AAN News
Tony Ortega Named Village Voice Editornew
That was quick. Less than one business day after David Blum was fired, Village Voice Media announce that the editor of New Times Broward-Palm Beach will replace him. Ortega, 43, who started his career in 1995 at the Phoenix New Times, is the third editor-in-chief hired by the Manhattan alt-weekly since Don Forst left 14 months ago. "Lincoln promoted General Grant late in the game. Stalin promoted Marshall Zukoff late in the game," explains Executive Editor Michael Lacey. "Tony Ortega is the right man at the right time."
The Village Voice |
03-05-2007 5:18 pm |
Industry News
Judge Orders Kansas City Papers to Remove Website Articlesnew
On Friday afternoon, a Missouri judge ordered The Pitch and the Kansas City Star to purge online stories about the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities (BPU) that were based on a confidential letter written by BPU's attorney. Judge Kelly Moorehouse's ruling (PDF file) states that the letter is "privileged legal communication," and also barred the papers from publishing information contained in the confidential document or "otherwise referring to it in any public medium." Attorneys for The Pitch have requested an emergency hearing to settle the matter. "This judge made a serious error," says Steve Suskin, legal counsel for the Pitch's parent company, Village Voice Media. "The injunction so clearly violates the First Amendment that we have no choice but to fight for these fundamental principles in the appellate courts." (The Pitch's original story is still available online in a Google cache.)
The Pitch | The Kansas City Star |
03-05-2007 11:19 am |
Legal News
'Management Concerns' Led to David Blum's Firingnew
Despite earlier reports that Blum was fired as a result of comments he made at a staff meeting last week, Voice spokesperson Maggie Shnayerson tells AP that the meeting was only a "catalyst" for the editor's dismissal. "It was not a decision that was reached in any kind of knee-jerk way," says Shnayerson. Blum's response to concerns about racial diversity that were raised during the meeting may have offended some people, Voice staff writer Wayne Barrett confirms, but everyone seems to agree that his remarks weren't a firing offense. "There were disagreements about the amount of emphasis he had given so far to hiring minorities," an unnamed staffer tells the New York Times. "There was nothing said in that meeting by David Blum that was racist."
AP via Newsday | New York Times |
03-05-2007 10:13 am |
Industry News
Maine Faux-Alt Set to Launch March 15new
Maine Community Publications, a subsidiary of the Seattle Times Company, recently announced the launch of The Maine Switch, a "free lifestyle weekly targeted to adults ages 25-45 years old," according to a press release. "Short and sweet is the soul of this magazine," says a blog entry on Switch's MySpace page. "You won't find long, boring reports in Switch, that's not our style. Instead we love colorful photos, funky facts and quirky pieces." The Seattle Times Company also owns Maine's large daily, the Portland Press Herald, which has twice before launched similar products with no success, the Portland Phoenix reports.
Maine Community Publications Press Release | The Portland Phoenix |
03-05-2007 8:43 am |
Industry News
David Blum Out as Voice Editornew
At a Friday afternoon meeting, Village Voice staffers were told that Blum was "no longer the editor of the paper" as a result of unspecified comments he made that were "unacceptable," according to Gawker. Radar reports that Bill Jensen, director of Web and digital operations for Village Voice Media, has been named interim editor.
Gawker | Radar |
03-02-2007 7:19 pm |
Industry News
Creative Loafing Story on White Nationalists Causes a Stir
The Atlanta alt-weekly's story on the Stormfront White Nationalist Community web forum, "A Kinder, Gentler Racism," led to a landslide of hateful and nasty comments on the paper's website. The avalanche may have been triggered by a post on the Vanguard News Network Forum encouraging "everyone here [to] take a minute, breeze through the article and comment on the Creative Loafing site about it." Despite charges of censorship leveled by the white nationalists, Web Editor Lea Holland says that only one comment has been deleted, "because the link was dead." The incident highlights the balancing act papers perform while monitoring their sites' comments. "While we all have mixed feelings about this, I think ultimately our readers and the public good are better served by letting these guys show who they are," Editor Ken Edelstein tells AAN News. "I have enough faith in our readers to know that the overwhelming majority will be repulsed by what they see -- but also informed at the same time."
AAN News |
03-02-2007 3:19 pm |
Industry News
Alt-Weeklies Take Home Five National Awards for Education Reportingnew
AAN members are well-represented in the 2006 awards given out by the Education Writers Association, with a near-sweep of "Feature, News Feature or Issue Package" for papers under 100,000 circulation. In that category, Todd Spivak of the Houston Press took home First Place for "Cut Short," while Special Citations were awarded to Willamette Week's Beth Slovic for "Illegal Scholar," the Houston Press' Margaret Downing for "Opt In, Opt Out," and New Times Broward-Palm Beach's Kelly Cramer for "FCAT Scratch Fever." Kristen Hinman of Riverfront Times received a First Place award in the "Investigative Reporting" category for her Vashon High School Series.
Education Writers Association Press Release |
03-02-2007 1:04 pm |
Honors & Achievements
Senator Backs Off Espionage Act Proposalnew
Sen. Jon Kyl, R-AZ, who had informed colleagues that he planned to introduce an amendment to the Act that would have created the equivalent of the U.S. version of the British Official Secrets Act, reversed course yesterday, according to Cox Newspapers' Washington Bureau. Although the original amendment circulated by Kyl would have criminalized the communication or publication of any classified information "concerning efforts by the United States to identify, investigate, or prevent terrorist activity," his spokesperson now says the Senator's intentions were widely misunderstood. "It was (an overly broad) draft, only a draft and slightly premature on some people's part to say this was the final amendment," he says. A Capitol Hill newspaper credits "pushback" by the Sunshine in Government Initiative, of which AAN is a member, with the senator's change of heart.
Cox Newspapers | The Hill |
03-02-2007 11:46 am |
Legal News
Tags: Editorial, Management
Texas Observer Story Leads to Resignations, Legislative Actionnew
A Feb. 23 Observer investigation detailing a 2005 sex abuse scandal and subsequent coverup at a youth correctional facility in West Texas led to the recent resignations of a charter school principal and the executive leadership of the Texas Youth Commission, the oversight authority for youth correctional facilities, according to the Odessa American. Meanwhile, the Observer reports on its blog that the state legislature is also getting involved, with the Senate voting Wednesday to begin the process of appointing a conservator to oversee the agency while its board and staff executives are replaced.
Odessa American | Texas Observer |
03-02-2007 11:20 am |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, The Texas Observer
FOIA Reform Bill Gets Senate Hearingnew
The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a March 14 hearing to discuss a new bill from Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) that would put teeth into the Freedom of Information Act, Cox Newspapers reports. The bill seeks to end chronic FOIA delays, like those reported in a new study by the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government, which found that the federal government's performance was at its lowest point since agencies first began reporting in 1998. The bill would allow requesters to recover attorney fees if they are forced to go to court and would create an ombudsman to oversee FOIA disputes. Witnesses at the upcoming hearing include Tom Curley, president and CEO of the Associated Press, representing the Sunshine in Government Initiative. A subcommittee in the House of Representatives held a hearing on FOIA reform two weeks ago.
Cox Newspapers | Editor & Publisher |
03-02-2007 10:41 am |
Legal News
Tags: Editorial, Management
Civilian Complaint from Alt-Weekly Editor Leads to Cops' Suspensionnew
Two Bridgeport, Ct. police officers have been suspended following a complaint made by Fairfield County Weekly's Tom Gogola that they were drinking at a bar while on duty, according to the Connecticut Post. Gogola recalls the evening's events in a story that describes one cop joking, "I can't drink and drive ... I'm on duty," then later taking a bag of marijuana out of his pocket and telling the bartender: "We confiscated some weed ... I'll roll you a special cigarette. It'll make you feel better."
Connecticut Post |
03-02-2007 8:29 am |
Industry News
Magazine Publishers: Websites of Future Will Reflect Usersnew
Media Week |
03-02-2007 9:56 am |
Industry News
The VVM/New Times Merger, One Year Outnew
The Boston Phoenix takes a look at the editorial fallout, or lack thereof, resulting from the merger, talking to staffers who have quit, some who have stayed, and VVM Executive Editor Mike Lacey himself. While former City Pages staff writer Britt Robson says that one of the reasons he quit was VVM's culture of "cheapskate-tough-guy swagger," Nashville Scene editor Liz Garrigan says the new management has helped her. "They've been really good to me, in the sense that my budget's bigger and I've been able to really hire up," she says. "They get a bad rap in so many ways, but they're committed to good shit in the paper."
Boston Phoenix |
03-01-2007 3:03 pm |
Industry News
Spurred by Alt-Weekly Reporting, Texas Legislator Pushes Taser Billsnew
A bill Rep. Lon Burnam (D-Fort Worth) filed in December to restrict the use of electroshock Taser weapons by police was prompted by an article in the Fort Worth Weekly suggesting that police were using Tasers frequently, according to the Austin Chronicle. But with support for it stalled, Burnam has introduced four new bills "in an attempt to further define the proper role of the Taser weapon within the police arsenal," the Chronicle reports.
Austin Chronicle |
03-01-2007 2:24 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Fort Worth Weekly
Is it Against the Law to Use Unpaid, Non-Student Interns?new
It is in California, according to Stephanie Barrett of the state's Division of Labor Standards Enforcement. "If you're not a student getting [academic] credit, you're not a true intern," she tells SF Weekly. "You're an employee and you should be paid like one." The unpaid internship has become standard practice in California, with SF Weekly reporting that San Francisco, 7x7, Diablo, and the San Francisco Bay Guardian all use them, with other publications like Dwell, Benefit and Yoga Journal offering below-minimum-wage stipends. The Bay Guardian's Editor and Publisher Bruce Brugmann denies his paper is violating labor law, saying it conforms to labor standards as interpreted by the California Newspaper Publishers Association -- and that it is helping budding writers to boot. "We're helping young people by giving them vocational training from expert editors and reporters," he says. "It's a wonderful opportunity for them."
SF Weekly |
03-01-2007 1:24 pm |
Legal News
Tags: Editorial, Management
