Westword
{{Short description|Newspaper in Denver, Colorado}}
{{For|the Alberta publication WestWord|Writers Guild of Alberta}}
{{Distinguish|Westworld}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2012}}
{{Infobox newspaper
| name = Westword
| image = File:Westword (cover).jpg
| caption =
| type = Alternative weekly
| format = Magazine
| foundation = {{Start date and age|1977}}
| ceased publication =
| price =
| owners = Voice Media Group
| publisher = Scott Tobias
| editor = Patricia Calhoun
| circulation = 67,520
| circulation_date = 2014
| circulation_ref = [http://abcas3.accessabc.com/ecirc/magtitlesearch.asp Alliance for Audited Media]
| headquarters = 1278 Lincoln St, Denver, Colorado, 80203, USA
| ISSN =
| website = {{URL|http://westword.com}}
}}
Westword is a free digital and print media publication based in Denver, Colorado. Westword publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circulates every Thursday. Westword has been owned by Voice Media Group since January 2013, when a group of senior executives bought out the previous owners.
Patricia Calhoun has been editor of Westword since she and two of her friends founded the publication in 1977. Calhoun and her former partners sold the newspapers to New Times Media in 1983.{{cite journal |last1= Vane |first1=Sharyn |date=November 1998 |title=Consider the Alternative |journal= American Journalism Review |url=https://ajrarchive.org/Article.asp?id=912|access-date=October 18, 2012}} In 2005, New Times Media acquired Village Voice Media, and took on the Village Voice Media name as part of a deal that created a group of 14 publications nationwide.{{cite news |title= The Village Voice, Pushing 50, Prepares to Be Sold to a Chain of Weeklies |author= Richard Siklos |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/24/business/24voice.html |newspaper= The New York Times |date= October 24, 2005|access-date=October 18, 2012}} In January 2013, former Village Voice Media executives Scott Tobias, Christine Brennan and Jeff Mars bought VVM's papers and associated web properties and formed Voice Media Group.{{cite web|title=Village Voice Media Execs Acquire The Company's Famed Alt Weeklies, Form New Holding Company|date=September 24, 2012 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2012/09/23/voice-media-group-acquisition/|publisher=Tech Crunch|access-date=27 September 2012}}
Westword has received several awards for investigative reporting and feature writing, including the 2017 Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for Chris Walker's story "Acid Trip".[https://www.westword.com/news/denvers-underground-lsd-labs-fueled-the-psychedelic-revolution-9644844 "Acid Trip: Denver's Secret LSD Labs Fueled the Psychedelic Revolution"] Westword.com
The publication's website, westword.com, offers daily news coverage along with comprehensive listings of music, arts and other events, along with restaurants and bar listings.
Best of Denver
Every year, Westword{{'}}s staff awards hundreds of Denver-area personalities, restaurants, bars and shops with its "Best of Denver" awards.
The newspaper also throws a yearly concert, the "Westword Music Showcase", which brings dozens of local bands along with national headlining acts to venues in the Golden Triangle. Westword also produces an annual list of Masterminds, people whose contribution to arts and culture in the Denver area deserve special recognition.[http://www.westword.com/2010-02-18/culture/celebrate-artpoia-and-westword-s-newest-masterminds/ Celebrate Artopia and Westword's newest MasterMinds] Westword.com
Other live events include Artopia, an annual celebration of the arts, Tacolandia, which features dozens of local taquerias and live music, and Feast, which focuses on the city’s entire food scene.
David Holthouse article
Westword ran a cover story on May 13, 2004, entitled "Stalking the Bogeyman" in which the 33-year-old journalist, David Holthouse, described being raped at the age of 7 by a 14-year-old at his home in Anchorage, Alaska. The attacker was not named but a picture and other details were printed. The article told of Holthouse's recently abandoned plans to belatedly kill his now grown-up attacker: "I was going to watch him writhe like a poisoned cockroach for a few seconds, then kick him onto his stomach and put three bullets in the back of his head. This time last year I had a gun, and a silencer, and a plan".{{cite web|last=Holthouse|first=David|title=Stalking the Bogeyman|url=http://www.westword.com/2004-05-13/news/stalking-the-bogeyman/|publisher=Westword|accessdate=23 January 2014}}
After the article was published, its author feared retaliation and asked a friend to follow the alleged attacker. The friend was arrested on suspicion of stalking on May 29, 2004. Holthouse's arrest soon followed. "Any charges against me are essentially charges of thought crimes," he said.[http://www.rcfp.org/node/92892 Reporter arrested on suspicion of stalking story subject] RCFP.org The alleged attacker and his wife declined to press charges.[http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3482069/detail.html Westword Reporter Won't Face Stalking Charges] The Denver Channel The article won a 2nd place in the annual awards of the Colorado Society of Professional Journalists.[http://m.rockymountainnews.com/news/2005/may/14/news-wins-36-awards-in-state-competition/ News wins 36 awards in state competition] Rocky Mountain News Holthouse's story has since been adapted into a stage play by the same name.{{cite web|title=Killer instinct|url=http://www.mountainx.com/article/52822/Killer-instinct|publisher=Mountain Express|accessdate=23 January 2014}}
Marijuana
In November 2009 Westword became the first magazine or newspaper worldwide to employ a medical marijuana critic.{{cite web |url=http://www.westword.com/2012-11-01/news/william-breathes-pot-critic/full/ |title=William Breathes looks back on three years as the country's first pot critic - - News - Denver - Westword |website=www.westword.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130327153629/http://www.westword.com/2012-11-01/news/william-breathes-pot-critic/full/ |archive-date=2013-03-27}} An anonymous contributor known by the pen name William Breathes contributed regular reviews of local marijuana dispensaries and began a column called "Ask a Stoner". Since that time, Westword has continued to be sympathetic to Colorado's growing recreational and medical marijuana movements, featuring ads for dispensaries in print editions and devoting an entire section of its website to covering the marijuana industry.{{Cite web|url=http://www.westword.com/mmj/|title = Denver Marijuana Guide | Cannabis News, Laws, Deals in Denver, CO}} Westword's current marijuana editor is Thomas Mitchell.
Westword MasterMind Awards
The Westword MasterMind Awards were started in 2005 to recognize and encourage the "aesthetic adventurers who are changing the cultural landscape" of Denver.{{Cite news|url=http://www.westword.com/news/mastermind-alumni-brainstorm-about-the-state-of-the-arts-in-denver-5107142|title=MasterMind alumni brainstorm about the state of the arts in Denver|last=Patricia|first=Calhoun|date=February 18, 2010|work=Westword}} The award comes with a no-strings attached cash grant. Katie Taft was awarded the Westworld Mastermind Award in 2006.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.westword.com Official site]
{{Voice Media Group}}
Category:1977 establishments in Colorado
Category:Alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States