The Reader (newspaper)


The Reader is an alternative newspaper in Omaha, Nebraska, USA.

History

The Reader was established in 1984 by a group that included John Heaston and Dan Beckmann. Beckmann bought out Heaston in 1999, then sold nearly all of his ownership interest in February 2000 to 77-year-old Alan Baer, a member of the family that had founded the J. L. Brandeis and Sons department store chain. Baer replaced Beckmann as publisher a few months later.
Meanwhile, Heaston established another paper, the Omaha Weekly, in March 2000. After Baer died in November 2002, Heaston bought the Reader and merged it with the Weekly.
The Reader's corporate owner, Pioneer Publishing, also publishes several other papers and websites, including the Spanish language El Perico.
In January 2015, The Reader changed its publication frequency from weekly to monthly and increased daily content on The Reader's website.