It was announced on Friday (01/04/2012) that The Dispatch Printing Company would be shutting down the alternative paper The Other Paper (TOP) here in Columbus. Those of us who have read TOP over the years know that TOP died when the Dispatch bought it over a year ago. After the purchase, Columbus lost our only real alternative paper in the city.
Columbus, Ohio (January 4, 2013) – The Dispatch Printing Company announced today that it will cease publication of The Other Paper at the end of the current month. The last issue is set for distribution on Thursday, January 31, 2013.
Reader feedback indicated that The Other Paper and alive! had too much overlap between the two publications. Advertiser feedback indicated the two publications didn’t have enough differentiation in their audiences. Alive! was judged the stronger brand which led to the final decision.
It was interesting that the Dispatch claimed that feedback said Alive! and The Other Paper were too much alike. Long time readers like myself know that wasn’t the case before they bought TOP in September of 2011.
Columbus Alive! was the arts and entertainment weekly and TOP was the local and state politics weekly that had decent coverage of the local music scene. It isn’t a surprise that after the sale to the Dispatch the political stories pretty much stopped. In 2012 there was just two political stories – one about campaign buttons and the other about the parties thrown by the Democrats and Republicans on election night. *Sigh*
TOP became more like Alive! because of the Dispatch watering down TOP’s content.
Maybe now that TOP will be put out of its misery another real alternative will start up. It’s too bad no one in this city has come forward before now.
the Dispatch is a scumbag company,but they are correct in this decision-the Other paper was garbage,anyway