The Austin Chronicle

This review is about my experience as an advertiser in the Chronicle.
The paper has been around a while. I’ve enjoied it and I’ve seen many copies being enjoied. You literally can’t go anywhere in the city without seeing one.
I’m a Licensed Massage Therapist. Been around for about 10 or so years and been advertising successfully in various places in that time. I have to say that the Chronicle, for one reason or another, has been one of my worst return of investment sources of advertisement. In the year that I have been advertising with them I have only made back around %12 of my investment with them. That’s terrible.
The calls that I got in reference to my ad were one of three things usually:
1. Asking for a %70 discount.
2. Asking for sexual favors.
3. Upon hearing my voice… Asking if I had a female staff member.
My advertising was professional mind you. No half clothed pictures, no suggestive wording, etc.
As a professional male Massage Therapist I can absolutely not recommend that you advertise with them. I think that It might be different for female massage therapists or other businesses, but I can only speak to my experience advertising with them.
I will say that Mendy, my account rep, was fantastic. The company seems to be run well and is quick on the turn around for emails and calls. If ever there was a problem with my ad (and there were print errors on some occasions), they were quick to fix the problem and offer something as a way of making it up.
Thank you for the year of great service, but I can’t recommend them. It simply does not pay.

Thanks for including the crossword puzzle by J. Reynolds.

I truly enjoy the Chronicle, everywhere you go just about it is available and free. i enjoy drinking my coffee before heading to my first job of the day and staying in touch with current events in the area, concerts, etc. They are always throwing out there local business reviews as well… love this paper. It is good to read a paper like old school and not on the laptop…

This publication really hit a new low during the 2014 mayor’s race. It endorsed a candidate for the general and run off elections who had infact made votes which raised taxes and Capital Metro bus fares – while cutting bus routes and frequencies. How on earth they were able to translate this into public service was beyond me. And the ‘progressive’ paper also carried campaign ads from people who ‘forgot’ to list themselves as a registered pac – which is coincidentally illegal under Texas election code.

Its unfortunate that AC is so biased, I guess it balances out media such as FOX. Each week Im surprised at the extreme set of narrow lenses worn. If anything, the AC has helped push me into an unlabeled category politically, economically, and such. I guess hoping to find an unbiased media source is still just a dream. From political endorsements, to the economy, to public transportation, to social insensitivities… the perspective is very predictable and boring– very contrarianist and stereotypical.
On a good note, its a great hands on resource for movies, music and other happenings around town.

This newspaper could be so much more. It really is looking backward; each issue has some kind of euphoric recall to the Austin of days gone by; meanwhile all of the awesome music happening in the present moment is pretty much overlooked.
Let’s get more specific about Gluten Free and Grass Fed Beef offerings in the local restaurants. Your annual restaurant poll should have a category for gluten free dining, not just gluten free bakery treats.
Great film section.
Great info on local politics; but beware, they are happy with the status quo, perhaps a reflection of their longing for the past. Example: they harp on how the local sheriff is deporting undocumented people unnecessarily, but then go on to endorse him in the 2012 election; his opponent is the clear choice for those wishing to make Austin a more friendly locale for undocumented immigrants. He is worse than the maricopa county sheriff in AZ if you compare the numbers!
Good info on soccer.
The fashion section is a waste. Obsequious shouts out to the who’s who congniscenti.
Let’s get some short stories in there.
need about 5 – 10 more pages of music reviews, upcoming events, interviews.

I got no complaints for the Austin Chronicle. They have them everywhere and they’re free so I always pick up a copy. It’s got listings for all kinds of events going on in the city, music and movie reviews, etc. The comics are kinda weird, but usually pretty humorous.

It’s a free publication, they have some wonderful people writing for them. One of my favorites would be Stephen Moser who does «After a Fashion». (the user below spelled his name wrong btw) He speaks his mind and is honest on what he does, and doesn’t like. He has been truly supportive to local stores and designers who deserve it. Some may not agree with what he says at times, but I Iike that he speaks from the heart. He knows his fashion history and it shows in his columns. Above all I think he is fair, I’ve seen him review a fashion show that he wasn’t a fan of, and it made those people try harder and the next show he gave rave reviews. It’s not personal, I love that!

Great free publication you can find out and about, it’s full of every bit of information you’ll need to arm yourself with before your next adventure in Austin. They have excellent classifieds and this paper is a must if you’re trying to get the inside scoop on pop culture in Austin. Why spend money on a newspaper if you’re only looking for the fun local stuff anyways. Great value and free.

One of my favorite things to do throughout each week is work my way through the Austin Chronicle.
I read it cover to cover, and I always get a solid combination of information, entertainment, interesting news, local politics, and lots of other Austin-​isms. In all honesty, I think Austin would be a different place without this fantastic and FREE publication. From local news to music listings to just about everything else going on, the AC delivers it all. Every single week!
Yes, there will be stuff that doesn’t interest you or that you disagree with. But hey, the paper was written for hundreds of thousands of people, and you’re just one of them. No offense.
Read it. Love it.

Let me start by saying I love the Chronicle. My two Stars are for the Food Reviews-​Restaurant Roulette Only… When I was new to Austin, and naïve in the Unilocal ways, I would pickup the Chronicle each week and eat at places based on what they had to say. (Really!)
Roulette is appropriate for more than one reason. First being it may not even be open any more! Do they not have someone who checks these things before putting it in the paper? There are several that still show up that are closed, closed, closed. Second, they don’t have a bad thing to say about anything. You don’t have to tear a place down, but let’s be honest, when reviewing, review the good, the bad and ugly. It’s like the food section has multiple personality disorder. With the fingers on the pulse of what Austin is eating, with Best Of Austin and Food-​O-​File, and then onto the totally whack and out of touch roulette. Take your meds.

I don’t care about politics, so I don’t read too many of the articles.
I always read the Freewill Astrology, most of the time it confuses me.
I like the comics and the Shot in the Dark ads.
I like the restraunt reviews and some of the movie listings.
All of that good stuff.
Best Of Austin is great.
I could wallpaper my room with the front pages.
I think that would be cool.
I’m always broke so it’s good that the paper is free.
and I can just imagine about how good those restraunts are.
and all of those ads for boutiques and services just piss me off…
But its cool!
Uniquely Austin!
and I am glad I can find it in San Marcos.
Usually at Hastings, but I’m sure its available at Planet K and elsewhere, I just don’t get out much.
I look at the Chronicle and wish I was at home in Austin.

Every Thursday morning like clockwork, I am buying a cup of coffee at a local café and reaching for The Austin Chronicle. There is no shortage of editorial content and it gets be all the music, theatre, arts, and political information I need for living in the city of Austin.
I have read similar weekly papers in cities around the country and the «Chron» is among the best. I hear there is a daily paper here in Austin… I hear they endorsed Bush not once but twice… I hear they are for sale and no one wants to buy them… And last year they raised the price 50%…I love that the Austin Chronicle is free.

People like to say Media is biased… and they’re right. But with the Chron’ you their bias is out in the open. Wether you agree with their position or not your going to get a well written story.
Movie reviews are to be taken with a grain of salt though, they some times get a bit Film Elitist.
Show listings/​music and food sections are great though.
Always a good read for what’s going on aroud the town. Probably the best free rag I’ve ever read (short of the Villiage Voice)

And Thursday shall be the day, neither shall it be Wednesday nor shall it be Friday, but Thursday. Thou shalt read the Chronicle Bible. So let it be written, so let it be done…
For in the beginning is the Postmarkus, or the letters of the people unto the editor. These shalt make you smile and shakest thou head at the inanity of humanity and the littlest bickerings they must dwell on.
Next is the Book of Politicos. Thou shalt keepest up with the holy bullshit happening inst thoust counties. Whether it beist the non-​doings of the city council or the overdoings of the hemp legalization committee.
And let us not forget the Testament of Food. For thou shalt knoweth the newest restaurants in town and thou shalt useth the coupons therein.
Next is the Acts of the Arts. Thou shalt support them!
And neither will we forget the Sportacus or the Literus chapters for they enlighten us.
And one must weekly read the Listings of the Films so that one can know which politically correct, liberal, sexually deviant movie has beenst issued an heavenly review.
Then one must peruse the Psalms of the Clubs. Thou must knowest who is coming whenest and wherest soest thou can beist the coolest!
And lastly, but not leastly, thou shalt studiest the classifieds. For if thou feelst blue or lonely, thou must remember there are those far worse than thou who advertise in A Shot in the Dark.

The Cola Sisters — on the Cover! Now that deserves all 5 stars. This rag is as good as it gets, and lately I see it online way more than from the newsstand. Although it can be a lot of fun thumbing through the pages while waiting for the files to transfer over at channelAustin (
).
The Best of Austin edition is a must have — keep it around the house all year and try everything at least once.

Every thursday I mat and laminate my Austin Chronicle, I place it on a gold pillow and turn pages only whilst wearing white gloves. Do allow this Holy Grail to be viewed by out of town guests to discover fun Austin things. But be sure to cut out the Easy Street section so to discourage them from welcoming strangers in bondage gear knocking on your door in the middle of the night.
Also, expect the A Shot in the Dark section to one day top Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs chart, triumping over Self-​Actualization. (See revised Maslow’s chart below)
Physiological — Safety — Love/​Belonging — Esteem — Self-​Actualization — Getting Mentioned in Austin Chronicle’s A Shot in the Dark

Ever wondered what’s going on this week? The Chronicle has your answers to all the questions. Distributed at all the local «joints» in the city, the Chronicle is the guide to Austin life. I tend to go to the music listings first, then I go from cover to cover… always amused by The News of the Weird and the Shots in the Dark. I secretly wish that one of them would be going out to me but, alas, it has never happened to my knowledge. I’m also more apt to believe their movie reviews than anyone elses.
The other Unilocalers are right, there is an excessive amount of advertising, but I actually look at all of that, too and discover new places to go and boutiques to shop at. I highly recommend that out of towners pick up a Chronicle to plan their weekends accordingly.

It’s like a ritual: every Thursday, be sure to go by a coffeehouse to pick up a copy of The Chronicle. While they don’t have extensive news coverage (that’s what the internet is for, anyway), I enjoy the intelligent articles and that each week seems to focus on a different theme.
My only complaint is the film reviews. I feel that the writing is more like a stream-​of-​consciousness diatribe, less about the movie itself and more about the writer’s clever experience and perceptions. (Wait, isn’t that what we’re all doing here?) Perhaps I should read them more for entertainment. I generally trust their ratings, so if anything, I’ll heed those.

When my theater company received its first review in the Chronicle, I was up at the crack of dawn to read the article on the on line paper. Then I gallivanted all over town, desperately trying to find a copy at like 6 in the morning. (What can I say, I’m on a mission!) Although sometimes I have found that the Chronicle likes to sugarcoat some of its reviews, on the whole I think it is a terrific paper.
When I want to read the most bizarre and roundabout horoscope ever, or see if anyone left me a note in the personals section, or find out what new hip restaurant I m going to visit and review for Unilocal– this is where I turn.
Pick it up every Thursday at most cool spots, restaurants etc. But don’t try to find one until mid afternoon. With the lack of fab papers in this town, The Chronicle is where it is at.