by Michelle Greysen

Created on: May 19, 2009

Touted as one of the fasted growing media products in North America the weekly community newspapers have come a long way in their strong survival in spite of the Internet. With the busy lifestyle of late, reading a daily paper is often out of the question as most time-challenged readers catch little more than a web-glimpse of global events.

The weeklies on the other hand are thriving against corporate daily counterparts and still remain a strong mainstay of many homes offering a connection to local lifestyle. It's a long way from CNN's latest world crisis to the weekly paper's announcement of a pending bridal shower, upcoming bottle drive or the odd alternative-theatre review. Although many community papers strive for that small town flavor they often tackle global issue with a local angle, many having successfully brought this fast growing side of the publishing world into a new light. Community weeklies are not just for small town anymore.

In the US the desire for community connection has brought about a whole new world of weekly papers. Such success stories as Lawyers Weekly offer the nation's premier source of legal information for practicing attorneys and since inception in 1972 has expanded to now offer eight state-specific weekly publications. The KURIER a Russian American Weekly Newspaper is now published in both New York and Los Angeles. The New York Observer bills itself as "...the nation's most influential weekly newspaper" further claiming that "...add a generous mix of money, power, and politics, and you've got a weekly editorial banquet, New York-style." For the Jewish experience every Thursday one can turn to Forward, the premier Jewish newspaper in America, steeped in history having launched back in 1897 as the Yiddish-language daily newspaper.

In Canada The Hill Times is a thriving independently owned weekly newspaper which makes the claim "We have been giving political players and decision-makers a key platform to communicate with each other within Government." This influential weekly adds that they "...are widely considered a leading source for federal and political coverage in Ottawa and across the country." Western Catholic Reporter, Canada's largest religious weekly on events and issues of concern to the church, owned by and serving primarily the Edmonton Archdiocese, is also widely subscribed and read throughout Canada and into the U.S.

In the weekly Alternative Newspaper world both Canada and the US offer up everything from personal

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