[Newspoetry] CU Cityview

[Robert Porter]

William,

This is the real deal.  According to a Cityview employee, just yesterday 
the Honchos from Saga swooped down, angel-of-death fashion, and told 
everyone to hit the road, then immediately changed the locks.

It would seem that even prepackaged hipitude is no defense against the 
whims of our local corporate mini-moguls.

What gets me is that I know some of the folks over there were at least 
trying to produce something interesting.  Now, in the middle of winter, 
with absolutely no warning, they are suddenly jobless.  The loss of the 
publication is pretty negligible, really, but you can be sure the 
News-Gazette is not going to be snapping these people up.

--Bob

On Friday, January 3, 2003, at 10:54 AM, William Gillespie wrote:

>
> Huh? Are you for real? I thought the Cityview was too bland to die. As an
> advertising zine, it seems to have systematically dismantled any content
> that would interfere with its quasi-hip consumer aesthetic, and their
> self-defeating attempts to recast Champaign-Urbana as a progressive
> community on a par with Austin (which, I'll wager, has a smarter
> alternative weekly newspaper that doesn't print vapid articles about how
> Austin is almost as cool as Portland). What gives?
>
> On Fri, 3 Jan 2003, Robert Porter wrote:
>
>> 3 January 2003
>>
>> In a fit of despondency over the end of Newspoetry, CU Cityview (formerly
>> and more interestingly known as The Octopus), Champaign-Urbana's weekly
>> Arts and Entertainment rag, has apparently ceased publication.  Once a
>> home-grown outlet for information about the local arts and music scene, 
>> as
>> well as the occasional "real" news piece, the Cityview has more recently
>> been the victim of a corporate buyout, a really stupid name-change, and 
>> an
>> editorial policy which has increasingly skewed towards the rich yuppie
>> contingent.
>>
>> Despite a whole raft of faults, they did once give this reporter a very
>> nice write-up, as well as presenting information to the community which
>> was not to be had elsewhere.  Their absence will leave a large hole, to 
>> be
>> filled by I don't know what.  Any thoughts?
>>
>> RIP The Octopus:
>>
>> http://www.cucityview.com/
>>
>>
>> -- Robert Porter
>>
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>>
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