Charlotte NC has a ton of different things to do and different people with different interests.

Creative Loafing is the free paper that serves the community. The idea is to create a publication that serves readers who don't necessarily care about the stuff that goes on at the city council meetings. 

The paper is aimed at younger people who go out to bars and art shows. The paper doesn't mind being edgy and doesn't censor much. They print curse words and go after subjects that would never make it in the Charlotte Observer, the daily paper.

I'm not endorsing it. But with the newspaper industry the way it is, there have been many opportunities for people with a bunch of extra money in their pocket to start a paper and print whatever they feel like printing. 

Call it free speech or what you will, but there are a lot of people with a lot of different opinions and the fact that the big newspapers are falling by the wayside means that the opportunity to be heard have increased and will continue to increase. The Charlotte Observer has been laying off people in droves over the past few years. It is the way of the world, I guess.