In 2007 it doubled its circulation with the purchase of the Chicago Reader and Washington City Paper; the $40 million debt it incurred, along with an economic recession, forced the company into bankruptcy one year later.
In July 2007 both the Washington City Paper and the Chicago Reader were sold to the Tampa-based Creative Loafing chain.
New York City | Washington, D.C. | Mexico City | Washington | George Washington | Kansas City, Missouri | Washington (U.S. state) | University of Washington | The Washington Post | Washington Redskins | Kansas City | Washington D.C. | Salt Lake City | Quebec City | Oklahoma City | City of London | city | Vatican City | New York City Subway | Panama City | Kansas City Chiefs | Kansas City Royals | George Washington University | Washington Senators | Sex and the City | Mayor of New York City | Atlantic City, New Jersey | Washington Irving | Utrecht (city) | Cork (city) |
Backderf 's comic strip, The City, has appeared in over 140 publications, mostly free weekly newspapers, since its debut in the now-defunct Cleveland Edition in 1990, including: The Village Voice, The Chicago Reader, Cleveland Scene, Miami New Times, Houston Press, Pittsburgh City Paper, The Providence Phoenix, and Washington City Paper.
Association of Alternative Newsweeklies' Media Reporting/Criticism Award in 2004 - for article titled "Off Target", co-written with Erik Wemple, published in Washington City Paper which helped to break the Jayson Blair plagiarism scandal.
Nonetheless, major media outlets regularly carry stories based on the CMPA's studies, and the organization was described by the Los Angeles Times Tom Rosenstiel as "non-partisan" in an interview in the D.C.-based City Paper (2/30/90).