The "
alternative" newspaper in Houston. Houston is a
one-paper town (has been ever since the Chronicle devoured the Post and then bought up all printing equipment in the area, just to make sure no one could try to start a new paper), and that one paper is
fiercely mediocre. The Press offers a kind of
counterbalance, offering a willingness to take on weird or unpopular issues, or things which very few people would have thought of. They also tend toward a
complete lack of objectivism, although this at least makes for very, very interesting reading. And they at least are willing to admit it-- they print pretty much any letter sent to them as long as that letter disagrees with them. When they are objective, on the other hand, they tend to be saying unbelievably important things. For example, they were pretty much the only news source willing to touch the
Houston Port Authority's
blatant violations of the law restricting them from running
advertisements of a
political nature.
They also have houston's only paper sources for Red Meat and This Modern World, the <strike>best</strike> only worth mentioning music reviews in houston. They have a movie section, which is almost useless because they hate literally everything, but (like the features) it is a very interesting read.
The houston press publishes weekly, and is available for free in places like Subway. As far as i can gather they are actually part of a chain of "alternative" newspapers, and you can find the Miami New Times and the L.A. Some Name I Don't Remember with literally almost identical format and writing. They even seem to be using the same QuarkXPress templates, or something.
Either way, if you somehow find yourself living in Houston, i highly suggest picking up the Press a few times just to see what they're saying. You can't always accept what they say at face value, but they are definitely a necessary resource if you want to fill in the gaps in what the other local news sources give you..