Fort Worth Weekly

About Fort Worth Weekly

Fort Worth Weekly is an alternative weekly newspaper serving the Greater Fort Worth area, covering all of Tarrant County and parts of Denton County. Founded in 1996 as FW Weekly, it is owned by publisher Lee Newquist and published every Wednesday at fwweekly.com. The paper offers incisive, irreverent reporting as an alternative to the region's mainstream media outlets.

Known for its investigative journalism and cultural criticism, the Weekly has built a reputation for holding local power accountable. Its editorial staff has earned numerous awards from press clubs, the State Bar, the National Women's Political Caucus, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, and Investigative Reporters and Editors.

Founding in 1996

Fort Worth Weekly was founded in 1996 as FW Weekly by Robert Camuto, a former features editor at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the son of Nine West co-founder Vince Camuto. Camuto launched the paper to provide Fort Worth with an independent alternative voice, covering the city with an edge that the daily newspaper did not offer.

The paper's own history describes its mission since its founding as providing a vibrant alternative to North Texas' often-timid mainstream media outlets through reportage that keeps readers informed and the powers-that-be worried.

Sale to New Times Media

In August 2000, Camuto sold the Weekly to New Times Media, the national alt-weekly chain based in Phoenix. The sale made the Fort Worth paper part of the largest group of alternative weeklies in the United States, alongside papers including the Dallas Observer and the Houston Press.

The New Times ownership lasted only about a year. In an unusual transaction, the chain sold the paper to Lee Newquist, who had been New Times' executive vice president of operations and publisher of both the Dallas Observer and FW Weekly. Newquist purchased the paper and separated from the company, returning the Weekly to independent local ownership.

Lee Newquist ownership

The Fort Worth Weekly is owned by publisher Lee Newquist, whose brother Michael Newquist serves as associate publisher. Newquist's background as a New Times executive and Dallas Observer publisher gave him deep experience in the alternative-weekly business before he took the Fort Worth paper independent.

Under Newquist's ownership, the Weekly has maintained its independent stance and its focus on local accountability journalism. The paper has remained locally owned for more than two decades, a distinction in an industry increasingly dominated by chains and investment funds.

The Gayle Reaves era

In October 2001, Gayle Reaves became editor of the Weekly, a position she held until March 2015. Reaves came to the paper from the Dallas Morning News, where she had been a projects reporter and assistant city editor. At the Morning News, she was part of the team that won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting, and she received the George Polk Award in 1990 with two colleagues.

Reaves brought big-league investigative standards to the small weekly newsroom. Under her editorship, the Weekly pursued ambitious accountability reporting, and its editorial staff earned a reputation for decorations per capita that the paper claims may exceed that of any newsroom in the country.

Editorial leadership today

Anthony Mariani was named editor in April 2015, succeeding Reaves. The award-winning editorial department has included staff writers such as Peter Gorman, Kristian Lin, Jeff Prince, and Eric Griffey, along with a host of freelancers.

With the exception of film coverage, the Weekly's editorial coverage is entirely local, focusing on the people, institutions, and issues of Fort Worth and Tarrant County. The paper publishes news, editorials, profiles, and reviews of art, books, theatrical productions, food, films, and music.

Weekly format and reach

The Weekly is published every Wednesday and distributed free across the Fort Worth area. The newspaper has reported an approximate circulation of 75,000, making it one of the larger alternative weeklies in Texas.

As a free weekly supported by advertising, the paper follows the classic alternative-newspaper business model. Its tabloid format and weekly rhythm allow for longer, more analytical stories than daily newspapers typically produce, along with comprehensive arts and entertainment listings.

Investigative impact

The Weekly's stories have had significant real-world impact. Its reporting helped expose the corruption that brought down MCI Worldcom, sparked investigations of an alleged high-society pedophile, and helped victims of human trafficking, corporate racism, and government-sanctioned pollution receive justice.

The paper's investigative targets have ranged from school contracting scandals to environmental hazards and the misdeeds of elected officials. Its reporting on the region's connections to terrorism, corporate misconduct, and government pollution has demonstrated the capacity of a small weekly newsroom to produce journalism of national consequence.

Best of Tarrant County and events

The Weekly publishes an annual "Best of Tarrant County" issue each fall, recognizing the county's best restaurants, bars, musicians, venues, and local personalities. The paper also produces special advertising sections devoted to restaurants, holiday shopping, and education.

The Weekly's events include Thursday Night Live, a free weekly outdoor spring and summer concert series produced in collaboration with Central Market; First Friday on the Green, a free monthly outdoor concert series produced with Fort Worth South Inc.; the Visionary Awards, cash awards given to up-and-coming Fort Worth artists; and the Fort Worth Weekly Music Awards and Music Awards Festival, a free day-long concert featuring dozens of local bands.

Role in North Texas media

In a Dallas-Fort Worth media market dominated by large daily newspapers and television stations, the Fort Worth Weekly provides a distinctly Fort Worth-centered alternative voice. Its focus on Tarrant County distinguishes it from Dallas-based media, giving Fort Worth's civic and cultural life dedicated coverage.

For nearly three decades, the Weekly has served readers who want aggressive local reporting, cultural criticism, and entertainment coverage with an independent edge. Its endurance as a locally owned alternative weekly makes it a significant institution in Texas journalism.

An alternative to the dailies

The Weekly defines itself as a vibrant alternative to North Texas' often-timid mainstream media outlets, a positioning that sets it apart from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the region's dominant daily. Founder Robert Camuto's background as a Star-Telegram features editor gave the Weekly an insider's understanding of what the daily did not cover.

Editor Gayle Reaves embodied this alternative identity: she left the Dallas Morning News, where she had won a Pulitzer Prize, to edit a feisty little weekly. Her move signaled the Weekly's ambition to do serious accountability journalism without the resources or constraints of a metropolitan daily, and the paper's subsequent investigative record vindicated that ambition.

Unlike Dallas-based media, which often treats Fort Worth as an afterthought, the Weekly covers Tarrant County as its primary beat. Its reporting on Fort Worth city government, the Tarrant County political establishment, and the city's cultural life gives the community a dedicated journalistic voice.

The paper's features have introduced readers to unexpected corners of Fort Worth life, from local eBay traders and radio personalities to peach farmers and polygamists. This combination of hard-hitting investigations and colorful features has defined the Weekly's editorial personality for nearly three decades.

The Weekly's newsroom has drawn talent from across Texas journalism, including veterans of the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram who traded daily-newspaper resources for the freedom of the alternative press. Its reporters have won recognition from the Houston and Dallas press clubs, the State Bar of Texas, the National Women's Political Caucus, and Investigative Reporters and Editors.