Street press
Encyclopedia
Street press is a term used to describe a certain type of publishing, between zine
s and magazine
s/newspaper
s in terms of distribution, content and audience. They are particularly prolific in Australia
, although there are also some examples from Europe
and North America
. Australian street press publish over 400,000 issues each week.
Street press publications are usually available free to the reader. They are distributed by being made available to passers-by at locations such as restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs, live music venues, community centres and record stores.
In order to financially support themselves, street press usually take on more advertisements and sponsorships than other forms of media. Most street press publications are printed on low-quality newspaper stock in order to reduce costs. Some of the bigger publications print their covers and first few pages in colour, a rarer few use glossy paper for their cover. Virtually none of them print more than a couple of pages in colour. The size varies widely, some are printed in broadsheet
format, some in tabloid format, and some in magazine
-sized format. Non-standard paper sizes are also common, especially in the more obscure publications.
Street press is usually also more professional in appearance and composition than zines, with established business structures and relatively mainstream content. Street press tends to have more mainstream, broad-appeal subject matter than zines, in order to attract sponsors, and increase readership.
Street press publications can cover a wide variety of topics, many are focused upon specific subject mater ot a target audience. Common topics include culture or entertainment topics, such independent or alternative music. Other niche publications might involve political satire
, gay and/or lesbian
issues, and film
.
Community newspapers
, delivered to households, usually weekly, which consist primarily of localised news, do not fall into this category. Such newspapers often resemble conventional newspapers focused on local content. In addition, street press usually covers only a specific area of interest, whereas community newspapers might cover a wide variety of topics.
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
s and magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s/newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s in terms of distribution, content and audience. They are particularly prolific in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, although there are also some examples from Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Australian street press publish over 400,000 issues each week.
Street press publications are usually available free to the reader. They are distributed by being made available to passers-by at locations such as restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs, live music venues, community centres and record stores.
In order to financially support themselves, street press usually take on more advertisements and sponsorships than other forms of media. Most street press publications are printed on low-quality newspaper stock in order to reduce costs. Some of the bigger publications print their covers and first few pages in colour, a rarer few use glossy paper for their cover. Virtually none of them print more than a couple of pages in colour. The size varies widely, some are printed in broadsheet
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
format, some in tabloid format, and some in magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
-sized format. Non-standard paper sizes are also common, especially in the more obscure publications.
Street press is usually also more professional in appearance and composition than zines, with established business structures and relatively mainstream content. Street press tends to have more mainstream, broad-appeal subject matter than zines, in order to attract sponsors, and increase readership.
Street press publications can cover a wide variety of topics, many are focused upon specific subject mater ot a target audience. Common topics include culture or entertainment topics, such independent or alternative music. Other niche publications might involve political satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
, gay and/or lesbian
Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures
Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures are subcultures and communities composed of persons who have shared experiences, background, or interests due to a common sexual or gender identity. Among the first to argue that members of sexual minorities can constitute cultural minorities as well as...
issues, and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
.
Community newspapers
Weekly newspaper
A weekly newspaper is a general-news publication that is published on newsprint once or twice a week.Such newspapers tend to have smaller circulations than daily newspapers, and are usually based in less-populous communities or small, defined areas within large cities; often, they may cover a...
, delivered to households, usually weekly, which consist primarily of localised news, do not fall into this category. Such newspapers often resemble conventional newspapers focused on local content. In addition, street press usually covers only a specific area of interest, whereas community newspapers might cover a wide variety of topics.