Shepherd Express
Encyclopedia
The Shepherd Express is an alternative weekly
newspaper
published in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
.
’s poem “Footnotes to Howl
” (”Hail the crazy shepherds of the middle class”). Its founders were a group of University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee students, among them Jeff Hansen, Doug Hissom and Joe Porubcan, who operated it from a series of rented flats near the campus. After appearing sporadically, the Crazy Shepherd eventually settled into a monthly schedule. Several of its founders went on to careers in the news media, including Jim McCarter, publisher of the Metro Times in Detroit; Bill Conroy, editor of the San Antonio Business Journal; and Bill Lueders, news editor at Isthmus in Madison
.
In 1987 the Shepherd Express was formed in a merger with the Express, a monthly music paper founded in 1979 by Kevn Kinney, David Luhrssen, and Mark Shurilla, the latter of whom was instrumental in the merger with McCarter. Kinney went on to form the rock band Drivin’n’Cryin’ in Atlanta. Luhrssen returned to the Shepherd Express in late 1994 as arts and entertainment editor, a position he still holds.
During the late 1980s to mid 1990s, its publisher was Martin R. "Marty" Genz and the Genz family were the newspaper's majority stockholders. In 1993, Dane Claussen became the Shepherd Expresss Associate Publisher & Advertising Director. In 1994, employees, among them Hansen, Porubcan, Marketing Director, Mary Henschel and editors, Hissom, Scott Kerr, Anthe Rhodes and Julie Wichman, arranged for an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), which resulted in Genz and Claussen leaving the newspaper and the Genz family selling its ownership stake; within the next few years, several other long-time employees also had left. The paper was known from 1999-2000 as Shepherd Express Metro, after absorbing a short-lived weekly called the Metro.
In January of 2008 the Shepherd Express re-launched a new website titled Express Milwaukee. The new site is not merely a republishing of content that first appears in the print edition of the Shepherd Express. It is updated daily and has a collection of stories from staff and contributing bloggers, and writers from throughout the community. Express Milwaukee places a premium on content generated by readers. This content sits alongside Shepherd Express and Express Milwaukee content. With over 50,000 (Summer 2008; Google Site Analytics) local readers per month it is among the largest sites with a local online audience in Milwaukee.
The Shepherd Express remains one of America’s few locally owned alternative newsweeklies. It has been published since 1997 by Louis Fortis, a Ph.D. economist and former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
. Fortis assumed the role of editor in 2000.
Alternative weekly
An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper, that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting local people and culture. Their news coverage is more...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
.
History
The paper originated in May, 1982 as the Crazy Shepherd, its name derived from a line in Allen GinsbergAllen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
’s poem “Footnotes to Howl
Howl
"Howl" is a poem written by Allen Ginsberg in 1955 and published as part of his 1956 collection of poetry titled Howl and Other Poems. The poem is considered to be one of the great works of the Beat Generation, along with Jack Kerouac's On the Road and William S. Burroughs's Naked Lunch...
” (”Hail the crazy shepherds of the middle class”). Its founders were a group of University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee students, among them Jeff Hansen, Doug Hissom and Joe Porubcan, who operated it from a series of rented flats near the campus. After appearing sporadically, the Crazy Shepherd eventually settled into a monthly schedule. Several of its founders went on to careers in the news media, including Jim McCarter, publisher of the Metro Times in Detroit; Bill Conroy, editor of the San Antonio Business Journal; and Bill Lueders, news editor at Isthmus in Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
.
In 1987 the Shepherd Express was formed in a merger with the Express, a monthly music paper founded in 1979 by Kevn Kinney, David Luhrssen, and Mark Shurilla, the latter of whom was instrumental in the merger with McCarter. Kinney went on to form the rock band Drivin’n’Cryin’ in Atlanta. Luhrssen returned to the Shepherd Express in late 1994 as arts and entertainment editor, a position he still holds.
During the late 1980s to mid 1990s, its publisher was Martin R. "Marty" Genz and the Genz family were the newspaper's majority stockholders. In 1993, Dane Claussen became the Shepherd Expresss Associate Publisher & Advertising Director. In 1994, employees, among them Hansen, Porubcan, Marketing Director, Mary Henschel and editors, Hissom, Scott Kerr, Anthe Rhodes and Julie Wichman, arranged for an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), which resulted in Genz and Claussen leaving the newspaper and the Genz family selling its ownership stake; within the next few years, several other long-time employees also had left. The paper was known from 1999-2000 as Shepherd Express Metro, after absorbing a short-lived weekly called the Metro.
In January of 2008 the Shepherd Express re-launched a new website titled Express Milwaukee. The new site is not merely a republishing of content that first appears in the print edition of the Shepherd Express. It is updated daily and has a collection of stories from staff and contributing bloggers, and writers from throughout the community. Express Milwaukee places a premium on content generated by readers. This content sits alongside Shepherd Express and Express Milwaukee content. With over 50,000 (Summer 2008; Google Site Analytics) local readers per month it is among the largest sites with a local online audience in Milwaukee.
The Shepherd Express remains one of America’s few locally owned alternative newsweeklies. It has been published since 1997 by Louis Fortis, a Ph.D. economist and former member of the Wisconsin State Assembly
Wisconsin State Assembly
The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin....
. Fortis assumed the role of editor in 2000.