January 2001

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Alumni publishers take bite out of Big Apple

Many journalists only dream of being noticed by "NBC Nightly News," The New York Times or U.S. News & World Report. Yet Carrie McLaren (AB ’91) regularly wins such notice as the creator and publisher of a small magazine that had its roots in Chapel Hill.

McLaren publishes Stay Free!, a magazine that focuses on commentary about American commercialism and consumer culture. Although the magazine is published only about once every 10 months, it has a devoted, international circulation of 6,500.

McLaren started the magazine in Chapel Hill in 1993, with articles primarily about bands and entertainment in town. It was distributed free at local stores and shows.

Two years later, she took a job with Matador Records in New York and put Stay Free! on the shelf for awhile.

In 1996, she resurrected Stay Free!, narrowed the magazine’s scope but broadened its distribution nationally. Two years later, a London-based academic publisher approached McLaren about putting together a Stay Free! book. Now she is researching material — and thinking about refocusing the content of Stay Free! magazine to include topics related to history and psychology.


Another School alumna also has taken her Chapel Hill magazine to The Big Apple.

A premier party was held in August at New York’s The Luna Lounge for the New York inaugural issue of ’Sup, created by Marisa Brickman (AB ’00).

’Sup — published from 1998 to 2000 in Chapel Hill — was a thick 40- to 100-page magazine featuring interviews with bands playing in town, CD reviews and more.

Brickman relocated to New York in August to become Web coordinator for Jupiter Media Metric. She puts ’Sup together on her own time, and told The Daily Tar Heel that she expects circulation to hit 10,000 soon.

Brickman also is raising money from investors to support the magazine.

Cindy Elmore is a first-year doctoral candidate.