AAN News
Dan Savage Working on Potential HBO Shownew
The Stranger's editorial director and syndicated columnist has been in Los Angeles this month working with HBO on a "presentation pilot" for a potential TV show. The show will have a "focus on current events and cultural trends with sex as the filter," Savage writes. "Basically, my sex-advice column -- but on the teevee!" The pilot is taping on Aug. 27 -- you can sign up for tickets here. A Craigslist ad offers a glimpse into a potential topic for the pilot: men who wear chastity belts.
The Stranger |
08-21-2009 9:29 am |
Industry News
Former Gambit Theater Writer Diesnew
Al Shea, a longtime New Orleans actor, TV personality and critic for Gambit and other outlets, died early this morning after a long battle with bladder cancer. He was 80. Shea was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Gambit's Big Easy Awards earlier this year for his contributions to New Orleans.
The Gambit |
08-20-2009 1:27 pm |
Industry News
A Few More Details Emerge on Nashville Scene Salenew
Village Voice Media executive associate editor Andy Van De Voorde tells the Tennessean that the Scene's rumored financial troubles were not what led the company to sell the paper to Nashville-based SouthComm, Inc. "I have no reason to believe that anyone wasn't pleased with [the Scene] financially," he says. Van De Voorde also says that Scene editor Pete Kotz, who came to Nashville after VVM's Cleveland Scene was merged with Free Times, will leave the paper but remain in the VVM chain. Whether other staffing changes are in the works is not yet clear, though Van De Voorde notes that all Scene and Nfocus magazine employees will receive two weeks severance, plus a week of pay for every year of service and unpaid vacation time from VVM -- whether or not they keep their jobs under the new owners.
The Tennessean |
08-20-2009 10:26 am |
Industry News
Creative Loafing's CEO and Creditors Both Confident About Auctionnew
No surprise here: Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason and the company's largest creditor Atalaya Capital Management both tell the Atlanta Journal-Constitution they have high hopes for next week's auction of the company in Tampa bankruptcy court. "I think we are absolutely the best bid," Eason says. "Any bid has got to have cash, management and know-how, and be in a position to run the business and pay off debt. ... We have all of that." But Atalaya managing partner Michael Bogdan begs to differ. "We are going to come into court with a bid we believe will prevail," he says. "And if somebody starts with higher bid (sic), we are absolutely willing to raise our bid." It's expected that Atalya will bid a higher dollar figure than Eason's group, but Eason has said he will ask the judge to consider publishing expertise as part of deciding what the "highest and best" bid for the six-paper company is. The auction is slated for Tuesday, Aug. 25.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution |
08-20-2009 8:52 am |
Industry News
Report: Smaller Web Ads May Work Better Than Larger Onesnew
Online Media Daily |
08-20-2009 10:58 am |
Industry News
By 'Telling Stories That Matter,' Alts Will 'Ride Out Any Crisis'new
That's Chicago Reader editorial intern Keith Griffith's takeaway from last weekend's AAN Writers Workshop at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. "Though I sorely needed the writing tips gleaned from the weekend's workshops, it was also great to hear how writers and editors are meeting challenges at their respective alt weeklies," he writes.
Chicago Reader |
08-19-2009 12:04 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Management
Report: Cause Marketing Expected To Grow This Yearnew
Marketing Daily |
08-19-2009 9:45 am |
Industry News
Tags: Management, Retail Advertising
L.A. Weekly Music Festival Goes 'On Hiatus'new
The paper reported this morning that it has called off this year's Detour Festival. "Call it festival fatigue," music editor Randall Roberts writes. "Blame the economy, the industry, the biz, the Powers That Be, the health care system, or the glut of afternoon-into-evening music events." Roberts reports that there are rumors of "a different kind of musical event for the fall, to take place one of the city's gorgeous open-air facilities."
L.A. Weekly |
08-18-2009 4:21 pm |
Industry News
On His Blog, Florida Weekly Publisher 'Stirs a City'new
A few days after Byrd and Melanie Billings were murdered in their Florida home in early July, Independent News publisher Rick Outzen ran an exclusive on his blog disputing the state attorney's version of events and suggesting the murders may have been a contract killing. Despite the story being disputed by competing news outlets and other individuals, the local sheriff is now investigating the claim, saying that many of Outzen's sources have been correct. Outzen, whose Pensacola weekly has applied for AAN membership a few times and is a familiar face at AAN conventions, tells the New York Times that he feels vindicated, and his work has led to an assignment from The Daily Beast and praise from local officials. "I don't always agree with him, but he is the conscience of the community," the chairman of the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce says. "People have come to trust that Rick's going to be out there, pushing us in ways sometimes we're not comfortable with."
The New York Times |
08-18-2009 3:10 pm |
Industry News
Is VVM Close to Selling the Nashville Scene?new
The Tennessean is reporting that Village Voice Media and SouthComm Communications are discussing the sale of the Nashville Scene, which VVM acquired in 2006. SouthComm, which is based in Nashville and run by former Scene publisher Chris Ferrell, also owns AAN member LEO Weekly and a handful of Nashville websites and publications.
The Tennessean |
08-18-2009 10:44 am |
Industry News
Story Subject Attempts to Ambush Westword Writer in Parking Lotnew
Tom Martino, a nationally syndicated talk radio host and Denver-area TV personality known as The Troubleshooter, apparently had an associate call in a fake tip to reporter Jared Jacang Maher so he could confront Maher on camera about a recent Westword article linking Martino to a multi-level marketing company. Once Maher got to the parking lot where he was set to meet the purported tipster, Martino ran after Maher's car with a cameraman. "Why won't you answer some questions?," he shouted. "Are you a coward?" Maher drove away, and Martino headed to the Westword office, where he confronted managing editor Jonathan Shikes. Eventually, Martino put together a short video (see below) on the episode, in which he calls Maher a "cowardly writer" over footage of a picture taken off the internet. But while Martino tells his audience that picture is of Maher, it is actually of standup comedian and former Westword staffer Adam Cayton-Holland, a fact Michael Roberts says Martino should have easily known. For his efforts, The Troubleshooter has earned "Shmuck of the Week" honors from the Denver alt-weekly.
Westword |
08-17-2009 4:54 pm |
Industry News
What Will Mobile Advertising Look Like in 2020?new
A new OgilvyOne/Acision report predicts that mobile messaging will be more personalized in 11 years, with users exercising control over the types of messages they see, and when, on their handheld devices.
Online Media Daily |
08-17-2009 3:56 pm |
Industry News
John Dickerson Goes from Writing Features to Writing Sermonsnew
Dickerson, whose work for Phoenix New Times won him national recognition, recently left journalism to focus on his other vocation: being a pastor. "It really came down to there were not enough hours in the week to minister to people the way I wanted and to do journalism," Dickerson tells the Prescott, Ariz., Daily Courier. New Times managing editor Amy Silverman says the traits that led Dickerson to religious leadership were the same ones that made him a good reporter. "I believe it's the sincerity and goodness that led him to the clergy that make him such a terrific investigative reporter," she says.
The Daily Courier |
08-17-2009 9:57 am |
Industry News
Study: Online Ad Networks Poor at Brandingnew
A new study by the Online Publishers Association finds that ads placed on individual websites outperform ads on networks and portal sites when it comes to traditional branding metrics like awareness, message association, brand favorability and purchase intent.
Editor & Publisher |
08-14-2009 8:48 am |
Industry News
L.A. Weekly Columnist Working on Book on Dive Barsnew
Lina Lecaro, who writes the "Nightranger" column for the Weekly, is busy putting together a book on Los Angeles' dive bars, Tricia Romano reports. Los Angeles' Best Dive Bars (Drinking and Diving in the City of Angels) is scheduled to be released in the summer of 2010.
Black Book |
08-14-2009 8:34 am |
Industry News
