San Diego Reader
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | Jim Holman |
| Publisher | Jim Holman |
| Editor | Jim Holman |
| Founded | October, 1972 |
| Headquarters | San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Circulation | 90,000 weekly |
| Website | SanDiegoReader.com |
The San Diego Reader is the largest alternative press paper in the county of San Diego, distributed free in stands and private businesses throughout the county, funded by advertisements. Averaging 90,000 copies per issue, it reportedly has the largest circulation of any alternative weekly publication in the nation. It frequently presents an opposing viewpoint to the San Diego Union Tribune, the primary printed newspaper in the city.
The Reader was founded in 1972 by Jim Holman, a Carleton College graduate who was a member of the group which established the Chicago Reader. Although Holman briefly owned shares in the Chicago paper, none of the Chicago owners had an interest in the San Diego paper. Holman used the Reader format and nameplate with the blessings of his friends in Chicago.
Noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater, the Reader is recognized as a pioneer among alternative weeklies for both its creative nonfiction and its commercial scheme, using ad revenue (particularly from classifieds and entertainment promotions) to establish the practice of widespread free circulation, a cornerstone of today's alternative papers.
Published weekly since October 1972, the Reader is known as a showcase for San Diego writers and photographers. Each issue of the Reader is dated every Thursday and distributed free on Wednesday and Thursday via street boxes and cooperating retail outlets.
Specializing in feature stories, the Reader covers San Diego life in general, with emphasis on politics and the arts and entertainment. The Reader also publishes listings of movies, events, theater and music, restaurant and film reviews, and free classified advertisements for its readers. Its "City Lights" section contains short investigative reports into the dealings of the city, while the "Calendar" section highlights local society, things to do, places to eat, and the local music scene.
Notable cover stories have included in-depth overviews chronicling San Diego history and pop culture, such as Before It Was the Gaslamp: Downtown’s Grindhouse Theater Row in the ‘70s,Gompers School Takes a Bow,The Rise and Fall of San Diego’s Pacific Comics,Pussycat Theaters – a Comprehensive History of a California Dynasty,Field of Screens: San Diego Drive-In Theater History 1947–2008, and Africans, Asians, Hispanics, and Hipsters: Changes in City Heights. The March 28, 2012 cover feature People Will Tell You That You're Late and You'll Hate Them for It., with confessions of a San Diego USPS mail carrier, earned national coverage on TV programs like 20/20 (U.S. TV series).
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