AAN News

Independent Weekly Helps Local Animal Protection Group Raise Money

The Weekly recently donated to its graphic design skills to the Animal Protection Society of Durham (APS) in an effort that ended up raising money for the organization. The APS let folks bid on the chance to have their pets featured in public service ads designed by Weekly production manager Nathan Golub, and the bids brought $2,200 to the group. The completed ads will be sent to all of the local print media outlets, as well as news websites.
AAN News  |  04-19-2010  12:16 pm  |  Industry News

Orlando Weekly Editor Leaves for Vegasnew

On Friday, we told you that Baltimore City Paper managing editor Erin Sullivan was taking over the editor's spot at sister paper Orlando Weekly. What we neglected to mention is where the Weekly's current editor, Bob Whitby, was going. In a farewell column, he says he is taking "a job editing a paper out west," in Las Vegas. He had been the paper's editor since August 2002. Weekly publisher Rick Schreiber tells the Orlando Sentinel that Whitby will be joining the rest of his family in Vegas; they moved there last summer because Whitby's wife's education required her to relocate.
Orlando Weekly  |  04-19-2010  10:52 am  |  Industry News

Portland Mercury Readers' Ideas Fuel Bizarre Covernew

Plenty of alt-weeklies have creative covers; some say it's a staple of the genre. But the most recent Portland Mercury cover might be one of the flat-out weirdest we've ever seen: it features an illustration by Andrew Zubko of Betty White, holding a flaming chainsaw, riding John Ritter. This end result sprang from a web poll the paper ran last month to see what readers wanted. (What, no Mercury readers wanted to see Urkel brandishing a kitten atop a dinosaur version of Tim "Tool Time" Taylor?) Gawker calls the cover a "slightly insane, slightly amazing pop-culture mindfuck."
Portland Mercury  |  04-19-2010  9:33 am  |  Industry News

Erin Sullivan Heads South to Take the Reins at Orlando Weekly

Sullivan, currently the managing editor of Baltimore City Paper, will take over as Orlando Weekly's editor June 1. Sullivan has been at City Paper since 2002, and currently sits on AAN's Board of Directors as chair of the Membership Committee. City Paper and the Weekly are both owned by Times-Shamrock Communications.
AAN News  |  04-16-2010  6:31 pm  |  Industry News

The Coast Ordered to Name Commenters on Controversial Storynew

A Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge has approved a request by Halifax firefighters to order the alt-weekly to reveal the identities and IP addresses of six people who allegedly defamed them in the comments section of a story about fire department racism. The Coast's editor, Kyle Shaw, says that they'd already booted the commenters from the site, and the paper will comply with the court order. "We thought we'd leave it to the judge," he says. "Are these people who deserve some kind of protection? As ex-members of the Coast community, I don't know their legal standing or my ethical obligation to them." The judge also ruled that Google must provide all information relating to the identity of one person who circulated a letter also alleged to be defamatory.
The Chronicle Herald  |  04-15-2010  1:33 pm  |  Industry News

Judge Won't Include SF Weekly Parent Co. in '08 Judgmentnew

California Superior Court Judge Marla J. Miller ruled on Tuesday that she has no authority to amend a 2008 predatory-pricing judgment since the case is already pending before the California Court of Appeal. The San Francisco Bay Guardian had asked the court to include Village Voice Media LLC and Village Voice Media Holdings LLC, as part of its efforts to collect the money it was awarded in the judgment against SF Weekly. The Weekly has refused to pay the $21 million it owes the Guardian, saying it will pay once it exhausts its options to appeal.
SF Weekly  |  04-15-2010  1:16 pm  |  Industry News

New Syracuse New Times Owner Talks About Taking Overnew

Bill Brod, who purchased New Times from Art Zimmer last week, says he was convinced that the alt-weekly would be a sound investment by, among other things, the collective 140-plus years of staff experience. "The commitment to this publication by several members of the staff just speaks volumes to me about the quality of the paper," he says. He goes on to discuss his plans for the paper, including how to better integrate New Times' website with the print edition.
Syracuse New Times  |  04-15-2010  11:30 am  |  Industry News

The Daily Show Stops by Westword's Office to Hang with the Pot Criticnew

The Daily Show is in Denver this week to report on the city's booming medical marijuana industry, and a crew stopped by the Westword office on Monday, where correspondent Jason Jones interviewed pot critic William Breathes -- and took a hit off a gas mask bong.
Westword  |  04-15-2010  9:17 am  |  Industry News

Memphis Flyer is Latest Alt-Weekly to Curate LimeWire Compliationnew

The LimeWire Store has just released Ear to the Ground: Memphis, a free 14-track sampler of local bands curated by the Memphis Flyer. "We're always looking for ways to promote Memphis and its music scene," Flyer music editor Chris Herrington says in a release. "And the Ear to the Ground series, with its great track record in other cities, seemed like a terrific opportunity to do just that."
LimeWire Store  |  04-15-2010  8:57 am  |  Industry News

Politician, Style Weekly Settle $10 Million Libel Lawsuitnew

The lawyer for Democratic state delegate Joseph D. Morrissey says their $10.35 million libel lawsuit against Style Weekly set to go to trial yesterday has been resolved in their favor. The attorney says the settlement includes "a full, unreserved and unequivocal apology" from Style and "a significant cash settlement." Style publisher Lori Collier Waran says that the paper will "let the apology speak for itself," and that it is happy to have the suit -- "a distraction for our staff" -- over.
Richmond Times-Dispatch  |  04-13-2010  11:20 am  |  Industry News

Village Voice Theater Critic Named Pulitzer Finalistnew

While he didn't win the top prize, Michael Feingold was one of three Pulitzer finalists this year for criticism. Feingold was recognized by the Pulitzer board for his "engaging, authoritative drama reviews that fuse passion and knowledge as he helps readers understand what makes a play or a performance successful."
The Village Voice  |  04-12-2010  4:34 pm  |  Industry News

More on the Legal Battle at the Santa Barbara Independentnew

In what it calls "an admittedly awkward, after-the-fact effort in filling the gap," the Independent has laid out the rest of the story on the contract dispute between editor-in-chief and minority owner Marianne Partridge and publisher and majority owner Randy Campbell. "What we failed to cover ... were the arguments that Campbell and his attorneys provided in their responding papers," news editor Nick Welch writes. "As such, The Independent's coverage of its own internal struggle has been somewhat one-sided." To rectify the situation, the paper will not be covering the dispute in a traditional way as it moves along; instead, it will present readers with links to the relevant court documents themselves (this latest story includes 13 legal documents the case has produced to date).
Santa Barbara Independent  |  04-12-2010  3:49 pm  |  Industry News

Longtime Owner Sells Syracuse New Timesnew

Citing the need for new and younger leadership, Art Zimmer has sold the alt-weekly to local entrepreneur William Brod, who took over operations Wednesday morning. Zimmer, who is 71 years old, purchased the paper in 1984. In a letter to the staff, Zimmer says he's had "several opportunities to sell the paper (and for more money), but most included out of town people. I feel local ownership of media, especially like the New Times is very important." Brod says he doesn't expect any layoffs as a result of the ownership change; in fact, he says he plans to hire new staff soon to beef up New Times' web presence. "I think the New Times is in a unique and the most unique position to speak to the community in a way no other media organization can," Brod says. "We can be proactive, go to people, bring people together we can follow up and push politicians and heads of organization or in authority to do what they should do or said they were going to do."
CNYCentral.com  |  04-09-2010  11:25 am  |  Industry News

Two Alt-Weeklies Land on 'Most Reputable Papers in the World' Listnew

As of April 7, the Georgia Straight was number one, and the San Francisco Bay Guardian number four, on the list, which is put together by the researchers and students at The Committee for Newspaper and Media Integrity. Oxford University law student Aron Ping D'Souza, one of the project leaders, says they initially combed the web looking for "key terminologies" about newspaper names, articles and links. "We surveyed millions of pieces of data and found where people were using language that would indicate reputability based on a theory called natural-language queries, and we developed preliminary data from that," he says. "Now that people can give rankings in supplement to that chatter-theory-based argument, we can verify the method in some ways, and also we can improve the method."
The Georgia Straight  |  04-09-2010  10:07 am  |  Industry News

Gustavo Arellano Will Keynote UCLA Commencement Ceremonynew

The OC Weekly staffer and "¡Ask a Mexican!" columnist, who received a master's degree from UCLA in 2003, will be the keynote speaker for the university's June commencement ceremony. "Gustavo Arellano is a keen observer of life in America — in particular the culture and diversity of Southern California," says Judith L. Smith, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education in the UCLA College of Letters and Science. "He explores today's issues of diversity and ethnicity with incisive commentary and a sharp wit that punches holes in traditional thinking about race and stereotypes." On the OC Weekly blog, Arellano pulls out some of the "flattering reactions" to the decision, like this one from one Tweeter: "That's the weakest thing ever."
UCLA  |  04-08-2010  10:32 am  |  Industry News

Podcast