AAN News
The Pulse is Sold to Local Media Groupnew
The Chattanooga, Tenn., alt-weekly has been purchased by Brewer Media Group, which owns a handful of local radio stations and websites. "Brewer Media Group is a fantastic match for The Pulse," publisher Zack Cooper says. "We are confident that together we will continue to serve up the kind of content our readers expect. At the same time, Brewer's multi-media approach offers a powerful and compelling proposition for advertisers." Cooper, who was co-owner of the paper with editor Michael Kull, will remain publisher under Brewer.
The Chattanoogan |
08-01-2008 4:04 pm |
Industry News
Creative Loafing Columnist Releases New Booknew

"Layered in laughable, lopsided, linguistic humor, Hollis Gillespie's Trailer Trashed: My Dubious Efforts Toward Upward Mobility is a wonderful land of well-crafted humor within a world of spellbinding wit," writes J. Edward Sumerau in Metro Spirit. The marks the third book for Gillespie, who writes the "Moodswing" column for Creative Loafing. "I never know how to explain my books except to say, 'It's like Shakespeare,' and hope people get the joke," Gillespie tells the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "This book literally covers my dubious efforts at upward mobility, starting with life with my Dad, the drunk trailer salesman, and ending with selling the TV series (which is based on my first two books) in Hollywood." That TV series is back on track after a brief detour due to the writers' strike, Gillespie tells the Journal, with Laura Dern in tow. "[She's] been a champion of the project since the day after my first book was released," Gillespie says.
Metro Spirit | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |
08-01-2008 8:26 am |
Industry News
How Low Can Advertising Revenues Go?new
"Advertising and consumer-generated revenues are on a steep dive that could take a devastating toll on media company spending and development well into 2009," opines MediaPost editor-in-chief Diane Mermigas. She notes that even what had previously been considered the bright spot for media companies is looking troubled: "The meteoric growth of online ad revenues, and display advertising in particular, trends downward."
MediaPost |
07-31-2008 9:33 am |
Industry News
NY Yankees Pitcher Writes for an Alt-Weekly ... Only in The Onionnew
In a story based on the premise of New York Yankees starting pitcher Mike Mussina's failed attempts to get published by McSweeney's, the Onion "reports" that Mussina "frequently submitted" stories to Baltimore City Paper while he was in the minor leagues.
The Onion |
07-31-2008 9:03 am |
Industry News
LA Weekly Announces Lineup for Third Annual Detour Music Festivalnew
Billboard |
07-31-2008 8:58 am |
Industry News
Tags: Marketing, L.A. Weekly
Nielsen/NAA: Newspaper Sites Gain Audience in Q2new
Editor & Publisher |
07-31-2008 8:25 am |
Industry News
Yahoo Has Driven 100 Million-Plus Visits to Newspaper Partnersnew
Editor & Publisher |
07-31-2008 8:24 am |
Industry News
Tags: Electronic Publishing, Management
Another LEO Alum Enters Political Arenanew
Former editor Cary Stemle is not following in the footsteps of LEO founder and current Congressman John Yarmuth by running for office, but he has has joined Democratic Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford's team as campaign spokesperson, Politicker KY reports. Lunsford is running against Senator Mitch McConnell, the current Senate Minority Leader who has served in Congress since 1984. Stemle, who edited LEO for a decade, was let go when the paper was purchased by SouthComm Communications in May.
Politicker KY |
07-30-2008 2:05 pm |
Industry News
Earthquake Hits Southern California, Alt-Weekly Offices Feel It
A little before noon yesterday, a 5.4 magnitude earthquake hit Southern California, with an epicenter 29 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, according to the US Geological Survey. The quake, which was the largest in SoCal in more than a decade but apparently caused no major damage, was felt in AAN-member offices from San Diego to Santa Barbara, judging by a quick perusal of blogs. "[It] felt like I was standing on a rocking waterbed for at least 12 seconds. The building swayed back and forth. A large corkboard fell off my office wall," the OC Weekly's R. Scott Moxley reports. "An energy drink can stupidly placed (by me) on top of a file cabinet flew three feet in the air. The staff quickly evacuated the building and found phone lines dead." Up in Culver City at LA Weekly's offices, Mark Mauer notes: "The new LA Weekly building shakes like a leaf (at least around my desk) every time a car enters or leaves our garage, so it took a few extra seconds to figure out this was an actual earthquake and not just an SUV trying to find a parking space." The Santa Barbara Independent's Matt Kettman reports feeling a "long, rolling sensation," while San Diego CityBeat's Kinsee Morgan wins the award for brevity, simply noting the quake was the "biggest one I've felt yet."
AAN News |
07-30-2008 8:30 am |
Industry News
Collective Media Launches Online Video Ad Networknew
Online Media Daily |
07-30-2008 8:36 am |
Industry News
Lynda Barry's Panel 'Was Comic-Con's Single Most Inspirational Moment'new
That's according to MSNBC contributor Dave White, who was thoroughly impressed by Barry's presentation, which she based on her new book What It Is. "An exuberant, no-nonsense cheerleader for life's outcasts, she led her smallish room's capacity crowd in a sermon-like call to creativity without fear of failure, to engage in what she called 'deep play' or suffer going slowly insane," he says of the "Ernie Pook's Comeek" cartoonist. "Of all the convention's 'professional' badge wearers, she was the coolest."
MSNBC |
07-29-2008 10:44 am |
Industry News
Longtime Editor Leaves Isthmus as Part of Cutbacksnew
Marc Eisen, who is currently executive editor of the Madison alt-weekly, is leaving the paper at the end of August as a part of cost-cutting measures, publisher Vince O'Hern says in a column. Eisen was editor until he moved into the executive editor spot last fall to have more time to write. He worked for Isthmus from 1978-1986, and then rejoined the paper in 1988. "These are difficult, challenging times in journalism," Eisen tells the Capital Times. "There's no one more expendable than the executive editor." The other staffer that falls victim to the cuts is 18-year veteran writer Tom Laskin. "These departures were not pleasant decisions to make and we do not relish saying goodbye to these folks. We hope to work with them again in the future," O'Hern writes. "Change can be and, in this instance, is hard. But the consequences of not changing, of not responding to the challenges of the business climate, would ultimately be harder."
Isthmus | The Capital Times |
07-29-2008 8:49 am |
Industry News
Study: Social Marketing Limited by Advertiser Confusionnew
Online Media Daily |
07-29-2008 9:02 am |
Industry News
After Inaugural Issue, Cleveland's Daily Looks at the New Scenenew

Publisher Matt Fabyan tells the Cleveland Plain-Dealer that his fears of newsroom tension between employees of former competitors Cleveland Free Times and Scene were unfounded. "After the first day, people have jelled really well," he says. The Plain-Dealer runs down some facts about the new paper, which debuted last week after the two papers were merged by new owners Times-Shamrock. The first issue came in at 100 pages, which was up from 72 in Free Times' last issue and 60 in Scene's last one. The new paper's circulation is 60,000, which is 10,000 more than pre-merger circulation totals for each paper, but down from a high of 100,000 a few years ago. Fabyan also tells the P-D that total staff loss was about 10 people. Each paper had about 25 staff members pre-merger, and the new paper comes in around 40, half from the old Free Times and half from the old Scene.
Cleveland Plain-Dealer |
07-28-2008 12:53 pm |
Industry News
The AP Leads $3 Million Round of Financing for Verve Wirelessnew
The Associated Press, which has used Verve for mobile publishing since May, led the way in the company's second round of financing, the New York Times reports. "Mobile is actually a better way to reach people than print or even web. It's versatile, immediate, travels and is just as compelling," Verve CEO and former Village Voice Media president Art Howe says. One analyst tells the Times that newspapers need to tap into the fast-growing mobile market before it's too late. "It's important and smart for newspapers to get out in front on the mobile phenomenon and not make the mistake they made in waiting too long to embrace the internet," says Greg Sterling, who studies the mobile internet for Opus Research.
The New York Times |
07-28-2008 10:24 am |
Industry News