San Diego's last alt-weekly stops the presses, but it's not giving up yet

For decades, alt-weeklies like the San Diego Reader were a city's rebellious voice, digging into local politics, covering underground arts and publishing stories no one else would. But their survival depended on classified ads and print advertising, both of which were decimated by Craigslist and the rise of digital media. Now, one by one, these once-essential papers are vanishing. As the Reader ends its print run, we look at what their disappearance means for local journalism.

"They were irreverent. They were conversational. They had a point of view, but they also had a way of looking at the news of the day from a different angle because they knew they had to be different," said Scott Lewis of Voice of San Diego. Lewis began his career writing for an alt-weekly in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Photos: A final glimpse inside the now-closed San Diego Reader office

"And so I think it's demise as a print product — as something that was available, especially the music stuff — it's a bummer to think that these major cities are now going to continue, maybe forever, without that staple of the coffee shops. That thing you could pick up to look at what's coming up, just to have. Print products were the original mobile, right? That's what you could carry with you — and now it's gone."

Guests:

• Matthew Lickona, owner and editor in chief of San Diego Reader
• Jim Holman, founder of San Diego Reader
• Scott Lewis, CEO and editor in chief of Voice of San Diego
• Jesse Munyoki, KPBS student assistant and host of KCR's DaCulture

Voice of San Diego is a nonprofit news partner of KPBS in our Public Matters series.

Alt-weekly reads:

• "Insomnia" by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• "A Pretty Good Chinese Restaurant" by Jonathan Gold
• "Fifty years of the Reader's best stories" by San Diego Reader authors
• "Tam Hoang, Coronado teacher, recounts his voyage to English" by Tam Hoang
• "Loma Portal and Midway District during WWII - a walking tour" by Margot Sheehan
• "Why Elizabeth Smart Became a Household Name" by Scott Lewis
• "San Diego Orchids & Onions winners, 20 years later" by Matthew Lickona
• "Marilyn Monroe will always be in Coronado" by Matthew Lickona
• "Trailblazing without a screen" by Julia Dixon Evans
• "'We're Gonna Make It': Bob Rabbit Transforms His Beats Into a Heroic Mission" by Anthony Wallace

Matthew Lickona's reading list:

• "Up in the Old Hotel and Other Stories" by Joseph Mitchell
• "The Pump House Gang" by Tom Wolfe
• "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac
• "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" by Tom Wolfe
• "The White Album" by Joan Didion

Mentioned in this episode:

• Craigslist | Online classifieds site launched in 1995, with a San Diego edition added in 2000, known for its no-frills design and endless odd finds
• La Pensione Hotel | European-style boutique hotel in San Diego's Little Italy
• Bob Roth | Founder of the Chicago Reader, the influential alt-weekly he launched in 1971
• Rotten Tomatoes | Movie and TV review site launched in 1998 that distills critical consensus into one score
• Gonzo Report | Recurring column in the San Diego Reader delivering boots-on-the-ground dispatches from San Diego's music scene and beyond
• Blockbuster | Video rental giant that ruled living rooms from its 1985 founding through the early 2000s
• Ernie Grimm | Former managing editor of the San Diego Reader, recruited alongside Matthew Lickona by the paper
• KCR College Radio | Student-run San Diego State University station broadcasting indie, punk and campus voices
• Burn All Books' Mail Mag | Subscription-based zine mailing packed with art, poetry and writing from BAB and friends, sent via postal mail each month
• Substack | Newsletter platform that gives writers a new way to publish and get paid
• The New Yorker | Esteemed magazine known for longform journalism, fiction, and sharp cultural commentary.
• The Atlantic | Influential publication offering in-depth reporting and essays on politics, culture, and American life.
• Hotel del Coronado | Iconic beachfront hotel known for its ghost lore, Victorian design and as the filming location for 1959's "Some Like It Hot" starring Marilyn Monroe

Sources:

• "Are alt-weeklies dying or just moving online?" (Kristen Hare, Poynter, 2017)
• "No One's Sure What the New CityBeat Will Look Like" (Julia Dixon Evans, Voice of San Diego, 2019)
• "San Diego Reader ends print edition after 52 years" (Julia Dixon Evans, KPBS, 2025)
• "TV Guide Magazine is sold for the third time in less than 10 years to NTVB Media" (Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 2015)
• "Reader's Digest changes hands" (InPublishing, 2018)
• "Creative Destruction: Out With the Old, in With the New" (Carol M. Kopp, Investopedia, 2023)