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{{Short description|Newspaper in Durham, North Carolina}}
{{About|the North Carolina newspaper|the Australian newspaper|The Independent Weekly}}
{{Infobox newspaper
| name = Indy Week
| logo = File:Indy Week Logo.png
| image = Independent Weekly.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = ''Independent Weekly'' stand in coffee shop on Hillsborough St, Raleigh NC
| type = [[Alternative weekly]]
| format = [[Tabloid (newspaper format)|Tabloid]]
| foundation = April 1983
| ceased publication = 
| price = 
| owners = ZM INDY, Inc.
| publisher = John Hurld
| language = English
| circulation = 25,000 (as of 2019)
| headquarters = P.O. Box 1772 [[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]], [[North Carolina|NC]] 27702<br>[[United States]]
| ISSN = 0737-8254
| website = {{URL|indyweek.com}}
}}
'''''Indy Week''''', formerly known as the '''''Independent Weekly''''' and originally the '''''North Carolina Independent''''', is a [[Tabloid (newspaper format)|tabloid]]-format [[alternative weekly]] newspaper published in [[Durham, North Carolina]], United States, and distributed throughout the [[Research Triangle]] area ([[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]], [[Durham, North Carolina|Durham]], [[Chapel Hill, North Carolina|Chapel Hill]], and [[Cary, North Carolina|Cary]]) and counties ([[Wake County, North Carolina|Wake County]], [[Durham County, North Carolina|Durham County]], [[Orange County, North Carolina|Orange County]], and [[Chatham County, North Carolina|Chatham County]]). Its first issue was published in April 1983.

''Indy Week'' is a member of the [[Association of Alternative Newsmedia]]<ref name="AAN overview">{{cite web|title=Newsweekly Directory: Independent Weekly (NC)|publisher=[[Association of Alternative Newsmedia]]|url=http://www.altweeklies.com/aan/independent-weekly-nc/Company?oid=41|access-date=November 18, 2012}}</ref>  and has a [[Progressivism|progressive]], [[Liberalism|liberal]] political perspective. The ''[[Columbia Journalism Review]]'' has cited the newspaper for its "spine of steel."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Schoonmaker|first=Mary Ellen|date=November 1987|title=Has the alternative press gone yuppie?|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ufh&AN=11880278&site=ehost-live&scope=site|journal=Columbia Journalism Review|volume=26|pages=60–64|via=EBSCOhost}}</ref> The print edition is published on Wednesdays.<ref name="AAN overview"/>

==History==
The paper was founded in 1983 by [[Steve Schewel]] and was originally published as the '''''North Carolina Independent''''' and was bi-weekly.  Its publisher was '''Carolina Independent Publications, Inc.'''<ref name="UNC library">{{cite web|title=Collection Number 05319: Independent Weekly Records, 1982-2004|url=http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/i/Independent_Weekly.html|work=Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library|publisher=[[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]]|access-date=November 18, 2012}}</ref>  It was renamed the ''Independent'' effective March 1985.<ref name="UNC library"/> In April 1988 the ''Independent'' published endorsements of state political candidates for the upcoming [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]'s primary election. The paper admonished its readers not to vote for state senator [[Harold Hardison]] and in response a member of Hardison's campaign organization collected approximately 7,000 copies of the paper from newsstands in downtown Raleigh and dumped them in the trash.{{sfn|Milstein|1988|p=8}} The ''Independent'' identified the person responsible and reported the story in its next edition. The story was reported by media across North Carolina, raising the newspaper's public profile.{{sfn|Milstein|1988|p=9}} In 1989, publication was changed to weekly, and the name altered to the '''''Independent Weekly'''''.<ref name="UNC library"/>

In September 2002, Carolina Independent Publications acquired the area's other major weekly, the '''''Spectator''''', from [[Creative Loafing|Creative Loafing Inc.]]<ref name="UNC library"/> Founded in 1978 by [[Godfrey Cheshire]] and others in [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]],<ref name="Ebert">{{cite web | url=http://www.rogerebert.com/contributors/godfrey-cheshire | title=Godfrey Cheshire Biography & Movie Reviews | work=[[RogerEbert.com]] | access-date=November 19, 2016}}</ref>  the ''Spectator'' had been owned by Creative Loafing since 1997 and was well known for its coverage of [[the arts]]; the name lived on as the name of the ''Independent's'' calendar of events.<ref>{{cite web|title=Triangle publications Independent, Spectator to merge|publisher=[[Triangle Business Journal]]|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2002/08/12/daily31.html}}</ref>

In 2010, the ''Independent'' presented the inaugural [[Hopscotch Music Festival]] in downtown [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]]. The three-day annual event happens in September and features local, national and international bands.

On September 27, 2012, the ''Independent Weekly'' was purchased by ZM INDY, Inc., whose owners, [[Mark Zusman]] and Richard Meeker, also own ''[[Willamette Week]]''.<ref>[http://jimromenesko.com/2012/08/24/why-willamette-week-bought-independent-weekly/  Why Willamette Week bought Independent Weekly]</ref> The name of the newspaper and website was changed to ''Indy Week''.<ref name="new name 2012">{{cite news|last1=Meeker|first1=Richard|last2=Harper|first2=Susan|title=Welcome to the new Indy Week and indyweek.com|newspaper=Independent Weekly/Indy Week|date=October 3, 2012|url=http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/welcome-to-the-new-indy-week-and-indyweekcom/Content?oid=3162185|access-date=November 18, 2012|archive-date=October 28, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028194435/http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/welcome-to-the-new-indy-week-and-indyweekcom/Content?oid=3162185|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On June 11, 2020, Jeffrey Billman was fired from his position as Editor.  The stated reason was that he had failed to follow up on a sexual misconduct tip regarding a local restaurant that had been brought to his attention in May 2019. Possibly prompting the dismissal, the edit and design staff released a letter stating their unwillingness to work for Billman going forward.<ref>{{Cite web|title=A letter from @indyweek staff|url=https://twitter.com/leightauss/status/1270834401740496902|access-date=2020-06-17|website=Twitter|language=en}}</ref>
Jane Porter started as Editor-in-Chief in January 2021.

In 2023, the newspaper's owners entered a contract with The Assembly, a two-year-old digital newsmagazine focused on North Carolina, to help manage the Indy Week's business operations, with the option of acquiring it in the future.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Eanes |first=Zachery |date=May 4, 2023 |title=The Assembly marks large partnership with Indy Week |url=https://www.axios.com/local/raleigh/2023/05/04/the-assembly-is-acquiring-indy-week |access-date=2024-05-30 |website=Axios |language=en}}</ref>

== Awards ==
The paper's reporters have won several major awards, including the George Polk Award,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://liu.edu/George-Polk-Awards/Past-Winners#1990|title=Past Winners [of the George Polk Awards, 1990] {{!}} LIU|website=liu.edu|access-date=2019-01-25}}</ref> the Investigative Reporters and Editors Award (finalist),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ire.org/awards/ire-awards/winners/1998-ire-award-winners|title=1998 IRE Award winners|website=IRE|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-25|archive-date=2019-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126001603/https://www.ire.org/awards/ire-awards/winners/1998-ire-award-winners|url-status=dead}}</ref> the Green Eyeshade Award for the South's best journalism (grand prize, 1993; second place, 2004, 2005 & 2019),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1993/03/22/three-times-publishing-journalists-win-awards/|title=Three Times Publishing journalists win awards|website=Tampa Bay Times|access-date=2024-05-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spj.org/news.asp?ref=426|title=SPJ Announces the 2004 Green Eyeshade Award Recipients|website=www.spj.org|access-date=2019-01-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spj.org/news.asp?ref=573|title=SPJ Announces the 2005 Green Eyeshade Award Recipients|website=www.spj.org|access-date=2019-01-25}}</ref> the ''[[Baltimore Sun]]''{{'}}s H.L. Mencken Writing Award,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1992-11-21-1992326032-story.html|title=THE H.L. Mencken Writing Award this year [1992].|last=Sun|first=Baltimore|date=November 14, 1992|website=baltimoresun.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-25}}</ref> and the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indyweek.com/api/content/a5c60830-3bfc-5662-b0f7-a3a8eb5277a5/|title=Real winners|last=Hart|first=Richard|date=2007-06-20|website=INDY Week|language=en-us|access-date=2019-01-25}}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==See also==
* The ''[[Santa Fe Reporter]]'', also published by Richard Meeker and [[Mark Zusman]]
*''[[Willamette Week]]'' (Willamette, OR), also published by Meeker & Zusman.

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Works cited ==
* {{cite journal| last = Milstein| first = Michael| title = The Silver Volvo Newspaper Heist| journal = Columbia Journalism Review| volume = 27| issue = 2| pages = 8–10| date = July 1988}}

==External links==
*{{official website|http://www.indyweek.com}}

{{Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Area}}

[[Category:Alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States]]
[[Category:Mass media in Durham, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Weekly newspapers published in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Independent newspapers published in the United States]]
[[Category:Newspapers established in 1983]]
[[Category:1983 establishments in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Free newspapers]]