AAN News
Matt Groening on His Alt-Weekly Rootsnew
Despite having drawn a weekly "Life is Hell" cartoon for L.A. Weekly for 20-plus years, The Simpsons creator says he's never set foot in the paper's office. "I'm sure very nice people work there, but here's the thing: I used to work at the [Los Angeles] Reader, and I noticed ... that people go crazy," he says in a wide-ranging L.A. Weekly profile. Groening then recounts how, after working for the Reader as a proofreader, paste-up artist, editor, critic and columnist, they fired him for selling his comic strip to Pasadena Weekly for $10 a week. "All I know is that the last time I showed up at a newspaper office, I got fired," Groening says.
L.A. Weekly |
07-23-2007 8:32 am |
Industry News
Matt Coker: Gustavo Arellano's Fame 'Doesn't Surprise Me a Lick'new
The former executive editor of OC Weekly recalls the days when, helped along by a 2002 AAN Diversity Grant, the man who'd become "The Mexican" got his start at the Weekly. "'That kid is going to be more famous than any of us some day,'" Coker, who now edits Sacramento News & Review, remembers thinking. "What did surprise me was how quickly some day came." He says Arellano's transition to "national media spokesman on all-things-Latino" was partly a function of timing ("¡Ask a Mexican!" started getting more attention as the immigration debate heated up), but also
of "a lot of shameless self promotion. Not only is Arellano the most shameless of the shameless self promoters I have ever known in this business, he also is the most self-aware of his own shamelessness, which I find kind of cute." Apparently, not everyone at OC Weekly agreed with Coker: he reports that there was plenty of jealousy of Arellano's fame -- and his six-figure book deal -- in the newsroom as well.
Sacramento News & Review |
07-20-2007 3:42 pm |
Industry News
Two Alt-Weekly Cartoonists Compete in 'Science Idol' Contestnew
A strip each of Matt Bors' "Idiot Box" and Jen Sorenson's "Slowpoke" are among the 12 finalists in The Union of Concerned Scientists' competition rewarding "creative takes on the issue of political interference in science." Voting for "Science Idol: the Scientific Integrity Editorial Cartoon Contest" closes July 23.
Union of Concerned Scientists |
07-20-2007 11:43 am |
Honors & Achievements
It's Musical Chairs at SoCal Alt-Weekliesnew
Former L.A. Weekly news editor Alan Mittelstaedt joined Los Angeles CityBeat yesterday as news editor, replacing Dean Kuipers, who moved to the Los Angeles Times. A little further down the coast, Rich Kane, who left OC Weekly in 2005 and ended up as editor of Inland Empire Weekly (a paper started by ex-OC Weekly staffer Jeremy Zachary that was later acquired by LA CityBeat-parent Southland Publishing), returns to the Weekly Aug. 2 as its new managing editor. Replacing Kane at Inland Empire is Charles Mindenhall, a former L.A. Weekly staffer.
LA Observed | OC Weekly |
07-20-2007 9:13 am |
Industry News
Monterey County Weekly Editor Steps Downnew
Eric Johnson says he'll be leaving next month. "I feel sad to have to leave this newspaper," he says. "For the past six years, I've been proud to work with a team that tries every week to create something that can make a difference in people's lives. ... I'll miss almost everything about it, but it's time to go."
Monterey County Weekly |
07-20-2007 8:11 am |
Industry News
Did a Chicago Reader Columnist Twist His Facts?new
That's what the suburban Northwest Herald is saying about Reader media critic Michael Miner's recent column criticizing a Herald TV ad. Editor & Publisher has the entire letter exchange between Chris Krug, group editor of the Herald's parent company; Reader editor Alison True; and Miner. E&P also has comments on the column from Andy Schotz, chairman of the Society of Professional Journalists' Ethics Committee and a source in Miner's story.
Editor & Publisher |
07-19-2007 3:46 pm |
Industry News
Sherrif's Dept. Banned From Mafia Database After OC Weekly Revelations
The Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit has cut off the Orange County Sheriff's Department because of Sheriff Michael S. Carona's association with various businessmen, including a Las Vegas strip club owner with reputed mob ties now serving time for racketeering, the Los Angeles Times reports. The sheriff's mob ties were first reported last year in two OC Weekly stories by R. Scott Moxley.
(FULL STORY)
OC Weekly Press Release |
07-19-2007 10:47 am |
Press Releases
Palo Alto Weekly Wins Award from Teachers Associationnew
Alexandria Rocha's story about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students won a 2006 John Swett Award for Media Excellence. The awards, given by the California Teachers Association, recognize "excellence in covering public education."
California Teachers Assocation |
07-19-2007 8:18 am |
Honors & Achievements
Four Months In, Tony Ortega Discusses the State of The Village Voicenew
The editor tells MediaBistro he's most proud of bringing "a newsier focus to the front of the book" and the addition of a metro column by Tom Robbins. Though the early '07 storyline painted the Voice as a newspaper rife with inner turmoil and conflict, Ortega says that wasn't what he saw when he arrived. "I didn't find tumult so much as a group of people wanting to end the distractions and simply put out a newspaper," he says. "Those first few weeks were busy, but almost right away we were focused on the things that matter, like developing good stories." He also says that he -- like others at the AAN Convention last month -- remains "cautiously optimistic" about the future of the alt-weekly. "The dailies, after all, are being told by consultants to go free, increase local coverage, and write with some attitude -- all things we're already doing," he says.
MediaBistro |
07-18-2007 11:31 am |
Industry News
Louisville Eccentric Observer Obtains Humana Memos on 'Sicko'
Ask and ye shall receive: In last week's paper, LEO ran a short notice inviting employees of Louisville-based health-care giant Humana "to share interoffice memos" the company had prepped on Michael Moore's latest documentary. Several employees came through, and LEO has published three documents this week, all of which repeatedly cite Humana's acknowledgment of America's health care problem, claim that the Congressional testimony of an ex-employee featured in the film is false, and refer all media inquiries to the company's press office.
(FULL STORY)
Louisville Eccentric Observer Press Release |
07-18-2007 8:29 am |
Press Releases
East Bay Express Wins 17 Regional Journalism Awardsnew
In the East Bay Press Club's 2006 Excellence in Print Journalism Contest, the Express finished first in nine categories: sports feature, business feature, technology feature, general news, columnist, long feature, lifestyle feature, criticism or reviewing, and profile. According to a press release, the awards are "somewhat unique in that all print media organizations are judged against each other -- there are no separate categories for circulation or for magazines." Winners were announced Friday evening at a banquet in Oakland.
Alameda Times-Star |
07-18-2007 8:02 am |
Honors & Achievements
M. Wartella Starts Local Comic for The Village Voicenew
Editor & Publisher |
07-18-2007 1:08 pm |
Industry News
San Francisco TV Station Creates a 'Futures Market' for Newsnew
SF Weekly |
07-18-2007 10:45 am |
Industry News
Cleveland Scene Staffer Tapped to Write Booknew
D.X. Ferris will author one of the first of the popular 33 1/3 books on heavy metal, according to a press release. The book series "documents some of the most important albums ever made," and Ferris will turn his attention to Slayer with 33 1/3: Reign in Blood. For the book, which is due out in Spring 2008, he's turning to like-minded Slayer fans for their input, via MySpace. "This is a cool project, and your questions will make it better," says Ferris. "And that way, in a few months, once you've dropped a few bucks on the thing, you won't put it down and think, 'I wish he would have written about this, that, and the other thing.'"
Continuum Books Press Release, via Roadrunner Records |
07-17-2007 8:22 am |
Industry News
Medill Program Announcednew
Chip Scanlan, Alex Kotlowitz, Michael Tisserand and several members of the AAN Editorial Committee will head the writers' portion of the program at the annual conference, which will be held Aug. 10-11 on the Northwestern University campus in Evanston, Ill. A design track has been added this year as well; Robb Montgomery, Luke Hayman, Lesa Snider King and members of the Design and Production Committee will head that program. The registration fee is $75 for AAN members.
AAN Staff |
07-16-2007 12:47 pm |
Association News
Tags: Design & Production, Editorial
