Hits the streets the day before Black Wednesday!

With a “shop-local” gift focus + a selective guide to seasonal events

Who should advertise?

Retailers,  including museum gift shops, who rely on the holiday season to make or break your year and have a great story to tell our large, city-based and affluent audience;

Nightclubs who want to tell us where to go on Black Wednesday (this issue comes out the day before);

Theaters, dance companies and cultural institutions who produce special shows for the season or want to encourage gift certificates as a holiday gift; Read the rest of this entry »

This week we published a two part (plus introduction) report on the “buy local” movement: how it’s faring in Chicago, and how big corporations are starting to co-opt its values. This is an important read for all locally owned businesses in Chicago. Let us know what you think.

Mom & Pop Worldwide, Inc.: Inside the corporate co-opt of local

The Shop Around the Corner: Local First Takes Chicago

Local Media Bias

Newcity spearheaded a “Buy Local” inititative in Chicago this fall/holiday season, in conjunction with Local First Chicago. According to this survey, there are signs that it is working. Anecdotally, I did virtually all of my holiday shopping with locally owned and operated retailers (even found fishing gear for the father-in-law at Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters, which I discovered when they advertised in our Best of Chicago edition). They all seemed busy, from consistent to robust, and spirits seemed high.