''OC Weekly'' was a free
alternative weekly
An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting ...
paper distributed in
Orange County and
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...
. It was founded in September 1995 by Will Swaim, who acted as editor and publisher until 2007.
The paper was distributed at coffee shops, bookstores, clothing stores, convenience stores, and street boxes. ''OC Weekly'' printed art and entertainment listings for both Orange and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
counties. , it had a total circulation of 45,000 papers
with an estimated readership of 225,000.
On November 27, 2019, Duncan McIntosh Co. announced the immediate shutdown of the publication.
Content
The weekly highlighted content that critiqued local politics, personalities and culture and has been described as "what some people might politely call an edgy brand of journalism."
Popular features included: the syndicated column "
¡Ask a Mexican!", in which publisher Gustavo Arellano responded to reader questions about Latino stereotypes in an amusing
politically incorrect manner; an award-winning news blog called Navel Gazing; a food blog called "Stick a Fork in It"; and the award-winning investigative work of R. Scott Moxley, Nick Schou and Matt Coker.
Ownership
Duncan McIntosh Co., Fountain Valley, California, owned the publication along with ''Sea Magazine'', ''BoatingWorld'', ''The Log'', and ''
Editor & Publisher''.
The previous owner was
Voice Media Group and was a sister publication of the ''
LA Weekly
''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...
'' and ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...
''.
In January 2015, Voice Media Group offered the ''OC Weekly'' for sale.
Duncan McIntosh purchased the paper in 2016.
On November 27, 2019, Duncan McIntosh Co. announced the immediate shutdown of the publication.
Awards and reputation
For his newspaper work, the publisher
Gustavo Arellano
Gustavo Arellano (born February 3, 1979) is an American writer and journalist. He is a columnist for the ''Los Angeles Times'' and the former editor of Orange County's alternative weekly '' OC Weekly''. He is most notable as the author of the s ...
received a 2014 Distinguished Journalist Award from the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the
Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, lette ...
and the 2008 Spirit Award from the California Latino Legislative Caucus as well as awards from the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, the Los Angeles Press Club and the National Hispanic Media Coalition.
The ''OC Weekly'' articles frequently targeted conservative politicians and hypocrisies within the local establishment.
Exposés have led to felony indictments against two consecutive Huntington Beach mayors.
References
External links
OC Weekly.comNavel Gazing, OC Weekly's nigh-world-famous staff blogStick A Fork In It, The Weekly's food blogHeard Mentality, The Weekly's music blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oc Weekly
Alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States
Mass media in Orange County, California
Newspapers published in Greater Los Angeles
Newspapers established in 1995
1995 establishments in California
Weekly newspapers published in California