On Nov. 17, 1994, CityBeat’s very first issue hit newsstands. Even after leafing through the first issue, readers could tell that CityBeat presented something truly unique to Cincinnati — a locally owned and independent news source. As co-founder and then-editor-in-chief John Fox said in his first editorial, his goal was for CityBeat to be a friend to the community — not an “elder.” “We are a small, enthusiastic group of journalists, designers, photographers and sales people hoping to provide what we think is sorely needed here: a locally based, independent media voice that provokes thought and encourages action,” Fox said. For three decades, CityBeat has been the voice of Cincinnati, covering stories that matter, amplifying local culture and holding those in power accountable.
The ‘90s were a strange time for the media, with many television stations and dailies fighting for eyeballs with sensational stories and more entertainment-focused reporting (clickbait without the actual clicks). Distrust of the media was beginning to grow more than it ever had before, and Fox seemed to understand what the people of Cincinnati were missing: a voice for the people. For the everyman. For the dreamer. For the artist. An independent voice that wasn’t tied to a large news corporation with headquarters in another state.
Why independent media matters
At the time of its founding, CityBeat was among many brand-new and emerging alternative newsweeklies across the country. Since the founding of the first alt-weekly, the Village Voice, in 1955, numerous other cities and communities across the nation have welcomed their own alternative news source. Alt-weeklies were founded to be, as the name suggests, an alternative to the daily newspaper — a place to shine a light on underreported topics and communities, an outlet for writers to opine on whatever subjects they desired and an outlet readers could turn to for coverage on cool things to do in their cities. We became an essential part of the media landscape in dozens of cities large and small throughout the country.
In the past decade or so, though, many alt-weeklies have either shuttered or been transformed into just a shell of what they once were — including the aforementioned Village Voice and revered SF Weekly. So, how has CityBeat managed to survive while so many other publications like it have folded? I’d like to think that our success can be equally attributed to our faithful readers and, of course, our amazing staff, past and present.
Over the years, our reporting has made a sizable difference in Cincinnati. As one of the city’s only voices for local music, former music reporter Mike Breen’s stories helped local musicians reach a larger, engaged audience. Through her groundbreaking column, Your Negro Tour Guide, the late Kathy Y. Wilson examined race, gender and class in Cincinnati and beyond. Countless other staffers and contributors have shaped CityBeat over the years, helping us remain a publication by the people and for the people of Cincinnati.
CityBeat has produced numerous award-winning stories, our most recent accolades stemming from a 2023 cover feature by news reporter Madeline Fening about the quest to identify thousands of bodies buried in Potter’s Field. Fening’s story is the perfect example of what CityBeat and other alt-weeklies do so well: Dive headfirst into an underreported issue to showcase the humanity and beauty in our communities.
CityBeat launched its inaugural Best of Cincinnati issue in 1997, three years after the publication’s founding in 1994. This annual feature has since become a cornerstone of CityBeat‘s offerings, celebrating the city’s top people, places, businesses and cultural highlights as chosen by readers and staff. Over the years, it has grown into a highly anticipated issue and event, reflecting Cincinnati’s dynamic and evolving landscape.
This dedication to showcasing the best of Cincinnati doesn’t end with CityBeat’s editorial department. Our sales and marketing teams have also been hard at work, creating and executing exciting theme weeks, like Greater Cincinnati Restaurant Week and Margarita Madness, that help drive business to local restaurants and bars, as well as inspire Cincinnatians to explore more of the treasures in their own backyard. Before operations ceased for both, the Midpoint Music Festival and Cincinnati Entertainment Awards helped propel the local music scene into the national spotlight and recognized and honored the accomplishments of local musicians.
Challenges facing independent media
For the past 30 years, CityBeat has tried to remain true to the goals set forth by Fox in his very first editorial. We are still independently owned and do our very best to give readers a more intimate look at the people, places and things in the Queen City — in our own often snarky, off-beat way. Many of the same writers who contributed to CityBeat in its early days are still writing for CityBeat today. (And I imagine that at least some people reading this have been faithful readers of CityBeat since its origin). As you can imagine, though, quite a bit has changed since 1994, both in the local media landscape and in the world at large.
Since its earliest days, the press and news media have been referred to as the Fourth Estate, given its role of informing the people without constraint. The press serve as an important link between the people in charge and the average citizen. The term is a play on the original three estates of the realm in Europe: the clergy, the nobility and the commoners. Across the pond in the U.S., we call the press the fourth unofficial branch of government, after the executive, judicial and legislative branches.
The concept of the news media has been around since ancient times, when news could only be passed along orally. For centuries, we have been an essential part of daily life, holding politicians accountable and keeping the masses informed.
Despite the importance of the media, we have throughout history faced threats large and small that have forced us to be more adaptive and flexible. More recently, it has felt as though these threats — coming from some of the most influential people in the world — could severely weaken an already struggling industry.
Just earlier this month, Donald Trump won the 2024 U.S. presidential election to become the 47th president of the United States. It’s no secret that Trump has been hostile towards the media, whether he’s encouraging violence against reporters, blacklisting publications from press briefings at the White House or referring to any stories that cast him in an unfavorable light as “fake news.” Though right-wing political pundits complained that the national news media was too liberal for their liking far before Trump took office in 2017, his relationship to the media did provide the perfect atmosphere for distrust in the media to grow to an all-time high.
On Nov. 17, Trump appointed Brendan Carr, a Republican and former FCC General Counsel as the new Chairman of the FCC. As NBC reported, Carr actually wrote the chapter on the regulatory agency in Project 2025, the political playbook released by conservative American think tank The Heritage Foundation in 2023, that spells out how Trump’s second term as president will play out. In his chapter, Carr said that the FCC should rein in Big Tech and reform Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 in order to prevent social media platforms from having “carte blanche to censor protected speech while maintaining their Section 230 protections.”
While Carr’s goals don’t appear to pose much of a threat to publications like CityBeat just yet, the climate that Trump has created could be quite damaging. Before winning the election, Trump threatened to jail reporters and revoke broadcast licenses from news networks he deemed unfair in their reporting. This rhetoric has fostered a climate of distrust, where millions of people question the media’s value. This shift is likely to have a profound impact on the media landscape, contributing to declining readership, revenue and more. My concern is that Trump’s hostility toward the media could discourage charitable investments in journalism and, even worse, result in the media being excluded from critical spaces. This could mean restricted access to press conferences, interviews and other opportunities essential for providing readers with a complete and accurate picture. In a climate where Trump openly bullies esteemed reporters and where average citizens get their news from Facebook posts and TikToks, how do we compete? Well, the simple answer is that we adapt. Again.
Politicians have been clashing with the media and threatening retribution for stories since the days of the very first publications. There are other threats to the media that loom larger — real issues that we face as we try to adapt to the changes in our technology, audience and world at large. Since the early 2000s, the news media has had to pivot multiple times to adjust to the growing popularity of the internet, changes in news consumption and more.
Lately, despite our best efforts, we are struggling to meet our readers where they are. As circulation and online pageviews trend downward for many media organizations, so too do the advertising dollars. The loss of advertising dollars especially impacts publications like CityBeat that don’t have the luxury of belonging to large media conglomerates with financial safety nets.
While we enjoy the luxuries of operating in a larger market, smaller towns throughout the U.S. have essentially become media deserts. In the past few decades, thousands of small-town newspapers have disappeared, and, with them, the most essential tool to archive their history. Larger media conglomerates have worked to expand their coverage to include small and rural communities, but often they are in those communities to report on the very best and worst days experienced by those citizens — not to report on the local businesses, the unknown philanthropists and quiet, poignant triumphs. It’s heartbreaking. Thankfully, we are beginning to adapt in new ways to address those challenges in the creation of nonprofits and other organizations, like Report for America and the ProPublica Local Reporting Network, that bring reporters and resources to where they are needed the most.
Why we need your support
What does adapting look like right now for CityBeat? We don’t need the support of political leaders, special interest groups or a big corporation to back us — we need you, dear reader. One of the best things about being independently owned is that we’re not beholden to anyone but our very readers. You have all the power. You can become inspired to create change after reading one of our investigative stories, or, even as a recent social media commenter said, use our print issues to line your birdcage. The two of us have an incredibly unique, symbiotic relationship. As long as we have engaged readers, CityBeat can continue to thrive as an independent source of news in Cincinnati. Are you annoyed that no one is reporting on your favorite restaurant? Shoot us an email to tell us to check it out. We are providing a service to the people of Cincinnati, and are always looking for ways to reach more people with information that they’ll find worthwhile.
What does it mean to be independently owned? Well, for one thing, we can write whatever stories we want (within reason, of course). We are owned by one person who does not interfere with our editorial vision at all. Similar to when we were founded in 1994, CityBeat is run by a small and scrappy team of locals who use their own unique perspectives and expertise to inform and entertain.
Apart from myself, our editorial team is comprised of Madeline Fening, our award-winning news reporter, and Katherine Barrier, our digital content editor who truly does it all, from managing our social media accounts to writing insightful local foodie guides. We also would not be where we are now without our talented group of interns, who keep us young, inquisitive and open to new ideas. Our physical and digital footprint might make us look larger than we truly are, but we are just three staffers with a lot of passion for what we do (and probably an unhealthy work-life balance).
We have a much smaller staff than we did 30 years ago. Just a few decades ago, our staff was so large that we occupied two floors of an office building. Now, our staff of seven work with fewer resources to manage a publication that has an even greater reach and impact than it did 30 years ago. As I’ve said, we are not immune from the challenges faced by most of the media organizations in the country.
Though I firmly believe that CityBeat will exist forever (it will be just copies of CityBeat and cockroaches left after the apocalypse, in my vision of the end), I know that one crucial thing will make or break us: your support. This support can look like reading our print or online stories (online pageviews do generate advertising dollars), subscribing to our newsletters or even giving us a monetary donation through our Press Club. The CityBeat Press Club is a donation-based membership program established to support CityBeat‘s independent journalism. Members receive exclusive content, perks and invitations to special events.
Your donations can help us hire more local writers, report on the topics that need the public’s attention and help shine a spotlight on the local community. With your help, we can ensure that CityBeat continues to inform, entertain and inspire Cincinnati for another 30 years.
This story is featured in CityBeat’s Nov. 27 print edition.
This article appears in Nov 27 – Dec 10, 2024.
