AAN News
The Key to Getting an Alt-Weekly Writing Gig: Name-Drop 'Sassy'new
That's what we gleaned from an excerpt of Kara Jesella and Marisa Meltzer's new book, How Sassy Changed My Life. The book argues that the popular girls' magazine, "was less a teenage moment than an early feminist movement," according to NPR. In one excerpt, former Portland Mercury arts editor Julianne Shepherd recalls that "in the interview (for the job at the Mercury), I noted Sassy as a major influence on my inchoate writing voice," and Tim Keck, president of the parent company that owns the Mercury, "was essentially like, 'Right on! You're hired!'"
National Public Radio |
04-27-2007 3:23 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Management
Veteran Newsday Investigative Reporter Hired by Village Voicenew
Graham Rayman will join the Voice staff as staff reporter on May 14, according to an email sent to the paper's staff by new editor Tony Ortega. Rayman racked up many journalism awards during his 11-year tenure at Newsday, and was a member of the paper's 1997 and 2004 Pulitzer Prize finalist teams.
Poynter Online: Romenesko Memos |
04-27-2007 3:03 pm |
Industry News
Open Government Coalition Asks Feds to Keep Guantanamo Records
A coalition led by OpentheGovernment.org yesterday sent a letter (PDF file) to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales protesting a 2004 U.S. District Protective Order (PDF file) that doesn't require the government to retain a set of records relating to detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The letter, which was signed by AAN and over twenty other media and non-profit organizations, was also sent (PDF file) to Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein, Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) and the Senate Judiciary Committee.
AAN News |
04-27-2007 11:44 am |
Legal News
Tags: Editorial, Management
Alt-Weekly Editor's Film is Headed for Cannesnew
Zoo, a film co-written by The Stranger's associate editor Charles Mudede (pictured), has been accepted to the Directors' Fortnight segment of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. The film about bestiality, loosely based on an incident in Washington two years ago, opened in New York this week and hits L.A. in May. The Village Voice's Nathan Lee says it "moves the mind to reflect on fundamental questions of culture and psyche: the relation of man to animal, the limits of sexuality, the contours of community." The New York Times also weighs in on Zoo, saying it "wraps its sensationalistic core in a seductive mantle, an approach that appeals to viewers already predisposed to art and the Enlightenment, Sesame Street and all things not Rush Limbaugh."
The Stranger |
04-26-2007 1:56 pm |
Honors & Achievements
Minneapolis Alt-Weekly to Cease Publishingnew
Two-time AAN applicant Pulse of the Twin Cities will shut down within the month, the Star Tribune reports. The paper was founded by community activist Ed Felien in 1997 after the Twin Cities Reader was shuttered. "It's been a wonderful run; I've loved every minute of it and hated every minute of it," Felien says, adding that it "has never been financially remunerative." Felien tells the Star Tribune that he will continue to publish his monthly newspaper, Southside Pride, and he also suggests that Pulse may continue to maintain an online presence.
The Star Tribune |
04-26-2007 8:53 am |
Industry News
Nashville Scene Wins Legal Fight Against Corrections Departmentnew
Last week, the alt-weekly sued the Tennessee Department of Corrections (DOC) for information about its review of the state's execution protocol. The City Paper reports that Davidson County Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman ruled yesterday that all documents relating to the review must be turned over to the Scene. "We're thrilled," says Scene editor Liz Garrigan. "This isn't really about the paper, this is about accountability in government." Bonnyman gave the state until Thursday to file an appeal. With the May 2 deadline for the DOC's recommendations looming, it's unclear what the Scene will be able to do with the documents, especially if the state continues to delay the process with an appeal. "Time is of the essence," Garrigan says, adding that she'd like to publish a story about the DOC's deliberations by the paper's next publishing deadline.
The City Paper |
04-26-2007 7:24 am |
Legal News
AltWeeklies.com: The Week in Review
In this week's installment: reaction to and reporting from Virginia Tech, celebrating Earth Day, examining coke rap, a cop kills a man on tape, Alberto Gonzales circa 2004, and much more.
(FULL STORY)
AAN News |
04-25-2007 3:14 pm |
Association News
Alt-Weekly Writer's 'Cowboy Cookbook' Examines Texas Food Historynew
Houston Press food critic Robb Walsh's seventh book, The Texas Cowboy Cookbook: A History in Recipes and Photos, was released earlier this month by Broadway Books. The Post-Gazette says it's "full of hearty and luscious recipes as well as lore about, and photos of, cowboys that'll lasso you, even if you never cook one of these multiculturally inspired dishes." These dishes include the adventerous "Son of a Bitch," which features tongue from a suckling calf, chitterlings, half a liver, a heart, a kidney, skirt steaks and brains. "I've tasted it," Walsh says. "I've never cooked it."
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |
04-25-2007 12:26 pm |
Industry News
Such a Deal! Three for Two, or Five for Three
Member papers that register for the AAN convention in Portland are eligible to receive up to two free registrations, courtesy of the AAN CAN classified program that makes this association run. Take advantage of this AAN CAN-inspired largesse by registering three people for the price of two, or five people for the price of three. And to save even more money, don't forget to sign up by May 4 for the early-registration discount. You can register online or download a registration form on the convention website.
AAN |
04-24-2007 6:17 pm |
Association News
Jonathan Gold Continues His Post-Pulitzer Press Roundsnew
The newly minted Pulitzer-winning LA Weekly food critic talks process with On the Media's Brooke Gladstone, saying he doesn't take notes and shies away from fancy food vocabulary and Latinate synonyms. "It must be said that there is only one word that means 'salty,' and if you try to get beyond something being salty -- you know, briny or oceanic -- you're overwriting, and the prose suffers," Gold says. Noting Gold's "intense" devotion to meat, Gladstone asks the critic if he receives letters from vegans demanding equal time. "Yeah, I get letters from vegans, usually more in sorrow than in anger," he says, adding that he also gets a lot of letters from Jewish people complaining that he writes "an awful lot about pork." Over a meal of huaraches with a succulent beef brain and more, Gold tells the Washington Post's William Booth he's eaten at somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 restaurants in LA, and that he finds new haunts by scouring ethnic newspapers. "I don't understand a word of it, but they list an address and I go," he says.
On the Media | The Washington Post |
04-24-2007 10:49 am |
Honors & Achievements
Alt-Weeklies Well-Represented in Green Eyeshade Award Nominationsnew
The Society of Professional Journalists named their finalists yesterday, and AAN papers received seven nominations, including clean sweeps of the weekly news and features categories. Miami New Times and New Times Broward-Palm Beach lead the pack with two nominations, while Creative Loafing (Charlotte), the Memphis Flyer and the Nashville Scene each garnered one. The awards, which honor journalistic excellence in 11 southeastern states, will be announced May 5 in Nashville.
Editor & Publisher |
04-24-2007 8:30 am |
Honors & Achievements
Tags: Editorial, Management
Mobilizing Mobile Technology for Alt-Weeklies
They're everywhere -- bars, clubs, Laundromats, post offices, even churches: people busily typing away on the small keypads that are built into the various phones, Sidekicks, Blackberries, Treos and PDAs without which they couldn't survive. We take a look at what a few alt-weeklies are doing to get their content to this new mobile set.
(FULL STORY)
AAN News |
04-23-2007 3:00 pm |
Industry News
Oklahoma Gazette Cited for Reporting on Mental Illnessnew
Last week, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) gave the Oklahoma Gazette its Outstanding Media Award for contributions to the goals of NAMI Oklahoma. According to NAMI Oklahama member Jo Rogers, the alt-weekly "provides information for those of us interested in legislative issues which may involve mental health and associated funding."
Oklahoma Gazette |
04-23-2007 11:18 am |
Honors & Achievements
Phoenix New Times Story Helps Push Congressman from Committeenew
Last week, U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) said he would step down from the House Intelligence Committee after a FBI raid on his offices. The New York Times reports the investigation "involves accusations that he improperly used his influence as a congressman to engineer a land swap benefiting a business associate" -- accusations first revealed by New Times last October. In addition, the federal prosecutor who began the investigation was one of the eight U.S. Attorneys fired by the Bush administration last year. But as the Times notes, thus far documents released by the Justice Department "detail a handful of reasons" for officials' unhappiness with Paul Charlton, but do not mention the Renzi investigation.
Prescott Daily Courier | The New York Times |
04-23-2007 9:15 am |
Industry News
Veteran Journo Named Editor of New Times Broward-Palm Beach
Robert Meyerowitz will replace Tony Ortega, who transferred last month after he was named editor of the Village Voice. Meyerowitz served as editor-in-chief of the Anchorage Press from 1998 to 2003. According to a Village Voice Media press release, he also covered the civil war in Nicaragua, freelanced for VVM's Phoenix New Times, and briefly served as editor of the Honolulu Weekly. In an e-mail to Broward-Palm Beach staff, VVM executive associate editor Andy Van De Voorde says Meyerowitz received kudos from Anchorage's daily for "thoughtful and provocative journalism." He adds: "I believe that same description applies in spades to your own paper, and in that sense I think you will find Robert a kindred spirit."
(FULL STORY)
Village Voice Media Press Release |
04-23-2007 8:36 am |
Press Releases
