AAN 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
Laid-Off Daily Paper Cartoonist Finds a Home at Cityviewnew
Last week, we reported that axed Des Moines Register cartoonist Brian Duffy was given the chance to publish his farewell cartoon in Cityview. Now the alt-weekly has announced that it will continue publishing cartoons by Duffy each week.
The Iowa Independent | Cityview |
12-18-2008 8:58 am |
Industry News
Creative Loafing Files Reorganization Plannew
Creative Loafing (Tampa) political editor Wayne Garcia says the plan, filed Monday in the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, makes the case for keeping the company in the hands of CEO Ben Eason. "The Debtor believes retention of existing senior management and existing publishers, editors, directors of shared services and key online personnel are vital to successful implementation of this strategy as the markets are shifting very quickly at this time," the plan reads. CL also filed a 10-year financial forecast and an analysis of how much the company would bring if it were liquidated. Read more from Atlanta Magazine's Steve Fennessy.
Creative Loafing (Tampa) | Atlanta Magazine |
12-17-2008 11:52 am |
Industry News
Tucson Weekly Cartoonist Talks About His Worknew
Rand Carlson, whose cartoons have appeared in the Weekly for more than 20 years, talks to local TV station KVOA about why he loves his job. "It's like one constant joke after another," he says. "I keep experimenting, I keep twisting words around, seeing pictures in my head about what to make fun of."
KVOA-TV |
12-15-2008 10:59 am |
Industry News
Illinois Times Unveils Redesign
The Springfield, Ill., alt-weekly last week debuted a new-look paper with larger pages and stich-and-trim binding. Times publisher Sharon Whalen says Topaz Design consulted on the project, but the Times design staff had a major hand in the redesign as well.
AAN News |
12-15-2008 10:49 am |
Industry News
Laid-Off Daily Paper Cartoonist Publishes His Farewell in Alt-Weeklynew
After the news broke that Des Moines Register editorial cartoonist Brian Duffy was laid off as part of Gannett's nationwide cuts last week, Cityview editor/publisher Shane Goodman got in touch with Duffy and offered him a full page to publish whatever he wanted. Duffy took the alt-weekly up on the offer, and this week Cityview published his "farewell" editorial cartoon. "The Register lost an Iowa icon by dropping Duffy from their staff, and they are quickly finding that out ... the hard way," Goodman says in a note to readers.
Politicker.com | Cityview |
12-11-2008 9:23 am |
Industry News
Advocate Freelancer Weighs in on Tribune Bankruptcy Filingnew
"What does this mean for the Advocates? Who the fuck knows? We're so low in the Tribune food chain that we're not even mentioned in the annual reports," writes Christopher Arnott, who spent 17 years as an Advocate staffer before going full-time freelance. "The Advocate's sucked it up before and [stayed] alive in hard times. Let's hope the corporation gives it the chance to do it again."
New Haven Advocate |
12-09-2008 9:12 am |
Industry News
Boise Weekly Publisher Calls for Temporary Salary Cutsnew
At the paper's regular Friday meeting, Sally Freeman asked the staff to take a 10 percent cut in pay through the end of March to help ward off damage done by weak ad sales. "After the quick announcement, Freeman cried a little and then offered to meet with each of her workers individually," Weekly editor Nathaniel Hoffman reports. Freeman tells Hoffman that the paper's annual revenue is down 4 percent compared to 2007, and it came in $90,000 below budget in the last six to seven weeks.
Boise Weekly |
12-08-2008 4:04 pm |
Industry News
Atlanta Weekly Looks to Expand to Charlotte and Tampa by May 2009new
The Sunday Paper publisher Patrick Best announced his plans on Friday, citing the troubles of Creative Loafing -- which owns papers in Atlanta, Charlotte and Tampa -- as a major reason. "While we planned to go to both of these markets in the next few years, the troubles of the parent company of the major newsweeklies in both cities have convinced us to accelerate our plans," he says. Best, who was Creative Loafing (Atlanta)'s advertising director before launching The Sunday Paper, recently offered CL CEO Ben Eason $1 million for the Loaf's Atlanta publication. Best's expansion plans are being helped by funding from Brian Conley, the former owner of Knoxville, Tenn., AAN member Metro Pulse and current shareholder of Sunday Paper Publishing. Meanwhile, Atlanta Magazine's Steve Fennessy reports that Eason's main creditor filed a motion (PDF) on Friday claiming CL has not been forthcoming in explaining budgets and cash flow forecasts. The CL bankruptcy protection case is scheduled to go before a judge on Wednesday.
The Sunday Paper | Atlanta Magazine |
12-08-2008 8:09 am |
Industry News
2009 Membership Applications Now Available
The application deadline for newspapers to apply for AAN membership is Dec. 31, 2008. You can download an application here, or contact AAN to have one mailed to you. After a rigorous vetting process, the Membership Committee will issue its recommendations prior to June's convention in Tucson, where all members will have the chance to vote on the applicants. You can find links to the Membership Committee's admission guidelines and the AAN bylaws on the Membership page of our site. If you have any additional questions about membership, please call 202-289-8484 or email Debra Silvestrin at debra (at) aan.org.
AAN |
12-04-2008 11:00 am |
Association News
Looking for an Illustrator, First Night Boston Turns to the Dignew
When First Night, the annual New Year's Eve celebration, was trying to find an artist to create buttons for this year's festival, it turned to Boston's Weekly Dig. First Night spokeswoman Joyce Linehan tells the Boston Globe that once organizers decided they wanted an illustrator, they asked staffers at the paper for recommendations, since they work with illustrators all the time.
The Boston Globe |
11-25-2008 8:29 am |
Industry News
Citysearch Geo-Targets Locations, Adsnew
Online Media Daily |
11-20-2008 8:25 am |
Industry News
Video: More from Washington City Paper's Office Consolidationnew
Washington City Paper |
11-18-2008 12:45 pm |
Industry News
Two New Motions Filed in Creative Loafing Bankruptcy Casenew
Last week, Creative Loafing asked a bankruptcy judge to authorize CEO Ben Eason to hire the investment banking firm that brokered the Reader/City Paper purchase to evaluate the company's business plan, seek new financing, and prepare the company to be sold if necessary, Atlanta Magazine's Steve Fennessy reports. Meanwhile, Eason's largest creditor, Atalaya Capital Management, asked the judge to lift the automatic stay that prevented CL from defaulting on its loan, arguing that the value of the company is falling with each passing day due to the bankruptcy filing and to "downward trends in the advertising industry." Eason tells Fennessy he stands by his decision to expand. "I think it's one of the smartest things we've done," he says. "I'd rather be navigating [the economic downturn] with Washington City Paper and Chicago Reader and [syndicated column] Straight Dope than without them." MORE: The Reader's Michael Miner weighs in, and City Paper consolidates its office into one floor.
Atlanta Magazine |
11-17-2008 12:11 pm |
Industry News
The Stranger Reworks 2004 Election Cover
If this week's cover looked strikingly familiar to readers of the Seattle alt-weekly, it's because the two papers are almost visually identical, with new text. The lead of the '04 cover, "Do Not Despair," has been replaced with this year's "Rejoice. Revel. Repeat."
AAN News |
11-17-2008 9:25 am |
Industry News
