Comments on: What About Alt-Weeklies, Downie?

By: Doug Simmons

Doug Simmons — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:50:45 +0000

I've never lost my habit of picking up the Village Voice. There's some muscle on the old bones (Robbins; good music coverage; a book section [!]). The economy whacked it hard and much has died. The paper can't muster a letters section anymore, more than a shame. It's a telling loss of connectivity. The long cover stories, usually the only item listed in "Features" on the table of contents, rarely match the quality of New Yorker, New York, or NY Times Mags. The cover story generally begins with a snap and a hook, then turns into a notebook-dump that economically snakes through the advertising. I still want to see the old girl every week.

By: Alan Malloy

Alan Malloy — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:47:50 +0000

Dear Tony Ortega -- I wish your paper was better. I'm not comparing it to any "digital startups" but to the old Village Voice. It's amazing to recall how much content was offered by the Voice before it was purchased by New Times. Now if you don't like the cover story, you're stuck with Musto and a few reviews. Yes, there are still a lot of ads. Alan Malloy Lower East Side, Manhattan

By: Tony Ortega

Tony Ortega — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:56:21 +0000

Dave Stroup,

The organizations (dailies, magazines) that charge a cover price for their publications are hurting badly...so that means the organizations that DON'T charge for their publications are doomed?

Not sure I follow your logic there.

While the dailies all wait for the other guy to be the first to charge for on-line news, those of us who never charged to begin with really aren't panicking.

While the last couple of years were rough, the alt-weeklies are in a much better position than the big dailies. We don't have the massive overhead, we focus on the things that count (as Erik pointed out), and we have actual sales forces that the digital startups have a hard time matching.

By: captain

captain — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:35:14 +0000

Does someone need a hug again?

By: Matty B

Matty B — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 18:43:39 +0000

I only get my local news from alt-weeklies, excepting the occassional post on an -ist blog. But many people seem to neglect taking them too seriously, perhaps because they generally spurn conventional styles of reportage found in mainstream dailies. Whenever I refer to a story in the City Paper or the Village Voice (depending where I am at the time), it is usually met with suspicion. I try to explain the necessity of alternative papers in holding a panoramic view of news, but anything not written in the dry, dispassionate NY Times format seems to makes people uncomfortable.

By: Comrade Al Gonzales

Comrade Al Gonzales — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:23:51 +0000

Leonard Downey is an idiot. First he helped kill the Wash Post; now he pontificates as a media expert.

Typical Bush-era American-style idiocy - you fail, but you get promoted, & continue to be considered an expert. See also, Larry Summers, Tim Geithner, Ben Bernacke, et al.

By: Dave Stroup

Dave Stroup — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:23:05 +0000

Erik, Alt-Weeklies absolutely provide that content. It's interesting Downie didn't mention this source of journalism at all. It's true that free publications are suffering as advertising revenue falls. All that reporting comes at a cost, to be sure. So unless people somehow magically decide they want to pay to read the City Paper, the free alt-weekly model seems to be destined for the same grave as everything else. Though I certainly hope the field of journalism doesn't end up being run by yahoos with a 'blog' such as myself. As much as blogs cover important topics, most writers don't have the resources, time, or talent to get the job done right. (See also: Prince of Petworth. Sorry. Not to be mean, but if that's where journalism is headed then count me out.)