The State Of Alternative Weeklies, Wiscosnin Beer Commission, Latest News From Discover Magazine

Featured in this Show

• Are Alternative Weekly Newspapers Dying?

  Download

  The recent sale of the Baltimore City Paper to the Baltimore Sun has renewed conversation about the state of alternative weekly newspapers in the U.S.

  In recent months, changes to many of these papers has raised many questions and concerns about local journalism and their viability. Last year, the Boston Phoenix closed, New York City’s Village Voice laid off numerous popular reporters and the Onion, a Madison-born satrical paper, ended its print publication.

  Tiffany Shackelford, executive director of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia, said that the sale of the City Paper might not actually be a bad sign for alternative media and instead, a sign that they may be financially viable.

  “It’s interesting that a daily paper wants an alt-weekly … The Chicago Reader (an alternative weekly) was purchased by the Sun-Times (a daily corporate paper) and now The Reader is the one that’s responsible for a lot of the weekend coverage,” said Shackelford.

  While many point to the Internet as a challenge to alternative papers, Shackelford ​disagrees with that idea.

  “We invented the Internet,” said Shackelford, referring to the snarky tone of some websites. “That tongue-in-cheek tone that’s been an alt-weekly mainstay for years and years (inspired many sites). There’s a lot that can work in the favor of alt-weeklies.”

  Luis Fortis, owner and executive editor of Milwaukee’s Shepherd Express, is similarly optimistic about his paper’s future.

  “Newspapers have a unique role in creating a community and bringing people together … alternative weeklies are basically more courageous. We take risks, we hold accountable ethically challenged elected officials. People love that. People are loyal to our paper because we are willing to take these risks and treat people like adults,” Fortis said.

  Fortis also doesn’t see the Internet as the impending doom of alternative weeklies.

  “Our industry, like all media, is going through a transition … each medium is trying to figure out where they are going to fit,” he said. “The Internet is not going to kill radio, it’s not going to kill television and it’s not going to kill newspapers.”

• The State Of Alternative Weeklies

  Download

  The sale of the alternative weekly City Paper to the Baltimore Sun Media Group has some analysts asking about the future of alternative newsmedia. A guest from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia and the owner of the Shepherd Express in Milwaukee discuss the state of alternative journalism and what the future could hold.

• The number of microbreweries in Wisconsin has grown rapidly in recent years. State Rep. Gary Tauchen of Bonduel would like to make Wisconsin the “Napa Valley of craft beers.” He has proposed new legislation that would establish a beer commission in the state.

• Top Stories From Discover Magazine: An Expedition Physician, Higgs Boson Documentary, And A New Kind Of Archaeology

  Download

  The latest issue of Discover Magazine hits newsstands Tuesday, but one of the editors shares her top stories from this month’s magazine. We learn about the life of an expedition physician, the making of a documentary about the hunt for the Higgs boson, and about a new kind of archaeology.