Indy Week
{{Short description|Newspaper in Durham, North Carolina}}
{{About|the North Carolina newspaper|the Australian newspaper|The Independent Weekly}}
{{Infobox newspaper
| name = Indy Week
| logo = File:Indy Week Logo.png
| image = Independent Weekly.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = Independent Weekly stand in coffee shop on Hillsborough St, Raleigh NC
| type = Alternative weekly
| format = Tabloid
| foundation = April 1983
| ceased publication =
| price =
| owners = ZM INDY, Inc.
| publisher = John Hurld
| language = English
| circulation = 25,000 (as of 2019)
| headquarters = P.O. Box 1772 Durham, NC 27702
United States
| ISSN = 0737-8254
| website = {{URL|indyweek.com}}
}}
Indy Week, formerly known as the Independent Weekly and originally the North Carolina Independent, is a tabloid-format alternative weekly newspaper published in Durham, North Carolina, United States, and distributed throughout the Research Triangle area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and Cary) and counties (Wake County, Durham County, Orange County, and Chatham County). Its first issue was published in April 1983.
Indy Week is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsmedia{{cite web|title=Newsweekly Directory: Independent Weekly (NC)|publisher=Association of Alternative Newsmedia|url=http://www.altweeklies.com/aan/independent-weekly-nc/Company?oid=41|access-date=November 18, 2012}} and has a progressive, liberal political perspective. The Columbia Journalism Review has cited the newspaper for its "spine of steel."{{Cite journal|last=Schoonmaker|first=Mary Ellen|date=November 1987|title=Has the alternative press gone yuppie?|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=11880278&site=ehost-live&scope=site|journal=Columbia Journalism Review|volume=26|pages=60–64|via=EBSCOhost}} The print edition is published on Wednesdays.
History
The paper was founded in 1983 by Steve Schewel and was originally published as the North Carolina Independent and was bi-weekly. Its publisher was Carolina Independent Publications, Inc.{{cite web|title=Collection Number 05319: Independent Weekly Records, 1982-2004|url=http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/i/Independent_Weekly.html|work=Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library|publisher=University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill|access-date=November 18, 2012}} It was renamed the Independent effective March 1985. In April 1988 the Independent published endorsements of state political candidates for the upcoming Democratic Party's primary election. The paper admonished its readers not to vote for state senator Harold Hardison and in response a member of Hardison's campaign organization collected approximately 7,000 copies of the paper from newsstands in downtown Raleigh and dumped them in the trash.{{sfn|Milstein|1988|p=8}} The Independent identified the person responsible and reported the story in its next edition. The story was reported by media across North Carolina, raising the newspaper's public profile.{{sfn|Milstein|1988|p=9}} In 1989, publication was changed to weekly, and the name altered to the Independent Weekly.
In September 2002, Carolina Independent Publications acquired the area's other major weekly, the Spectator, from Creative Loafing Inc. Founded in 1978 by Godfrey Cheshire and others in Raleigh,{{cite web | url=http://www.rogerebert.com/contributors/godfrey-cheshire | title=Godfrey Cheshire Biography & Movie Reviews | work=RogerEbert.com | access-date=November 19, 2016}} the Spectator had been owned by Creative Loafing since 1997 and was well known for its coverage of the arts; the name lived on as the name of the Independent's calendar of events.{{cite web|title=Triangle publications Independent, Spectator to merge|publisher=Triangle Business Journal|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2002/08/12/daily31.html}}
In 2010, the Independent presented the inaugural Hopscotch Music Festival in downtown Raleigh. The three-day annual event happens in September and features local, national and international bands.
On September 27, 2012, the Independent Weekly was purchased by ZM INDY, Inc., whose owners, Mark Zusman and Richard Meeker, also own Willamette Week.[http://jimromenesko.com/2012/08/24/why-willamette-week-bought-independent-weekly/ Why Willamette Week bought Independent Weekly] The name of the newspaper and website was changed to Indy Week.{{cite news|last1=Meeker|first1=Richard|last2=Harper|first2=Susan|title=Welcome to the new Indy Week and indyweek.com|newspaper=Independent Weekly/Indy Week|date=October 3, 2012|url=http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/welcome-to-the-new-indy-week-and-indyweekcom/Content?oid=3162185|access-date=November 18, 2012|archive-date=October 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028194435/http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/welcome-to-the-new-indy-week-and-indyweekcom/Content?oid=3162185|url-status=dead}}
On June 11, 2020, Jeffrey Billman was fired from his position as Editor. The stated reason was that he had failed to follow up on a sexual misconduct tip regarding a local restaurant that had been brought to his attention in May 2019. Possibly prompting the dismissal, the edit and design staff released a letter stating their unwillingness to work for Billman going forward.{{Cite web|title=A letter from @indyweek staff|url=https://twitter.com/leightauss/status/1270834401740496902|access-date=2020-06-17|website=Twitter|language=en}}
Jane Porter started as Editor-in-Chief in January 2021.
In 2023, the newspaper's owners entered a contract with The Assembly, a two-year-old digital newsmagazine focused on North Carolina, to help manage the Indy Week's business operations, with the option of acquiring it in the future.{{Cite web |last=Eanes |first=Zachery |date=May 4, 2023 |title=The Assembly marks large partnership with Indy Week |url=https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2023/05/04/the-assembly-is-acquiring-indy-week |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=Axios |language=en}}
Awards
The paper's reporters have won several major awards, including the George Polk Award,{{Cite web|url=http://liu.edu/George-Polk-Awards/Past-Winners#1990|title=Past Winners [of the George Polk Awards, 1990] {{!}} LIU|website=liu.edu|access-date=2019-01-25}} the Investigative Reporters and Editors Award (finalist),{{Cite web|url=https://www.ire.org/awards/ire-awards/winners/1998-ire-award-winners|title=1998 IRE Award winners|website=IRE|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-25|archive-date=2019-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126001603/https://www.ire.org/awards/ire-awards/winners/1998-ire-award-winners|url-status=dead}} the Green Eyeshade Award for the South's best journalism (grand prize, 1993; second place, 2004, 2005 & 2019),{{Cite web|url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1993/03/22/three-times-publishing-journalists-win-awards/|title=Three Times Publishing journalists win awards|website=Tampa Bay Times|access-date=2024-05-30}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.spj.org/news.asp?ref=426|title=SPJ Announces the 2004 Green Eyeshade Award Recipients|website=www.spj.org|access-date=2019-01-25}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.spj.org/news.asp?ref=573|title=SPJ Announces the 2005 Green Eyeshade Award Recipients|website=www.spj.org|access-date=2019-01-25}} the Baltimore Sun{{'}}s H.L. Mencken Writing Award,{{Cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1992-11-21-1992326032-story.html|title=THE H.L. Mencken Writing Award this year [1992].|last=Sun|first=Baltimore|date=November 14, 1992|website=baltimoresun.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-25}} and the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism.{{Cite web|url=https://indyweek.com/api/content/a5c60830-3bfc-5662-b0f7-a3a8eb5277a5/|title=Real winners|last=Hart|first=Richard|date=2007-06-20|website=INDY Week|language=en-us|access-date=2019-01-25}}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
See also
- The Santa Fe Reporter, also published by Richard Meeker and Mark Zusman
- Willamette Week (Willamette, OR), also published by Meeker & Zusman.
References
{{reflist}}
Works cited
- {{cite journal| last = Milstein| first = Michael| title = The Silver Volvo Newspaper Heist| journal = Columbia Journalism Review| volume = 27| issue = 2| pages = 8–10| date = July 1988}}
External links
- {{official website|http://www.indyweek.com}}
{{Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Area}}
Category:Alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States
Category:Mass media in Durham, North Carolina
Category:Weekly newspapers published in North Carolina
Category:Independent newspapers published in the United States
Category:Newspapers established in 1983