SoHo Weekly News
| Type | Alternative weekly |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) | Michael Goldstein |
| Founded | October 11, 1973 |
| Language | English |
| Ceased publication | March 10, 1982 |
| City | New York City |
The SoHo Weekly News (SWN) was a weekly alternative newspaper founded by music publicist Michael Goldstein and published in New York City from 1973 to 1982. Positioned as a competitor to The Village Voice, it struggled financially. The paper was purchased by Associated Newspaper Group in 1979 and shut down three years later when they were unable to make it profitable.
The paper was known for its coverage of Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood, which was just starting to become fashionable. Although the official editorial stance was anti-gentrification, some retrospectives have argued that its coverage of local culture and business actually contributed to the upward trend in property values. Coverage of emerging music acts in local venues was particularly strong, including being one of the first papers to interview the punk rock band the Ramones.
Many staff at the paper had storied careers after the paper shut down. Annie Flanders founded Details magazine; Kim Hastreiter and David Hershkovits started Paper. Bill Cunningham spent many decades as a photojournalist for The New York Times, Allan Tannenbaum became known for his coverage of rock musicians, and Bruce Weber got his start photographing male fashion models with an influential SWN photo story showing an underwear-clad male model in erotic poses.