In terms of growth, the only sector that may match the explosive numbers of the ethnic media is the alternative press. In the booming economy of the 1990s, the number of alternative weeklies grew rapidly, drawing national advertising. In recent years the sector's growth has slowed, but not stopped.
The scattered data available on the alternative presses suggest a handful of broad trends:
Circulation and revenues skyrocketed for alternative weeklies in the 1990s.
While they are often thought of as newspapers for the young, these outlets usually have readership with median ages in the 30s and sometimes 40s, with high incomes and with relatively high education levels.
Though they are usually thought of as local, small-scale outlets, they are increasingly owned by one of a few big national companies that collect alternative newspapers.
The label alternative weekly, while convenient, does not give due respect to the variances of the publications here. From city to city and even within cities they can look very different.
Is it Still an Alternative Press?
To be clear, the alternative press as defined here has little to do with what many might describe as "alternative." The term is mostly a catchall phrase used by the mainstream media, but these publications are not what some call the "dissident" press in America (see sidebar). Rather, while they may share some traits with the dissident press, a political mission is not their defining characteristic. There are dissenting views in these papers, but they are not necessarily grounded in politics. Many are not particularly interested in politics at all.
In fact, scanning the realm of what a usually called alternative weeklies across the country, it sometimes seems there are few things that hold them together as a genre beyond their tabloid format (an almost universal trait) and their advertising-driven revenue model (they are usually given away free). Often, again depending on the publication, they are mostly treasured by their readers for their ads. Editorial content can be quite thin in some, particularly when compared to the ads. But, as in the ethnic media, there is much variety from city to city.