Alternative Newsweeklies are outstanding, AND a true alternative.

I have a VERY warm spot in my heart for the alternative press represented by the ALTERNATIVE NEWSWEEKLIES. They were born during the 1960s and I appreciate that; these publications are a true remnant of that time of intellectual revolution.

We know these newsweeklies best as a source for entertainment reviews and listings, local dining info, and affordable advertising, and many good hours reading at coffee shops or on public transportation. But they are so much more: Local reporting, investigative reporting, tough editorials, pre-election ballot analysis, book reviews, and alternative and political cartoons.

We need them more than ever. And so many can be accessed online and have great websites too.

A good source of finding the websites of ALTERNATIVE NEWSWEEKLIES is the directory of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN):

http://aan.org/alternative/Aan/NewsweeklyDirectory

And here's the AAN's homepage:

http://aan.org/alternative/Aan/index

In order to belong to the AAN, a publication must meet certain criteria and be independent of those large M$M dailies.

Here is a sampling of some of the great Alternative Newsweekly articles:

Conspiracy's place in popular culture gets the x-ray treatment from movie specialist Peter Keough in the BOSTON PHOENIX; fasten your seatbelt, and read "The Plots Thicken":

http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Movies/89463-plots-thicken/

The CHARLESTON CITY PAPER has an annual Gay Issue. (When was the last time your local daily or your fav TV network did that?)

http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/the-gay-issue-2009/Categor...

At BLACK & WHITE in Birmingham, columnist Chuck Geiss in his regular spot "Naked Birmingham" adds to the PBS Jim Leher coverage of a 52-mile new highway -- AS ONLY THE LOCAL REPORTER CAN DO IT.

http://www.bwcitypaper.com/Articles-i-2009-08-20-230997.113121_Naked_Bir...

Read how to buy locally ('local consumption') and thereby strengthen your greeness and boycott Whole Foods at the same time! Jay Youngdahl reviews the book "Localists Movements in a Global Economy: Sustainability, Justice and Urban Development in the United States" by David Hess. See clearly at last thanks to the EAST BAY EXPRESS!

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/news/what_does_buying_local_really_mean_/C...

The latest news on the blog at The TUCSON WEEKLY: Planned Parenthood Arizona sues state of Arizona over state abortion restrictions--

http://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2009/09/14/planned-parenth...

The future of California in a globalist world? P. Joseph Potocki looks at the way globalists think about tidy economic packages called "megaregion city states" and what that could mean for a spot like the San Francisco area where SO many wealthy individuals dominate the economy. The question (perhaps already answered in globalist circles) is "Should California split in two?" is addressed in the NORTHBAY BOHEMIAN:

http://www.bohemian.com/bohemian/09.09.09/feature-0936.html

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Dear Reader, please support your local Alternative Newsweekly AND visit the websites of other Alternative Newsweeklies around the country, too.