Star Tribune Media Company announced Wednesday that City Pages, its controversial alt-weekly, will “permanently cease operations effective today.”
A press release from the Star Tribune said the COVID-19 pandemic has “disrupted the restaurants, clubs, theaters, museums, and other venues that form the core of City Pages’ revenue.”
“As you can imagine, the current economic climate for City Pages advertisers has turned from unfavorable to unfeasible,” Paul Kasbohm, chief revenue officer of the Star Tribune, said in a statement.
“Since City Pages revenue is 100% driven by advertisers and events — and those investments have dropped precipitously — there’s no reasonable financial scenario that would enable us to continue operations in the face of this pandemic,” he continued. “Unfortunately, we foresee no meaningful recovery of these sectors or their advertising investments in the near future, leaving us no other options than to close City Pages.”
The release said the closure will eliminate all City Pages positions and the last print issue will be distributed this week.
City Pages is frequently criticized by conservatives for its sexually-explicit content and advertisements, and its habit of smearing Republican politicians and causes. Most recently, the outlet retracted an article that celebrated President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis as a “hit of dopamine.”
“Typically political parties slow down operations after the election,” said Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis. “Kinda odd the Minnesota DFL shut down their communications department a week early.”
Typically political parties slow down operations after the election…
Kinda odd the @MinnesotaDFL shut down their communications department a week early? https://t.co/YEASpvbZLj
— Jason Lewis (@LewisForMN) October 28, 2020
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.