By Kari Lydersen

Residents' Journal
Written largely by and for residents of public housing, the Residents' Journal is a hard-hitting news source about life in public housing straight from the mouths of those who live there. The articles cover a range of topics both positive and negative, showing that low-income residents of public housing have lives that involve more than just the violence and drugs stereotypically shown in the mainstream media.

The city's ongoing redevelopment and large-scale demolition of public housing is a major focus of many stories, as is the Chicago Housing Authority's frequent failure to provide adequate maintenance and security in the buildings.

While the Residents' Journal has always been a brave and independent voice, founded by publisher Ethan Michaeli and run as part of the non-profit We the People Media, its break from CHA funding and transition to an independent non-profit last year gives it complete freedom.

The paper also includes a youth section, with stories by students in the Urban Youth International Journalism Program, covering everything from relationships to sports to politics to littering. The youth program is part of the paper's overall mission of giving a voice to those who are least represented in the mainstream media.

StreetWise
Sold by vendors who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, StreetWise covers a wide range of progressive issues, including local and national labor struggles, issues of homelessness and poverty, police brutality and the fight against the death penalty, community arts and theater groups and other community news. Given that it is a street paper, there are also some poetry, columns and articles by vendors.

Over the past year there has been an ongoing battle between management and the editorial staff over the content and focus of the paper, as well as unfair labor practices suffered by staff and vendors. Though the content appears much as it has for years, homages to corporate America and Special Advertising Sections periodically pop up instead of progressive content.

Started in 1992, StreetWise has a circulation of roughly 20,000 a week. About 300 vendors buy the paper for 35 cents each and sell it at $1 for a profit of 65 cents.

Hasta Cuando
Coming more or less out of the political Latino punk scene in Chicago, Hasta Cuando is a bilingual zine/newspaper with a biting sense of humor, pure DIY (do-it-yourself) ethic and harsh political analysis, with stories relating to politics and oppression on the city, national and international levels.

The paper is put out whenever time and funds allow – several times a year – by a collective largely spearheaded by teacher-activists Leticia Cortez-Ruiz and Tracy Kurowski.

Along with not-so-objective but top quality news stories, the paper also has cartoons, poetry, collages and reviews and news about the local punk scene.

Mesh Newspaper
Formerly called The Overwhelmer, Mesh carries on the tradition of Chicago Ink and various other publications before it – to bring together activists and community leaders from around the city and function as both a news source and tool for the progressive community. Created by University of Chicago graduate student Thomas Johannson, Mesh is a small collective.

The articles include local, national and international news relating to struggles against injustice and oppression, such as police brutality, gay rights and the ongoing protests against globalization. The paper publishes roughly every three months, with a goal of going monthly.

Lip Magazine
After several years of putting out biting 'zines, Lip editor Brian Brasel decided to focus his efforts on internet journalism. Relaunched last year after a brief hiatus, Lip Magazine online has built a following among both leftist intellectuals and grassroots activists around the country. The focus is on in-depth, well-written stories relating to political issues that have national significance. Topics include the intricacies of racism (including contributions by Tim Wise), media conglomeration, globalization and public political art.

The Chicago Reader
While many might argue whether the free weekly ad-packed, high circulation, yuppie-friendly Reader deserves to be included in a list of alternative media, it continues to publish lengthy, quality investigative stories about police brutality, labor struggles, and political intrigue. Although it makes no promises to be an advocate for social justice, the Reader usually does take the side of the little guy (though it may make fun of him in the process), and the witty and exhaustively researched reporting mean it has provided a good number of attacks on the Mayor, the police, and big business in Chicago.

IndyMedia
With the wave of massive anti-globalization protests around the world in the past two years, Indymedia has shot up from a largely unknown new venture to a major player in the activist scene. From the anti-WTO protests in Seattle in 1999 to the protests against the G-8 conference in Genoa this summer, Indymedia websites around the world have been the first to get news to activists and even mainstream media.

In keeping with this increasingly high profile, Indymedia reporters, photographers and headquarters have been specific targets of state surveillance and censorship and police brutality. In Washington D.C. last April during the IMF protests, and in Genoa this July, Indymedia headquarters were ambushed and ransacked by police.

The concept of Indymedia is about as close to truly democratic as you will find, though of course it has its own internal power struggles and issues to deal with. Basically anyone can publish anything – text, photos, audio, and video – on Indymedia with a few clicks of the mouse. The immediacy and democracy of the site make it a great place for personal testimonials and up-to-the-minute news about protests and other actions, as well as a forum for debate and discussion.

In These Times
After over 25 years, good old In These Times keeps plugging along, maintaining a national and somewhat mainstream profile out of its unassuming Chicago offices on Milwaukee Avenue. Its content, look and focus are as vibrant as ever, with its politics perhaps slightly less revolutionary but still challenging and progressive. A young staff has brought a revitalized feel to the publication, with attractive cover designs and some out-of-the-mold new approaches, like a recent first-person story on the link between school violence and homophobia. With new publisher Bob Burnett coming on board, the biweekly magazine is still searching for its new niche and market. Since there is a financial incentive to veer more toward a New-Age, feel-good perspective, we can only hope it maintains its progressive edge in the years to come.

Punk Planet
Punk Planet founder and editor Daniel Sinker has made it big lately, with a successful book and a national book tour to boot. This is well-deserved recognition for the hardworking journalist, who runs the national-circulation, bimonthly publication out of a Ravenswood office.

As the title implies, the magazine caters to punk fans, with reviews, interviews and tour stories from bands ranging from mainstream to local and underground punk, as well as "DIY Files" including tips on home health care and other necessary skills.

Even those who are not punk fans will find plenty to read in the voluminous magazine, with in-depth articles on international conflicts and politics, globalization, police brutality, the prison system, the drug war and other important political issues. Many of the news stories are augmented with first-hand reporting from hot spots around the globe.

Arsenal: A Magazine of Anarchist Strategy and Culture
Drawing inspiration from famous anarchist thinkers and publications throughout the centuries, Arsenal is a glossy, attractive magazine published every few months by a local collective of anarchists devoted to anti-racist work, anarchism-related educational and cultural events and other political work, including – soccer.

An anarchist soccer team called the Arsenal is loosely associated with the magazine collective. The Arsenal is a co-sponsor of the annual Matches and Mayhem book fair/soccer tournament in Chicago. And, not surprisingly, soccer and its symbolic power to ignite struggle and foster community has been the topic of several articles in the magazine.

There is more to Arsenal than soccer, however, with sharp and creative graphic design and layout and priceless photos being not the least of it. The magazine features beautiful and radical cartoons and propaganda art, including many works by local artist Josh MacPhee, as well as short, often first-person articles about struggles or issues going on in communities around the country.

Some editorials and articles on internal anarchist dynamics may come off as boring or alienating to those who aren't up on the latest goings on in the anarchist scene, but overall the magazine is still a very worthwhile read for any progressive.

The Black Eye
A true zine published by local agitators Beau Golwitzer and Craig Blakeman, The Black Eye is sharply political and, more importantly, extremely funny. With parodies of luxury vacations/globalization ("Welcome to the Island of Neo-liberalism"), headlines like "Bush and Gore Declare Love for Each Other, Forced to Wed in Vermont" and a column called "Ask Dr. Poverty," The Black Eye accomplishes in six or eight stapled sheets what more "serious" leftist magazines fail to do in pages and pages of dry type. All of mainstream society is lampooned, with capitalist icons like George Bush and the IMF taking a particular beating.

The zine tackles real news, including the death penalty and recent anti-globalization protests, with an approach a la The Onion. Golwitzer, who trains with the Improv Olympic school, is devoted to street theater and comedy as protest, with a recent stint taking pies in the face while dressed up as Mayor Daley.

Kari Lydersen is Associate Editor of StreetWise newspaper and writes for Punk Planet , Clamor magazine, In These Times and The Washington Post.