Tablet, a monthly freebie newsprint mag of local fashion, music, and whatnot, is calling it quits after five years.

I was a peripheral participant in the team that launched Tablet, and can now tell how it came to be. Everything in the beginning was by consensus vote, including an hour-long debate over what to call the publishing company (not the publication itself; that came later). Two early collective decisions would eventually lead to my leaving the mag. It was decided that (1) the mag would shamelessly suck up to every potential advertiser with uncritical reviews and hype-profile pieces, and (2) no writers would ever get paid. While I’m at least partly thankful this business plan proved ultimately insufficient to create a profitable publication, I’m still sad to see the mag go. We need all the voices we can get, ya know.