Denver Westword

Westword is a free alternative weekly newspaper based in Denver, Colorado.

Westword was established independently in 1977. In 1983 it was bought by New Times Media. In 2005, New Times acquired Village Voice Media, and changed its name to Village Voice Media. Westword is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and has received several awards for its investigative reporting. Westword has several regular features focusing on local events including arts, entertainment and politics. Regular arts and music criticism includes music criticism by Dave Herrera and food critic Jason Sheehan. Westword also publishes the syndicated columns of Dan Savage and the cartoons of Tom Tomorrow.

The newspaper's web site, westword.com, offers comprehensive listings of music, arts, and other events, along with restaurant and bar listings. Westword.com also has three blogs: Backbeat, a music blog; Cafe Society, about the Denver food scene; and the Latest Word, a news and general-interest blog. It also features regular nightlife and other event coverage on its slideshow page, westword.com/slideshow.

Starting with the May 21, 2009 issue, Westword is now printed in a smaller magazine style with a glossy cover. Prior to this, the weekly had always been printed in a tabloid newspaper format.

Best of Denver

Every year, Westword's staff awards hundreds of Denver-area personalities, restaurants, bars, shops, and others "Best of Denver" awards. The awards are archived on the newspaper's web site, at westword.com/bestof.

The newspaper also throws a yearly concert, the "Music Showcase", in which the competing acts from each genre perform for a crowd and attempt to win some extra votes.

Personalities

Patricia Calhoun is the editor-in-chief of Westword. Her column, "Calhoun," appears regularly and usually offers biting perspectives or criticisms pertaining to current events.

Adam Cayton-Holland writes the weekly column "What's So Funny," which is often the topic of controversy in letters to the editor due to its racy content and profanity.

Kenny Be has been a cartoonist for Westword since 1982. He creates two cartoons per week: "Worst Case Scenario", a page dedicated to Denver issues; "Hip Tip" is a single frame which is published in most of the Village Voice weeklies.

Noah Van Sciver draws the weekly music comic strip, "4 Questions," which consists of illustrated interviews with various local bands.

Dave Herrera is the newspaper's music editor, and he writes a regular music column called "Beatdown." Jason Sheehan, an award-winning food critic who's been featured multiple times in the Best American Food Writing series, reviews restaurants for the paper.

Michael Paglia writes on art and architecture and is the author of a number of books including "Denver The Modern City", "The Mid-Century Modern House in Denver", "Landscapes of Colorado" and "Colorado Abstract".

Michael Roberts is the paper's media critic, and he blogs regularly on the Latest Word. The paper's other staff writers include Joel Warner, Jared Jacang Maher and Alan Prendergast.

Controversy

Westword ran a cover story on May 13, 2004 entitled "Stalking the Bogeyman" in which the 33-year-old journalist, David Holthouse, described being molested at the age of 7 by a 14-year-old at his home in Anchorage, Alaska. The attacker was not named but a picture and other details were printed. The article told of Holthouse's recently abandoned plans to belatedly kill his now grown-up attacker: "I was going to watch him writhe like a poisoned cockroach for a few seconds, then kick him onto his stomach and put three bullets in the back of his head. This time last year I had a gun, and a silencer, and a plan" .

After the article was published, Holthouse feared retaliation and asked a friend to follow the alleged attacker. The friend was arrested on suspicion of stalking on May 29, 2004. Holthouse's arrest soon followed. "Any charges against me are essentially charges of thought crimes," he said . The alleged attacker and his wife declined to press charges . The article won a 2nd place in the annual awards of the Colorado Society of Professional Journalists .

Westword published a followup story by Holthouse on July 8, 2004 in which he described his reaction upon being arrested: "I said to myself, to the walls, to no one, 'Well, isn't this a bitch? The guy who raped me when I was kid just got me arrested. I should have gone ahead and shot his ass'". Holthouse feared retaliation because "After the article came out, my mom, who still lives in Anchorage, Alaska, where the rape occurred, and from whom I inherited my taste for vendetta, mailed copies of the cover story to everyone in the man's neighborhood, along with a signed note identifying him as the unnamed molester in the story. She was a one-woman sexual-predator notification program" .

The publication of Holthouse's articles and photos of the alleged attacker sparked controversy; some readers feel Holthouse, his mother, and Westword behaved unprofessionally, irresponsibly, and illegally. Others sympathized with Holthouse's motivations, if not his and his mother's actions, and praised the publication for exposing the kind of anger and frustration felt by many victims of sexual abuse.

References

1. ^ "Westword". Association of Alternative Newsweeklies . http://aan.org/alternative/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A98 . Retrieved 2007-02-23 .  
2. ^ "Finally, some exciting media news" FaceTheState.com. Retrieved 18 June 2009.

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