print archives would be preserved. In November 2015, The Boston Globe announced that Mindich, with

1488-407: The end of its existence, The Phoenix had a weekly circulation of 253,000, and its website featured 90% of the paper's content, as well as extra content not included in the paper. On August 1, 2012, it was announced that Stuff Magazine and the Boston Phoenix newspaper would merge and the result would be a weekly magazine to be called The Phoenix , to debut in the fall of 2012. The first issue of

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1536-525: The front page "half of a broadsheet" size, rather than the full, unfolded broadsheet spread. Some quote actual page size and others quote the "printed area" size. The two versions of the broadsheet are: The broadsheet, broadside , was used as a format for musical and popular prints in the 17th century. Eventually, people began using the broadsheet as a source for political activism by reprinting speeches. Broadsheet newspapers developed in Britain after

1584-559: The help of former Phoenix columnist and current Northeastern University journalism professor Dan Kennedy, had donated the Phoenix 's archives to Northeastern University's Snell Library Archives and Special Collections. The gift also included other publications associated with the Phoenix , including Boston After Dark, the Portland, Providence and Worcester Phoenix editions; El Planeta , Stuff and Stuff at Night magazines, and early issues of The Real Paper . Hard copies of

1632-639: The new, glossy-paper Phoenix had a cover date of September 21, 2012. On March 14, 2013, the publisher announced that the Boston Phoenix would fold effective as of the March 15, 2013, print edition, though the Portland and Providence papers would be unaffected. In October 2014, The Phoenix announced that their Providence paper would also cease publication, with last issue being the October 17 issue. The Boston Phoenix published its last issue on March 14, 2013. A statement from publisher Mindich in that issue blamed

1680-528: The owner of the since-renamed Country News Club, Mark Guerringe, announced that the Portland Phoenix would move from once weekly to bi-weekly. In February, the paper ceased publication altogether, with an announcement that the paper had folded coming in April. In an interview with the Portland Press Herald , Guerringue said he may try to relaunch the Portland Phoenix on a membership basis or as

1728-405: The paper's arts and entertainment section, as well as the nameplate for a free edition of the Phoenix distributed on college campuses in Boston. In the conflicts between writers and management, ousted writers immediately started another weekly, The Real Paper (which began August 2, 1972, and continued until 1981), while management continued the Boston Phoenix . In 1988, the company that owned

1776-437: The public without limits. Records from WFNX were donated to Northeastern University's Snell Library Archives and Special Collections. In 2020, the online citizen science website Zooniverse started archiving the 1974 card file index, with the help of site users. After the finishing of the 1974 archives, Zooniverse moved to the 1980 index. Over the years, PMCG acquired radio stations in Boston, Portland and Providence, notably

1824-515: 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

1872-426: The publications are currently available to the public at Snell Library. Northeastern's goal was to digitize the collection and make it available online, but the cost was found to be prohibitive. In 2021, it learned The Internet Archive already had ownership of the complete microfilm collection of the Phoenix from 1973 to 2013. Northeastern then allowed Internet Archive to make the collection available for download by

1920-476: The same content. The Times did likewise, but with less apparent success, with readers vocally opposing the change. The Independent ceased to be available in broadsheet format in May 2004, and The Times followed suit from November 2004; The Scotsman is also now published only in tabloid format. The Guardian switched to the "Berliner" or "midi" format found in some other European countries (slightly larger than

1968-404: The size of a standard tabloid. Australian and New Zealand broadsheets always have a paper size of A1 per spread (841 by 594 mm or 33.1 by 23.4 in). South African broadsheet newspapers have a double-page spread sheet size of 820 by 578 mm (32.3 by 22.8 in) (single-page live print area of 380 x 545 mm). Others measure 22 in (560 mm) vertically. In the United States ,

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2016-448: 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 ,

2064-410: The traditional dimensions for the front page half of a broadsheet are 12 in (305 mm) wide by 22.75 in (578 mm) long. However, in efforts to save newsprint costs, many U.S. newspapers have downsized to 11 in (279 mm) wide by 21 in (533 mm) long for a folded page. Many rate cards and specification cards refer to the "broadsheet size" with dimensions representing

2112-599: Was appointed executive editor beginning in November 1968 and ending in November 1971. During Reisman's term of office, what began as Boston After Dark, a 16-page entertainment weekly was turned into a 156-page news weekly on the order of the Village Voice . As the paper expanded, Mindich acquired a half interest. Stark quit in 1972 and began reviewing for the rival Cambridge Phoenix , which had begun October 9, 1969, started by Jeffrey Tarter. The first managing editor of

2160-655: 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

2208-417: Was published until 2023, is now owned by another company, New Portland Publishing. The papers, like most alternative weeklies, are somewhat similar in format and editorial content to the Village Voice . The Phoenix was founded in 1965 by Joe Hanlon, a former editor at MIT 's student newspaper, The Tech . Since many Boston-area college newspapers were printed at the same printing firm, Hanlon's idea

2256-599: Was sold to Clear Channel Communications and New Hampshire station WFEX was sold to Blount Communications. Following FCC approval of the sale, WFNX stopped broadcasting on Tuesday, July 24, 2012; the webcast ended in May 2013. Former WFNX DJs and personalities Julie Kramer, Adam 12, Henry Santoro, and Paul Driscoll joined Boston.com and formed Radio BDC, another internet radio station. Records from WFNX were also donated to Northeastern University's Snell Library Archives and Special Collections. The Phoenix received many awards for excellence in journalism , including honors from

2304-504: Was to do a four-page single-sheet insert with arts coverage and ads. He began with the Harvard Business School 's newspaper, The Harbus News . A student there, James T. Lewis, became Hanlon's advertising manager. Boston After Dark began March 2, 1966. Theater enthusiast Larry Stark began contributing theater reviews with the second issue. When the insert idea did not pan out, the trio continued Boston After Dark as

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