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Apparently the Alibi is no more. The sale to Pat Davis fell apart, according to the Journal. He is starting something called the Paper, with some of the Alibi staffers.
I am sorry to see the Alibi go, although I was only a reader for four of its 28 years. The writing was all over the road quality wise, the editing watery and the politics collegiate, but that's what most alt-weeklies are all about.
The paper had heart and was an entertaining read. It will be missed for myriad reasons, including the event listings, pot news coverage and restaurant reviews. I usually read the local politics stuff with interest ... and skepticism.
Best of luck to the staff who deserve better after all that hard work.
Interested to see what longtime readers have to say.
As someone who started reading the Alibi when I was in high school, before it was even the Alibi, I'm very sad about this news. So many good local writers were on deck for the Alibi at some point during their careers, from foodies like Gwen Doland to Simon Romero, who now writes for the NY Times. They were a major cultural (counter-cultural?) force in Albuquerque from the mid-90s to at least the last 2000s, organizing music festivals, restaurant events, and so on, and the vigorous local music and art scenes of those days owed a lot to their patronage. I could be wrong, but the elevation of "Burque" from very localized Chicano slang to near-universal hipster moniker for the city is one of the most noticeable things the Alibi could probably take credit for.
In recent years the paper was definitely a shadow of its former self in both page length and quality, but they still had some good writers and their creativity and general sensibility will be missed. From the Don Schrader letters to the pot reviews to the (still surprisingly decent) political and cultural writing, they were pretty unique in a way that few other local print institutions can claim. We'll see what Pat Davis comes up with, but somehow I doubt it'll be the same...
It was really a go-to for cultural events and happenings around the city as well as restaurants and some interesting opinion articles. Although I didn't necessarily go in 100% on all the content, a major chunk of it is irreplaceable without a similar format. I mean, I can go on the internet and get a movie time here and a restaurant review there, but the Alibi/NuCity was really a composite reflection of the city, like a snapshot of the week.
I'm surprised it stayed afloat as long as it did-- even The Village Voice collapsed two years ago.
I pretty much stopped reading Weekly Alibi regularly over 10 years ago, there was so little content, what was left was juvenile, mostly ads and "Best of Burque" contests to generate more ad revenue seemingly in every other issue. No point in continuing. Santa Fe Reporter is somewhat better.
I'm surprised it stayed afloat as long as it did-- even The Village Voice collapsed two years ago.
I pretty much stopped reading Weekly Alibi regularly over 10 years ago, there was so little content, what was left was juvenile, mostly ads and "Best of Burque" contests to generate more ad revenue seemingly in every other issue. No point in continuing. Santa Fe Reporter is somewhat better.
I agree that the amount of content suffered, but I still enjoyed restaurant reviews, letters to the editor, and some other stuff.
As for the content being juvenile, though you may have gotten older (haven't we all?), there are still juveniles in Albuquerque. It would be nice if they still had a media source directed at their interests.
As for the content being juvenile, though you may have gotten older (haven't we all?), there are still juveniles in Albuquerque. It would be nice if they still had a media source directed at their interests.
The "juvenile" population is not reading print/magazines. They're all online, with maybe only a small subset of hipsters running around with their film cameras and typewriters. Print media outside of major population hubs is a dying/dead platform. Twas' inevitable.
I'm surprised it stayed afloat as long as it did-- even The Village Voice collapsed two years ago.
I pretty much stopped reading Weekly Alibi regularly over 10 years ago, there was so little content, what was left was juvenile, mostly ads and "Best of Burque" contests to generate more ad revenue seemingly in every other issue. No point in continuing. Santa Fe Reporter is somewhat better.
Yeah, their page count had dwindled to nearly nothing compared to their glory days. Their movie and music reviews and political writing were still worth reading right up to the end, however: a great, in-depth City Council Watch column and some very good, in-depth interviews with local pols and candidates. Here's hoping that content is part of whatever finds its way to a new outlet.
Yeah, their page count had dwindled to nearly nothing compared to their glory days. Their movie and music reviews and political writing were still worth reading right up to the end, however: a great, in-depth City Council Watch column and some very good, in-depth interviews with local pols and candidates. Here's hoping that content is part of whatever finds its way to a new outlet.
True, there were some good tidbits to be gleaned here and there. Still, I find it concerning that a member of the City Council will be picking up the pieces and starting a new rag-- even though I'm on Pat Davis's "team", it's not a good look. I'd like an alternative weekly to be truly independent. Readers should question his motives. He has no background in journalism, does he?
Still, I find it concerning that a member of the City Council will be picking up the pieces and starting a new rag-- even though I'm on Pat Davis's "team", it's not a good look. I'd like an alternative weekly to be truly independent. Readers should question his motives. He has no background in journalism, does he?
And I am on the anti-Pat Davis team, but I doubt any weekly he comes up with could be more partisan than the Alibi was, particularly in its later years.
True, there were some good tidbits to be gleaned here and there. Still, I find it concerning that a member of the City Council will be picking up the pieces and starting a new rag-- even though I'm on Pat Davis's "team", it's not a good look. I'd like an alternative weekly to be truly independent. Readers should question his motives. He has no background in journalism, does he?
I am certainly questioning his motives, and it will be very telling to see what kind of coverage the new paper extends to the city council. I'm also "on his team" in at least a broad sense and I agree, it's not a good look.
He has no training in journalism as far as I'm aware, but he played a key role in getting the New Mexico Political Report off the ground; they do a pretty good job for an online non-profit at providing coverage for a lot of local issues. The Political Report is probably left-leaning to an extent, but not in a baldly partisan, dogmatic way.
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