''DigBoston''—formerly known as the ''Weekly Dig'' and known colloquially as ''The Dig''—is a free

alternative newspaper An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- m ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. It covers news in the Greater Boston area and offers commentary on music, arts, politics, business, film, sex, food, drink and more, as well as providing local bar, entertainment and club listings. ''DigBoston'' is distributed Thursdays, free of charge, in self-serve

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...

dispensers located throughout the city, as well as in local businesses.

History

The ''Weekly Dig'' was founded in September 1999, by Jeff Lawrence. Previously, Lawrence had published a monthly magazine called ''Shovel'' founded in 1997. ''Shovel'' discontinued publishing in the Spring of 2000, where it had become an insert to the ''Weekly Dig''. In September 2003, Lawrence moved to change the editorial direction by dismissing founding Editor Joe Bonni. Assistant Editor (and junior partner) Seth McM. Donlin was named interim editor; Joe Keohane was appointed the replacement editor later in 2003. In October 2004, ''

'' magazine publisher

Metrocorp Metrocorp Inc. is a media company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that publishes lifestyle magazines in the United States. Metrocorp (sometimes rendered in camel case Camel case (sometimes stylized as camelCase or CamelCase, also known as camel ...

announced that it bought a majority stake in the ''Weekly Dig''. Metrocorp, which has operated

Boston magazine ''Boston'' is a monthly magazine concerning life in the Greater Boston area and has been in publication since 1805. History and profile ''Boston'' magazine was started in 1805. Metrocorp, Inc. bought the magazine in 1970. The company also owns ...

since 1971, also publishes '' Elegant Wedding'', ''

Concierge A concierge () is an employee of a multi-tenant building, such as a hotel or apartment building, who receives guests. The concept has been applied more generally to other hospitality settings and to personal concierges who manage the errands ...

'', '' Home & Garden'' and '' New England Travel and Life''. It also has operated ''

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sin ...

'' since 1946. Three months later, in January 2005, the paper went through a relaunch that offered a new, updated design and broader content. Since then, its circulation has more than doubled to about 70,000 copies distributed weekly. In May, 2007, Lawrence announced that he had purchased the paper back from Metrocorp in what both sides called "an amicable divorce". In 2009, Arts and Entertainment Editor David Day was made editor-in-chief. Shortly thereafter, the name ''Weekly Dig'' was dropped, and the organization was re-branded as ''DigBoston,'' featuring a completely overhauled website
DigBoston.com
Day left in 2012, and the new editor was former Managing Editor J. Patrick Brown. When the ''

Boston Phoenix ''The Phoenix'' (stylized as ''The Phœnix'') was the name of several alternative weekly periodicals published in the United States of America by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts, including the ''Portland Phoenix'' an ...

'' folded in March 2013, ''DigBoston'' became the area's only remaining alt-weekly publication. A new staff was installed, including Dan McCarthy (editor), Chris Faraone (news and features editor), Susanna Jackson (arts and entertainment editor), Kris Jenson (associate film editor), Sean Maloney (staff writer), and Marc Shepard (associate publisher). ''DigBoston'' was acquired by Dig Media Group in June 2017. The new owners and top staff were Marc Sneider (publisher), Chris Faraone (editor-in-chief and associate publisher), Jason Pramas (executive editor and associate publisher), and John Loftus (business manager and associate publisher). In September 2018, Dig Media Group announced that Marc Sneider had stepped down as publisher and that its board of directors "elected DigBoston Business Manager (and former Associate Publisher) John Loftus to be the new publisher”.

References

External links

* {{Newspapers in Massachusetts Newspapers_published_in_Boston Alternative_weekly_newspapers_published_in_the_United_States Publications established in 1999 1999 establishments in Massachusetts