 | |
| Type | Alternative monthly |
|---|---|
| Format | Tabloid |
| Owner(s) | Independent |
| Publisher | A.P. Walther |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Ceased publication | October 2018 |
| Headquarters | Salem, Oregon, USA |
| Circulation | 50,000 readers per issue |
| Website | salemweeklynews |
Salem Weekly (formerly Salem Monthly) was an alternative newspaper publication in Salem, Oregon, United States. The semi-weekly paper was established as a monthly in April 2003 [1] and closed in November 2018. [2] It was owned and published by Andrew Paul "A.P." Walther. [1]
The Salem Monthly traces its origins to a coffee house in downtown Salem, Oregon called the Coffee House Cafe. Dating back to the mid-1990s, the cafe served as a popular meeting place and hangout for Salem's youth culture. In its later years of operation, the cafe began publishing a newsletter to engage customers in Salem's community and cultural affairs. Inspired by the reaction to the cafe's newsletter, cafe owner A.P. Walther decided to start up a publishing operation for an alternative newspaper in town. [1] On November 28, 2018, the Statesman Journal reported the closure of Salem Weekly, which the Weekly announced in a letter relayed to the Statesman via local blogger Brian Hines. The last issue of the paper was published on October 25. [2]
Topics covered in past issues include: the stigma of living on welfare; the dangers of pollution and whether recycling helps; Chemeketa Community College's financial struggles; local gay citizens' reactions to the nullification of gay marriages that took place in Multnomah County; local residents' experiences of racism; internment of Japanese, Italian, and German Americans during World War II; the Native American perspective on Thanksgiving; Bush's abuses of power; Noam Chomsky and the Iraq War.
Publisher A.P. Walther says Salem Monthly was created to give Salem "exposure to local news, thought, and culture in the greater Salem area." [3]