Truth is Stranger than Fiction: Seattle Alt-Weekly Sold
The Stranger (and Portland Mercury, and some other companies) was just sold to a new entity called Noisy Creek, headed by Bradley Walkinshaw. The Stranger’s former owners will retain a 20% share of Noisy Creek and a seat on the board. The sale price has not been disclosed and the other members of the investor group also remain a mystery.
Walkinshaw told the New York Times that Noisy Creek’s budget would be “$5 to $10 million in its first year” which tells us nothing - there is a huge difference between 5 and 10 million dollars.
Noisy Creek has hired a “head of studio” who will lead the launch of “a digital content studio that mirrors early VICE, using the PNW as the backdrop” but claims on Twitter that “this isn’t a pivot to video.”
The Stranger stopped publishing what was by that point a bi-weekly print edition in March of 2020 right when the pandemic hit. They got a fortune in forgivable PPP loans to help carry them through. Just like almost every business in Washington State - whether they needed it or not. The Stranger needed it - the nightclubs closed and their ad revenue dried up.
The Stranger’s new editor, Hannah Murphy Winter (how does it feel to be demoted, Rich Smith?) gave a weird interview where she mocked Jann Wenner, her “coke-bloated boss” at her old employer, Rolling Stone.
Founding publisher Tim Keck told the New York Times “maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I think these alt-weeklies are going to rebound across the country.”
The Stranger as a business peaked in the late 1990s when it often ran to 100 pages and was full of ads for booze and smokes, and made bank off of personal ads and notices for escort services.
If I had 5 to 10 million dollars to spend recreating a media company I think I’d just start something new. Tim Keck is a good person, but like me he’s an elderly Gen-Xer now. We’ve lost the youth vote, dude.
—Alex
DISCLOSURE: I met my current wife at The Stranger and proposed to her at the office. Stranger sex columnist Dan Savage overheard and brought out a bottle of champagne.
See also:
Yes, It’s True! The Stranger Has Been Bought
The Stranger - July 29, 2024
The Stranger in Seattle Gets a New Owner, With Plans for Expansion
New York Times - July 30, 2024
Brady Walkinshaw Joins The Stranger
The Stranger - July 30, 2024
Meet The Stranger’s New Editor, Hannah Murphy Winter
She and Our New Owners, Noisy Creek, Have Exciting Plans for the Future
The Stranger - July 31, 2024