AAN News

Isthmus Names New Editornew

Dean Robbins, who has worked at the Madison, Wisc., alt-weekly on and off (mostly on) since 1983, will take over as editor on Jan. 5. "Isthmus has been without an editor in chief since former editor Marc Eisen stepped down from that role in October 2007," writes publisher Vince O'Hern. "Since that time the paper has been guided by an editorial board, which was formed when Eisen relinquished editorial management to concentrate on writing." Robbins, who recently took a six-month leave from the paper to help it through tough economic times, will be the fourth editor in the paper's nearly 33-year history.
Isthmus  |  12-22-2008  9:35 am  |  Industry News

Judge Allows Ben Eason to Retain Control of Creative Loafingnew

The bankruptcy court judge refused to grant a motion by lender Atalaya to give it ownership of the company yesterday, Creative Loafing (Tampa) reports. Judge Caryl E. Delano ruled that CL's reorganization plan should proceed, and that it was too early into the case to say the plan won't work. On a second part of Atalaya's takeover motion, the judge scheduled the final evidentiary hearing for Jan. 21, and a Jan. 26 hearing has been set to review CL's proposed reorganization plan.
Creative Loafing (Tampa)  |  12-19-2008  3:52 pm  |  Industry News

Willamette Week Drops Sponsorship of Inauguration Partynew

Editor Mark Zusman tells the Oregonian that WW is no longer involved with a Jan. 20 party the paper was slated to co-sponsor with the Democratic Party of Oregon. Zusman said earlier this week that he didn't know the paper was co-sponsoring the event with the Dems until the Oregonian brought it to his attention. The story hit Capitol Hill yesterday, with Republicans telling Roll Call that the co-sponsored party, together with WW's tough reporting on outgoing Senator Gordon Smith during this campaign season, was proof that the paper "was on a mission to oust the Senator."
The Oregonian  |  12-19-2008  3:41 pm  |  Industry News

North Carolina's Independent Weekly Announces Cutbacks, Two Layoffsnew

"After a year in which we had the most employees on staff in the paper's history -- 35 -- last week the Indy laid off two people, a reporter and the promotions coordinator, as well as reduced our freelance budget by 10 percent," Lisa Sorg writes in her editor's note this week. Sorg tells local blog Bull City Rising that the laid off employees are Vernal Coleman and Marny Rhodes, and that she and a number of other managers are taking voluntary pay cuts.
The Independent Weekly | Bull City Rising  |  12-19-2008  3:28 pm  |  Industry News

Portland Mercury Spoof Cover Draws Letter from National Geographicnew

For the paper's Halloween issue, the Mercury ran a cover disguising itself as an issue of National Geographic, which has trademarked its yellow-banded cover design. This week editor Steve Humphrey says he received a letter from National Geographic's executive vice president that proves "not everybody in the world is a humorless dick." The letter said the magazine's first instinct in similar cases is to issue a cease-and-desist letter, but it recognized that the Mercury cover "was not malicious appropriation, but all in good fun." The letter also urged the Mercury to encourage its readers to buy subscriptions to National Geographic.
The Porland Mercury  |  12-19-2008  2:54 pm  |  Industry News

Huffington Post Poaches Concert Previews from Other Sitesnew

HuffPo's Chicago site "straight stole our entire Bon Iver Critic's Choice," reports the Reader's Whet Moser. "They didn't ask permission." He notes that the "read the whole story here" link at the bottom of HuffPo's page is pointless: "(T)hat is the whole article, dumbass." This aggregation-gone-wild led Moser to check the other concert previews on the Chicago site, and he reports that "there's a whole list of concert previews from us, Time Out Chicago, Centerstage, and the Onion's Decider," reprinted in full. MORE: Gambit Weekly's Kevin Allman, the San Francisco Bay Guardian's Steven T. Jones, and Gawker's Ryan Tate weigh in.
Chicago Reader  |  12-19-2008  12:03 pm  |  Industry News

Alt-Weekly Cartoonists and Others Cry Foul Over Contest Fee Hikenew

Ted Rall, who is president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists president, has written an open letter to the Overseas Press Club of America president over an increase in the awards entry fee from $150 to $175. Rall accuses the organization of using the fees as a "revenue enhancing" operation at the expense of "beleaguered cartoonists," and says that at least 11 cartoonists will not enter the contest this year. The list includes other alt-cartoonists Mikhaela Reid (The Boiling Point) and Jen Sorensen (Slowpoke).
The Daily Cartoonist  |  12-19-2008  11:03 am  |  Industry News

Phoenix Faux-Alt Foldsnew

"Get Out, the East Valley Tribune's Thursday entertainment tabloid will publish for the last time on Christmas Day," writes the Phoenix New Times' Martin Cizmar. He calls Get Out a "vanquished -- but respected -- foe of 11 years."
Phoenix New Times  |  12-19-2008  8:50 am  |  Industry News

Long Island Press Editor Releases Book and Launches Nonprofit

Robbie Woliver tells AAN News via email that Alphabet Kids - From ADD to Zellweger Syndrome: A Guide to Developmental, Neurobiological and Psychological Disorders for Parents and Professionals was "the book I could have used 15 years ago." Inspired by his own child, he chose to write the book to "provide a road map for parents to help them muddle through the alphabet soup of diagnoses so many children are receiving these days -- many of which are incorrect." In the course of researching and writing, Woliver says he and his wife became inspired to start a nonprofit called Your Day Away that provides a day of respite and support for parents of children with special needs. The nonprofit kicked off in November, and will run as a daily ongoing organization starting next month.
AAN News  |  12-18-2008  10:42 am  |  Industry News

Augusta, Ga., Daily Paper Takes on Alt-Weekly in Adsnew

According to the Buzz on Biz blog, last week the Augusta Chronicle ran a half-page ad targeting businesses that placed ads only with that city's AAN-member paper, the Metro Spirit. It tried to persuade ad buyers that by ignoring the daily, they were missing out on 104,000 readers. "It is the first time in memory that the Chronicle has named a competitor by name," Buzz on Biz reports.
Buzz on Biz  |  12-18-2008  9:26 am  |  Industry News

Podcast