Fast Forward Weekly

"Fast Forward Weekly (FFWD)" is a news and entertainment weekly which provides news, alternative viewpoints, entertainment information, review articles and specialized advertising. It is distributed throughout Calgary, Banff and Canmore. It is owned by Great West Newspapers, LP. With an assessed readership of 70,000 upon a distributed circulation of 30,000, the paper is one of the most widely circulated and well-respected alternative newspapers in Canada.

The paper originated in December 1995 as the city's first alternative weekly publication. [ [http://www.peak.sfu.ca/the-peak/98-3/issue7/straight.html "The Peak": "Dan McLeod's Straight"] (refers to history and role of "FFWD")] . As of 2007 is the only freely distributed weekly newspaper of its type in the city, having outlasted a number of competitors including a short-lived Calgary edition of "The Georgia Straight" from 1997-2002, the long-running "Calgary Mirror" (which folded in 2001), and the "Mirror's" successor, "FYI Calgary In-Print", which ran for only five months in 2001. The founding editor, Ian Chiclo, is now the paper's publisher.

While the paper was initially arts-focused, in recent years it has been covering more news stories and social issues.

Recently the paper has been criticized over publishing a controversial article quoting Calgary Conservative MP Lee Richardson on comments regarding immigrants and crime which he later stated he regretted; clarifying he was referring only to youth gangs in the city. [cite news | first=Don | last=Braid | coauthors= | title=Sliming of Tory a typical campaign crock | date=2008-09-26 | publisher= | url =http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=98db0b3c-c10d-4c1f-83bb-fcabeebcb6f3 | work =Calgary Herald | pages = | accessdate = 2008-09-26 | language = ] Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the reporting "gotcha journalism" for taking his comments out of their intended context, while other party leaders called for his resignation. [cite news | first=Jason | last=Fekete | coauthors= | title=Harper rejects calls for Calgary Tory candidate's resignation | date=2008-09-26 | publisher= | url =http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=f3e3afe9-1edd-42ef-8416-bd5e4639f274 | work =Calgary Herald | pages = | accessdate = 2008-09-26 | language = ]

One of "Fast Forward's" most popular editions is its annual Best of Calgary readers' poll. For this, readers voluntarily submit their responses to a large variety of questions, indicating their favourite (or least favourite) aspects of Calgary, including its food, people, culture, infrastructure, political leadership and more.

References

External links

* [http://www.ffwdweekly.com Official site]
* [http://www.aan.org/alternative/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A8406/reade Association of Alternative Newsweeklies: "Fast Forward Weekly"]
* [http://www.magnetwork.com/publications#ffwd Magazine Network: "FFWD"]