The Georgia Straight

"The Georgia Straight" is a free Canadian weekly news and entertainment newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, by the Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp. As surveyed by Ipsos-Reid its per-issue circulation average is 117,000, and its average weekly readership is almost 693,000 [41% of all Metro Vancouver adults 18+] . [http://aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/viewCompany?oid=4626]

The name "Georgia Straight" is a pun, as Vancouver adjoins the Georgia Strait, as the "Strait of Georgia" was called on some maps until the mapmakers decided to avoid association with the newspaper. The joke is that "straight" referred to people who were not hip. (In 2008, the provincial government began discussing renaming the Strait of Georgia to an aboriginal name, which could moot the joke).

History

The paper was founded as an anti-establishment alternative newspaper in May 1967 by Pierre Coupey [http://www.rickmcgrath.com/georgia_straight/staffers.html] , Milton Acorn [http://www.rickmcgrath.com/georgia_straight/staffers.html] , Dan McLeod, Stan Persky, and others, and originally it operated as a collective. The paper was raided and fined by the Vancouver Police for publishing obscenities, and was often banned from distribution for its criticism of the local police and politicians, especially Mayor Tom Campbell. Those controversies ended in the 1970s, as the paper moved to become a more conventional news and entertainment weekly, albeit with a progressive editorial slant.

Often known simply as "The Straight", this large "tabloid" format, unconventional publication is delivered to newsboxes, post-secondary schools, public libraries and a large variety of other locations around the Greater Vancouver Area every Thursday.

In October 2003, the Provincial Government sent "The Straight" a bill totalling more than $1 million for outstanding Provincial Sales Tax (PST). In B.C., print publications must have at least 25% editorial content to be considered a newspaper, and to qualify for exemption from PST on printing bills. The extensive "Time Out" listing of the paper, detailing the "what" and "where" of virtually every public event in the city, was judged to be advertising - pushing the paper below the required thresholds for a newspaper.

As reported by the CBC, Publisher Dan McLeod said this re-interpretation of the rules was a politically motivated attempt to silence a persistent critic.

"We're the only paper that is consistently critical of the government in our editorials week after week, and we're the only paper that's being fined a million dollars," he said. "So I put two and two together." [http://vancouver.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?r=-474321980&filename=bc_straight20031009]

However, not everyone agreed with McLeod's interpretation of events and pointed out that "The Straight" had a significantly lower editorial-to-advertising ratio than many other alternative and university papers. [http://www.vancouverscrum.blogspot.com/2003_10_01_vancouverscrum_archive.html] This highly public battle garnered considerable attention, and the BC Government later issued a statement reversing their decision, stating; "Clearly the Georgia Straight is a newspaper..." [http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/nrm_news_releases/2003REV0005-000890.htm]

As noted by McLeod, the paper is known as a vocal critic of government, notably the current Liberal government of Gordon Campbell.

An attempt in the mid-1990s at publishing a second "Straight" newspaper in Calgary, Alberta, (the "Calgary Straight"), was short-lived.

Bob Geldof worked as a music journalist for the "Georgia Straight" in the 1970s before he returned to Ireland and joined the Boomtown Rats.

Content

"The Straight" carries feature articles, ranging from social topics, such as drug use, to in-depth looks at cultural newsmakers like the writer Salman Rushdie. Writer Charlie Smith has a record of covering women's movement issues as well. There are also many advertiser-related articles and listings on lifestyle and entertainment,commenting on restaurants, new wines, new gadgets, designer clothes, and the latest in music, theatre and movies. Rounding out the regular features are the well known American advice columnist Dan Savage with his Savage Love, cartoons, and a local astrology column.

Special editions of "The Straight" include:
*The Golden Plate Awards - March
*The Best Of Vancouver – September

The Best Of Vancouver is a well known feature with whimsical notions of the best place for outdoor sex mixed in with more conventional awards such as Best Dining, Best Bar & Club and best radio station.

"The Straight" has been criticised for publishing cigarette and other tobacco advertising when most publications in Canada have declined to do so for moral and ethical reasons. And of promoting local events that had tobacco industry sponsorship, such as the formerly Benson and Hedges-sponsored Symphony of Fire. "The Straight" has long been condemned for this practice by the major health groups and, more recently, by a Vancouver businessman/former political candidate Dale Jackaman in a series of Google attack ads. [http://dalejackaman.ca]

References

* "The Georgia Straight: What the Hell Happened?" (1997). Editors: Naomi Pauls and Charles Campbell. Vancouver Free Press Publishing Corp., Vancouver. ISBN 1-55054-534-5.
* [http://aan.org Association of Alternative Newsweeklies]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/bc CBC Vancouver]
* [http://gov.bc.ca Provincial government of B.C.]
* [http://www.rickmcgrath.com/georgia_straight/staffers.html Pierre Coupey "Straight Beginnings: The Rise & Fall of the Underground Press" in "The Grape" weekly newspaper #8; March 8, 1972; pp. 12, 13; Vancouver, BC: for early history (1967 until the first schism). Reprinted in "BC BookWorld" newspaper; Vancouver, BC; 2007 Fall.]
* [http://dalejackaman.ca]

ee also

*Georgia Strait (body of water).

Notes

External links

* [http://www.straight.com/ The Georgia Straight website]
* [http://www.rickmcgrath.com/georgia_straight/staffers.html "Georgia Straight Staff, 1967-1972"]