Metro, Silicon Valley's Weekly Newspaper
Encyclopedia
Metro is a free weekly newspaper published by the San Jose, California
, based Metro Newspapers
. Also known as Metro Silicon Valley, the paper serves the greater Silicon Valley
area. In addition to print form, Metro can be downloaded, in PDF
format, for free from the publisher's website. Metro also keeps tabs on local politics and the "chattering" class of San Jose through its weekly column, The Fly.
The newspaper has been published since 1985 and is one of the remaining owner-operated publications in the alternative press. Its principal distribution area encompasses the cities of San Jose, Los Gatos, Campbell, Saratoga, Santa Clara
, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Milpitas, Mountain View, Los Altos and Palo Alto.
since 1985. Food critic Stett Holbrook edits the award-winning dining section. Steve Palopoli edited the publication from March 2005 until December 2008 and continued to edit music and special sections.
Metro has scooped the daily press on a number of major stories, including the office romance of San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales
in 2000 and the Santa Clara County Grand Jury's plans to indict Gonzales in June 2006.
The newspaper has helped launch the careers of several notable writers, including British television sensation Louis Theroux
, conspiracy authors Jonathan Vankin
and John Whalen, technology journalist Michael Learmonth and Vietnamese-American author Andrew Pham. It also published the writings of Michelle Goldberg
, six-word memoirist Larry Smith
and Dave Eggers
before they became published authors.
Virtual Valley
, a similar service with an emphasis on covering Silicon Valley communities, was launched the following year and helped put the city governments of San Jose, Milpitas and Los Gatos online. Also in 1994, Metro established Boulevards
, a network of city guides that pre-dated Citysearch
and Microsoft's short-lived "Sidewalk" service.
In 1995, Metro launched the online version of the newspaper on the Web under the brand Metroactive.
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
, based Metro Newspapers
Metro Newspapers
Metro Newspapers is an American newspaper company based in San Jose, California. It currently publishes three free alternative weekly newspapers in Northern California: Metro Silicon Valley, Santa Cruz Weekly and the North Bay Bohemian...
. Also known as Metro Silicon Valley, the paper serves the greater Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
area. In addition to print form, Metro can be downloaded, in PDF
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
format, for free from the publisher's website. Metro also keeps tabs on local politics and the "chattering" class of San Jose through its weekly column, The Fly.
The newspaper has been published since 1985 and is one of the remaining owner-operated publications in the alternative press. Its principal distribution area encompasses the cities of San Jose, Los Gatos, Campbell, Saratoga, Santa Clara
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. The city is the site of the eighth of 21 California missions, Mission Santa Clara de Asís, and was named after the mission. The Mission and Mission Gardens are located on the...
, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Milpitas, Mountain View, Los Altos and Palo Alto.
Entertainment and investigative journalism
Metro is largely read for its coverage of the San Jose region's culture and entertainment scene. It publishes an exhaustive arts section, which has been edited by Michael S. Gant since 1990. The arts and entertainment section includes calendar listings, music reviews, critical coverage of the performing and visual arts, as well as movie reviews and information. The newspaper has employed well-regarded film critic Richard von BusackRichard von Busack
Richard von Busack is a film reviewer based in San Jose, California. He has been writing for the San Jose Metro since 1985. He was also the co-host of CinemaScene, with poet Morton Marcus....
since 1985. Food critic Stett Holbrook edits the award-winning dining section. Steve Palopoli edited the publication from March 2005 until December 2008 and continued to edit music and special sections.
Metro has scooped the daily press on a number of major stories, including the office romance of San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales
Ron Gonzales
Ronald R. Gonzales is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party, who served as the 63rd Mayor of San Jose, California. Gonzales was the first Hispanic Mayor of San Jose since California became a U.S. state in 1850.-Career:...
in 2000 and the Santa Clara County Grand Jury's plans to indict Gonzales in June 2006.
The newspaper has helped launch the careers of several notable writers, including British television sensation Louis Theroux
Louis Theroux
Louis Sebastian Theroux is an English broadcaster best known for his Gonzo style journalism on the television series Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends and When Louis Met.... His career started off in journalism and bears influences of notable writers in his family such as his father, Paul Theroux and...
, conspiracy authors Jonathan Vankin
Jonathan Vankin
-Biography:Vankin was formerly a news editor of San Jose, California's Metro newspaper and is the author of several books and comics. He has also written for the TV series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven. His graphic novel, Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights was published in January, 2009...
and John Whalen, technology journalist Michael Learmonth and Vietnamese-American author Andrew Pham. It also published the writings of Michelle Goldberg
Michelle Goldberg
Michelle Goldberg is a Brooklyn-based journalist and the author of the books Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, and The Means of Reproduction: Sex, Power, and the Future of the World. She is formerly a contributing writer at Salon.com...
, six-word memoirist Larry Smith
Larry Smith (editor)
Larry Smith is an American author and editor, and publisher of SMITH Magazine. He is best-known for developing the "Six-Word Memoir" a literary subgenre that took on a life of its own in popular culture as publications began holding reader contests and publishing the results...
and Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers
Dave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...
before they became published authors.
Awards
Metro has received several awards for its work, including:- Three papers in the Metro Newspapers group won at the National Newspaper Association's 1995 contest, announced September 1996.
- Metro won two awards, for editorial cartooning and writing, at the California Newspaper Publishers AssociationCalifornia Newspaper Publishers AssociationThe California Newspaper Publishers Association is a nonprofit trade association founded in 1888 that represents the daily and weekly newspapers of California. Its diverse membership consists of over 500 newspapers that elect 35 individuals to its governing board of directors...
Better Newspapers Awards, July 1996 - Six papers in the Metro Newspapers group were honored for writing, editing and design at the California Newspaper Publishers AssociationCalifornia Newspaper Publishers AssociationThe California Newspaper Publishers Association is a nonprofit trade association founded in 1888 that represents the daily and weekly newspapers of California. Its diverse membership consists of over 500 newspapers that elect 35 individuals to its governing board of directors...
Better Newspapers Awards, July 1997. - Metro Silicon Valley won two awards, in lifestyle coverage and freedom of information, at the California Newspaper Publishers AssociationCalifornia Newspaper Publishers AssociationThe California Newspaper Publishers Association is a nonprofit trade association founded in 1888 that represents the daily and weekly newspapers of California. Its diverse membership consists of over 500 newspapers that elect 35 individuals to its governing board of directors...
Better Newspapers Awards, July 2004. - Metro Silicon Valley won two awards at the California Newspaper Publishers AssociationCalifornia Newspaper Publishers AssociationThe California Newspaper Publishers Association is a nonprofit trade association founded in 1888 that represents the daily and weekly newspapers of California. Its diverse membership consists of over 500 newspapers that elect 35 individuals to its governing board of directors...
Better Newspapers Awards, October 2008.
Early online player
Metro was an early participant in the online publishing revolution, launching the Livewire online service in 1993, one of the first online efforts by a non-daily newspaper publisher. The service offered free email accounts, online commerce, chats, posting forums and online articles.Virtual Valley
Virtual Valley
Virtual Valley was a free-access dial-up public Internet Service Provider/web publishing venture initiated by Metro Silicon Valley with content and promotional support from public television station KTEH and a grant of frame-relay Internet access from Pacific Bell . Operations commenced in 1994...
, a similar service with an emphasis on covering Silicon Valley communities, was launched the following year and helped put the city governments of San Jose, Milpitas and Los Gatos online. Also in 1994, Metro established Boulevards
Boulevards
Boulevards is a network of city guides on the Internet established in 1994 by Boulevards New Media Inc., an early digital media pioneer. It preceded other city guide networks such as Citysearch and Microsoft's now-defunct Sidewalk.com product, which launched under a similarly metaphorical brand and...
, a network of city guides that pre-dated Citysearch
Citysearch
Citysearch is an online city guide that provides information about businesses in the categories of dining, entertainment, retail, travel, and professional services in cities throughout the United States. Visitors to each of Citysearch's local city guides will find contact information, maps, driving...
and Microsoft's short-lived "Sidewalk" service.
In 1995, Metro launched the online version of the newspaper on the Web under the brand Metroactive.