The ''Bugle'' or ''Bugle-American'' (the original name) was an

underground newspaper The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rec ...

based in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

. Distributed throughout the state from September 1970 to 1978, it was published weekly for most of that time for a total of 316 issues. The ''Bugle'', an early example of the alternative newsweekly genre, was less radical than the city's other underground newspaper, ''

Kaleidoscope A kaleidoscope () is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces (or mirrors) tilted to each other at an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of these mirrors are shown as a regular symmetrical pattern when v ...

'', although it was not viewed that way by the local media such as the ''

Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...

'' and ''

Milwaukee Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currentl ...

''. The paper was founded by

Denis Kitchen Denis Kitchen (born August 27, 1946) is an Americans, American underground comix, underground cartoonist, publisher, author, agent, and the founder of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Early life Kitchen grew up in Wisconsin, attending William ...

, Dave Schreiner, Mike Hughes, Mike Jacobi and Judy Jacobi, some of them former

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

students at the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a public urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropolitan area and a member of the University of Wiscon ...

. The tongue-in-cheek name was inspired by that of the ''

Daily Bugle The ''Daily Bugle'' (at one time ''The DB'') is a fictional New York City tabloid newspaper appearing as a plot element in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The ''Daily Bugle'' is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, mos ...

'', the fictional newspaper published by Spider-Man-hater

J. Jonah Jameson John Jonah Jameson Jr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and ...

. Because of Kitchen's interest in

underground comics Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

, the ''Bugle'' featured a comics page with the works of both local artists like Kitchen, Jim Mitchell, Don Glassford,

Bruce Walthers Bruce Walthers von Alten (born 1944) is an American underground cartoonist. Also known as Bruce von Alten, Walthers was part of the late-1960s/early-1970s Milwaukee underground comix scene and a member of the Krupp Comics/ Kitchen Sink group, w ...

, and Wendel Pugh, and work by nationally known artists like

Robert Crumb Robert Dennis Crumb (; born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contem ...

. For a time Kitchen syndicated these strips to about fifty college and alternative papers around the country. On February 22, 1975, the ''Bugle's'' office on Bremen Street in the Riverwest neighborhood was firebombed. About the same time, the car of ''Kaleidoscope's'' editor John Kois was also bombed. The newspaper's next issue, delayed a week, was aided by financial support from such fans as George Reedy,

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

and

Bryan Ferry Bryan Ferry CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ''The Independent'', Ferry and ...

. Neither bombing was ever solved; many suspected involvement by the

Milwaukee Police Department The Milwaukee Police Department is the police department organized under the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The department has a contingent of about 1,800 sworn officers when at full strength and is divided into seven districts. Jeffrey B. Norm ...

Red Squad In the United States, Red Squads were police intelligence units that specialized in infiltrating, conducting counter-measures and gathering intelligence on political and social groups during the 20th century. Dating as far back as the Haymarket ...

.Armstrong, David. ''A Trumpet to Arms: Alternative Media in America'' (Houghton Mifflin, 1981), p. 148-149 ''et seq.'' Veterans of the ''Bugle'' (in addition to Kitchen) include Tony Capaccio (later editor of ''

Jane's Defence Weekly ''Jane's Defence Weekly'' (abbreviated as ''JDW'') is a weekly magazine reporting on military and corporate affairs, edited by Peter Felstead. It is one of a number of military-related publications named after John F. T. Jane, an Englishman w ...

''),

Greg Kot Greg Kot (born March 3, 1957) is an American music journalist and author. From 1990 until 2020, Kot was the rock music critic at the ''Chicago Tribune'', where he covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and busines ...

(the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

s pop music critic since 1990), Rob Fixmer (later technology news editor of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''), Gary Peterson, and

Peter James Spielmann Peter James Spielmann (born 1952) is a veteran reporter in the foreign service of The Associated Press, and is an editor and supervisor on AP's North America desk. He taught at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism from 1989–93 ...

of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

References

{{reflist Publications established in 1970 Publications disestablished in 1978 Alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States Underground culture 1970 establishments in Wisconsin

See also

References