Punknews.org
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Punknews.org is a website founded by Aubin Paul in 1999. The website publishes music news and album reviews relating to punk rock, hardcore punk, ska, indie rock and heavy metal. Much like the ubiquitous technology news site Slashdot, Punknews.org is user driven, meaning that anyone can submit news and reviews to be published. Also like Slashdot, the news and reviews are filtered and edited by a staff of volunteer editors.
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[edit] News Coverage
Although the name implies they deal only in punk, the website features news and reviews on many diverse bands. The website has grown exponentially since its founding and has reached a well respected status within the independent music business. The site posts between 15 and 20 news articles a day, covering such topics as tour dates, label signings, album releases, new media and inter-band drama such as break ups and member changes. Unlike many rumor-driven music websites Punknews.org has a policy of refusing to run stories without confirmation from either the labels or bands, which has in turn has gained them greater access to news from both parties.
The site aims for a neutral approach and the editors aim to provide all covered acts with even-handed coverage. While Punknews.org does spotlight bands of comparatively miniscule recognition, the editors cite fan interest as deciding how much coverage an artist warrants, rather than genre politics (major label / indie label preference, or how close a band reflects the traditional punk subculture). [1]
Punknews.org is also credited with helping to launch the careers of Matchbook Romance, Motion City Soundtrack and many others. Each of the bands was featured as an unsigned act on the website and brought to the attention of Epitaph Records' Brett Gurewitz. [2]
[edit] Milestones
As of December 2006, the site features more than 5,850 reviews [3], 1250 band profiles [4], and 21,200 stories.
The site has also won the Alternative Press Reader's Poll [5] and had mentions in the New York Times [6], Billboard Magazine [7], East Bay Express [8] and many other publications.
On August 12 2006 at the Warped Tour stop in Barrie, Ontario (servicing the Toronto market) popular punk band NOFX referenced Punknews.org from stage in a verse of the impromptu song "The Heroin Is Better In Canada."
[edit] User Community
After every news article and review there is a comment section where registered and unregistered users can post comments. While the amount of readers who comment is a small percentage of the actual readership, the comment sections on Punknews.org have gained notoriety for the divisive nature of the expressed opinions. [9] Identifiable users filter in and out of the Punknews,org user community over time, with the cohort of recognizable "regulars" changing one year to the next. The community has not been immune to the typical issues facing other large virtual communities, and problems with trolling, spamming, the required strictness of the moderation system, censorship and anonymity crop up from time to time.
The site moderators currently face hurdles created by the prevalence of peer-to-peer file sharing. There is a perception that if members of the community utilize the comment sections to share the locations of leaked music there could be a backlash from the record labels which advertise on the site. Punknews.org has implemented a policy of not publishing reviews of albums before their street date to help sidestep this issue (as well as the fact that pre-release digital copies may not reflect the final product in terms of mixing, track order or artwork). [10]
Many members of bands and employees of record labels have become participants in the Punknews.org user community. Frequently seen on the site are Brandon Cruz of Dr. Know (and who infamously fronted the reunited Dead Kennedys), Gunner McGrath of Much the Same, Jesse Townley of The Frisk and Alternative Tentacles, Toby Jeg of Red Scare Records and Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion and founder of Epitaph Records.
[edit] The "I'm Going To Get A Sandwich" Meme
In September 2002, it was announced that Fenix Tx were breaking up. In the original news story, news editor Adam White expressed a lack of interest and empathy by writing the following simple statement:
Our comrade-in-arms Timmy over at PunkBands.com has confirmed with MCA Records that Fenix Tx has broken up... I'm going to get a sandwich. [11]
The joke became popular among readers posting in the comment section, and was initially used and reused to punctuate the insignificance of a generally disliked yet well-known band's break up. Since then the joke has caught on to the point where anytime any band announces their break up, it is inevitable that someone will reference the joke, whether consensus warrants it or not.
[edit] Org'core
Punknews users have actually coined a name for the general taste of the site's comment posters. This, of course, is 'Orgcore, which is mostly rough edged punk rock bands known for drinking, such as Hot Water Music, The Lawrence Arms, Dillinger Four, Lifetime, Against Me!, Avail and The Bouncing Souls to name a few.
In a recent August 2006 article regarding the No Idea Records Fest V, the editors of the site have actually acknowledged the "genre."
[edit] Fake Users
Another odd trend on Punknews is the "Fake User" trend. This is where users register a username to either pretend to be someone in a band, or just to provide flame bait. blinkrules, probably the longest running fake user, claims that only bands on MTV are good, and that Blink 182 is the best band ever. Some other more recent fake users include: Propadummy, fake Dr. Dan Yemin of Lifetime fame, fake Brendan Kelly of The Lawrence Arms fame (Harbors resentment towards people that doesn't like his band, hates metal, and never plays a show with a drink), and fake Gabe Saporta of Midtown fame.
[edit] Versions
Since its inception in 1999, Punknews.org has gone through 4 major versions. These have included visual and backend redesigns. Originally running on off-the-shelf open source projects, the site has been completely rewritten so that it is almost entirely a custom backend program.
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[edit] Punknews Records
In 2005 three of the current and past editors (Aubin Paul, Adam White and Scott Heisel) launched the independent record label Punknews Records. [12].
[edit] Current Editors
- Aubin Paul, Founder
- Adam White, News Editor
- Brian Shultz, Reviews Editor
- Justin August, News Editor
- Meg Reinecker, News Editor
- Chris Moran, News Editor
[edit] Past Editors
- Kip Doyle, News Editor
- Scott Heisel News/Reviews Editor (now an editor for Alternative Press)
[edit] Current Staff
- Hein Terweduwe, Staff Writer
- Scott Auth (screen name "KirbyPuckett"), Staff Writer
- Jim Balog (screen name "FortyMinutesWest"), Staff Writer
- Jesse Raub (screen name "Jesse"), Staff Writer
- Greg Simpson (screen name "greg0rb"), Staff Writer
- Dan Perrone (screen name "theundergroundscene"), Staff Writer
- Jordan Rogowski (screen name "Anchors"), Staff Writer
- Matt Whelihan, Staff Writer
- Ben Conoley (screen name "Ben_Conoley"), Staff Writer
[edit] Past Staff
- JiveSide, Staff Writer
- CaraK, Staff Writer
- Katie4213, Staff Writer
- Megan, Staff Writer
- Subi, Staff Writer
![[5]](http://aubin.punknews.org/about/altpress-readerpoll.jpg){kind=link}
![[7]](http://aubin.punknews.org/about/billboard.jpg){kind=link}