The Current kicks off its 20th anniversary year with a Jan. 18 retrospective of the paper's two decades, from breaking news about then-Mayor Henry Cisneros' adulterous affair, to the phallic cartoon that prompted businesses to ban the paper, to award-winning stories about media ownership. Journalist Steven G. Kellman writes of the newspaper culture in San Antonio: "Though the entire editorial staff of the Current is outnumbered by just the sports department at the Express-News, they keep the Hearst daily on its toes often by stepping on the toes of the powerful." The Current will auction framed digital prints of its most notable covers at four anniversary events over the course of the year.
San Francisco Bay Guardian is planning a year-long anniversary celebration, starting with a strikingly different look. In the Jan. 11 issue, Executive Editor Tim Redmond calls the new design "both far more modern and in keeping with the historical mission of this newspaper." The Bay Guardian was founded in 1966 by Bruce B. Brugmann and his wife Jean Dibble; Brugmann is still the editor and publisher, and Dibble is the associate publisher. The paper has also re-adopted its original logo; Redmond says the move demonstrates that the vision Brugmann and Dibble had "when they started the Guardian is still what we're about today: Printing the news and raising hell."
The Oct. 19 issue spotlights the newspaper's past, from top stories to the "massive rhetorical demolition derby" of letters to the editor. Sarah Klein describes the "strange characters" who have staffed the office, W. Kim Heron provides updates on where some of those characters have gone, and in the editor's column, Ric Bohy and the present staff reflect on the aims of the Metro Times and the importance of alternative journalism. A special pullout section featuring artists' interpretations of the Metro Times is available as a PDF.
