Design consultant Ron Reason chats with Washington Post style writer Hank Stuever, who says that a good alt-weekly is, “like the journalistic equivalent of umami – the indescribable savoriness that goes with salty, sweet, sour, bitter.” Says Stuever:

Yelp, Groupon, Craigslist – are focused on the individual, serving a world of consumers determined to outsmart (and outbuy or outsave) everyone else in the most convenient way possible, with next to no interest in slowing down, absorbing information, thinking, deliberating, enjoying the hunt (for awareness, for hipness, for understanding of the human condition). Alt weeklies can go for that Groupon crowd all they want (and nab some of it), but none of those offer the voice and editorial feel of what a good alt weekly (still) has.