The Riverfront Times (RFT) was a free progressive weekly newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri, that consisted of local politics, music, arts, and dining news in the print edition, and daily updates to blogs and photo galleries on its website. As of June 2008,[update] the Riverfront Times had an ABC-audited weekly circulation of 81,276 copies.[1]
 The June 26, 2016 edition of the Riverfront Times | |
| Type | Alternative weekly |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | Big Lou Holdings LLC |
| Editor | Sarah Fenske (2015–2019)
Doyle Murphy (2019 – February 2022) Rosalind Early (March 2022 – present) |
| Founded | 1977 |
| Headquarters | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Circulation | 81,276 weekly |
| Website | riverfronttimes |
History
editThe paper was founded in 1977 by Ray Hartmann[2][3] who, along with co-owner Mark Vittert, sold the newspaper in 1998 to New Times Media[4][5][6] (later known, following a 2006 merger, as Village Voice Media).[7][8] In September 2012, Village Voice Media executives Scott Tobias, Christine Brennan and Jeff Mars agreed to purchase Village Voice Media's papers and associated web properties from its founders and formed Voice Media Group.[9] In 2015, Euclid Media Group acquired the Times from Voice Media Group.[10]
The paper has received more than three dozen awards from the Missouri Press Association, along with the group's Gold Cup.[11] The paper and website also currently feature a weekly syndicated column by relationship and sex advice writer Dan Savage. In the past, the paper carried Chuck Sheppard's News of the Weird column. Former journalists that wrote for the paper include Suzanne Langlois, who won the 1994 Con Lee Kelliher award for distinguished achievement.[12]
In June 2019, editor-in-chief Sarah Fenske announced her departure after being selected to host St. Louis on the Air on St. Louis Public Radio.[13] News editor Doyle Murphy was selected as interim editor-in-chief.[14] Murphy served as editor-in-chief until he announced in the February 9, 2022, edition that he would be leaving the paper to work for St. Louis Public Radio.[15] Ben Westhoff, the executive editor of Euclid Media Group,[16] served as interim editor-in-chief[17] following Murphy's resignation, but announced on February 24, 2022, that Rosalind Early, who was then serving as deputy managing editor for Washington Magazine at Washington University in St. Louis, would be the paper's next editor in chief, starting in March.
In August 2023, Euclid Media Group dissolved and the newspaper was sold to Chris Keating, operating under the name Big Lou Holdings LLC.[18] The paper was sold again in May 2024 to an unnamed buyer and all staff were laid off.[19][20]
See also
edit
- Wm. Stage, RFT columnist
- St. Louis Beacon
- Suburban Journals
- St. Louis Post-Dispatch
References
edit- ^ "Association of Alternative Newsweeklies". Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
- ^ Underground, The Christian Science Monitor, May 20, 1980 (noting "Ray Hartmann's fledgling Riverfront Times ...")
- ^ WELL ESTABLISHED: RAY HARTMANN HAS TURNED AN ALTERNATIVE PAPER INTO A 20-YEAR-OLD COMMUNITY FIXTURE, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 16, 1997
- ^ "New Times, Inc. Buys Riverfront Times". Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. 1998-09-16. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
- ^ Riverfront Times being sold to chain, St. Louis Business Journal, September 24, 1998
- ^ PHOENIX CHAIN BUYS RIVERFRONT TIMES PRICE IS ESTIMATED AT $6-10 MILLION, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 25, 1998
- ^ Riverfront Times turns 30, St. Louis Journalism Review (October 2007)
- ^ Riverfront Times parent to merge with Village Voice, St. Louis Business Journal, October 24, 2005
- ^ Ha, Anthony (24 September 2012). "Village Voice Media Execs Acquire The Company's Famed Alt Weeklies, Form New Holding Company". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
- ^ "Euclid Media Group Acquires St. Louis Weekly, Riverfront Times". AltWeeklies.com. 2015-03-25. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
- ^ "About Riverfront Times". Riverfront Times. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
- ^ Rose, Louis J. (26 September 1994). "Panel Rips TV for Initiating Furor over Simpson Hearing". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 6.
- ^ Painter, Madalyn. "Sarah Fenske Named New St. Louis On The Air Host". news.stlpublicradio.org. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
- ^ Fenske, Sarah (June 27, 2019). "The RFT's New Boss Is Doyle Murphy (Not the Same as the Old Boss)". Riverfront Times. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-21.
- ^ "Issue of Feb 9-25, Vol. 46, No. 6" (PDF). The Riverfront Times. p. 6.
- ^ Murphy, Doyle. "I'm Leaving, But You Should Absolutely Work at the RFT". Riverfront Times. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
- ^ "St. Louis News and Events". Riverfront Times. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
- ^ "The RFT Has a New Owner, and He's Based in St. Louis". Riverfront Times. August 10, 2023. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
- ^ Kirn, Jacob (May 22, 2024). "Riverfront Times sold, newspaper's editorial staff laid off". St. Louis Business Journal. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
- ^ Merrilees, Annika; Barker, Jacob (2024-05-22). "St. Louis alt-weekly Riverfront Times sold, lays off all staff". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2024-05-22.