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''The Real Paper'' was a
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- mo ...
-area alternative weekly newspaper with a circulation in the tens of thousands. It ran from August 2, 1972, to June 18, 1981, often devoting space to
counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Hou ...
and alternative politics of the early 1970s. The offices were in
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
.


History

''The Cambridge Phoenix'' was born on October 9, 1969, founded by Jeffrey Tarter. In the summer of 1972, Richard Missner, owner of what was then simply called "The Phoenix," fired editor Harper Barnes in a journalistic dispute. A union was formed and almost all of the staff went on strike. An agreement was reached within two weeks, without Barnes' reinstatement. Soon afterwards, the staff was informed of the purchase of the paper – its name and goodwill – by Stephen Mindich, owner of the more established (and more commercial) competitor ''Boston After Dark''. Hoping to eliminate his direct competition. Mindich renamed his paper ''The Boston Phoenix After Dark,'' later shortened back to ''
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'' a ...
''. The entire former staff of ''The Phoenix'' was now unemployed, the lone exception being the late sportswriter George Kimball, who went to work for Mindich. Because of the solidarity developed before and during the strike, the Cambridge group decided to continue publication as ''The Real Paper'' (by implication, "The Real Phoenix") and organized themselves as an employee-run cooperative. Bob L. Oliver, ''The Real Paper''s founding art director, was responsible for editorial and advertising graphic design from July 1972 to July 1973 and designed the paper's logo based on the original ''Phoenix'' type style. ''The Real Paper'' staff elected Robert Rotner as publisher, the late Jeff Albertson (a well-known staff photographer) as associate publisher, reporter Paul Solman as editor and Robert Williams as advertising director. The editorial staff included women's columnist Laura Shapiro, former editor Harper Barnes, rock critics
Jon Landau Jon Landau (born May 14, 1947) is an American music critic, manager, and record producer. He has worked with Bruce Springsteen in all three capacities. He is the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and recei ...
and James Isaacs, reporters Charlie McCollum and
Chuck Fager Charles Eugene Fager (born 1942), known as Chuck Fager, is an American activist, author, editor, publisher and an outspoken and prominent member of the Religious Society of Friends or Quakers. He is known for his work in both the Civil Rights Mo ...
, cartoonist David Omar White, and writers Stephen Davis, C. Wendell Smith and Jon Lipsky. David Chandler was the first design director, succeeded by Ronn Campisi and later Lynn Staley, who later became the head of design at ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' and ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' and Lucy Bartholomay, who succeeded Staley at "The Globe." Photo editor Peter Southwick also went on to "The Globe" as photo editor and now directs the
Boston University College of Communication __NOTOC__ Boston University College of Communication (COM) is a communication school at Boston University. It was founded in 1947 as the School of Public Relations. The College of Communication is the oldest public relations school in the United ...
photojournalism program. Paula Childs, the listings editor, became a television reporter. Though no capital was ever invested, ''The Real Paper'' cooperative became self-sustaining within several months. Two years of growth followed, accompanied by some employee turnover. Notable hires included reporters
Joe Klein Joe Klein (born September 7, 1946) is an American political commentator and author. He is best known for his work as a columnist for ''Time'' magazine and his novel ''Primary Colors'', an anonymously written roman à clef portraying Bill Clinton' ...
, Bo Burlingham, Anita Harris, Burt Solomon and Ed Zuckerman, the late movie critic Stuart Byron, and columnists Kay Larson, aka Nora Lasky (art), and Mark Zanger (food, as "The Red Chef"), and music writers James Miller and
Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of ''Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone (magazine), ...
. As freelancers, the noted civil rights attorney Harvey A. Silverglate wrote on legal matters; Lita Lepie, author of the murder mystery ''Black Lotus'', wrote one of the country's first Lesbian columns under the pseudonym Lilith Moon; movie critic
Lisa Schwarzbaum Lisa Schwarzbaum (born July 5, 1952) is an American film critic. She joined ''Entertainment Weekly'' as a film critic in the 1990s and remained there until February 2013. Career She has been featured on CNN, co-hosted '' Siskel & Ebert at the Mov ...
wrote about classical music, among other subjects; Fred Hapgood covered science. Eventually, however, the strains of operating as a worker-owned firm without having learned how to handle cooperative management led to staff divisions. Published accounts of the split include one in the Harvard Crimson. Another appeared in a 1983 book, ''Life and Death on the Corporate Battlefield,'' by former editor Solman and former Managing Editor Thomas Friedman. Le Anne Schreiber, writing in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' (January 3, 1983) discussed and quoted from the book's chapter on the paper's early history; :Lessons emerge from case histories of actual companies and individuals. Although it is told without hand-wringing, the saddest of these stories is what happened to the staff of ''The Real Paper'' ... Lines were drawn, and suddenly everybody was a close friend of somebody who was now the enemy of another close friend. :In a traditional organization, the conflicts that arose would have been solved by firings or resignations; but at ''The Real Paper'', which had been set up as an egalitarian business – with every employee holding an equal number of shares as long as he or she worked for the paper – there was no way to settle or to escape internal conflict. The fact that the paper had become profitable meant that no one wanted to leave and relinquish shares; but by staying together, given the bitter factionalism that had developed, the staff insured that the paper would become progressively less profitable.


Journalists, authors and others

''The Real Paper'' served as a springboard for many prominent journalists, authors and members of the music industry.
Jon Landau Jon Landau (born May 14, 1947) is an American music critic, manager, and record producer. He has worked with Bruce Springsteen in all three capacities. He is the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and recei ...
became the music editor of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
''. He is the author of "It's Too Late to Stop Now: a Rock and Roll Journal" and longtime manager of
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
. Stephen Davis has written biographies of
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
,
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
,
Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...
,
Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...
,
Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1985. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band comprised vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKa ...
,
Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thin ...
,
Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...
,
Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. H ...
, and
Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredicta ...
, among others.
Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of ''Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone (magazine), ...
is the author of numerous books on rock, including ''Elvis,'' ''Louie Louie'' and ''Before I Get Old: the Story of the Who.'' James Miller, a longtime professor at The New School, was the original editor of ''The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll'' and subsequently wrote ''Flowers in the Dustbin: The Rise of Rock and Roll, 1947–1977,'' ''The Passion of Michel Foucault,'' and ''Examined Lives: From Socrates to Nietzsche.'' In 1982, James Isaacs began what would become a 27-year radio career at the Boston
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
affiliate,
WBUR-FM WBUR-FM (90.9 FM) is a public radio station located in Boston, Massachusetts, owned by Boston University. It is the largest of three NPR member stations in Boston, along with WGBH and WUMB-FM and produces several nationally distributed progra ...
, where he at various times hosted jazz, pop, and soul music programs, as well as contributing to the station's news programs. In 1986, he was nominated for a Grammy for co-producing, with fellow ''Real Paper'' alumnus Joe McEwen, a Frank Sinatra multi-disk boxed set. Like McEwen, Russell Gersten covered blues and soul music for the paper. Rory O'Connor, a freelance writer for the original cooperative version of the paper later became its managing editor. O'Connor is now a journalist, educator and documentary filmmaker who, with ''Real Paper'' contributor
Danny Schechter Daniel Isaac "Danny" Schechter (June 27, 1942 – March 19, 2015) was an American television producer, independent filmmaker, blogger, and media critic. He wrote and spoke about many issues including apartheid, civil rights, economics, foreign p ...
(1942–2015), has for decades run the award-winning production company Globalvision and has written several books, including, most recently, ''Nukespeak,'' ''Shock Jocks,'' and ''Friends, Followers and the Future: How Social Media are Changing Politics, Threatening Big Brands, and Killing Traditional Media.''
David Ansen David Ansen is an American film critic. He was a senior editor for ''Newsweek'', where he served as film critic from 1977 to 2008 and subsequently contribute to the magazined in a freelance capacity. Prior to writing for ''Newsweek'', he served a ...
become the film critic for ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
.'' Paul Solman became an economics correspondent for the ''
PBS NewsHour ''PBS NewsHour'' is an American evening television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virg ...
''. Kay Larson moved to New York in 1975, wrote a weekly art column for the Village Voice, and from 1980 to 1994 was art critic and a contributing editor of ''
New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...
''. She was a contributor to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' from 1995 to 2007, and wrote a biography, ''Where the Heart Beats: John Cage, Zen Buddhism, and the Inner Life of Artists'' (2012), about Cage's influence on postmodern art. Theater critic Arthur Friedman moved on to the ''
Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...
.'' (He died February 18, 2002.) ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' columnist and TV commentator
Joe Klein Joe Klein (born September 7, 1946) is an American political commentator and author. He is best known for his work as a columnist for ''Time'' magazine and his novel ''Primary Colors'', an anonymously written roman à clef portraying Bill Clinton' ...
took a job with ''Rolling Stone'' in 1974 and later ''
New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...
'', ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' and ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
''. He is the author of ''Woody Guthrie: A Life,'' ''Payback,'' ''
Primary Colors A set of primary colors or primary colours (see spelling differences) consists of colorants or colored lights that can be mixed in varying amounts to produce a gamut of colors. This is the essential method used to create the perception of a br ...
'' (as "Anonymous"), ''The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton,'' ''Politics Lost: How American Democracy Was Trivialized By People Who Think You're Stupid,'' and ''The Running Mate.'' Thomas Friedman became a PBS writer/producer/executive producer, working on PBS series as diverse as ''ENTERPRISE'' and ''The Science Odyssey,'' and author of books as varied as ''Up the Ladder,'' ''1000 Unforgettable Senior Moments...Of Which We Could Only Remember 246'' and ''The Senior Moments Memory Workout.'' Bo Burlingham has written several books on small business, including ''Small Giants'' and ''Finish Big.'' Burt Solomon wrote ''FDR v. the Constitution,'' ''Where They Ain't,'' and ''The Washington Century.'' Laura Shapiro, whose column on feminism ran weekly and was among the first in the nation to cover and analyze the burgeoning women's movement, went on to
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
, where she became a senior writer on food, the arts and women's issues. She is the author of three books on culinary history: ''Perfection Salad: Women and Cooking at the Turn of the Century'' (1984); ''Something from the Oven: Reinventing Dinner in 1950s America'' (2004) and ''Julia Child'' (2007). Jon Lipsky, who died in 2011, was a noted playwright (''Coming Up for Air,'' ''Living in Exile,'' among others) who wrote the book ''Dreaming Together'' (2008) and taught theater arts at Boston University for 28 years. David Chandler wrote the book ''Life on Mars'' and was for many years a writer for the ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', as were the paper's television critic Ed Siegel and supplements editor Jan Freeman, who in 2009 wrote ''Ambrose Bierce's Write It Right: The Celebrated Cynic's Language Peeves Deciphered, Appraised, and Annotated for 21st-Century Readers.'' Listings editor Monica Collins became a television columnist at the ''Boston Herald'' and ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' and now writes the online advice column "Ask Dog Lady."
Craig Unger Craig Unger (b. March 25, 1949) is an American journalist and writer. He has served as deputy editor of ''The New York Observer'' and was editor-in-chief of Boston Magazine. He has written about George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush for ''The Ne ...
, responsible for the paper's ''Short Takes'' section, became a prominent magazine writer and editor, with several books of investigative journalism to his credit, including ''Boss Rove: Inside Karl Rove's Secret Kingdom of Power'' and ''The Fall of the House of Bush.'' After a stint at ''Rolling Stone'', Ed Zuckerman became a TV writer and producer, long associated with the ''
Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...
'' series and more recently, '' Blue Bloods''. Mark D. Devlin, who was first published in ''The Real Paper'' by editor Mark Zanger, later wrote the critically acclaimed memoir, ''Stubborn Child'' (Atheneum, 1985). Alan MacRobert covered science in the mid-late '70s. In 1982 he joined
Sky and Telescope ''Sky & Telescope'' (''S&T'') is a monthly American magazine covering all aspects of amateur astronomy, including the following: *current events in astronomy and space exploration; *events in the amateur astronomy community; *reviews of astronomi ...
magazine and is now a senior editor. He also writes an astronomy column for
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
. In 2003 the asteroid 10373 MacRobert was named in his honor. Boston television sports reporter Clark Booth wrote a story about violence in pro football in 1975 for both ''
Mother Jones Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...
'' magazine and ''The Real Paper'' that Joe Nocera reprinted in part in ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' in 2012. Booth still writes about sports for the Boston archdiocese's ''
The Pilot A pilot is a person who flies or navigates an aircraft. Pilot or The Pilot may also refer to: * Maritime pilot, a person who guides ships through hazardous waters * Television pilot, a television episode used to sell a series to a television netw ...
''.


They found it at the movies

Film critics contributing to ''The Real Paper'' included Chuck Kraemer; Stuart Byron; the prominent left-wing journalist
Andrew Kopkind Andrew Kopkind (August 24, 1935 – October 23, 1994) was an American journalist best known for his reporting during the tumult of the late 1960s; he wrote about the anti-Vietnam War protests, Civil Rights Movement, Student Nonviolent Coordi ...
, who died in 1994, Stephen Schiff, who covered films for ''The Real Paper'' and the ''Boston Phoenix'' before moving on to ''Vanity Fair'' and ''The New Yorker'' and then establishing a career as a screenwriter (''Lolita'', ''The Deep End of the Ocean'', ''True Crime''); Kathy Huffhines (later with the ''
Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...
'' before she was killed in a parked car by a falling tree limb); Patrick McGilligan (who later wrote biographies of Alfred Hitchcock, Jack Nicholson and others); David Rosenbaum;
Bhob Stewart Robert Marion Stewart, known as Bhob Stewart (November 12, 1937 – February 24, 2014) was an American writer, editor, cartoonist, filmmaker, and active fan who contributed to a variety of publications over a span of five decades. His articles a ...
(later film critic for '' Heavy Metal'' magazine); David Thomson; Michael Wilmington (later film critic for the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'');
Gerald Peary Gerald Peary (born October 30, 1944) is an American film critic, filmmaker, editor of the University Press of Mississippi, and a former curator of the Harvard Film Archive. Early life and education Peary graduated from Rider University in 1964, w ...
, who had moved from New York City to Cambridge in 1978 and continued to review for ''The Real Paper'' until it folded in June, 1981.


The business of business is business

On the business side of the paper, the first circulation director, Russel Pergament, later an ad salesman who also wrote occasionally, founded, with fellow ''Real Paper'' ad salesmen Steve Cummings and Richard Yousoufian,
Tab Communications Tab Communications Inc. (also called Tabloid Newspaper Publishers), based first in Newton, Massachusetts, United States, then in nearby Needham, was a weekly newspaper publisher in Greater Boston before being bought by Fidelity Investments in 199 ...
, which eventually published 14 regional weeklies in cities surrounding Boston. Comptroller Howard Garsh spent many years at Sail Magazine. Steve Crosby is Dean of the McCormack Graduate School at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and Chairman of the Massachusetts State Gaming Commission. Circulation Director, David Stein founded two commercial real estate trade publications purchased by Communications Channels, Inc., redeveloped historic mills, and is the managing partner of a marketing company representing states' DOTs. Advertising director Robert Williams became a serial media entrepreneur who founded National Cable Advertising, later NCC Media, now owned by Comcast, Time Warner and Cox. He then founded National Public Broadcasting (representing all the PBS and NPR stations in the US), now known as National Public Media.


Rock and roll future

Jon Landau Jon Landau (born May 14, 1947) is an American music critic, manager, and record producer. He has worked with Bruce Springsteen in all three capacities. He is the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and recei ...
's prophetic 1974 article in ''The Real Paper'' in which he famously claimed that "I saw
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
future and its name is
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
" is credited by
Nick Hornby Nicholas Peter John Hornby (born 17 April 1957) is an English writer and lyricist. He is best known for his memoir ''Fever Pitch'' and novels '' High Fidelity'' and '' About a Boy'', all of which were adapted into feature films. Hornby's work f ...
and others with fostering the artist's popularity. Landau wrote: :But tonight there is someone I can write of the way I used to write, without reservations of any kind. Last Thursday at the Harvard Square theatre, I saw my rock and roll past flash before my eyes. And I saw something else: I saw rock and roll future and its name is Bruce Springsteen. And on a night when I needed to feel young, he made me feel like I was hearing music for the first time. :When his two-hour set ended I could only think, can anyone really be this good; can anyone say this much to me, can rock'n'roll still speak with this kind of power and glory? And then I felt the sores on my thighs where I had been pounding my hands in time for the entire concert and knew that the answer was yes. :Springsteen does it all. He is a rock'n'roll punk, a Latin street poet, a ballet dancer, an actor, a joker, bar band leader, hot-shit rhythm guitar player, extraordinary singer, and a truly great rock'n'roll composer. He leads a band like he has been doing it forever. I racked my brains but simply can't think of a white artist who does so many things so superbly.


Between the lines

In 1975, ''The Real Paper'' was purchased by Ralph I. Fine,
David Rockefeller Jr. The Rockefeller family () is an American industrial, political, and banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by broth ...
, and eventual Massachusetts governor William Weld, who installed Marty Linsky as editor. Linsky succeeded David Gelber, brought to ''The Real Paper'' as a writer from ''
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 ...
''. Gelber subsequently had a distinguished career as a documentary television producer at ''
60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
'' for 25 years and at ABC News, winning eight Emmys and numerous other awards. His latest project is a series on global warming, ''Years of Living Dangerously.'' Marty Linsky went on to become a leadership consultant and author and Harvard Kennedy School faculty member. Subsequent editors included Richard Rosen, and Mark Zanger, the author of several books on food history. Rosen's many books – from mysteries like ''Strike Three You're Dead'' to non-fiction works like ''Buffalo in the House'' and ''Such Good Girls'' to humor (''Bad Cat,'' ''Not Available in Any Store'') – and his television efforts, including the mock local news broadcast ''The Generic News'' – are chronicled in full at rdrosen.com. By late 1975, the competition between ''The Real Paper'' and the ''Boston Phoenix'' was being described as mainly economic. By 1977, intimations of "computer" competition for ads first appeared. In 1979, the Boston Globe's Nathan Cobb, who had lionized the two papers seven years earlier, wrote a story headlined "Their big worry is going broke." "Not as gritty as they used to be," wrote the Globe's Bruce McCabe later that year. "Reality catches 'those' papers," was the headline in 1980. In 1981, ''The Real Paper'' was shut down, its assets again sold to competitor Mindich and the ''Boston Phoenix''. Of the paper's demise, Jeff McLaughlin, describing the 1981 Boston arts scene in the ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', (January 4, 1982), wrote: "Hardest hit was journalism. Financial problems caused ''The Real Paper'' to cease publication, silencing a voice that was devoted to community-based efforts in the arts as in other cultural fields. '' The Phoenix'' won new readers with ''The Real Paper'' demise," but in 2013, ''The Phoenix'' too ceased publication Fred Barron, who had written for both ''The Boston Phoenix'' and ''The Real Paper'', used his alternative newspaper experiences as the basis for a screenplay, '' Between the Lines'', filmed in 1977 by
Joan Micklin Silver Joan Micklin Silver (May 24, 1935 – December 31, 2020) was an American director of films and plays. Born in Omaha, Silver moved to New York City in 1967 where she began writing and directing films. She is best known for Hester Street (film), ' ...
. The success of that film led to a short-lived TV sitcom, also titled ''Between the Lines''.


Archives

''The Real Paper'' has been issued on microfilm by Bell and Howell. In November 2015, ''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' announced that
Northeastern University Northeastern University (NU) is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in ...
's Snell Library Archives and Special Collections had received copies of ''The Real Paper'' as part of their acquisition of ''
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'' a ...
'' records. Hard copies are available to the public at Snell Library.


References


Bibliography

*''The Alternative Press Goes Straight,'' Nathan Cobb, ''
Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
,'' June 9, 1974; pg. D6
Gerald Peary interviews and film reviews for ''The Real Paper'' (1977–1981)
*''Life and Death on the Corporate Battlefield'' by Paul Solman and Thomas Friedman (Simon & Schuster, 1983)


External links


Alan Lewis on ''The Real Paper''
* ttp://www.bobloliver.com/RealPaper.html ''The Real Paper'' cover from Election Day, November 8, 1972 {{Newspapers in Massachusetts Cambridge, Massachusetts Real Paper, The Real Paper, The Real Paper, The 1972 establishments in Massachusetts Publications disestablished in 1981 1981 disestablishments in Massachusetts