The ''Shepherd Express'' is an

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 ...

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sport ...

published 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 ...

History

The paper originated in May 1982 as the ''Crazy Shepherd'', its name derived from a line in

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Genera ...

’s poem “Footnotes to

Howl Howl most often refers to: *Howling, an animal vocalization in many canine species *Howl (poem), a 1956 poem by Allen Ginsberg Howl may also refer to: Film * ''The Howl'', a 1970 Italian film * ''Howl'' (2010 film), a 2010 American arthouse b ...

” (”Holy the crazy shepherds of rebellion”). Its founders were a group of

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 ...

students, among them Jeff Hansen, Doug Hissom and Joe Porubcan, who operated it from a series of rented flats near the campus. After appearing sporadically, the ''Crazy Shepherd'' eventually settled into a monthly schedule. Several of its founders went on to careers in the news media, including Jim McCarter, publisher of the ''Metro Times'' in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

; Bill Conroy, editor of the ''

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

Business Journal''; and Bill Lueders, news editor at ''

Isthmus An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthm ...

'' in Madison. Other key co-founders include Jack Gladden, who helped find the money to publish the first edition of the paper; Karen Gerrity and Kurt Buss, who helped to write and edited the early editions; and Jeff Worman, the paper's art director, who penned the science-fiction''Hourly Why'' column as well produced the Zeal at Zero cartoons along with illustrations and spoofs. In 1987 the ''Shepherd Express'' was formed in a merger with the ''Express'', a monthly music paper founded in 1979 by

Kevn Kinney Kevin Kinney, known professionally as Kevn Kinney (born March 12, 1961),"The Baseball Project at Wux ...

and David Luhrssen. Kinney went on to form the rock band Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

. Luhrssen returned to the ''Shepherd Express'' in late 1994 as arts and entertainment editor, a position he still holds. The Shepherd Express also received national media attention after Timothy W. Maier wrote a series of articles about former Milwaukee Police Officer Lawrencia (Bambi) Bembenek. The series of articles produced new evidence questioning the conviction of one of Wisconsin's most famous inmates. During the late 1980s to mid-1990s, its publisher was Martin "Marty" Genz and the Genz family were the newspaper's majority stockholders. In 1994, employees arranged for an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), which resulted in Genz and associate publisher and advertising director Dane Claussen leaving the newspaper and the Genz family selling its ownership stake. The paper was known from 1999 to 2000 as ''Shepherd Express Metro'', after absorbing a short-lived weekly called the ''Metro''. The ''Shepherd Express'' has been published since 1997 by

Louis Fortis Louis G. Fortis (born April 5, 1947) is an American economist, educator, and newspaper publisher-editor who served three terms as a Democratic member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from Milwaukee County. Background Fortis was born in Chi ...

, an economist and former member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms ...

. Fortis assumed the role of editor in 2000.

References

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External links

Shepherd Express
Newspapers published in Wisconsin Mass media in Milwaukee Alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States