Style Weekly

What Style Weekly does

Style Weekly is an alternative weekly publication serving the Richmond, Virginia metropolitan area, covering arts, culture, food and drink, local news, and community events. Founded in the early-to-mid 1980s and operating for over 40 years, the publication has built a recognized local brand around editorial criticism, feature journalism, and photography focused on Richmond's evolving cultural landscape. Its product portfolio centers on a weekly editorial publication distributed in print and digital form, an events calendar, a recurring Best of Richmond readers' poll spanning 100+ categories, the annual Best Fest event, and an email newsletter. The company is in the process of adding an interactive Puzzles + Games module.

The underlying technology stack is conventional for a digital-first local publisher: a WordPress-based website, email newsletter distribution, multi-platform social media presence (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, YouTube), and the SimpleCirc platform for subscription, gift, and single-issue commerce. There is no indication of proprietary technology, APIs, SDKs, or AI/ML capabilities in the input data.

Style Weekly is wholly owned by VPM (Virginia Public Media), Virginia's public media organization, which functions as both parent and content partner. Revenue is generated through four streams: recurring print and digital subscriptions, local advertising and sponsored content from Richmond-area businesses, single-issue sales at newsstands, and ticketed event and sponsorship revenue from Best Fest. The publication operates with a small staff (11-50 employees per firmographics) from VPM's headquarters at 15 E. Broad Street in Richmond's historic Monroe Ward.

Name

Style Weekly

Legal name

Style Weekly

Website

https://styleweekly.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Style Weekly is a Richmond, Virginia–based alternative weekly publication, owned by VPM (Virginia Public Media), covering local arts, culture, food, and news for metro-area residents and advertisers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Alternative Weekly Newspaper & Local Arts Publication

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines (MPAJAEAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Consumer Lifestyle & Fashion Magazines (MPAJAEAA)

Keywords

• Alternative weekly newspaper
• Local arts coverage
• City magazine
• Local journalism
• Events calendar listing

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue: Style Weekly generates recurring revenue through print and digital subscriptions sold via simplecirc.com platform. Subscriptions provide ongoing access to content and include newsletters.
2. Advertising: The publication generates revenue from local businesses and organizations advertising across print and digital platforms. Categories include sponsored content, business features, and promotional placements.
3. Events and Best Fest: Style Weekly hosts annual Best Fest celebration events featuring food, cocktails, and performances, creating ticket revenue and sponsorship opportunities.
4. Single Issue Sales: Individual magazine issues are sold through simplecirc.com and available at newsstands throughout the Richmond metro region.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Style Weekly is an alternative weekly publication and digital media outlet covering arts, culture, food, and local news in the Richmond, Virginia metropolitan area. The publication sells subscriptions and single issues, delivers an email newsletter, maintains an online events calendar, and produces annual features such as the Best of Richmond readers' poll and Best Fest ticketed events.

Product overview

Style Weekly operates as a single unified publication offering comprehensive coverage of arts, culture, food, and news in Richmond, Virginia. The portfolio includes the core weekly publication, an annual Best of Richmond feature, events calendar with calendar subscription integrations, and a newsletter. The company also offers subscription services for print and digital access and plans to launch interactive puzzles and games including Daily Crossword, Word Wrangler, and RVA Trivia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Style Weekly Publication

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• VPM (Virginia Public Media)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVPM is the parent company and strategic partner of Style Weekly. As Virginia's home for public media, VPM produces content including documentaries like 'Declarations: Black Americans and the Revolutionary War' and owns Style Weekly. Style Weekly operates from VPM's headquarters at 15 E. Broad Street.
• simplecirccoreTechnology or Integrationsimplecirc is the subscription management platform used by Style Weekly for processing subscriptions, single issues, and gift subscriptions. The platform handles all subscription commerce including subscribe, give a gift, and single issues.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Austin Chronicle: Long-running Texas alternative weekly covering Austin's arts, music, food, and film scene with a print magazine, events business, and Best of Austin franchise. Closely comparable to Style Weekly in editorial mix, weekly print cadence, and events-driven monetization.
• Nashville Scene: Nashville's alternative weekly covering arts, food, and local culture, with print and digital editions plus a weekly newsletter. Same alt-weekly format, single-metro focus, and subscription/advertising model as Style Weekly.
• LEO Weekly: Louisville, Kentucky's alternative weekly covering local news, arts, food, and music with print and digital distribution. Directly comparable mid-market alt-weekly operating in a similarly-sized metro.
• Westword: Denver's flagship alternative weekly covering arts, culture, food, and cannabis with a strong Best of Denver franchise and events arm. Closely mirrors Style Weekly's mix of editorial coverage and annual community awards.
• Riverfront Times: St. Louis alternative weekly covering arts, dining, and local news with a print/digital hybrid model and Best of St. Louis franchise. Direct analog in market size, editorial mix, and revenue structure.
• The Pitch: Kansas City's alternative weekly covering arts, food, and culture, with print issues and a long-running Best of Kansas City franchise. Comparable mid-sized alt-weekly with similar advertiser base and event monetization.
• Boulder Weekly: Independently owned Colorado alternative weekly covering arts, food, and community in the Boulder region with print and digital editions. Comparable small-team alt-weekly with subscription and advertising revenue mix.
• Washington City Paper: Washington D.C.'s alternative weekly covering local news, arts, food, and music with a Best of D.C. franchise. Larger-market version of the same alt-weekly format Style Weekly operates in Richmond.
• Charleston City Paper: Charleston's alternative weekly covering arts, dining, and local culture with print and digital distribution and a Best of Charleston franchise. Direct analog in editorial scope and mid-sized metro focus.

Broad incumbents

• Richmond Times-Dispatch: Richmond's legacy daily newspaper and dominant regional news outlet, owned by Lee Enterprises. Operates in the same local advertising and reader market as Style Weekly but covers general news/sports on a daily cadence, making it an incumbent local media peer rather than a direct alt-weekly competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/styleweekly
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/StyleWeekly
• Facebookfacebook.com/StyleWeekly
• Instagraminstagram.com/styleweekly
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/style-weekly-magazine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Style Weekly