No more weekly print edition of Creative Loafing

Publication goes monthly instead, focuses on digital.

For decades, intown Atlantans would pick up free copies of Creative Loafing at the local pizza place or bookstore or bar to keep up with local culture and news, as well as peruse the ads to learn about concerts, plays and other events.

But the internet and the smartphone made that activity less necessary. On Thursday, Creative Loafing said it was ending its weekly print edition, going monthly instead and focusing on its digital platform.

“We’ve been seeing this through interactions with our audience and advertisers and how we consume information,” publisher Sharry Smith said. “It was a very logical conclusion to make. We’re in a whole new era.”

The first monthly edition was distributed Thursday to about 1,000 locations, mostly intown. The publication has a glossy cover but it’s still tabloid. “We not only will focus on digital expansion,” Smith said, “we want to make the print product more of a trophy piece that people want to have and have staying power. We won’t stray from our brand and content we’ve always covered. The print publication will be beefier and more of a sitback experience.”

Previous owner Ben Eason had purchased back Creative Loafing earlier this year after losing control of the publication in a bankruptcy auction in 2010.

“Honestly, I was surprised they lasted as a weekly as long as they did, following their page counts,” said Patrick Best, who owned rival Sunday Paper from 2004 until 2011 but also worked at Creative Loafing from 1999 to 2004 during its heyday. He said an alternative press is still needed. “It will be a shock to the system for their readers. I’m curious to see what the monthly print product looks like.”

The final weekly edition came out July 17. Carlton Hargro, editor in chief, wrote this online:

“We’ve beefed up our page count, switched to a fancy cover stock and rolled out a brand-spanking-new logo. Once you flip deeper into this edition, you’ll see we’ve extended the redesign vibe through the entire issue. On top of that, this month we’re bringing back some sorely missed editorial elements from back in the day (our Arts Agenda and Soundboard listings, for example) and rolling out some newness as well (such as a revamped News & Culture Briefs).”