AAN News
Juliana Hatfield Appoints New Boston Phoenix Music Editornew
The Phoenix was surprised to learn -- via a press release -- that the liner notes to Juliana Hatfield's new album Peace and Love were written by "Boston Phoenix music editor James Parker." Problem is, while Parker does contribute to the alt-weekly, he "spends most of his hours these days toiling for the Atlantic Monthly" and definitely is not the paper's music editor, Carly Carioli notes. "I was wondering why my chair felt a little tight," music editor Michael Brodeur says when asked about Parker's sudden promotion.
Boston Phoenix |
10-23-2009 9:13 am |
Industry News
Alt-Weekly Editor Asks Downie and Schudson: What About Us?new
This week's release of Leonard Downie Jr. and Michael Schudson's report "The Reconstruction of American Journalism" has the journalism world buzzing. "The report takes a particular interest in local accountability and enterprise reporting," Washington City Paper editor Erik Wemple notes, "which is the commodity most at stake as newspapers pare down their editorial staffs." After searching the report for any mention of the alt-weekly's role in journalism's future and finding none, Wemple says he understands. "After all, alt-weeklies ... only channel all of their editorial resources toward local reporting; only conduct long-form investigations of key local agencies and authorities all the time; only monitor city halls like no one's business; only do all kinds of arts reporting that no other outlets care to do; and have been at it only for about half a century now," he writes. "Why mention those news organizations?"
Washington City Paper |
10-22-2009 12:14 pm |
Industry News
Political Ad Spend Expected to Surge in 2010new
A new Wells Fargo Securities report says political advertising will hit $3.3 billion in 2010, an 11 percent increase over 2008, but a 4 percent decrease from 2006. The bump in spending "will be fueled by the election of 37 governors, 38 senators, the entire House of Representatives and issue advertising (which could approach $1 billion) on hot-button topics such as healthcare," Adweek reports. While most of that $3.3 billion is expected to go to TV, the forecast predicts that newspapers will get $95 million, and internet will get $50 million.
Adweek |
10-22-2009 11:57 am |
Industry News
Westword No Longer Accepting Pot Critic Applicationsnew
The Denver alt-weekly received a total of more than 200 applications for a gig reviewing the region's medical marijuana dispensaries. Editor Patricia Calhoun says the flood of interested critics, applying from all over the globe, was likely correlated to the worldwide media coverage Westword's unusual opening has received.
Westword |
10-22-2009 11:30 am |
Industry News
Seattle Weekly News Box Intentionally Set on Firenew
The Seattle Fire Department says someone set a Weekly news box ablaze on Monday night; the case has now been turned over to the Seattle Police Department's Arson squad, who will conduct a criminal investigation. The Weekly notes that the fire occurred in a "notorious section" of town plagued by drugs and prostitution that the paper described "in cringe-inducing detail" in a September cover story. Since the story came out, a number of arrests have been made to crack down, and some folks are apparently pissed. "That said ... setting one of our distribution boxes on fire," the Weekly's Vernal Coleman writes, "is so not a constructive way of airing grievances."
Seattle Weekly |
10-22-2009 9:55 am |
Industry News
Pew: Nearly 1 in 5 Internet Users Now Using Twitternew
The Pew Internet & American Life Project |
10-22-2009 2:19 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Electronic Publishing, Management
Google, Yahoo and Microsoft to Include Tweets in Web Searchesnew
Bloomberg |
10-22-2009 9:16 am |
Industry News
North Coast Journal Makes Basic Cable Debut in 'Pot City USA'new
The new 60-minute A&E documentary examines the illegal pot growing scene in Arcata, Calif., and follows Humboldt County law enforcement officials "as they make busts and fly over forestlands searching for hidden marijuana groves," the network says. As eagle-eyed North Coast Journal editor Hank Sims points out, the trailer on YouTube has a special surprise guest. "I never thought that I'd be carrying a gun," one resident says about 20 seconds into the promo. And just where does said resident keep his trusty piece? On top of a copy of the North Coast Journal, of course! "Most creative recycling suggestion ever," Sims writes.
North Coast Journal |
10-21-2009 1:03 pm |
Industry News
Washington City Paper Asks Readers: Would You Pay to Read Us?new
It's the big debate in mainstream journalism these days: Should publishers make readers pay to access the paper online? When the New York Times this week announced that more layoffs were on the way, many loyal readers posted comments signaling their interest in paying to read the website to avoid further cuts. Although the paywall debate has been pretty much absent from the alt-weekly world since the newspapers are free to begin with, the outpouring of support from Times readers led Washington City Paper's Jason Cherkis to wonder: "What Would You Pay To Read An Award-Winning Alt-Weekly?" As of this writing, of the five comments that actually address the question, two (and a half) say they'd pay to access City Paper online.
Washington City Paper |
10-21-2009 11:52 am |
Industry News
HuffPo Shows Value of Implementing Facebook Connectnew
In a piece about Huffington Post's continued growth, paidContent notes that "the biggest boost for September may have come from a project that launched Aug. 17: Social News with Facebook Connect." Since that date, Facebook referral traffic is up 48 percent and 15 percent of HuffPo comments now come from Facebook. (The number of comments jumped to to 2.2 million in September from 1.7 million in July.) To find out more about how Facebook Connect works, click here.
paidContent |
10-21-2009 10:49 am |
Industry News
Westword Has Received More than 120 Applicants for Pot Critic Gignew
The Denver alt-weekly's search for a critic to review the region's medical marijuana dispensaries got another big news splash yesterday, thanks to an Associated Press story. The AP reports that Westword has received more than 120 applications for the position, with many people offering to write for free. The idea to hire a critic came from staff writer Joel Warner, who says he noticed how different the dispensaries were as he covered the medical marijuana industry. "Some really looked like your college drug dealer's dorm room. You know, Bob Marley posters on the wall and big marijuana leaf posters," he says. "But then some were so fancy, like dentist's offices. They had bubbling aquariums in the lobby and were so clean. I thought, somebody needs to review these. Somebody needs to tell people what these places are like."
The Associated Press |
10-21-2009 8:57 am |
Industry News
On Smartphones, 'Opportunties for Advertisers Abound'new
USA Today |
10-21-2009 10:21 am |
Industry News
NOW Magazine Creates Hybrid Documentary/Mockumentary About Itselfnew
The Toronto alt-weekly last week debuted NOW Magazine: The Movie, a nine-week web film series that simultaneously chronicles the paper's history and makes fun of it in the mockumentary style. In the movie, a fictional theater troupe is commissioned by NOW CEO Alice Klein to create a musical about the paper on the heels of its 25th anniversary in 2006, with that plot intertwined with archive footage from NOW's real-life history. "It is actually truly funny, and one of the only ways you can achieve that is to be prepared to take the piss out of yourself," editor and publisher Michael Hollett says. "It's entertaining, but at the same time there is real information that emerges about our history, which is a pretty proud one." The five-minute episodes, directed by Second City alum Brian G. Smith, will all be released on the NOW Magazine: The Movie microsite. You can check out the trailer below.
NOW Magazine - The Trailer from NOW Magazine on Vimeo.
NOW Magazine - The Trailer from NOW Magazine on Vimeo.
CARD Online |
10-20-2009 12:23 pm |
Industry News
Isthmus Partners With Other Local Media for Collaborative Reportingnew
Nearly two dozen media outlets in and around Madison, Wisc., are taking part in "Madison RX: Our Ailing Health Care System," the first series to come out of the new collaborative journalism project All Together Now, Bill Lueders reports. The project was launched as a way for local media to work together to tackle big issues. "We could achieve collectively more than any of our outlets could individually," Lueders writes. "And we could demonstrate our ability to advance a common purpose, with each outlet doing what it does best." The project, which got a shout-out in CJR earlier this year, "could serve as a model for journalists across the nation," Lueders reports. "As news staffs shrink, cooperation becomes imperative," he writes. "The Madison model is an ambitious attempt to make this work on a community-wide basis."
Isthmus |
10-20-2009 9:26 am |
Industry News
Report: '09 Online Ad Spend Now Expected to be Down 2.9 Percentnew
Advertising Age |
10-20-2009 10:24 am |
Industry News
