Twenty Years Ago
Since January 2014, Whatcom Watch has been
reprinting article from issues printed 20 years ago.
The below article appeared in the August 2004 issue of Whatcom Watch.
by Alan Rhodes
Last month I ran an article here in Whatcom Watch discussing 28 free newspapers and magazines I picked up in a single morning of wandering around downtown Bellingham. I asked readers to let me know if I missed anything. It turns out I did.
Three Seattle publications, Northwest Garden News, Computer Source and European Weekly, are easy to find around town, as is the Portland magazine Northwest City Sports. Also from Portland comes Computer User. The Discorder makes its way down to Bellingham coffee bars from the University of British Columbia, and the latest issue of Huxley College’s The Planet has appeared recently.
Yet another events magazine is now on the scene, Northwest AMP from La Conner, and I’m informed that a publication called Skratch has come all the way from Tustin, California, to Bellingham, but I haven’t seen a copy myself. The newsletter Fish Tales from that wonderful group the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association is often found around town, as is Northwest Ecosystem News (formerly Northwest Conservation) from another stellar environmental group, the Northwest Ecosystem Alliance.
Business Publications
A couple of free business publications can be found locally, Business Pulse from here in Bellingham, and Diversity News from Bellevue. More than one person took me to task for failing to mention the Bellingham Business Journal. In my defense, I left it out because I was writing on publications one can find for free around town, and, unless you’re a business owner, you have to buy the Bellingham Business Journal on the news-stand.
That said, it should be noted that this is an outstanding publication, winning eight awards from the Society of Professional Journalists in the past three years. Bill McCallum here at Whatcom Watch informs me that the Bellingham Business Journal scoops The Bellingham Herald on business news at least once a month.
Adding the above free publications to my original list gives a total of 41 newspapers and magazines you can pick up around town at absolutely no charge. Some of these 41 publications present hard news, others appeal to a variety of interests, others are lively voices for the local arts and entertainment scene. Without hesitation, we can say that truly free speech is alive and well here in Hamster town.
In an era when FOX News serves as a campaign vehicle for the Bush administration, and Clear Channel will pull the Dixie Chicks off the air because management takes offense at something the ladies said, and media conglomerates are gobbling up local newspapers, it’s encouraging to have an abundance of energetic and independent news sources no farther than your local coffee bar or convenience store.
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Alan Rhodes writes an occasional column for the Cascadia Daily called Mister Cranky.
