Media bloodbath continues

Sure, some people wouldn't even utter the phrases "alt-weekly" and "media" in the same breath but it is a fact that alt-weeklies do print factual news written by writers with actual journalism degrees and editors who check the stories and make sure they adhere to styles and standards fitting of any other form of media. With all that mess out of the way, our local alt-weekly in the Twin Cities, "City Pages", is shedding employees like a snake sheds its skin.

With the recent departure of editor Steve Perry and the subsuquent replacement by a "yes man" from New Times' Cleveland weekly, the writing seemed to be on the wall. Writer Jim Walsh was next. He was simply and unceremonously axed mere days ago. Then came yesterday's announcement of senior editor Britt Robson's departure.

In a radio interview yesterday he stated that he could see what was coming and he didn't like it. He went on to explain that the mantra of New Times is to standardize everything from the look of the publications to the graphic elements right down to the shape and size of the news hole across the board so people know what to expect in which ever town they may be in.

To me, that simply defeats the true definition of "alt-weekly" which is supposed to be an 'alternative' to the other dailies and weeklies littering the marketplace. Standardization of something that once had unique feel and flavor from city to city will be the death knell for this and other publications under their umbrella. While the bottom line is always a necessary evil of sorts, the wants and needs of readers and advertisers should be respected too. Instead of cutting edge journalism that dares to expose news which dailies and weeklies in the mainstream won't touch; the City Pages may well shrivel into another stale fish wrap factory that caters to the whims of their overlords and buckles when pressured to not print something even remotely controversial.