A group of former Baltimore City Paper staffers and Washington Blade publisher Kevin Naff will launch the new alt-weekly Baltimore Beat next week:

First, the dream was to keep Baltimore City Paper alive. That didn’t work. Now, the dream is to start something completely new—a weekly newspaper and website with leadership that represents the majority-black city it serves; smart, inclusive news and culture coverage; and a business structure that prioritizes collaboration over competition. The experiment goes public on November 15, when the first issue of Baltimore Beat hits the city.

The Beat will be led by editor-in-chief Lisa Snowden-McCray, formerly of City Paper and the Baltimore Sun and one of the few black women to serve as editor of an alt-weekly. Former City Paper editor Brandon Soderberg will serve as managing editor and longtime City Paper veteran Jennifer Marsh will be associate publisher of the new paper.

(See full story at the Columbia Journalism Review)