"Behind The Lines"

By Chris Hill - November 1981

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Published: Sep 28, 2006

The very first words of the very first issue of City Paper: "A dozen small children sat working with pencils in workbooks around the large walnut conference room table, while an adult hovered behind them, darting in over their shoulders now and then to help those who seemed confused." The cover was equally humble: a black-and-white photo of two children at work; a headline that read "Down to Basics"; and somewhat absurdly, a cover line promising an "Original Art Cutout" on page 10.

But if you turn the page, you'll find nothing less than the genetic code for City Paper in the form of Chris Hill's first editor's letter, which he called "Behind the Lines." Reading it 25 years later, it's startling. Chris had it. He had it down perfectly, in that very first issue.

Over the last two years Bruce moved from dance reviewer to ad sales person to business manager. The newspaper changed from the WXPN Radioguide to the WXPN Express . I remained constant as the editor. Bruce and I have taken another step together this month, represented by the paper you hold in your hands. Philadelphia City Paper is an independent venture possessed of a very small staff, a few machines and a determined vision of what a Philadelphia paper should offer. As you will notice, WXPN radio has decided to continue its relations with us by printing a reduced version of the Express in our centerfold.

Starting a new business is a little like entering a marriage. You and your partner exchange vows. You exchange Social Security numbers. You buy a new home if you have the money or you rent. You domesticate the beast, adding furniture and other homey touches. You hang up your shingle, be it "Home Sweet Home" or the new business logo. And you get on with the daily business of making it work.

The holes in the walls are plastered now; the holes in the floor are patched. Our office is a pleasant place to work, with large curving windows looking out onto the intersection of Germantown Avenue and Johnson Street in Mt. Airy. The spacious, carpeted window seats are an inviting place to curl up and think. Bernise, the resident cat, crouches or sprawls for hours in one window, silently watching passersby. Our small covered porch was established by neighborhood consent as the trolley stop years before we moved in, and the waiting commuters often rap out a hello to Bernise on the window.

On a drizzling day like today, as Bernise and I look out on Germantown Avenue, it seems a grim street to me, grim and grey. But on brighter, drier days the street symbolizes what Bruce and I are looking for in the city, what is uniquely Philadelphia, and what we want to capture and convey through our paper.

Everything happens on Germantown Avenue, everything of importance. In the last month I've watched wedding parties pass by, streaming ribbons of pink and blue crepe paper, and honking like wild geese. I've watched funerals. A military parade rumbled past several weeks ago, with a battalion of drummers marking time. Love, war, death, sex, food, sorrow, pleasure, poverty, affluence — you name it, Germantown Avenue has it. We want to be able to say the same of the City Paper , to be able to say that it thoughtfully addresses these essential issues as they involve people in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia doesn't so much need another paper as it needs another voice. We think Philadelphia City Paper is that new voice, a casual, humane voice, unconstrained by the pressures and limitations of the daily newspaper grind, unmarred by aggressive materialism, and not limited to one geographic neighborhood. In tone and concern the City Paper serves a community of interest, a community of people scattered across the city who are drawn together by similar cultural and social needs, by similar intellectual and entertainment pursuits, by similar ethical and political concerns and dilemmas.

One of the thrills of winning the World Series was the sense of being part of something bigger than a street or neighborhood, of feeling that something called Philadelphia did, in fact, exist. The City Paper is predicated on the belief that this spirit can be created again and again with a wide variety of issues. In each month's issue we'll acquaint you with the people, neighborhoods and issues that are the common property of the city.

Bruce and I both see the city as a place to live in the widest sense of the word — a place to find the fulfillment that one expects from friends and work, a place where one can begin to understand what is valuable and important in his life. The city — not just a playground but a home, with all the responsibilities, all the work, as well as all the joys that come with a home: stewardship, maintenance, planning and improvement.

As the editors of this paper, we pledge to address the ethical, artistic, social and political concerns of the city. We will playfully expose its hypocrisies. We will cover the uncovered events, phenomena and trends. And we will provide in a lively, interesting style information that is not normally available about life and lives in Philadelphia.

Amen, Chris. A-men.

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