''The Shepherd Express'' is an alternative monthly magazine published in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

History

The paper originated in May 1982 as the ''Crazy Shepherd'', its name derived from a line in

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of th ...

’s poem “Footnotes to Howl” (”Holy the crazy shepherds of rebellion”). Its founders were a group of

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropo ...

students, among them Jeff Hansen, Doug Hissom and Joe Porubcan, who operated it from a series of rented flats near the campus. After appearing sporadically, the ''Crazy Shepherd'' eventually settled into a monthly schedule. Several of its founders went on to careers in the news media, including Jim McCarter, publisher of the ''Metro Times'' in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

; Bill Conroy, editor of the ''

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

Business Journal''; and Bill Lueders, news editor at ''

Isthmus An isthmus (; : isthmuses or isthmi) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea count ...

'' in Madison. Other key co-founders include Jack Gladden, who helped find the money to publish the first edition of the paper; Karen Gerrity and Kurt Buss, who helped to write and edited the early editions; and Jeff Worman, the paper's art director, who penned the science-fiction''Hourly Why'' column as well produced the Zeal at Zero cartoons along with illustrations and spoofs. In 1987 the ''Shepherd Express'' was formed in a merger with the ''Express'', a monthly music paper founded in 1979 by Kevn Kinney and David Luhrssen. Kinney went on to form the rock band Drivin’ N’ Cryin’ in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Luhrssen returned to the ''Shepherd Express'' in late 1994 as arts and entertainment editor, a position he still holds. The Shepherd Express also received national media attention after Timothy W. Maier wrote a series of articles about former Milwaukee Police Officer Lawrencia (Bambi) Bembenek. The series of articles produced new evidence questioning the conviction of one of Wisconsin's most famous inmates. During the late 1980s to mid-1990s, its publisher was Martin "Marty" Genz and the Genz family were the newspaper's majority stockholders. In 1994, employees arranged for an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), which resulted in Genz and associate publisher and advertising director Dane Claussen leaving the newspaper and the Genz family selling its ownership stake. The paper was known from 1999 to 2000 as ''Shepherd Express Metro'', after absorbing a short-lived weekly called the ''Metro''. The ''Shepherd Express'' has been published since 1997 by Louis Fortis, an economist and former member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

. Fortis assumed the role of editor in 2000.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd Express Newspapers published in Wisconsin Mass media in Milwaukee Alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States