Slog - Comments on Chapter 11 Loafing http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing Last week, Atlanta-based alt-weekly chain Creative Loafing (recent purchasers of the Chicago Reader and Washington City Paper) filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Atlanta Magazine has a grim look at the perfect storm of bad news that hit the company in the last three months (declining ad sales, rising gas prices, tanking economy, etc.) as well as its probable future (spoiler alert: online content aggregation!): Unfortunately, the purchase of the Chicago and D.C. papers couldn’t have come at a worse time. The housing market was crashing, which cut advertising revenues by up to fifteen percent. “It wasn’t the nightclubs or the... Copyright 2008 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:51:49 -0800 Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:29:54 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Scott in Chi-town If the Chicago Reader goes, that would double suck.

]]> Scott in Chi-town http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167265 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167265 Media Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:06:48 -0800 Comment by tomasyalba I am going to start clicking like mad on all you guys's online ads. Like. Mad.

]]> tomasyalba http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167268 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167268 Media Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:09:46 -0800 Comment by Rich Creative Loafing has gutted the content of the DC and Chicago papers-comics, columns, etc. Historically, they have run sunbelt papers that do little investigative reporting and which pull punches locally. The DC and Chicago papers historically, have been more like real alt weeklies.

The papers never should have sold, at least not to Creative Loafing, which not long ago went through an acrimonious family fight and really could not take on the debt that camewith this acquisition. The head of Creative Loafing is a platitude spewing mediocrity, who fit the profile of the papers quite well. He and his siblings wrested control from their mother who was more visionary, but apparently a piece of work.

]]> Rich http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167269 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167269 Media Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:10:11 -0800 Comment by Sweeney Agonistes What #3 said. Creative Loafing is no great loss.

]]> Sweeney Agonistes http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167279 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167279 Media Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:24:43 -0800 Comment by sw I've lived in DC since 2001. Pre-CL City Paper versus post-CL City Paper is not even close: Creative Loafing virtually destroyed DC's alt weekly (Chicago's too, from what I've heard).

It was terrible to watch. Cut backs, redesign, and now cover stories that read like blog posts when the paper used to do pretty great long-form stuff journalism.

Sad shit.

]]> sw http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167300 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167300 Media Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:35:31 -0800 Comment by jon c i've been in d.c. 2 yrs, so i can't compare pre- and post- creative loafing, but the current d.c. city paper is the worst alt weekly i've ever read. all whiney fluff pieces.

]]> jon c http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167318 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167318 Media Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:50:31 -0800 Comment by elswinger Maybe this will make room for real alternative papers in those areas.

]]> elswinger http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167321 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167321 Media Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:51:18 -0800 Comment by Rich DC has many weeklies, but in different molds from City paper--neighborhood fouced or population focused like the Blade and the bar-rag Metro. Perhaps, one of these could cscale up and take the City Paper's place. The Blade is already owned by another Atlanta operation--one associated with the laothsome Chris Crain. The best thing that could happen would be for local papers to have locla owners again.

]]> Rich http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167336 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167336 Media Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:57:51 -0800 Comment by sw @6

Agreed. And outside of CL coming in, I'm just not sure what happened. Resources are resources, but damn, it's not like the staff writers are pumping out short copy every issue. Go find a good story.

It didn't always used to be that way.

]]> sw http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167394 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167394 Media Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:32:50 -0800 Comment by nightlifejitters Yesterday, Arizona's third largest newspaper, the East Valley Tribune, which serves Mesa, Scottsdale and Tempe, cut 40% of its staff, and announced it would only publish 4 days a week. Also, it will now be free in print.

]]> nightlifejitters http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167406 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167406 Media Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:42:31 -0800 Comment by Cat in Chicago YIPE! Nooooo! Not the READER! Holy Shit! *breathe* Okay, the Reader has sucked since they took it over - NEXT!

Um, how are the Stranger's finances looking?

]]> Cat in Chicago http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167428 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167428 Media Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:53:04 -0800 Comment by Tom X. PDX If anyone wants to bother clicking the link, the San Francisco Bay Guardian's Tim Redmond offers an explanation for why the Reader sold itself to Creative Loafing in the first place.

http://www.sfbg.com/blogs/politics/2007/07/new_rumblings_in_the_alternati.html

So, with that said, I prefer having a Reader that is a shadow of itself to the "Chicago New Times."

]]> Tom X. PDX http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167586 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/chapter_11_loafing#c1167586 Media Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:29:54 -0800