Check your stoops and walkways, Northwest residents: The Northwest Courier may have been lofted onto them Wednesday. The new community paper, which has already launched online, made its print debut this week.
If the paper reminds you of the Current newspapers, which shut down abruptly last month, that’s not a coincidence. Publisher Brendan Martin and Editor Kaleel Weatherly are veterans of the Current. A quick read of the Courier shows it absorbed many lessons from the Current, including a front page headline that begins “Controversy Stirs.”
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The first print issue has 28 pages and (by my count) nearly 13 pages of ads. The coverage includes stories about a new MOM’s coming to Spring Valley, the District budget, and local author Julie Langsdorf. There’s extensive coverage of ANC meetings, a police blotter, and a nicely curated events calendar.
There’s no editorial page, one of several topics Washingtonian would love to discuss with the paper’s management. A request for an interview is in.
Andrew Beaujon joined Washingtonian in late 2014. He was previously with the Poynter Institute, TBD.com, and Washington City Paper. He lives in Del Ray.
