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The Phoenix (newspaper)
Encyclopedia
The Phoenix is the name of several alternative weekly
newspaper
s published
in the United States
by Phoenix Media/Communications Group
of Boston, Massachusetts
including the Boston Phoenix, the Providence Phoenix, the Portland Phoenix and the now-defunct Worcester Phoenix. These papers emphasize local arts
and entertainment
coverage as well as lifestyle and political coverage from a liberal
perspective.
The papers are somewhat similar in format and editorial content to the Village Voice.
college newspapers were printed at the same printing firm, Hanlon's idea was to do a four-page single-sheet insert with arts coverage and ads. He began with the Harvard Business School
's newspaper,The Harbus News, and a student there, James T. Lewis, became Hanlon's ad manager.
Boston After Dark began March 2, 1966, and theater buff Larry Stark
began contributing theater reviews with the second issue. When the insert idea did not pan out, the trio continued Boston After Dark as a weekly free paper.
A year after the launch, Hanlon sold off his half to Lewis. For three years, Boston After Dark kept the four-page format, with Lewis as publisher, Jane Steidemann as editor, Stephen M. Mindich as ad salesman and Stark as full-time theater critic and copy editor, plus film reviews by Deac Rossell, who later went on to become head of programming at London's National Film Theatre.
, Lou Grant
, Nightmares and Dreamscapes).
Following a two-week writers' strike in August 1972, the Cambridge Phoenix was sold to Boston After Dark. Mindich's merger then became known as The Boston Phoenix, with Boston After Dark used as the name for the paper's arts and entertainment section. In the conflicts between writers and management, ousted writers immediately started another weekly, The Real Paper
(which began August 2, 1972 and continued until 1981), while management continued the Boston Phoenix.
In 1988, the company that owns the Phoenix, Phoenix Media/Communications Group
, bought a similar publication in neighboring Rhode Island
called the NewPaper, which is now the Providence Phoenix. In 1999, PM/CG branched out into Portland
, Maine
by creating the Portland Phoenix. That same year the nameplate
changed from Phoenix B.A.D. to The Boston Phoenix. From 1992 through 2000, there was also a Worcester
Phoenix, but it folded due to Worcester's dwindling arts market.
In 2005, the Phoenix underwent a major redesign, switching from a broadsheet
/Berliner
format to a tabloid format and introduced a new logo in order to increase its appeal to younger readers.
The Phoenix has a weekly circulation of 253,000, and its website features 90% of the paper's content, as well as extra content not included in the paper.
radio station WFNX
. The company currently owns stations serving Metro Boston, New Hampshire, and Maine. The radio stations cover the same music
, arts and political scene as the paper and sell to many of the same advertisers.
, including honors from the New England Press Association, the Penny-Missouri Newspaper Awards, the American Bar Association
Gavel Awards, and the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards.
In 1994, Phoenix classical music
writer Lloyd Schwartz
was awarded a Pulitzer Prize
for criticism.
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 local people and culture. Their news coverage is more...
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 published
Publishing
Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Phoenix Media/Communications Group
Phoenix Media/Communications Group
Phoenix Media/Communications Group is a Boston, Massachusetts corporation with several publishing and broadcasting interests. In addition to the Boston Phoenix, the Providence Phoenix and the Portland Phoenix, the company publishes a biweekly publication about Boston nightlife called Stuff and...
of Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
including the Boston Phoenix, the Providence Phoenix, the Portland Phoenix and the now-defunct Worcester Phoenix. These papers emphasize local arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
and entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
coverage as well as lifestyle and political coverage from a liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
perspective.
The papers are somewhat similar in format and editorial content to the Village Voice.
Origin
The Phoenix was founded in 1965 by Joe Hanlon, a former editor at MIT's student newspaper, The Tech. Since many Boston-areaGreater Boston
Greater Boston is the area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts surrounding the city of Boston. Due to ambiguity in usage, the size of the area referred to can be anywhere between that of the metropolitan statistical area of Boston and that of the city's combined statistical area which includes...
college newspapers were printed at the same printing firm, Hanlon's idea was to do a four-page single-sheet insert with arts coverage and ads. He began with the Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
's newspaper,The Harbus News, and a student there, James T. Lewis, became Hanlon's ad manager.
Boston After Dark began March 2, 1966, and theater buff Larry Stark
Larry Stark
Larry Stark is an American journalist and reviewer best known for his in-depth coverage of the Boston theater scene at his website, Theater Mirror. In newspapers and online, Stark has written hundreds of reviews of local productions and Broadway tryouts from 1962 to the present...
began contributing theater reviews with the second issue. When the insert idea did not pan out, the trio continued Boston After Dark as a weekly free paper.
A year after the launch, Hanlon sold off his half to Lewis. For three years, Boston After Dark kept the four-page format, with Lewis as publisher, Jane Steidemann as editor, Stephen M. Mindich as ad salesman and Stark as full-time theater critic and copy editor, plus film reviews by Deac Rossell, who later went on to become head of programming at London's National Film Theatre.
Expansion
As the paper expanded, Mindich acquired a half interest. Stark quit in 1972 and began reviewing for the rival Cambridge Phoenix, which had begun October 9, 1969. The first managing editor of the Cambridge Phoenix was April Smith, who later became a novelist (Good Morning, Killer) and TV writer-producer (Cagney & LaceyCagney & Lacey
Cagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988...
, Lou Grant
Lou Grant (TV series)
Lou Grant is an American television drama series starring Ed Asner in the titular role as a newspaper editor. Unusual in American television, this drama series was a spinoff from a sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Aired from 1977 to 1982, Lou Grant won 13 Emmy Awards, including "Outstanding Drama...
, Nightmares and Dreamscapes).
Following a two-week writers' strike in August 1972, the Cambridge Phoenix was sold to Boston After Dark. Mindich's merger then became known as The Boston Phoenix, with Boston After Dark used as the name for the paper's arts and entertainment section. In the conflicts between writers and management, ousted writers immediately started another weekly, The Real Paper
The Real Paper
The Real Paper was a Boston alternative weekly newspaper with a circulation of 50,000. It ran from August 2, 1972, to June 18, 1981, often devoting space to counterculture issues of the early 1970s. The offices were located on Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge, Massachusetts.The Cambridge Phoenix...
(which began August 2, 1972 and continued until 1981), while management continued the Boston Phoenix.
In 1988, the company that owns the Phoenix, Phoenix Media/Communications Group
Phoenix Media/Communications Group
Phoenix Media/Communications Group is a Boston, Massachusetts corporation with several publishing and broadcasting interests. In addition to the Boston Phoenix, the Providence Phoenix and the Portland Phoenix, the company publishes a biweekly publication about Boston nightlife called Stuff and...
, bought a similar publication in neighboring Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
called the NewPaper, which is now the Providence Phoenix. In 1999, PM/CG branched out into Portland
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in Maine and is the county seat of Cumberland County. The 2010 city population was 66,194, growing 3 percent since the census of 2000...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
by creating the Portland Phoenix. That same year the nameplate
Nameplate
A nameplate identifies and displays a person or product's name. Name plates are usually shaped as rectangles but are also seen in other shapes, sometimes taking on the shape of someone’s name...
changed from Phoenix B.A.D. to The Boston Phoenix. From 1992 through 2000, there was also a Worcester
Worcester, Massachusetts
Worcester is a city and the county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, as of the 2010 Census the city's population is 181,045, making it the second largest city in New England after Boston....
Phoenix, but it folded due to Worcester's dwindling arts market.
In 2005, the Phoenix underwent a major redesign, switching from a 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...
/Berliner
Berliner (format)
Berliner, or "midi", is a newspaper format with pages normally measuring about . The Berliner format is slightly taller and marginally wider than the tabloid/compact format; and is both narrower and shorter than the broadsheet format....
format to a tabloid format and introduced a new logo in order to increase its appeal to younger readers.
The Phoenix has a weekly circulation of 253,000, and its website features 90% of the paper's content, as well as extra content not included in the paper.
Radio
Over the years, PMCG acquired radio stations in Boston, Portland and Providence, notably the Boston alternative rockAlternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
radio station WFNX
WFNX
WFNX is a New England commercial alternative rock radio station. The station began broadcasting on Monday, April 11, 1983. It was one of the first American commercial stations to play alternative rock and has become a leading radio station for breaking new alternative music.WFNX broadcasts on 101.7...
. The company currently owns stations serving Metro Boston, New Hampshire, and Maine. The radio stations cover the same music
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, arts and political scene as the paper and sell to many of the same advertisers.
Awards
The Phoenix has received many awards for excellence in journalismJournalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, including honors from the New England Press Association, the Penny-Missouri Newspaper Awards, the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
Gavel Awards, and the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Awards.
In 1994, Phoenix classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
writer Lloyd Schwartz
Lloyd Schwartz
Lloyd Schwartz is an American poet who is Frederick S. Troy Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts Boston...
was awarded a Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for criticism.