AAN News
Utah Congressman Hasn't Spoken to Alt-Weekly in Three Yearsnew
"How many sitting Congressmen could get away with boycotting a hometown newspaper for more than three years -- refusing to be interviewed on any topic -- and never face an ounce of criticism?" asks Salt Lake City Weekly editor Holly Mullen. "Rep. Jim Matheson has, and it's time to call him out." She says Matheson hasn't spoken to the paper since August 2005, and attributes the stonewalling in part to coverage of Matheson's brother when he was running for governor in 2004. "The oddest thing about Matheson's tiff with the SLWeekly is that it seems so unnecessary," notes the Salt Lake Tribune's Glen Warchol. "As the highest ranking Utah Democrat, Matheson should be able to find some common ground with a 'progressive' newspaper in the heart of blue Salt Lake City." More from Politico.
Salt Lake City Weekly | Salt Lake Tribune |
12-30-2008 9:57 am |
Industry News
Study: Marketers Will Focus on Content Creation and Social Media in '09new
Marketers are directing their budgets toward content, custom media and social media initiatives, according to a new study. Fifty-six percent of marketing decision-makers plan to increase their content marketing spending next year, while only 13 percent said they plan to decrease it.
Online Media Daily |
12-30-2008 9:25 am |
Industry News
Papers Continue to Cut Freelance Costs
Three alt-weeklies have recently cut back in freelancer-generated content areas. SF Weekly theater reviewer Chloe Veltman writes that the paper's weekly Stage setion "will drop from three plays -- my 1,000-word column plus two 200-word capsule reviews -- to just my column." Over at sister paper the Nashville Scene, books contributor Maria Browning says on her blog that the book page has been eliminated from that paper altogether. And up in Massachusetts, Worcester Magazine will stop running the local bi-weekly comic "Action Geek."
AAN News |
12-30-2008 9:17 am |
Industry News
Forecast: Most Media To Suffer Retrenchment in 2009new
The Center for Media Research |
12-30-2008 12:38 pm |
Industry News
Film Institute: Critic Layoffs One of '08's Most Significant Developmentsnew
Los Angeles Times |
12-30-2008 9:29 am |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Management
Pew: Internet Tops Newspapers As News Sourcenew
Media Daily News |
12-30-2008 9:20 am |
Industry News
Chief Operating Officer Talks About How VVM's Papers Are Faringnew
Responding in part to rumors circulating on a Denver website that Village Voice Media is on the brink of collapse, president and COO Scott Tobias talks to Westword's Michael Roberts about how the company's 15 papers are faring. Tobias says the company as a whole remains profitable and any talk of insolvency is hogwash, but concedes that times are tough. "Are we soft?" he asked. "No question. We go as our local mom and pops go, and our local mom and pops are having a hard time." He also talks about the company's new "uberblogger" strategy, which started with Roberts in Denver. One staff member at each paper is now being tasked with writing a handful of blog posts each day and editing and processing blog posts by other staffers and freelancers. Tobias says the focus on daily content is part of a transition "from a print product to a web platform with a print piece."
Westword |
12-24-2008 11:18 am |
Industry News
Portland Mercury News Editor Heads to City Hallnew
Amy J. Ruiz is leaving the paper to become incoming Portland Mayor Sam Adams' new Strategic Planning and Sustainability Policy Advisor. After congratulating Ruiz, editor Wm. Steven Humphrey gives a message to Adams. "If you think purchasing our employees is going to stop the Mercury from dogging your every decision and step, you are horribly mistaken," he writes. "In fact, our next news hire will make you wish you'd never been born -- in a fair and accurate way, of course."
The Portland Mercury |
12-24-2008 9:26 am |
Industry News
Layoffs Reported at Four Additional AAN Papers
As part of company-wide cuts at Creative Loafing, Washington City Paper and Creative Loafing (Charlotte) have each reportedly laid off two employees. In addition, Mediabistro is reporting on an unspecified number of layoffs at L.A. Weekly, and the Valley Advocate says that last week associate publisher Do-Han Allen and circulation manager Jeffrey Owczarski became "the latest casualties of a series of year-end layoffs by our parent company." A few days after his paper laid off seven, Creative Loafing (Tampa) editor David Warner dedicates his editor's note to a list of "the Top 10 Reasons Layoffs Suck."
AAN News |
12-24-2008 9:17 am |
Industry News
Online Display Ad Spending Dips 6 Percent Through Q3new
Online Media Daily |
12-24-2008 9:19 am |
Industry News
Metro Spirit: Daily's Ad Calling Us Out Works to Our Advantagenew
Last week, we noted that the Augusta Chronicle ran a house ad targeting advertisers who bypassed the daily and bought space in the city's alt-weekly. "We heard nothing about it locally from customers or readers, and skipped over it a number of times as we perused the paper," writes Metro Spirit publisher Bryan Osborn. "All of this points to the fact that buying full pages in The Chronicle is as effective as throwing money into a burning fireplace." He says the daily's ad "is a great advertising testimonial ... for Metro Spirit."
Metro Spirit |
12-23-2008 12:55 pm |
Industry News
Layoffs Hit the Chicago Reader and Creative Loafing (Tampa)new
As the Creative Loafing bankruptcy case winds its way through the courts, Michael Miner reports that the Reader laid off more staffers last week. "Six more layoffs last Thursday reduced this paper's editorial staff to 17," Miner writes. "It was 38 when the old owners sold [Ben] Eason the paper." Creative Loafing (Tampa) also announced a handful of layoffs last week. MORE ON CL: Former Creative Loafing (Atlanta) editor Cliff Bostock offers his take on the problems at the Loaf.
Chicago Reader | Creative Loafing (Tampa) |
12-23-2008 8:49 am |
Industry News
More on Huffington Post Concert Preview Dustupnew
HuffPo co-founder Jonah Peretti says the anger directed at the site for lifting entire concert previews from the Chicago Reader and other publications is misplaced. He tells Wired that the complete re-printing was a mistaken editorial call and that the site's intent is to send traffic to other publications when it aggregates content. MORE: Plenty of bloggers jumped on the HuffPo/Reader flap over the weekend. Here are two interesting takes, one from a search engine optimization perspective and another from fair use perspective.
Wired |
12-22-2008 12:54 pm |
Industry News
Recent Newsweek Cover Looks Very Familiar to the Oklahoma Gazette
Last week, Gazette editor Rob Collins alerted AAN News to the striking similarities between Newsweek's Dec. 15 cover and one published by the alt-weekly on Feb. 5, 2004. The Gazette's image, which was designed by art director Chris Street and shot by photographer Shannon Cornman, was one of three Gazette entries that won a 2005 AltWeekly Award. "Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words," Collins says.
AAN News |
12-22-2008 11:25 am |
Industry News
Mountain XPress Implements Cost-Cutting Measuresnew
Employees of the Asheville, N.C., alt-weekly will see an across-the-board cut in pay of between 5 and 10 percent effective Jan. 1, owner and publisher Jeff Fobes announced Friday. The paper has suffered a recent decline in classified and retail advertising, and Fobes expects the slide to continue in 2009. "Our strategy is to share the pain, so we're instituting a company-wide pay cut," he says. "Everyone feels the pain; everyone should have input into what must be an evolving response to the economy." ALSO FROM THE XPRESS: The paper recently discussed its web operations in a feature story on how local publications are dealing with online journalism.
Mountain XPress |
12-22-2008 9:56 am |
Industry News
