The Circular

Over 10 years ago, when the world was rushing toward digital, we decided to make something you had to hold.

The Circular started as a single sheet of newsprint folded in half and handed out on the streets of New York. We called it A Romantic Piece of Content because every issue focused on one person, one place, one artist, one idea, or one obsession. There was no endless scroll. No algorithm. Just one story worth spending time with.

It was published by CNNCTD, our creative studio, and became a way to document the people and projects shaping New York and beyond. Over the years we worked with artists, musicians, designers, chefs, photographers, brands, and independent businesses that inspired us. Every issue was built around conversation, curiosity, and craft rather than clicks.

Today, there is more content than ever. Everything moves faster, gets skimmed quicker, and disappears by tomorrow. The Circular is our way of slowing things down again. It is a reminder that physical media still matters and that a single great story can be more meaningful than a thousand forgettable posts.

How It's Distributed

The Circular is always free.

You'll find it in Regina's Grocery locations, independent cafés, restaurants, bookstores, hotels, galleries, creative studios, neighborhood shops, and newspaper boxes throughout New York City. Every location is chosen because it's part of the same community the paper celebrates.

New issues appear without much warning. Some disappear in a day. Others become something people collect.

What You'll Find Inside

Every edition is different, but every edition has the same purpose: to tell one story well.

Inside you'll find interviews, essays, photography, artwork, recommendations, neighborhood histories, forgotten details, personal archives, recipes, objects we admire, and conversations with the people building the culture around us. Some issues spotlight a single person. Others document a business, an idea, a neighborhood, or a moment in time.

No headlines written for clicks.

No endless pages.

Just one thoughtful piece of content, printed on paper, made to be folded into your back pocket, read over coffee, shared with a friend, and maybe kept on a shelf long after you've finished it.

The Circular isn't trying to compete with the internet.

It's trying to remind us what the internet forgot.