AAN News
Oklahoma Gazette Loses Power, Publishes With Help of Generator
The paper lost electricity early on Monday, Dec. 10, just hours before the always-hectic press day. But this week's issue still came out, thanks to the hard work of Gazette employees ... and a generator. "We were first in line for a [generator] rental but weren't fully functional until nine hours later," associate publisher Jeffri-Lynn Dyer says. "We aren't returning it, though. With the next storm coming, we might need it next press day!" According to the latest forecast, a new storm is expected to bring two to four inches of snow heading into this weekend. The Gazette's rented generator is on standby in the paper's parking lot.
(FULL STORY)
Oklahoma Gazette Press Release |
12-14-2007 4:30 pm |
Industry News
Village Voice Media Web Traffic Up 127 Pecent From Last Yearnew
In the first year-over-year comparisons using its
monthly chart of the most popular newspaper websites, Editor & Publisher reports that Village Voice Media grew its traffic 127 percent from Nov. 2006 to Nov. 2007. Over the same period of time, total minutes spent on the company's sites increased by 89 percent. VVM's network of sites ranked 10th in traffic last month, with a total of 2,774,000 unique visitors, according to E&P.
Editor & Publisher |
12-14-2007 8:36 am |
Industry News
Phoenix New Times Drops Challenge of Law on Publishing Addressesnew
The paper has dropped its lawsuit asking a federal judge to declare the law that makes it a crime to publish the addresses of certain people on the internet unconstitutional, the Arizona Business Gazette reports. The statute was the one that began the recent grand-jury investigation of New Times and the arrests and controversy that followed. Since the threat of prosecution against the paper had been dropped, "it made no sense to tilt at windmills," Village Voice Media executive editor Michael Lacey tells the Gazette. However, since the case was dismissed "without prejudice," the paper could reinstate its case if there is any subsequent investigation. Lacey says he would hope all the publicity surrounding the case would convince the county attorney not to try to enforce that law against New Times or any other publication.
The Arizona Business Gazette |
12-14-2007 8:29 am |
Legal News
Daily's Motion to Delay Trial Against Santa Barbara Independent Deniednew
Santa Barbara Independent |
12-14-2007 11:06 am |
Legal News
Palo Alto Weekly Editor Elected to San Francisco Peninsula Press Club's Boardnew
San Francisco Peninsula Press Club |
12-14-2007 8:35 am |
Honors & Achievements
Anti-Defamation League Calls Weekly Dig Feature 'Hateful' & 'Hurtful'new
"This is not a question of mere bad taste," Andrew Tarsy, the ADL's regional director and James L. Rudolph, chairman of the regional board of directors, said in a written statement about the Dig's annual "Kiddie Kroakers" feature, a satirical list of dangerous toys. The ADL says the Dig "exceeded the bounds of acceptable language” and resorted to "slurs in the name of humor" with items like a book called The Diarrhea of Anne Frank and Trivial Prosciutto, a board game "easy enough for Italians to play." The ADL is asking the Dig to apologize, but publisher Jeff Lawrence says no way. "We are the Weekly Dig. This is what we do,” he tells the Boston Herald. "We are known for pushing boundaries. We take on stereotypes and voodoo politics. At the end of the day, we are really trying to provoke people and get them to think."
The Boston Herald |
12-13-2007 1:01 pm |
Industry News
Membership of Five Papers Up for Review in 2008
Due to a 2004 change in the association's bylaws, five papers that have taken on new majority owners in the past two years will have their AAN membership reviewed in 2008. The Membership Committee will evaluate The Other Paper, Boston's Weekly Dig, East Bay Express, Metro Pulse, and Cityview, and will issue a report to members a week before the 2007 annual convention. To retain their membership, each paper must be affirmed by at least one-third of the members voting at the annual meeting in Philadelphia, which is tentatively scheduled for June 7.
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
12-12-2007 11:46 am |
Association News
Tribune Co. Daily Sells Valley Advocatenew
The Hartford Courant announced plans Tuesday to sell the Valley Advocate, an alt-weekly covering western Massachusetts, to Newspapers of New England Inc., which owns newspapers in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Editor & Publisher reports that the sale lets the Courant focus its attention on its properties in Connecticut. The Advocate will continue to share content and do cross-market sales with the remaining alt-weeklies the Courant purchased in 1999 from New Mass. Media: the Hartford Advocate, the New Haven Advocate and Fairfield County Weekly. The sale is expected to close later this month; terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Hartford Courant | Editor & Publisher |
12-12-2007 8:14 am |
Industry News
Local Dailies to Distribute PGA's New Health Titlenew
Mediaweek |
12-12-2007 3:42 pm |
Industry News
One-in-Eight U.S. Households Without Landlinesnew
AP via Seattle Post-Intelligencer |
12-11-2007 5:21 pm |
Industry News
David Carr: Muckraking Pays, Just Not in Profitnew
The Times columnist says that given all of the newspaper industry's woes, last week's Chicago Reader and Washington City Paper newsroom layoffs might not seem significant. But Carr, who was editor of the City Paper in the 1990s, thinks the cuts illustrate the larger issue of an industry-wide abandonment of investigative journalism. Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason says that's not the case. "We are not trying to make any other statement here other than it is a competitive world out there and we are doing what we can to make sure we are putting out an excellent paper in the communities we serve," he tells the Times.
The New York Times |
12-10-2007 12:28 pm |
Industry News
Clare Danes 'Feels Extremely Violated' by New York Press Storynew
The Press' Becca Tucker stalked the My So-Called Life star in an effort to show just how easy it is to stalk celebrities in New York City, but Danes wasn't thrilled, according to Gawker. Jeff Berg, the chairman of International Creative Management, which represents Danes, called editor David Blum on Friday and asked him to redact online a reference to the street where she lives. "He got very hostile," Blum says, noting that Berg asked, "What are you going to do, print her phone number next?" The paper did keep her building number out of the story, by redacting it from a direct quote from New York magazine, which gives her full address online. "I'm no more inclined to print her phone number than to print her exact street address," Blum says.
Gawker |
12-10-2007 8:42 am |
Industry News
Study: More U.S. Voters Get Election News From Papers Than Web, Radionew
Editor & Publisher |
12-10-2007 10:16 am |
Industry News
States Failing FOI Responsiveness
State freedom of information laws are, for the most part, failing to offer any meaningful recourse when citizens are denied access, according to a report by the Better Government Association and the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC). Thirty-eight states received a grade of "F" in the survey, which looked at five factors: response time, appeals, expedited review, attorney's fees and costs, and sanctions. I can't say I was shocked by what we found," writes Charles Davis, executive director of
the NFOIC. "but I am saddened that despite more attention being paid to FOI issues than ever before, most citizens remain in the dark."
(FULL STORY)
National Freedom of Information Coalition |
12-07-2007 11:08 am |
Legal News
Tags: Editorial, Management
Chicago Reader & Washington City Paper Editorial Staffers Laid Offnew
John Conroy, Harold Henderson, Tori Marlan and Steve Bogira were laid off this week by editor Alison True, Michael Miner writes on his News Bites blog. True tells the Chicago Tribune that, given the mandate to cut costs by her new bosses at Creative Loafing in August, it became difficult to afford their work. "The numbers are part of a deal that was structured a long time ago," she says. "Even if [CEO Ben Eason] were the most passionate journalist in the world, he wouldn't have the option of saying, 'I'll give you a little extra this year so this doesn't have to happen.' He's bound to his deal." Meanwhile, Fishbowl DC is reporting that five editorial staffers were laid off at the Reader's sister paper today: Washington City Paper writers Joe Eaton, Amanda S. Miller, Tim Carman and Jessica Gould, and editorial assistant Joe Dempsey, are all no longer with the paper.
Chicago Reader | Chicago Tribune | Fishbowl DC |
12-07-2007 8:46 am |
Industry News
