Changes Afoot at the City Paper

The New York Times is, for the first time in its history shrinking to the physical size of, say, USA Today, losing some of its swollen width and coverage, if none of its swollen ego.

Rupert Murdoch has just purchased the Wall Street Journal, heralding a new and thrilling era in dry reporting on futures.

And now that I've filled you in . . . I want you to forget all of this mostly useless information. The upheavals in newspaper publishing most vital to the Hilltop are certainly those underway at our own City Paper.

First, however, an introduction to the Washington City Paper seems in order. Available at the Leavey Center as well as at the odd Starbucks, buzzing hotspot, or streetcorner, the paper is an independent weekly publication associated with the Chicago Reader. It is also probably the paper best suited to college students, and those who still wish they were - recent cover stories include tips on screwing your landlord, a sentiment clearly popular here at the G Spot.

The features are better yet: a weekly roundup of suits against the city, the News of the Weird, invaluable schedules of all the imaginable goings on, and - my favorite - Savage Love. This last is the syndicated sex-advice column of the only man I'd really trust to locate the G Spot without fail, Dan Savage, and if you really can't be bothered to leave your computer to pick up the paper, you should still check it out here. From the way that this summary has veered wildly into the realm of adoring review, its probably pretty obvious how much I enjoy it, and equally unnecessary to formally recommend it to you . . .

That said, there is (possibly) trouble brewing in paradise - or if not trouble, advertising increases. The once truly independent paper and its Chicagoan counterpart were purchased by the Creative Loafing group in late July. The group already owns papers in four mid-sized U.S. cities and there is some speculation that with this most recent purchase, it is looking to challenge the Village Voice empire, which is basically the Goliath of the indie newspaper world. Come to think of it, the Goliath of the indie newspaper world would probably not look very Goliath-like at all.

To that competitive end, changes have already been made to the Reader - including the outsourcing of production and consolidation of material. Changes to the City Paper can't be far behind.

The final verdict on the changes? David Bowie would be proud . . . and I'll probably be happy just so long as the Suit Yourself column continues to make DC politics seem nearly as corrupt as Marion Barry has managed to. Though the curmudgeon in me will still have to object on principle, of course.