Citing economic reasons, the general manager of Indiana Printing and Publishing Co. Inc. told Pittsburgh Business Times that the last issue of the arts and entertainment paper is on the streets this week. The two-year-old Pulp was unable to compete successfully for advertising with the larger and more established Pittsburgh City Paper, an AAN member owned by Steel City Media.
Sometimes word of mouth is a more effective way of promoting a paper than a print ad. That's why some alternative newsweeklies send street teams out to bars, movie theaters and cultural events to hand out freebies and stir up interest in their papers. When they dispatch their street teams to public places, alt-weeklies like NUVO and Boston's Weekly Dig are relying on a centuries-old marketing technique the music industry revived.
Here's a look at the 2004 annual convention by the numbers -- from attendance to admissions, parties to pierogies, board members to brouhahas. The consensus seems to be that Pittsburgh surprised and delighted AAN.
Alternative newsweeklies have found myriad ways to team up with competitors for lucrative cross-promotional arrangements. Radio is perhaps the most common partner for alt-weeklies and music events the most frequent vehicle for cooperation, Ann Hinch writes for AAN News. Television and even print, however, have been mined by AAN members “to reach a broader audience and more diverse demographic.”
Pittsburgh City Paper has hired Brentin Mock, a graduate of the Academy for Alternative Journalism at Medill. Each summer 10 minority journalism students go through the eight-week residential program, learning long-form feature writing with the alt-edge. Mike Lenehan, executive editor of the Chicago Reader and one of the founders of the Academy, says right now he's happy if one or two of its graduates are snapped up by alts. In the meantime, the Academy, which is funded by grants from AAN and its publishers, is building "a small army of future writers," Lenehan says.
In a letter to the editor (see "We deserved credit," third from top), Pittsburgh City Paper Editor Andy Newman notes that the daily's Dan Fitzpatrick relied on City Paper reporting but failed to credit the paper.
Pittsburgh City Paper has obtained an injunction ordering the new weekly Pulp not to place its papers in City Paper racks. The judge, however, has told both sides to reach a final agreement on other distribution issues without further rulings from the bench. City Paper Publisher Michael Frischling says he wants Pulp to “make an investment in racks.” Pulp’s Publisher Catherine Nelson, former publisher of In Pittsburgh, says what City Paper is demanding amounts to Pulp not distributing, period.
Alternative weeklies and radio stations go together like love and marriage, say three companies that own both mediums. The synergy is easiest to exploit in cross-promotion, but it can also help on the news side. AAN News interviews several executives who have tried this combo and like it.
