MKE Entertainment & News reviews

OnMilwaukee:

Tourist-y,  mostly culture & entertainment attractions, seems to be focused towards liberal readers but there isn’t a clear political stance (example: written piece on Colectivo unionization), highlights more  local current events and news than national, infrequent sprinkles of diversity in the attractions & local news pieces, pieces on Black & Brown people in Milwaukee feel like there’s an established “us & them” as if these communities are separate from the mainstream white liberal culture of Milwaukee (Milwaukee  as a whole is an established and successful metropolitan area but it’s evident that the Black & Brown communities are neglected in development outside of a contribution to food tourism & entertainment/sports), “Black is Beautiful” titled article several times

Article: “Adam’s new “Green Book” inspired MAM mural”

Article mostly uses quotes from the museum & Adam about the work and it’s display but doesn’t really review the history of Black Americans living in/travelling through Milwaukee during the Jim Crow era that would explain why the work is specifically relevant to Milwaukee, careless spelling error of Coffee Makes Your Black when the restaurant is named Coffee Makes YOU Black, talks about the artist not being from Milwaukee and meeting with Black artists from Milwaukee but doesn’t name them

Shepherd Express:

Has tabs to be able to choose specific topics & content to view, LGBTQ culture and discourse, even more content like podcasts and actual interviews, leftist topics like cannabis, intellectual discourse, very openly liberal and takes a concrete stance on these political/economic issues that are relevant to its readers, accessible, curated art & music content, gives a voice to individuals that makes your experience on the website personal, print & online source which are both free to the public and printed version is very easy to find around the city in public places like Colectivo, stores, newspaper kiosks, etc, local and national news, “something for everyone” type of vibe, in the social activism section you can search for opportunities in a map by neighborhood or you can email the newsletter to submit happenings that should be featured

Article:  “10 Milwaukee Area Arts Centers with a Neighborhood Focus”

This article was really informative and included a nice variety of arts spaces for all age groups, cultural interests, and personal interests like music, performing arts, and social issues. Information for spaces all over Milwaukee County and not just tourist areas that are “safe” white areas like Walkers Point, Bay View, Brady St, etc. 

Urban Milwaukee

Has a lot more political information including world news, first website of the others that had a topic dedicated to COVID, targets Democrats and other left wing audiences, lots of “matter of fact” content to inform readers of truths of economic happenings and politics, supportive of economic justice (ex: congratulating Colectivo workers on unionization), news oriented but has good amount of broad content on culture and entertainment

Article: “Activists Reflect on a Year of Protests”

This article was written by a Black male writer that did several interviews with several activists throughout the city. He doesn’t take a personal stance on the protests that happened in 2020 but clearly explains the reasoning behind them and the importance of the activists’ individual views and experiences  during those times

Milwaukee Mag

About the same as Shepherd Express, free access to archives of printed version as far back as January 2014, has a calendar of current and upcoming events, geared toward arts and entertainment and more so for adults, politics section reviews more small business and organizational contributions to the city vs. legislation 

Article: “The Oriental Theatre is Set to Reopen”

Article briefly talks about the theatre reopening and their strict mandate on being fully vaccinated or having a negative test to enter. Talks about renovations that take you back in time like you’re in the 1920’s. Written to advertise the feeling of nostalgia and Milwaukee embracing it’s past and monuments to bring the community together.

Milwaukee Record

Has articles written in first person, sarcasm/sattire, website is like a blend of a newsletter and a blog, first newsletter I’ve seen addressing sexual culture/educational sex industry in Milwaukee, they hold events that are sponsored by local organizations or big corporations like banks (ex:  The Fifth Element screening at Avalon Theatre), independent thinkpiece articles by writers in a section called “Random”

Article: “Why Milwaukee could, should (but probably won’t)  host Riotfest”

Written by the writer as a criticism and personal opinion but with intentions to invite more cultural opportunities for Milwaukee




 National site - Dazed Magazine

I enjoy Dazed because it’s incredibly diverse and a great mag for a cultural provocateur. Similar to Shepherd Express but functions as a magazine, content and criticism, anything from avant garde art to politics. There’s print, digital, and video content. Geared towards Millenial and Gen-Z readers but is still engaging for readers that aren’t familiar with American pop culture in its current generation of media content. Politics section covers left wing ideals from several international perspectives (including Africa - extremely important).

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