''City Pages'' was an

alternative newspaper 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 l ...

serving the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. It featured

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to event ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

and

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

reviews and

music criticism ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

, available free every Wednesday. It ceased publication in 2020 due to a decline in ads and revenue related to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

History

On August 1, 1979, publishers Tom Bartel and Kristin Henning debuted ''Sweet Potato'', a monthly newspaper focused on the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...

music scene. The first issue featured pop band

The Cars The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr ( bass guitar), Elliot Easton ( lead guitar), Greg Hawkes ( keyboar ...

on the cover. In October 1980, ''Sweet Potato'' went biweekly. On December 3, 1981, the newspaper went weekly and was renamed ''City Pages''. ''City Pages'' competed for readership with the '' Twin Cities Reader'' until 1997, when Stern Publishing purchased ''City Pages'' in March and the ''Twin Cities Reader'' the following day, shuttering it immediately. Bartel and Henning left ''City Pages'' in the fall of 1997. Tom Bartel's brother Mark was named publisher after Bartel and Henning's departure. ''City Pages'' was one of seven alternative weeklies owned by Stern, including the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

''. On October 24, 2005, New Times Media announced a deal to acquire Village Voice Media, creating a chain of 17 (now 16) free weekly newspapers around the country with a combined circulation of 1.8 million and controlling a quarter of the weekly circulation of alternative weekly newspapers in North America. After the deal's completion, New Times took the Village Voice Media name. In September 2012,

Village Voice Media Village Voice Media or VVM is a newspaper company. It began in 1970 as a weekly alternative newspaper in Phoenix. The company, founded by Michael Lacey (editor) and Jim Larkin (publisher), was then known as New Times Inc. (NTI) and the public ...

executives Scott Tobias, Christine Brennan and Jeff Mars bought Village Voice Media's papers and associated web properties from its founders and formed

Voice Media Group Voice Media Group (VMG) is an American privately held media company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. VMG owns several newspaper publications across the country. These offerings extend across print, mobile and digital marketing. VMG's current pr ...

. Web editor Jeff Shaw, food columnist

Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl is a food and wine writer, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Personal life Dara Moskowitz was born and raised in New York City and graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 1988. She got her start in the world of food as a ...

, staff writers Jonathan Kaminsky and Jeff Severns Guntzel, among others, left in 2008. On May 6, 2015, ''City Pages'' was sold to Star Tribune Media Co., publisher of the Minneapolis daily newspaper of the same name. Following the sale, Star Tribune Media Co. ceased publication of its competing publication, Vita.mn. On October 28, 2020, owner Star Tribune Media Co. said it would cease publication of ''City Pages'' immediately. The company said it could no longer sustain the newspaper after the

coronavirus outbreak Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the comm ...

forced closings and downsizings of the events, nightclubs, bars and restaurants that were its chief advertisers and financial base.

Notable alumni

Diablo Cody Brook Maurio (''née'' Busey; born June 14, 1978), known professionally by the pen name Diablo Cody, is an American writer and producer. She gained recognition for her candid blog and subsequent memoir, '' Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unl ...

– screenwriter, producer, author, journalist *

Will Hermes Will Hermes (born December 27, 1960 in Jamaica, Queens, New York City) is an American author, broadcaster, journalist and critic who has written extensively about popular music. He is a longtime contributor to ''Rolling Stone'' and to National Pu ...

– music journalist *

Jessica Hopper Jessica Hopper (born September 5, 1976) is an American writer. She published '' The First Collection of Criticism by a Living Female Rock Critic,'' a compilation of her essays, reported pieces, zines, and reviews, in May 2015. In 2018, she publis ...

– music journalist *

– food critic

Criticism

The publication has been criticized by

Minneapolis City Council The Minneapolis City Council is the lawmaking body of Minneapolis. It consists of 13 members, elected from separate wards to four-year terms, via a ranked-choice method. The council structure has been in place since the 1950s. In recent elections ...

member

Alondra Cano Alondra Cano (born September 26, 1981) is an American politician, activist, and former member of the Minneapolis City Council from the 9th Ward. Early life and education Cano was born in Cokato, Minnesota and raised in Chihuahua, Mexico befor ...

, who called a story about her "racist" and "sexist." In her 2015 memoir, musician

Carrie Brownstein Carrie Rachel Brownstein (born September 27, 1974) is an American musician, actress, writer, director, and comedian. She first came to prominence as a member of the band Excuse 17 before forming the rock trio Sleater-Kinney. During a long hiatu ...

asserted

sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers pri ...

in the paper's music coverage in the '90s, citing ''City Pages'' among "a representative sample of journalism about Sleater-Kinney. Most of these articles are actually trying to be complementary — the authors just fell into common traps and assumptions." In a 2016 interview with

Vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

, musician

Har Mar Superstar Sean Tillmann (born February 6, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He has performed and released studio albums as Sean Na Na and as a member of hardcore band Calvin Krime, but is best known for his work under the name Har Mar Super ...

criticized the paper for "trivializing my art by mentioning that I'm overweight and bald for no reason," saying the paper exhibited "really horrible writing and I guess bitter people."

References

External links

* {{Minnesota Newspapers Defunct newspapers published in Minnesota Alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States Newspapers established in 1979 1979 establishments in Minnesota 2020 disestablishments in Minnesota Publications disestablished in 2020

History

Notable alumni

Criticism

See also

References

External links