Struggles of the Alternative Press
by Doresa Banning
For most of recent history, this has been a region of one-newspaper towns. Around The Lake, it was the papers of Swift publishing (Tahoe Daily Tribune, North Lake Tahoe Bonanza, Tahoe World and the Sierra Sun); in Reno and Sparks, it was Gannett Company (Reno Gazette-Journal). But the growth in the region over the last decade has sparked competition in the form of the alternative press—newspapers in all stripes and flavors from wonky political to skateboard stream-of-consciousness.
"One of the greatest things is just the fact that there is now competition in the community," says Anne Grogan, co-founder along with Mayumi Elegado, of Truckee's Moonshine Ink. "That benefits the entire community."
Grogan, however, has fallen victim to of one of the greatest challenges faced by the alternative press: burnout. These newspapers are intensive labors of love, with any monetary payoffs way down the road, if at all. After 3 years of 80- to 100-hour weeks and no pay, Grogan has finally hit the wall and is scaling back her involvement in Moonshine Ink.
"My health, my mental health, my children, my pets and my productivity began to suffer," she says. Although Moonshine Ink racks have been highly visible around Truckee, the publication still faces stiff competition for advertising dollars.
The story is much different down on the South Shore, where demand for the 11-year-old Tahoe Mountain News is so great that the monthly rarely remains in the racks for more than a week. The free newspaper includes short feature stories, editorials, local news briefs, columns, reviews, free classifieds and more.
"I would say we are known for our honest journalism—or our perception of honesty, I guess," says Publisher Taylor Flynn. Flynn runs the paper with his wife, Editor Heather Gould. Circulation is 11,000.
The paper's success, however, has required that Flynn work an average of 70 hours per week and cover multiple tasks, from photography to distribution.
The Reno News & Review, one year younger than the Tahoe Mountain News, boasts a circulation of 27,000 during the height of summer. Jeff von Kaenel, who co-publishes the paper with his wife, Deborah Redmond, started the RN&R in 1995 as a sister publication to their Chico and Sacramento News & Reviews. The free weekly, which averages 40 pages, includes Reno news and events, reviews, entertainment and investigative articles.
"It's full of thought, full of knowledge of the community, fun and intelligent," says Editor D. Brian Burghart. "We reinvent the wheel every week. The biggest challenge is staying fresh, figuring out new creative ways to tell stories."
The two Truckee alternative papers, Moonshine Ink and The LowDown, have been published for three and two years, respectively. But now that Grogan has drastically cut back her involvement in Moonshine, and the co-founder of LowDown, Daniel Savickas, says that he has published his last local issue, alternative newspapers are facing dark days in this corner of the Sierra.
Moonshine Ink is a free monthly that contains Truckee news and business, a worldwide news roundup, editorials, health and entertainment information. In an ambitious move, one-third of the content is printed in both English and Spanish. "It's fresh and funky, in-depth, and it's a community paper," says Elegado, who is now carrying the flag for the publication. With Grogan no longer producing the editorial page and performing other duties, Elegado is left with more work than she can handle. "I fear for the future of Moonshine Ink," Grogan says. Elegado says she plans to continue the paper.
The LowDown has been the grunge journalism voice of the Sierra, with a skateboard-culture, adolescent-male view that at times veers into editorials on politics and society. But The LowDown is no more, says Savickas, at least as a local publication. If the publisher has his way, however, we may see it reappear in a larger Northern California version, or perhaps even as a national newspaper.
"If I don't end this now and try to take the next step, I'll lose the magazine's supporters, and it will fizzle out," he says. In 2003, with $2,000 of their own money, Savickas and Colin Fisher, working from Savickas' home, started The LowDown. Averaging 32 to 36 pages, the monthly was distributed around The Lake from Truckee to South Shore.
Before the publication's first anniversary, Fisher left the operation. Since, Savickas has handled everything, from writing, photography and design to ad sales, distribution and billing. He has worked between 40 and 80 hours a week.
"It's just too much for a one-man gig," he says. "And I never want to put out an issue where everyone can tell I'm burned out."
Because Savickas addressed sensitive issues (there was no topic he wouldn't touch), oftentimes in a provocative way, he offended some readers. Consequently, the publication was banned from several businesses, and offended advertisers pulled their support.
"Tahoe is too small and conservative to support The LowDown," Savickas says. "The easiest way to make it a success would be to shut up and keep my opinions to myself. But am I going to stop because I want to make a lot of money? No!"
Whether in the future more independent newspapers will emerge in the region remains to be seen. They face stiff competition from all sides, including the Web. But they also fill a niche in our maturing communities. As RN&R's Burghart says, "There's always a thirst for alternative news and views other than the mainstream."