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Baltimore City Paperwas a freealternative weeklynewspaperpublished inBaltimore, Maryland,United States, founded in 1977 byRuss Smithand Alan Hirsch. The most recent owner was theBaltimore SunMedia Group, which purchased the paper in 2014 fromTimes-Shamrock Communications,which had owned the newspaper since 1987. It was distributed on Wednesdays in distinctive yellow boxes found throughout the Baltimore area. The paper folded in 2017, due to the collapse of advertising revenue income to print media.[2]The Media Group's closure announcement happened at the same meeting immediately after recognizingCity Paperstaff joining the Washington-BaltimoreNews Guild.[3]
 June 23, 2010 cover of theCity Paper | |
| Type | Alternative weekly |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | Baltimore SunMedia Group (Tribune Publishing) |
| Publisher | Trif Alatzas |
| Editor | Brandon Soderberg |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Ceased publication | 2017 |
| Headquarters | 501 North Calvert Street Baltimore,MD21278 United States |
| Circulation | 52,000 (as of May 2016)[1] |
| ISSN | 0740-3410 |
| Website | citypaper |
History
editRuss Smith and Alan Hirsch started the Baltimore City Paper in May 1977 while students at Johns Hopkins University. It was originally named theCity Squeeze,and Smith and Hirsch published it using the offices of the Johns Hopkins student newspaper. In 1978, they took the paper out of the university and started publishing it as theBaltimore City Paper.Smith said that he viewed the paper as an alternative weekly similar to theChicago Readerand theBoston Real Paper.The paper was free, except for a time between 1979 and 1981, where they charged 25¢ per issue. Charging a fee turned out to be mistake, as most of the paper's income came through advertising revenue and the fee led to a precipitous drop in circulation, and consequently advertising revenues.[4]
It was best known for providing information onclubs,concerts,theater,andrestaurants,but each issue also has one major article on a subject not usually being carried by themainstream media.In each issue there are also several political and advice columns and numerouscartoonsincluding the weekly comicDirtfarmbyBen Claassen III.
The last issue was released on November 1, 2017.[5]TheBaltimore Beatstarted after.[6][7]
Notable stories
editTheCity Paperbroke several important stories[which?]in the Baltimore area, including aplagiarismscandalinvolving longtimeBaltimore SuncolumnistMichael Olesker.[8]It also presented the Best of Baltimore awards every year, in which various local businesses, attractions, and aspects of Baltimore, Maryland were highlighted.[9]
In the summer of 2013, Times-Shamrock Communications announced its intention to sell off all of its alternative newspapers outside Pennsylvania, including theCity Paper.In February 2014, theBaltimore SunMedia Group announced it had reached an agreement to purchase theBaltimore City Paper,with the sale to close in March 2014.[10]
Notable writers
edit- J. D. Considine(1977–1980)[citation needed]
- Peter Koper(1979–1980)[11][12]
- Franz Lidz(1978–1979)[13][14]
- John Strausbaugh(1979–1990)[15][failed verification]
References
edit- ^"Alliance for Audited Media Snapshot Report – 6/30/2013".Alliance for Audited Media.June 30, 2013. Archived fromthe originalon April 18, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 2,2014.
- ^Sullivan, Margaret (23 July 2017)."The Atlantic is 'most vital when America is most fractured.' Good thing it soars today".WashingtonPost.Retrieved24 July2017.
- ^Woods, Baynard. "AsBaltimore City Paperfaces the reaper, stakes mount for alt-weeklies, "Columbia Journalism Review,Thursday, July 27, 2017.Retrieved June 2, 2020
- ^Kauffman, Zach."The Changing Face of Journalism".Young Money. Archived fromthe originalon 2014-04-08.Retrieved2014-03-10.
- ^"City Paperreflections, "Baltimore City Paper,November 1, 2017.Retrieved June 2, 2020
- ^"After City Paper, Baltimore Beat Aims to Build a More Diverse News Outlet – Editor & Publisher".www.editorandpublisher.com.Retrieved2018-07-18.
- ^"AfterCity Paper,Baltimore Beataims to build a more diverse news outlet ".Columbia Journalism Review.Retrieved2018-07-18.
- ^"Sun Columnist Dismissed; Attribution Issues Cited".Washington Post.2024-02-24.ISSN0190-8286.Retrieved2024-10-06.
- ^Sessa, Sam (2008-09-17)."City Paper's Best of Baltimore awards".Baltimore Sun.Retrieved2024-10-06.
- ^Baltimore Sun Media Group to buy City Paper
- ^Smith, Russ."Pictures of You (#3)".Splicetoday.com.Retrieved16 October2015.
- ^Smith, Russ (4 September 2013)."When Baltimore's Leon Pig Ruled".Splicetoday.com.Retrieved16 October2015.
- ^"Lidz weaves a tale of family, life on fringes",02.19.91 –Baltimore Sun
- ^"Odds are, these guys are real characters",09.21.95 –Baltimore Sun
- ^"Archived copy".www.johnstrausbaugh.com.Archived fromthe originalon 11 October 2009.Retrieved19 April2022.
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