AAN News
Alt-Weeklies Win Handful of South Carolina Press Awardsnew
The South Carolina Press Association announced the winners of its 2007 news excellence competition Friday, and two AAN members were among the papers that were honored. Columbia Free Times finished first in three categories, including Mixed Media Illustration in the competition division open to all papers. In the weeklies division, Free Times swept the Illustrations category, placing first, second, and third; and took home a first-place award in Sports Column Writing. It also took home one additional second-place and one third-place award. The Charleston City Paper placed first in two categories -- Best Beat Reporting and General News Photo. City Paper also won one second-place and one third-place award.
The Associated Press via the Star-News |
03-10-2008 8:57 am |
Honors & Achievements
Federal Judge Orders Ex-Reporter to Personally Pay Contempt Finesnew
The Associated Press via the Boston Herald |
03-10-2008 12:35 pm |
Legal News
Tags: Editorial, Management
Metro Newspapers & Boulevards Launch Virtual Valley Network
Metro and Boulevards are joining forces with a Bay Area NBC affiliate, two leading local citizen journalism sites, and the news aggregator Topix to create "a wide-ranging community-based news initiative ... that will span print, web, citizen journalism and broadcasting." Stories from Metro will be available for the broadcast partners to use, and stories from the citizen journalism sites and the TV network will be excerpted in a new section called "Mashup!" in Metro's print edition. "We are concerned about the consolidation, layoffs and disinvestment in local publishing and want to make sure that communities here are well covered," Dan Pulcrano, executive editor of Metro and CEO of Boulevards, says in a statement. "We will be expanding our news coverage and adding resources."
(FULL STORY)
Boulevards Press Release |
03-07-2008 8:34 am |
Press Releases
Village Voice Critic Curates Film Seriesnew
To celebrate his 30th anniversary at the Village Voice, the Brooklyn Academy of Music asked J. Hoberman to select films that have sparked some of his most stimulating reviews and articles, as well as a few personal favorites, in a series that begins next week. "30 Years of J. Hoberman" opens Monday with David Lynch's Eraserhead and runs through April 3. In an interview with Gothamist, Hoberman talks about the state of the film world, and reflects on his roots in the 1970s avant-garde film scene. When asked if he'd ever want to step behind the camera again, Hoberman says he's not sure. "I still have some ideas for things I was never able to realize twenty odd years ago but I don't know that I have the necessary desire," he says. "It's tough to make avant-garde films. You have to really will this stuff into the world."
Gothamist |
03-06-2008 10:08 am |
Honors & Achievements
Reaction Pours in to Verdict in Bay Guardian/VVM Trial
A number of stories and blog posts have come out since a jury ruled in favor of the Bay Guardian in its predatory pricing suit against SF Weekly and Village Voice Media yesterday. Here are some:
- The Associated Press via the San Jose Mercury News: "SF Weekly Ordered to Pay Rival $15M for Predatory Pricing Ads"
- East Bay Express: "Guardian Wins $15 Million, Express Not Affected"
- Editor & Publisher: "Bay Guardian Awarded $15.6 Million In Lawsuit"
- The Georgia Straight: "SF Guardian Wins 'David and Goliath' Suit Over Village Voice Media's SF Weekly"
- San Francisco Chronicle: "Bay Guardian Wins Suit with SF Weekly"
- SF Weekly: "Ka-Ching!"
- SF Weekly: "Who You Callin' Guilty?"
AAN |
03-06-2008 9:47 am |
Industry News
L.A. Weekly Film Critic Talks About Her Career and Worknew
"Like her fellow alt-weekly brethren, L.A. Weekly scribe Ella Taylor infuses prose with a touch of sass, delivering the well-read skinny on films great and small with dexterity and, oftentimes, the patience of a saint," Rotten Tomatoes writes. In this Q&A, Taylor talks about how she got into film criticism 19 years ago ("I was an uncomfortable academic sociologist who preferred journalistic to academic writing"), what she wanted to be as a kid when she grew up ("A shoe saleswoman") and the best part of being a film critic ("Free movies, and the regular opportunity to carp.")
Rotten Tomatoes |
03-06-2008 8:58 am |
Industry News
Oklahoma Gazette Picks Up Dozens of State Awards
The Gazette won a total of 38 awards during the last two weekends, including a sweep of the Best Reporting Portfolio category in the annual Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) awards. The paper took home a total of 24 honors in the SPJ contest, including a second-place finish overall in the Best Newspaper competition and eight first-place finishes -- in the Best Reporting Portfolio, Feature Writing, In-Depth Enterprise Reporting/Team, In-Depth Enterprise Reporting by an Individual, Health Reporting, Feature Headlines, Feature Page Layout, and Best Use of Graphic Illustration categories. The Gazette also took home 14 awards at this year's Oklahoma City ADDY Awards, including Gold ADDYs in the Publication Design (Magazine or Book) Series and Newspaper Self-Promotion Single categories.
(FULL STORY)
Oklahoma Gazette Press Release |
03-06-2008 8:34 am |
Press Releases
Jury Rules in Favor of Bay Guardian in Suit Against VVM
The jurors handed down their decision in the Guardian's predatory pricing suit against SF Weekly and Village Voice Media today, awarding the Guardian more than $6.39 million in damages. Under California law, part of that verdict is subject to treble damages, bringing the total award to $15.6 million. The Weekly has indicated that it will appeal the decision. Read VVM's statement on the verdict here. The Guardian has a story on the verdict here.
SF Weekly | San Francisco Bay Guardian |
03-05-2008 5:30 pm |
Industry News
Sunshine Week Public Service Ads Available
A series of broadcast and print public service ads featuring 13 actors speaking about the importance of open and accountable government has been produced for Sunshine Week and can be used by any Sunshine Week participant throughout the election season in conjunction with the Sunshine Campaign. All of the ads are posted on the Sunshine Week website. Sunshine Week, which is March 16-22, is a yearly non-partisan open government initiative. This year's campaign is designed to spur campaign conversation -- and commitment -- to open government during this election year.
(FULL STORY)
Sunshine Week Press Release |
03-05-2008 2:30 pm |
Press Releases
Tags: Editorial
Michael Musto Channels Lindsay Lohan Channeling Marilyn Monroenew
Last month, New York magazine ran a photo series of Lindsay Lohan recreating Marilyn Monroe's legendary series known as "The Last Sitting," which were taken six weeks before Monroe's death in 1962. Now Village Voice columnist Michael Musto is getting in on the act with a cover story and photo spread of his own. "Anxious to share my desperate man-tits with an audience beyond Chelsea, I gleefully agreed to star in an homage to an homage: Musto as Lohan as Marilyn," he writes. The New York Post notes that Musto "is both hairer and more modest than Lohan" and reports that the Voice columnist's pre-shoot regimen was only slightly different than Lohan's. "Lindsay did 250 crunches the night before her shooting," Musto says. "Well, I did 250 Nestle's Crunches."
The Village Voice | The New York Post |
03-05-2008 10:06 am |
Industry News
Boston Phoenix Story Prompts Police Investigationnew
The Phoenix is reporting that Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis has ordered a review of evidence in the wrongful conviction of Stephan Cowans, following a report last month in the Phoenix that raised questions about possible police misconduct. The head of the department's homicide unit will examine ballistics, fingerprints, and other materials from the case, which will determine whether an internal-affairs investigation will begin against officers involved in the case. Cowans was exonerated in 2004, after spending six-and-a-half years in prison for the non-fatal shooting of a Boston police officer. The Phoenix's story reported on evidence suggesting that officers may have forged fingerprint documents and concealed evidence that the officer was not shot with his own weapon, as he testified. Cowans, who received a $3.2 million settlement from the city in 2006, was murdered in his home this past October.
Boston Phoenix |
03-05-2008 9:04 am |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Boston Phoenix
Longtime Chicago Reader Film Critic Retiresnew
Last week Jonathan Rosenbaum retired from his full-time job at the Reader, but the paper says he'll continue reviewing for the paper and writing for its website. The Reader, which has been Rosenbaum's home for more than 20 years, has compiled some of his favorite reviews and has a two-part video interview where he discusses his departure. He says he is leaving to have more free time. "I hope it won't be lessening my productivity, but it'll be shifting it to things that ... I'm more interested in, and not having to see a lot of movies that I'm not interested in." He says he'd also like to be able to do "other kinds of writing which would be broader than film criticism."
Chicago Reader |
03-04-2008 12:31 pm |
Industry News
'Commie Girl' Turns OC Weekly Columns into Booknew
Rebecca Schoenkopf's collection of OC Weekly columns, titled Commie Girl in the O.C., is due out soon from Verso. She tells MediaBistro that the book was a byproduct of her departure from the Weekly last year. "After two weeks, my mom called and started bitching at me and telling me I need to get a job," she says. "So I went back, and of course I didn't keep my clips, so I had to copy and paste everything from the [OC Weekly] website. I revised it a couple of times," and later got the deal with Verso, with a little help from City of Quartz author Mike Davis. "He fired off a grand e-mail for me to everyone he knows," Schoenkopf says. "And his publisher was thrilled."
MediaBistro |
03-04-2008 10:30 am |
Industry News
Jury Still Deliberating in Bay Guardian/VVM Trial
The 12 jurors will reconvene to consider the case this morning. For more, check the most recent blog posts from the SF Weekly and the Bay Guardian.
SF Weekly | San Francisco Bay Guardian |
03-04-2008 8:28 am |
Industry News
Three Alt-Weeklies Win North Carolina Press Association Awardsnew
The Independent Weekly's Derek Anderson was named Photographer of the Year by the NCPA, and the Weekly took home four first-place awards, for Investigative Reporting, Feature Photography, Photo Page, and News Coverage. The paper also placed second in two categories and third in one. Creative Loafing (Charlotte) finished first in two categories: News Feature Writing and Lighter Columns. Mountain XPress also took a second-place award for Investigative Reporting, and a third-place "general excellence" award for its website.
North Carolina Press Association |
03-03-2008 9:30 am |
Honors & Achievements
