City Pages ending print, online publication after 41 years

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - City Pages, the Twin Cities weekly arts and entertainment publication, is shutting down immediately after 41 years, the Star Tribune Media Co. announced Wednesday. 

The company said it can no longer sustain City Pages after COVID-19 disrupted the business or forced the closure of restaurants, clubs, theaters, museums and other venues—advertisers which comprised the majority of the publication’s revenue. 

“Since City Pages revenue is 100% driven by advertisers and events—and those investments have dropped precipitously—there’s no reasonable financial scenario that would enable us to continue operations in the face of this pandemic,” Star Tribune Chief Revenue Office Paul Kasbohm said in a statement. “Unfortunately, we foresee no meaningful recovery of these sectors or their advertising investments in the near future, leaving us no other options than to close City Pages.” 

City Pages will stop publishing in print and online immediately, according to a news release. The last print edition of City Pages will be distributed this week.  
The closure eliminates all City Pages positions. 

City Pages started in 1979 as a monthly newspaper called Sweet Potato. It was renamed City Pages and began weekly publication in 1981. The Star Tribune Media Co. acquired City Pages in 2015.