For more than a decade, Adam Bubolz and his friends have championed Twin Cities underground bands on their website, Reviler.org, without collecting a dime. Not that they have much of a choice.
The demise last month of City Pages, which had been in publication since 1979, was a stark reminder that alternative journalism — covering artists and news stories that slip under the radar of mainstream media — is an endangered species.
The loss of advertising due to the pandemic hasn't helped.
By late March, more than three dozen alternative weeklies nationwide had announced significant layoffs, pleaded for donations from readers or ceased publication, according to a study by Nieman Journalism Lab.
Star Tribune Media Co., which had owned City Pages for the past five years, blamed the current economic crisis for its decision to close up shop. The majority of the publication's advertising relied on restaurants and entertainment venues that have largely stopped spending for most of the year.
"While City Pages has retained a strong brand in our market, the profound disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic have made it economically unviable," Mike Klingensmith, chief executive of Star Tribune Media, said in a note to employees.
The loss could provide an opportunity for other local entrepreneurs to fill the gap in local arts coverage. Don't expect Reviler to be one of them.
"We just write about things we want to turn people on to," said Bubolz, who works for a printer manufacturer when he isn't shooting concerts at small venues like 7th Street Entry. "There's no pressure to be the local outlet that covers music everyone is talking about."
