FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Richard Karpel
Executive Director
Association of Alternative Newsweeklies
202/289-8484
rkarpel (at) aan.org

The readers of more than 70 alternative newspapers are being urged to spend at least $100 of their holiday money this fall at locally owned stores in their communities -- a move that could pump more than $2.9 billion into urban economies during this recession-plagued season.

The project is based on data showing that money spent in locally owned businesses tends to stay in the area and circulate through the community, increasing economic activity. Economists call this the "multiplier effect."

"If every one of the 17.5 million readers of these weeklies were to spend just $100 with local, independently owned merchants, the impact would be enormous," said Jody Colley, publisher of the East Bay Express in Berkeley/Oakland and the originator of the project.

The Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) and the American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA) helped develop the unprecedented project. The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, a trade organization of 130 alternative newspapers, helped line up 73 papers in the United States and Canada.

"This is an incredibly exciting and unprecedented effort by the press to reach out and work with the local economic development community," said Erin Kilmer-Neel, program officer at OneCalifornia Foundation, and active member in both BALLE and AMIBA. "In my mind, this can be a perfect partnership -- local, independently-owned publications helping other local indie businesses in their community toward positive economic change."

Added Kilmer-Neel: "When people choose to shop at locally-owned, independent businesses in their communities, they are re-circulating dollars in those communities, supporting more local jobs, keeping their neighborhoods interesting and unique and reducing their carbon footprints.

"We came out in the millions to make change this week by voting. Conscious shopping, like voting, is a powerful way to make change. Collectively, we will continue to spend billions and billions of dollars as we shop throughout our lives -- imagine the power that this money can have if each one of us tries to be conscious about where it goes."

The move is "simply part of our mission as a newspaper," Tim Redmond, executive editor of the San Francisco Bay Guardian, one of the early supporters of the project, said. "A sustainable community needs a sustainable economy, and that starts with locally owned independent businesses."

The project will run through the holiday season.

For more detailed information on the participating papers listed below, such as circulation and potential local economic impact, download this Excel document.

PARTICIPATING PAPERS (BY STATE):

Arkansas
Arkansas Times (Little Rock)

Alabama
Birmingham Weekly

Arizona
Tucson Weekly

California
Chico News & Review
North Coast Journal (Eureka/Arcata)
Monterey County Weekly
East Bay Express (Oakland/Berkeley)
Palo Alto Weekly
Sacramento News & Review
San Diego CityBeat
San Francisco Bay Guardian
Random Lengths News (San Pedro)
Pacific Sun (San Rafael)
Santa Barbara Independent
Ventura County Reporter

Colorado
Colorado Springs Independent

District of Columbia
Washington City Paper

Florida
Folio Weekly (Jacksonville)
Orlando Weekly
Creative Loafing (Sarasota)
Creative Loafing (Tampa)


Georgia
Flagpole (Athens)
Creative Loafing (Atlanta)

Hawaii
Big Island Weekly (Hilo)*
Honolulu Weekly
Maui Time Weekly

Iowa
Cityview (Des Moines)

Idaho
Boise Weekly

Illinois
Newcity (Chicago)
Illinois Times (Springfield)

Indiana
NUVO (Indianapolis)

Kentucky
LEO Weekly (Louisville)

Louisiana
Gambit Weekly (New Orleans)

Massachusetts
Boston Phoenix
Boston's Weekly Dig

Maryland
Baltimore City Paper

Maine
Portland Phoenix

Michigan
City Pulse (Lansing)

Mississippi
Jackson Free Press

North Carolina
The Independent (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill)

Nebraska
Omaha Reader

New Mexico
Weekly Alibi (Albuquerque)
Santa Fe Reporter

Nevada
Las Vegas CityLife
Reno News & Review

New York
Metroland (Albany)
Artvoice (Buffalo)
Long Island Press
New York Press (NYC)
City Newspaper (Rochester)
Syracuse New Times

Ohio
The Athens News
Cincinnati City Beat
Dayton City Paper

Oklahoma
Oklahoma Gazette (Oklahoma City)
Urban Tulsa Weekly

Oregon
Eugene Weekly
Portland Mercury

Pennsylvania
Philadelphia City Paper
Philadelphia Weekly
Pittsburgh City Paper

Rhode Island
Providence Phoenix

South Carolina
Charleston City Paper

Tennessee
Metro Pulse (Knoxville)
Memphis Flyer

Texas
Fort Worth Weekly

Utah
Salt Lake City Weekly

Vermont
Seven Days (Burlington)

Washington
The Stranger (Seattle)
Pacific Northwest Inlander (Spokane)

Wisconsin
Isthmus (Madison)
Shepherd Express (Milwaukee)
Wausau City Pages

Canada
The Coast (Halifax)

* Big Island Weekly is participating, but is not an AAN member.