Birmingham Weekly

Birmingham Weekly is a free weekly alternative newspaper with offices in the Crow Building at 2014 6th Avenue North. The Weekly, started in 1997 by Birmingham Business Journal publisher Tina Savas, has a circulation of about 25,000 and is published by Magnolia Media, a holding company controlled by publisher Chuck Leishman.

The editor of the Birmingham Weekly is Jesse Chambers. Past editors include Thomas Spencer, Darin Powell and Glenny Brock, who held the position from 2002 to 2010. The Weekly is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, a trade organization, and the Alternative Weekly Network, a marketing group.

In 1998, the Birmingham Weekly was the target of a boycott in Gardendale led by mayor Kenneth Clemons and Pastors Greg Davis and Steve Gaines of The Church at Peachtree and First Baptist Church of Gardendale respectively. They objected to the content of personal ads and advertisements for phone sex as well as a perceived "anti-Christian" slant of reporting on churches.

Savas hired Leishman as general manager in late 1999. In 2000 Leishman partnered with Creative Loafing, Inc, an Atlanta, Georgia-based chain of weekly newspapers, and with Tuscaloosa's monthly The Strip to form Magnolia Media and purchase Birmingham Weekly. The Weekly subsequently absorbed most of the staff of Creative Loafing Birmingham.

In October 2005, a fifth overall design scheme for the paper, created by Mathieu Schmutzle was launched, partly to get away from the large capital "W" logo, used since 2003, which was too closely aligned with George W. Bush's supporters. In 2006 the paper's offices were relocated from ground floor space in the Highland Towers apartment building to 6th Avenue North. Before that they had used two other Southside locations since their 1997 launch.

Special supplements published in the Weekly include Avenues, the annual Menu of Menus, annual Women's issue, annual poetry issue, annual photo/fiction issue, annual holiday gift guide, and semi-annual fashion supplements.

On June 7, 2008 Kyle Whitmire's "War on Dumb" column was awarded first place for best political column in the 55,000-and-under circulation division by the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and the Medill School of Journalism. Whitmire left the paper in 2010, followed shortly by Brock.

References

• Zurowski, Cory. (November 12, 1998) "Birmingham Weekly Fights Church-led Boycott." Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. - accessed March 26, 2006
• Fazzone, Amanda. (November 9, 1999) "Leishman Named GM at Birmingham Weekly." Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. - accessed March 26, 2006
• Iwan, Christine. (June 28, 2000) "Birmingham Weekly Sold to Holding Company" Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. - accessed March 26, 2006
• Jordan, Phillip (August 3, 2006) "A new future at 2014". Birmingham Weekly
• Brock, Glenny (September 30, 2008) "CL bankruptcy will not affect Bham Weekly" Birmingham Weekly Mixed Media blog
• Harvey, Alec (March 1, 2010) "Editor Glenny Brock leaving Birmingham Weekly." Birmingham News

External link

• Birmingham Weekly online website