AAN News
Sacramento News & Review Editor Oustednew
Matt Coker, who came to Sacramento from the OC Weekly last Spring, was dismissed earlier this month, the Sacramento Bee reports. In addition, the paper's arts editor, Jonathan Kiefer, has resigned. News & Review CEO Jeff von Kaenel tells the Bee that Melinda Welsh will serve as interim editor until a permanent replacement is found. "(Melinda and I) have worked together for 20 years and we'll continue to make sure we're putting out a great paper," he says.
The Sacramento Bee |
05-19-2008 8:18 am |
Industry News
Memphis Flyer Columnist's Use of 'HNIC' Creates a Stirnew
"Thanks primarily to a rather sensationalistic story on WREG Channel 3 Wednesday night, John Branston's City Beat column from this week's Flyer seems to be generating some controversy," writes editor Bruce VanWyngarden. In the column, Branston asks who should be "the HNIC" of Memphis City Schools, a term meaning "head [N-word] in charge" that refers to the film Lean on Me. VanWyngarden writes that, as editor, he takes responsibility for the column and the phrase. "I apologize to those who were offended by the use of the term in John's column. It was not intended as a racial slur but as a cultural reference to a very real and important decision facing our school board," he writes. "Lost in the controversy is the fact that in his column Branston asks some very pointed and relevant questions of potential superintendent candidates -- questions we ought to be asking." Nevertheless, the one source the TV station has that is upset about the whole thing is still calling for Branston to be fired.
The Memphis Flyer | WREG-TV |
05-16-2008 3:37 pm |
Industry News
Knoxville, Tenn., Embarks on Pilot News Box Programnew
"Following the lead in other cities, the [city's] administration has been working in voluntary cooperation with the News Sentinel [Metro Pulse's parent company] and other publications" to create Knoxville's first unified distribution center, replacing a string of existing news boxes, according to Metro Pulse. If the program goes well, the city is looking to expand it downtown. "Right now Knoxville has no ordinances or restrictions on placement of publication distribution boxes," Metro Pulse reports, but if the voluntary program doesn't work, the city has already examined legislation in other cities to emulate, if necessary.
Metro Pulse |
05-16-2008 2:08 pm |
Industry News
The Other Paper's Managing Editor Moves into Politicsnew
Dan Williamson will take over as Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman's spokesman on June 2, according to Columbus Business First. Williamson, who the mayor called "one of the sharpest political observers and writers in Ohio," will oversee a two-member staff and coordinate communications for 13 departments in his new role.
Columbus Business First |
05-15-2008 9:06 am |
Industry News
Former Willamette Week Film Critic D.K. Holm Battles Cancernew
The Vancouver Voice |
05-15-2008 9:09 am |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Willamette Week
Alt-Weekly Cartoonist Details Her Methods in New Booknew
Lynda Barry, who has been authoring "Ernie Pook's Comeek" for 30 years, explains her method of making drawings and stories in What It Is, which was released yesterday by Drawn and Quarterly. She talks to the New York Times about her work and her long career as a cartoonist. "It was a happy accident that Ms. Barry graduated [from college] just as alternative weeklies were springing up around the country and searching, as she put it, 'for oddball comics,'" the Times reports. "She soon became one of a small elite, her strip appearing with [Matt] Groening's 'Life in Hell' alongside the work of Jules Feiffer." Barry will be making some appearances on the East Coast in June and at Comic-Con in July, according to Drawn and Quarterly.
The New York Times |
05-14-2008 10:59 am |
Industry News
Tags: Design & Production, Management
Report: Online Ad Spending Estimates Drop for Social Networking Sitesnew
The New York Post |
05-14-2008 10:46 am |
Industry News
Alt-Weekly Scribe's Work on Mental Illness is Part of Growing Trendnew
The New York Times this weekend explored the movement of "mad pride," which entails people publicly speaking frankly about their experiences with mental illness. The Times noted that Philadelphia Weekly senior contributing editor Liz Spikol, who chronicles her struggles with bipolar disorder for the paper in her column and on her blog, is a leading and prominent voice in this area. Spikol says she's "so excited" to be in the article -- and so is her mom. "Imagine my mom seeing the link on Mother's Day, and keep in mind, we are a Jewish family," she writes. "We ran to WaWa to get a copy of the paper because, for some reason, I wouldn't believe it was 'real' until I saw the print edition." The Times also traces the origins of the prominent online forum and support network The Icarus Project to the alt-weekly world -- it began six years ago when "one of its founders ... wrote about his bipolar disorder in the San Francisco Bay Guardian."
The New York Times |
05-13-2008 10:16 am |
Industry News
Mountain XPress Spearheads Local Distribution Initiative
Facing increased scrutiny and concern over problems associated with freestanding news boxes, Mountain XPress distribution manager Sammy Cox (pictured) and publisher Jeff Fobes organized local publishers to form the Community Publishers Group (CPG). Members of the CPG now share the cost of purchasing and installing new multi-publication distribution units, which are installed in 36 locations throughout Asheville, N.C. According to Cox and Fobes, the new boxes conserve space and reduce clutter, and have pre-empted potentially harmful measures like news rack legislation. They spoke with AAN News recently by phone and email about the benefits these boxes and the CPG have had for Mountain XPress and the local publishing community.
(FULL STORY)
AAN News |
05-12-2008 1:41 pm |
Industry News
Judge Says She'll Raise Damages Award in SF Weekly/Bay Guardian Casenew
Judge Marla Miller of San Francisco Superior Court said Friday she's inclined to boost a jury's damages award against the Weekly from $6.3 million to $15.6 million, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Miller, in what she described as a tentative decision, said she would triple the portion of the damages that equals one year of losses, bringing the total to $15.6 million. She also said she'll likely issue an injunction barring the Weekly from continuing to sell ads below cost. She is expected to make a final ruling this week. The Weekly says it will appeal. Read more from the Bay Guardian and the Weekly.
San Francisco Chronicle |
05-12-2008 10:41 am |
Industry News
David Carr Weighs in On Phoenix New Times Arrests and Lawsuitnew
"Reporters have ended up in handcuffs in the United States before -- some have gone to jail to protect the identity of sources -- but it is a rare moment when someone here is imprisoned for the crime of typing," Carr writes in today's New York Times. He details how the tumultuous relationship between New Times and Sheriff Joe Arpaio ultimately led to the arrest of the paper's founders last year for disclosing a grand jury probe of the paper and its readers. Jim Larkin and Michael Lacey recently sued the sheriff and other officials for the debacle. "Suing people is not the core of what we do, but our arrest was just the culmination of an ongoing reign of terror that is still continuing," Lacey says.
The New York Times |
05-12-2008 9:46 am |
Industry News
Alt-Weekly Photographer: I Was Assaulted While Shooting Concertnew
Freelance photographer Nichole Torpea says she was snapping photos for Riverfront Times at a My Chemical Romance concert in St. Louis on Saturday when she was assaulted by a member of the band's security team. According to Torpea, she was taking pictures in the balcony when a man grabbed her arm, led her through a door to a stairwell and forced her to the ground. "I had no idea what was going on," she says. "He had no ID and wouldn't tell me who he was. He kept saying, 'You know what you did. Give me the fucking camera.'" He took her camera, but returned it a few minutes later after deleting all the images on the memory card. When the band learned about the incident, they offered to make amends by flying Torpea and her boyfriend to their show tonight at New York's Madison Square Garden. She initially had some misgivings about the offer but ultimately decided to let bygones be bygones. "Last weekend was pretty crappy," she says. "So if they're going to make it up to me with a good weekend, I can't complain."
Riverfront Times |
05-09-2008 12:40 pm |
Industry News
Former San Antonio Current Staffer Running for Presidentnew
Kat Swift, who worked at the alt-weekly from 2002-2006, is gunning for the Oval Office, seeking the presidential nomination of the Green Party. "The FEC filing is insane," she tells the Current. "You can see how they sort of made it where companies can make money off of the government's inability to be simplistic and straightforward." Swift, who the Current calls "San Antonio's newest perennial candidate," started at the paper as receptionist and worked her way up to credit manager. In this Q&A, she talks about why she's running, the need for third parties, and how hard it is to get on the ballot.
San Antonio Current |
05-08-2008 9:39 am |
Industry News
Tags: Management, San Antonio Current
Exhibit Remembers Atlanta Underground Papernew
Through May 18, the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library is hosting an exhibit of covers, graphics, and articles from The Great Speckled Bird, the self-described "radical, freaky, 'underground' paper of the 1960s and 70s." The exhibit is part of a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the paper's launch in 1968. The Bird stopped publishing in 1976.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |
05-08-2008 8:47 am |
Industry News
Tags: Management
Phoenix Media Buys Back Mobile Unit Nine Months After it Went Publicnew
The Boston Herald |
05-08-2008 9:27 am |
Industry News
