In a lengthy Post Magazine feature, City Paper alums like Russ Smith, Jack Shafer and David Carr join current leaders Erik Wemple and Ben Eason in discussing the paper's history, its legacy and its future. Even former mayor Marion Barry, who recently appeared on a City Paper cover that incited some controversy, weighs in on the alt-weekly.

Continue ReadingWashington City Paper’s ‘Key Players’ Talk About the Past & the Future

The cover of this week's paper -- with the provocative headline, "You put me out in Denver 'cause I wouldn't suck your dick" -- has some district residents upset, the Washington Post reports. City Paper says the city's Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs has received several calls complaining about the cover, which features a photo of councilman and former mayor Marion Barry with his arm around an ex-girlfriend who has accused him of stalking her. (The quote was taken from a recording of a confrontation between Barry and the ex-girlfriend.) "Some people are going to find that vulgar -- that's inevitable," editor Erik Wemple says. "If they find it vulgar, they can complain. It's worth putting it out there, and it's the truth. Sometimes the truth is vulgar." Publisher Amy Austin tells the Post that the negative reaction has been "much less than I expected," and that only three distribution spots have called to say they wouldn't display the paper while one has called to ask for more copies.

Continue ReadingSome D.C. Residents Cry Foul Over Washington City Paper’s Cover

Yesterday City Paper posted a series of voicemails in which notorious former mayor and current councilman Marion Barry "alternately cajoles and spurns" (as the Washington Post put it) an ex-girlfriend who is charging Barry with stalking her. The clips and the accompanying cover story -- which feature classic one-liners like "You put me out in Denver 'cause I wouldn't suck your dick" -- quickly went viral, causing some issues for City Paper's server. "Marion Barry killed our web server," the paper tweeted yesterday afternoon. "[W]e're working on bringing it back to life."

Continue ReadingWashington City Paper: ‘Marion Barry Killed Our Web Server’

Responding to yesterday's blog post by Washington City Paper editor Erik Wemple, Arianna Huffington tells the New York Times' David Carr that someone at HuffPo did contact City Paper to ask that the new blog posts on their HuffPo April Fool's parody be taken down, but that they "never complained" about the page linking back to HuffPo. "Bottom line: We didn't -- and don't -- have a problem with someone having fun at our expense," she says. "Indeed, we loved it and complimented it."

Continue ReadingHuffington: ‘We Never Had an Issue’ With City Paper Parody

Faithful AAN.org readers may recall that on April Fool's Day, City Paper reworked its website to ape HuffPo's look. The parody -- The Huffington City Paper -- even received kudos from HuffPo itself. Now -- a day after the publication of a well-read City Paper column criticizing HuffPo -- the aggregator is asking the alt-weekly to remove the lightly trafficked page from its archives, in part because it contains a link to HuffPo. "Never thought I'd be scolded by a Huffington Post official for linking," writes editor Erik Wemple. "But I was!"

Continue ReadingHuffington Post to Washington City Paper: Take Down Parody Page

Washington City Paper classified manager Heather McAndrews says that in the first week of May, adult ads were up 38 percent over the same time last year; City Pages publisher Mark Bartel says adult ads there have "almost doubled;" and SF Weekly's adult ad count has jumped from 160 before Craigslist's new policy went into effect to 910 last week. One woman who advertises in both City Paper and Craigslist tells the alt-weekly that Craigslist's "standard is no good because you cannot really describe who you are."

Continue ReadingIs Craigslist’s New Adult Ad Policy Helping Alt-Weeklies?

Two freelancers "affiliated" with AAN members are among the 23 journalists selected to participate in the fifth National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater at the USC Annenberg School for Communication. LEO Weekly's Rebecca Haithcoat and Washington City Paper's Glen Weldon will participate in the 10-day program this August.

Continue ReadingTwo Alt-Weekly Writers Receive NEA Fellowships

Rickey Wright passed away on Feb. 19 in Seattle after suffering from a series of small strokes. "He was a save-your-ass kind of writer," recalls former City Paper arts editor Glenn Dixon. "If someone didn't come through, and there were constantly people who didn't come through, Rickey would do the job. He'd write it well. He'd get it in on time -- always. He was never without ideas and he could cover any kind of music. I can't tell you how rare that is."

Continue ReadingFormer Washington City Paper Music Critic Dies

Washington City Paper recently saved $8,000 by dropping all of its syndicated comics, the Chicago Reader's Michael Miner reports. City Paper still carries one local strip, "Dirtfarm," only because author Ben Claassen lets the paper run it for free. "City Paper feels like family to me," Claassen tells Miner by way of explanation. But Lynda Barry, who quit her "Ernie Pook's Comeek" strip, and her friend Matt Groening are feeling less familial these days about their former alt-weekly clients. Nevertheless, Groening keeps plugging away, creating "Life in Hell" every week even though his success with The Simpsons has left him financially secure. "I like sitting down once a week and knocking something out all by myself," says Groening. "The rest of my life is full of collaborators."

Continue ReadingMore on the Alt-Comics Meltdown

The hearing scheduled yesterday was set to decide whether CL's creditors can declare their loans in default and take immediate possession of the company from CEO Ben Eason. According to Wayne Garcia, the hearing has been continued until March 11. Garcia says both sides in the case complained about the delay but worked together to develop a new timeline.

Continue ReadingCreative Loafing Bankruptcy Hearing Delayed