San Diego Reader
| Type | Alternative weekly |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | Jim Holman |
| Publisher | Jim Holman |
| Editor | Jim Holman |
| Founded | October, 1972 |
| Headquarters | San Diego, California, U.S. |
| Circulation | 51,000 weekly [1] |
| Website | SanDiegoReader.com |
The San Diego Reader is an alternative press newspaper in the county of San Diego. Published weekly since October 1972, the Reader is distributed free on Wednesday and Thursday via street boxes and cooperating retail outlets.[2]
History[edit]
Founder Jim Holman, a navy veteran, worked for the Chicago Reader before starting up in San Diego. The initial press run of the San Diego Reader was 20,000 copies. In 1989, it was printing 131,000 copies a week and in 2011, the circulation was 51,000.[2][3] In 1988, the Reader moved into a former restaurant in Little Italy and moved to offices in Golden Hill in 2012.[4][5]
Despite the Reader's image[citation needed] as a liberal, "off-the-wall" alternative weekly with sexually explicit features[citation needed] and strong language, Holman is guided by a conservative philosophy. He refuses to publish advertisements promoting abortion services. In 1985, he refused to accept personal advertisements seeking homosexual relationships, but after receiving complaints from gay activists, the ban included all sexual relationships.[3] He also runs the anti-abortion California Catholic Daily website from the same offices.[6][7][8]
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, 30 employees agreed to take pay cuts equivalent to half of their pay.[9]
In 2023, reporter Catherine Cranston's press pass was revoked by the San Diego Police Department after she used a false name - the pseudonym Eva Knott - to fill out court documents for the Reader seeking permission to record and take photographs of a criminal conspiracy case against members of antifa who fought with Trump supporters and white supremacists at a protest in Pacific Beach in the days after the January 6th United States Capitol attack.[10]
References[edit]
- ^ "Annual Audit Report, June 2011". Larkspur, Calif.: Verified Audit Circulation. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
- ^ a b "San Diego Reader - AltWeeklies.com". archive.altweeklies.com.
- ^ a b Brass, Kevin (May 18, 1989). "Off the Wall With Reader Publisher". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ Showley, Rowley (May 31, 2012). "San Diego Reader moving to Golden Hill". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ Showley, Roger (July 24, 2012). "Reader owner completes purchase for newspaper office". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ Davis, Kelly (December 21, 2011). "Jim Holman's quest to amend California's abortion law". San Diego City Beat. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ Grace, Jeff. "Contact Us". California Catholic Daily. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ "Reader owner bankrolls pro-life Democrat". San Diego Union-Tribune. April 14, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ Dotinga, Randy (April 8, 2020). "Local Media's Crucible: News Consumption Is Up, But Revenue Is Way Down". Voice of San Diego. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ Carless, Will (March 17, 2023). "As crucial legal test for Antifa ideology heads to trial, right-wing media also scrutinized". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
