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.”
Can Gannett Co. create alternatives to itself? Burl Gilyard, himself a former alt-weekly staff writer, looks into Gannett's plans to launch entertainment weeklies in Lansing, Mich., and Boise, Idaho, for AJR. Berl Schwartz, editor of the alt-weekly City Pulse in Lansing, says Gannett's targeting these small markets because it "wants to feed on the guppies before it heads to the deeper waters."
Media giant Gannett Co. is launching its first salvo in a war to win the elusive 25-to-34 year old reader away from alternative newsweeklies. In Lansing, Mich., and Boise, Idaho, Gannett dailies are set to begin publishing "alternative" weeklies this fall. Established alts in those markets are bracing for the ruthless competition described by Richard McCord in his book "Chain Gang." Berl Schwartz, publisher of City Pulse in Lansing, scoffs at the notion the Gannett weekly will be an edgy alternative publication. "What is it an alternative to?" he asks. "Itself?"
Bill Carey, a contributor to the Nashville Scene, will be moving to Knoxville this September to become editor of Metro Pulse. He will replace current Editor Jesse Mayshark, who is moving to New York. Metro Pulse also has a new managing editor, Scott McNutt, who has been the alt-weekly's monthly humor columnist. Mayshark, who is getting married this summer, says he wants to return to writing and reporting.
Atlantic Monthly wannabe Joe Sullivan bought Metro Pulse and helped make founding publisher Rand Pearson's vision of an alternative weekly in Knoxville, Tenn. a reality. Although he's "acutely conscious of (the paper's) shortcomings" and the economy hasn't been much help lately, Sullivan thanks the people who have helped him make Metro Pulse into a paper that is contributing to its community.
