''OC Weekly'' was a free

alternative weekly 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 l ...

paper distributed in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

and

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. OC Weekly was founded in September 1995 by Will Swaim, who acted as editor and publisher until 2007. The paper was distributed at coffee shops, bookstores, clothing stores, convenience stores, and street boxes. ''OC Weekly'' printed art and entertainment listings for both Orange and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

counties. , it had a total circulation of 45,000 papers with an estimated readership of 225,000. On November 27, 2019, Duncan McIntosh Co. announced the immediate shut down of the publication.

Content

The weekly highlighted content that critiqued local politics, personalities and culture and has been described as "what some people might politely call an edgy brand of journalism." Popular features included: the syndicated column "

¡Ask a Mexican! ''¡Ask a Mexican!'' was a syndicated satirical weekly newspaper column written by Gustavo Arellano in the Orange County, California alternative weekly '' OC Weekly''. Publication of ''¡Ask a Mexican!'' began in 2004 as a one-time spoof, but po ...

", in which Arellano responded to reader questions about Latino stereotypes in an amusing

politically incorrect ''Political correctness'' (adjectivally: ''politically correct''; commonly abbreviated ''PC'') is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in socie ...

manner; an award-winning news blog called Navel Gazing; a food blog called "Stick a Fork in It"; and the award-winning investigative work of R. Scott Moxley, Nick Schou and Matt Coker.

Ownership

Duncan McIntosh Co., Fountain Valley, California, owned the publication along with Sea Magazine, BoatingWorld, The Log, and

Editor & Publisher ''Editor & Publisher'' (''E&P'') is an American monthly trade news magazine covering the newspaper industry. Published since 1901, ''Editor & Publisher'' is the self-described "bible of the newspaper industry." Originally based in New York City, ...

. The previous owner was

Voice Media Group Voice Media Group (VMG) is an American privately held media company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. VMG owns several newspaper publications across the country. These offerings extend across print, mobile and digital marketing. VMG's current pr ...

and was a sister publication of the ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'' and ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

.'' In January 2015, Voice Media Group offered the OC Weekly for sale. Duncan McIntosh purchased the paper in 2016. On November 27, 2019, Duncan McIntosh Co. announced the immediate shut down of the publication.

Awards and reputation

For his newspaper work, the publisher

Gustavo Arellano Gustavo Arellano is an American writer and journalist. He is a featured contributor for the ''Los Angeles Times'' and the former publisher and editor of Orange County's alternative weekly ''OC Weekly''. He is most notable as the author of the c ...

received a 2014 Distinguished Journalist Award from the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the

Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...

and the 2008 Spirit Award from the California Latino Legislative Caucus as well as awards from the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, the Los Angeles Press Club and the National Hispanic Media Coalition. The ''OC Weeklys articles frequently targeted conservative politicians and hypocrisies within the local establishment. Exposés have led to felony indictments against two consecutive Huntington Beach mayors.

References

External links

OC Weekly.com

Navel Gazing, OC Weekly's nigh-world-famous staff blog

Stick A Fork In It, The Weekly's food blog

Heard Mentality, The Weekly's music blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oc Weekly Alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States Mass media in Orange County, California Newspapers published in Greater Los Angeles Publications established in 1995 1995 establishments in California Weekly newspapers published in California