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A Note to the Reader
by The Editors
March 2005
You're now holding our twenty-first issue. This will be the last Philadelphia Independent you'll see for awhile, and maybe the last one for good. Why? The reason is simple: We need a break. We may start up again one day, and if we do, we promise our second volume will be even better than our first. But the first volume may turn out to be it for the Independent, in which case we ask only that you keep a place for us, in your desk or on your shelf.
The first issue of The Philadelphia Independent's first volume began with the words “Put down this newspaper and look around. The city lives.” What followed was a brief manifesto for a so-called “second Philadelphia,” a city within a city. They spent their days wandering the streets staring down at the cobblestones and up at the stars. They were makers, who preferred creating their own objects to consuming others', who took refuge from the cruelties of the now by pondering has beens and yet-to-bes. And while their commerce was statistically insignificant and their homes were usually on the edges of town, they saw themselves as the center, carrying forth an old national tradition of devotion to enlightened thinking and diligent attention to craft. A tradition that began here in Philadelphia.
Who were “they,” exactly? We had no idea. We suspected that there was indeed a “they” somewhere out there, those who shared my ignorance of the city and of one another, who would come forward to buy the papers we left in the cafés and on the street corners.
Perhaps a few would write articles, place advertisements, buy subscriptions, enough for us to put out a second issue, and maybe even a third. But really, we had no idea what we were doing, or what kind of response we were going to get, or how long the whole thing was going to last. The going theory in publishing is to pick an audience that already exists—like college co-eds or securities traders—and build a publication around them. This makes for a fine business, but it isn't very romantic. We wanted our first issue to call a crowd of readers into being, to make a community where there was none. Truth be told, we were also a little worried about the historians of the future, and wanted to leave them some evidence that the unending series of football games, deejay nights and specialty martinis did not define the whole of life in Philadelphia during these last few years.
Although the first Philadelphia Independent made many references to the deficiencies of the newspapers of today and was itself printed on newsprint, it contained very little actual news. There was an essay on possible subversive readings of the film Rocky and an account of the band Need New Body several thousands words long. In the middle of the front page was a map of Philadelphia's center, with a giant heart beating in its midst. We chose the heart because the heart is what a newspaper should hope to be. If the city or the world were a single body, a good newspaper would be the organ that collects news from the furthest extremities, draws it back into the center, and then sends it forth to circulate once more. It would be the organ through which everything passes. Plus, the heart is a symbol of love, and newspapers should be made with love.
Five or six issues in, we began to sense the presence of more senior elements who control Philadelphia. Some operate out in the open, while other do their work from shadowy corners. Like a parasites, they take a small bite out of everyone who crosses their path. Most often, this takes the form of Philadelphia's onerous tax burden, which falls heaviest on the shoulders of small business and workers. Unlike companies like Comcast, Ballard Spahr and Synterra, we can't afford to get the rules rewritten for the cost of a few campaign contributions and tickets to fundraising dinners. Instead, small Philadelphia businesses and working people end up paying, so big businesses won't have to. And taxes are just the beginning—next year's we'll pay more for gas, electricity, water and (most likely) train fare as well. If you're a builder of skyscrapers or the business manager of a labor union, you can look forward to a special tax break or city contract to alleviate these rising costs of staying of Philadelphia. The rest of us can look forward to paying them. The local media has been unable to illuminate the true nature of Philadelphia politics, the dank basement where these parasites thrive. Where our newspapers and reporters once kept City Hall in line, today the job falls to the federal government. Just this month, an attorney for a former city employee declared in open court that prosecutors should not be allowed to use the words “pay for play” in reference to the exchange of campaign contributions for city contracts. Bribery, graft and corruption, he argued, have been a part of Philadelphia's culture for so long that they are more or less legitimate. There is much to support this fellow's point of view. There was the time we saw what looked to be an ad hoc zoning hearing being conducted on the table of a well-known delicatessen. And the time the mayor called a roomful of reporters impotent, and then joined them in a hearty laugh at their own expense. There is the City Councilman who's carried a pistol into chambers, the election burglar who pays the election watchdog's salary, the committee of young idealists now angling for a few thousand dollars of their state representative's Walking Around Money. There are the wards and the unions and other places at the trough, each jealously guarded and passed down from father to son. At times, it would seem a gang of outlaws run the city. This is something we would like to change, and we are not yet done trying to change it.
To our contributors, advertisers and readers: Thank you. We never could have survived for this long without you, and we can't wait to see what you all come up with next. The same enthusiasm and loyalty that filled our pages month after month are what makes it so easy to start something new here. Philadelphia hungers for a paper worthy of it, a paper that will finally make it known to itself. We have little doubt your combined efforts will one day give it to them.
For news on any future ventures, please send a postcard with your name, email and address to The Philadelphia Independent, 1026 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107.
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