Age of the Mega-Alternatives

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"This is a lot of ballyhoo about nothing," says Richard Karpel, executive director of AAN, of the Sidewalk project. "I don't think America is crying out for an online source of arts and entertainment information. It's not like it's a burden to pick up a paper and flip through it. Maybe 20 years from now this will be a problem for weeklies, but not now." He admits, though, that alternative weeklies' revenues from personal ads have slowed in the past two years, possibly as a result of competition from singles sites on the World Wide Web. Larry Smith, a consultant with San Jose Metro's online, says that while Sidewalk doesn't pose an immediate threat to alternative weeklies, it may hurt their efforts to develop online. In fact, some have already signed up with Microsoft to provide content for Sidewalk.

Karpel and Williams both point to two other sources that might provide competition -- or opportunities for expansion: suburban alternative papers and Generation X papers aimed at connecting with the cultural sensibilities and tastes of younger readers. In both cases, just as with Sidewalk, Seattle has been the proving ground with the suburban Eastsideweek and The Stranger with its twentysomething attitude. Alternative press publishers are certain to be watching the results.

Taken all together, these events point to the most significant changes in alternative weeklies for a generation. These papers survived the political and cultural lethargy of the 1970s with their alternative spirit intact. They've thrived as a voice for progressive thinking during the right-wing led by Ronald Reagan and Newt Gingrich. Now, the question is whether they can keep their integrity and independence in the face of another challenge: profitability, and the business machinations that accompany it.

Alternative Weekies

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