Washington City Paper

The Washington City Paper
TypeAlternative weekly
Formatonline newspaper
OwnerMark Ein
EditorAlexa Mills
Founded1981; 45 years ago (1981) (as 1981)
Headquarters734 15th St. NW, Suite 400
Washington, D.C., U.S. 20005
Circulation68,059 weekly in 2011
Websitewashingtoncitypaper.com

The Washington City Paper is an American alternative weekly newspaper founded in 1981 to serve the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. The newspaper is focused on local news and arts. In 2006, when the City Paper was a print publication distributed on Thursdays, it had an average circulation of 85,588. It was purchased in 2017 by Mark Ein and became an online-only publication after May 6, 2022.

History

The Washington City Paper was started in 1981 by Russ Smith and Alan Hirsch, the owners of the Baltimore City Paper. For its first year it was called 1981: Washington's Alternative Newspaper. The name was changed to City Paper in January 1982 and in December 1982 Smith and Hirsch sold 80% of it to Chicago Reader, Inc. In 1988, Chicago Reader, Inc. acquired the remaining 20% interest. In July 2007 both the Washington City Paper and the Chicago Reader were sold to the Tampa-based Creative Loafing chain. In 2012, Creative Loafing Atlanta and the Washington City Paper were sold to SouthComm Communications.

Amy Austin, the longtime general manager, was promoted to publisher in 2003. Michael Schaffer was named editor in April 2010, two months after Erik Wemple resigned to run the local startup TBD.

On December 21, 2017, D.C.-area venture capitalist and philanthropist Mark Ein announced that he would buy the City Paper and became the first D.C.-based owner in the paper's history. To ensure the paper's long-term success, Ein created two groups: "Alumni Group" and "Friends of Washington City Paper."

Defamation lawsuit

In 2011, Daniel Snyder, the owner of the Washington Redskins, sued the City Paper for The Cranky Redskins Fan's Guide to Dan Snyder, a November 19, 2010, cover story that portrayed him in a negative light. He and the Simon Wiesenthal Center claimed that the story used antisemitic tropes. Prominent sports journalists, Jewish groups, and Jewish writers published sharp criticism of these claims, calling them "breathtakingly dumb allegation", "almost unbearably stupid", and "so self-evidently lacking in merit".

In an February 2011 editorial, City Paper editors said, "But we at City Paper take accusations of anti-Semitism seriously—in part because many of us are Jewish, including staffers who edited the story and designed the cover. So let us know, Mr. Snyder, when you want to fight the real anti-Semites." Publisher Amy Austin also wrote that the article didn't say that Snyder himself had performed unauthorized switching of long-distance accounts by Snyder Communications and GTE Communications, but that rather his employees had.

Hundreds of loyal readers donated more than $30,000 to a legal defense fund.

In December 2010, Washington, D.C., passed anti-SLAPP legislation. In September 2011 the lawsuit was dropped. David Donovan, the Redskins' former chief operating officer and general counsel, had "threatened an expensive legal battle unless Snyder received a retraction and an apology".

Contents

Front page of the last printed issue of the Washington City Paper: Volume 42, No. 7, May 6, 2022


An empty Washington City Paper dispenser at Huntington metro station

Regular City Paper features include:

Also published is one syndicated feature:

Notable former staffers

Notes

  1. ↑ Originally titled 1981: Washington's Alternative Newspaper and titled the City Paper between 1982–1988, and still informally known by the latter name

References

  1. ↑ "Annual Audit Report, December 2011". Larkspur, Calif.: Verified Audit Circulation. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "City Paper (Washington, D.C.) 1982-1988". Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
  3. 1 2 Lowman, Stephen (August 9, 2009). "City Talk: The key players of Washington's influential and controversial weekly paper look back on its legacy". Washington Post. Retrieved October 19, 2012.
  4. ↑ Celeste, Eric (July 3, 2012). "Nashville-based media company SouthComm acquires Creative Loafing Atlanta and Washington City Paper". Clatl.com. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  5. ↑ Shott, Chris (April 27, 2010). "Michael Schaffer is New Editor of Washington City Paper". Washington City Paper. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  6. ↑ Mills, Alexa (December 21, 2017). "Long Live City Paper". Washington City Paper. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  7. ↑ Shapiro, Ari (December 22, 2017). "'Washington City Paper' Will Continue To Offer Local News With New Owner". NPR.org. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  8. ↑ Beaujon, Andrew (December 21, 2017). "Mark Ein Buys Washington City Paper". Washingtonian. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  9. ↑ "To Our Readers". February 2, 2011.
  10. ↑ McKenna, Dave (November 19, 2010). "The Cranky Redskins Fan's Guide to Dan Snyder". Washington City Paper. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  11. ↑ Schaffer, Michael (February 2, 2011). "Snyder Sues". Washington City Paper. Michael Schaffer. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  12. ↑ Kaminer, Michael (February 8, 2011). "NFL Owner Enlists Wiesenthal Center After Being Ridiculed". The Forward. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  13. ↑ Courtland, Milloy (February 6, 2011). "Snyder's devil is in the details – and a name". Washington Post.
  14. ↑ "Wiesenthal Center Out-of-Bounds on Snyder". Tablet Magazine. February 3, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  15. ↑ Goldberg, Jeffrey (February 3, 2011). "Oh, Cut the Crap, Simon Wiesenthal Center!". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  16. ↑ Carr, David (February 6, 2011). "Dan Snyder's Odd Case Against Washington City Paper". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  17. ↑ "On the Matter of Dan Snyder's Horns". Washington City Paper. February 2, 2011. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  18. ↑ Austin, Amy (February 25, 2011). "Letter from the Publisher". Washington City Paper. Retrieved September 26, 2021. The story didn't actually say the things Snyder has claimed it does—like call him a criminal, or a user of illegal military chemicals, or mock his wife's battle against breast cancer. It did none of those things. In media interviews and in our own pages, City Paper editors have pointed this out repeatedly since the case was filed.
  19. 1 2 Farhi, Paul (September 10, 2011). "Redskins owner Dan Snyder drops lawsuit against Washington City Paper". Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 14, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Dan Snyder Lawsuit – The Story So Far". Washington City Paper. February 11, 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  21. ↑ Austin, Amy (February 24, 2011). "From the Publisher to Our Readers (And Dan Snyder)". Washington City Paper. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  22. ↑ "From the Publisher to Our Readers (And Dan Snyder)". Washington City Paper. Archived from the original on April 8, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Washington City Paper – D.C. Arts, News, Food and Living". www.washingtoncitypaper.com. Archived from the original on April 13, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Now Comes The District Of Columbia To Protest The Dumbassness Of Dan Snyder's Dumbass Libel Suit". Deadspin. Archived from the original on August 24, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  25. ↑ Alexander, Keith L. (August 2, 2011). "D.C. law unconstitutional, Dan Snyder argues in City Paper lawsuit". Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 3, 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  26. ↑ Alexander, Keith L. (August 31, 2011). "D.C. files motion in Daniel Snyder's lawsuit against the City Paper". Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 26, 2021. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  27. ↑ Ember, Sydney (July 3, 2011). "Readers Rally Around Washington City Paper". The New York Times. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  28. ↑ "Stand With City Paper". Washington City Paper. Archived from the original on April 7, 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Burke v. John Doe No. 1". ACLU of DC. December 31, 2016. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. In December of 2010, the D.C. Council passed (with our support) an Anti-SLAPP Act
  30. ↑ Sommer, Will. "Loose Lips - All About D.C. Politics". Washingtoncitypaper.com. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  31. ↑ Pipkin, Whitney. "Young & Hungry - D.C. Restaurants and Food". Washingtoncitypaper.com. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  32. ↑ Wiener, Aaron. "Housing Complex - D.C. Real Estate, Development, and Urbanism". Washingtoncitypaper.com. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
  33. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Lefrak, Mikaela (September 14, 2017). "The David Carr Generation". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  34. ↑ Coates, Ta-Nehisi (February 19, 2015). "In Memory of David Carr, Who Made Me a Journalist". The Atlantic. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  35. 1 2 3 4 Dixon, Glenn (July 14, 2015). "The Paper Where Ta-Nehisi Coates Learned the Ropes". The New Republic. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  36. ↑ "The 60-second interview: Erik Wemple, Washington Post media critic". Politico. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  37. ↑ Mullin, Benjamin (January 9, 2015). "Press critic Jack Shafer to join Politico". Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  38. ↑ "Amanda Hess to be Keynote Speaker at Raliance Media Summit". Poynter. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  39. ↑ Lynch, Matthew. "Deadspin hires Dave McKenna for the ESPN beat". Politico. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  40. ↑ "Food's New Contributing Writer". The New York Times Company. July 9, 2019. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  41. ↑ Scocca, Tom (February 2, 2011). "Washington NFL Owner Daniel Snyder Finds Another Embarrassing, No-Win Project to Spend His Money On". Slate. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  42. 1 2 3 "Who We Are". Slate. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  43. ↑ Roush, Chris (September 30, 2017). "Houston Chronicle econ reporter DePillis leaves for CNNMoney". Talking Biz News. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
  44. ↑ Beaujon, Andrew (June 2, 2017). "Three Ideas for Saving Washington City Paper*". Washingtonian. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  45. ↑ "Mike DeBonis joins congressional team". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  46. ↑ "AP hires Alan Suderman as Va. statehouse reporter". Associated Press. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  47. ↑ Roush, Chris (May 16, 2018). "Daily Beast hires Sommer to cover tech and digital culture". Talking Biz News. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  48. ↑ "Los Angeles Times Names Shani Hilton Deputy Managing Editor". Los Angeles Times. April 3, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  49. ↑ "Perry Stein". The Washington Post. September 10, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2022.