Triad City Beat is a free weekly alternative newspaper with distribution inGreensboro,Winston-Salem, andHigh Point inNorth Carolina.[1] It was founded in 2014 by Brian Clarey, Jordan Green and Eric Ginsburg, who were former editors and reporters forYES! Weekly.[2][3] The newspaper primarily covers topics local to theTriad such as news, politics, culture, opinion, music, and food. It describes itself as an independent voice to hold "economic and governmental powers accountable" across the Triad and North Carolina, and as a defender of democracy, as well as "LGBTQ+ rights, racial justice and an urban sensibility".[4] It has an estimated circulation of 10,000, and is published every Thursday.[5]
In 2023, theTriad City Beat hired a new "CityBeat" reporter specifically to expand its coverage of city council meetings in Greensboro and Winston-Salem. The newspaper releases the CityBeat content for free use by others under theCreative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives license.[6]
The paper announced it was facing "financial difficulties" and needed to raise $20,000 by the end of January 2025 to continue operations.[7]
Some of the newspaper's deeper reporting includes a profile of the groupRedneck Revolt,[8] investigations into substandard housing in Greensboro[9] and High Point,[10] and coverage following the in-custody homicide of a local man by the Greensboro Police Department.[11] In September 2019,Triad City Beat broke the news of child sexual abuse allegations at a group home run by the Greensboro Deputy Chief of Police.[12]
The New York Times has cited reports from theTriad City Beat and then-associate editor Eric Ginsburg in their front-page story and followup story concerning the disproportionate harassment of black drivers in Greensboro by city police.[13][14]
In 2016, senior editor Jordan Green won second prize for Best Political Column for newspapers with fewer than a 45,000 print run for the national groupAssociation of Alternative Newsmedia.[27] He also won second place in 2018, again for his column Citizen Green, and freelance reporter Jonathen Michels won third place in the Longform News category the same year. In 2019, publisher and executive editor Brian Clarey won first prize for Best Political Column. Jordan Green won third place in the same category for his column Citizen Green.[28]
