Alternative Media Showcase: Seven Days
Monday, March 31st, 2008
I took most of last week off to finish a massive project for one of my writing projects. This week away from the blog helped me figure out that I have been negligent in my duties as a media critic. I have lamented the stupidity, laziness and acceptance of mediocrity of cable news and major networks without contributing to the solution. The occasional series on alternative media that I have peppered throughout this blog will now be the primary source of material.
Seven Days is a weekly newspaper based out of Burlington, Vermont that offers a high level of quality for an alternative media source. The paper has been operating since 1995 and has achieved a circulation of 32,000 in print as well as countless other readers online. The Association of Alternative Newspapers (AAN) says that Seven Days is distributed to several ski areas in addition to colleges like Middlebury College and the University of Vermont.
The jewel of Seven Days is experienced writer Peter Freyne who wrote an article called Inside Track up until the last month. Freyne has left the paper after decades speaking to leaders and political insiders in Vermont. His irreverent manner (calling Senator Bernie Sanders “Bernardo?) is a good cover for Freyne’s keen eye for local politics. One of the most recent articles by Freyne involved an interview with Sanders regarding the state’s Democratic primary and the general election.
This alternative paper has the usual sections on music (Soundbites) and food (Side Dishes) that are desired by the average reader. My favorite article in the last few editions was an article on the Vermont Democratic Party’s failures to field a candidate for governor even as Progressive Party candidate Anthony Pollina has emerged as the only opposition to Governor John Lynch. This piece is fantastic because it goes into the depths of Vermont politics for the benefit of readers like me who know nothing of the Green Mountain State’s history.
