AAN News
The Pitch Puts Public Utility Officials in Hot Waternew
An article by the Kansas City alt-weekly alleging that Board of Public Utilities officials have racked up excessive meal and entertainment expenses has resulted in an internal ethics commission investigation, according to the local ABC affiliate. The Nov. 30 article, by Pitch reporter Justin Kendall, details how BPU administrators spent $15,000 on meals and entertainment in 2004 and 2005 -- including alcohol tabs at numerous sporting events. The story breaks during a time of public anger over the rising price of electricity and water in Kansas City. The BPU Ethics Commission is scheduled to review the allegations next month.
KMBC-TV News |
12-15-2006 10:33 am |
Industry News
AAN Diversity Intern Enjoys "Refreshing" Break From MSM
Victoria Williams returns to her campus newspaper after a highly productive four-month stint at the Oklahoma Gazette, AAN News reports. Williams says she found the freedom to write more in-depth stories at the alt-weekly a much needed break from the strictures and pressures of the daily newsrooms she worked in during earlier internships. Among the highlights of Williams' work for the Oklahoma weekly was her feature on a joint project linking female craft artists in Kenya to Oklahoma merchants. Established in 2001, the AAN Diversity Internship program awards four annual grants of up to $2,500 to talented young journalists of color.
(FULL STORY)
AAN News |
12-14-2006 6:42 pm |
Association News
Tags: Editorial, Oklahoma Gazette
Santa Fe Reporter Series Helps Topple Major State Contractornew
Citing the alt-weekly's five-month investigative series into repeated abuses and systemic failures on the part of Wexford Health Services, Governor Bill Richardson has ordered a termination of the company's $27 million contract to provide medical care within New Mexico's prison system. Richardson's spokesperson confirms the decision to axe Wexford was made based on the Reporter series. "They're done," spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos told the weekly. "We expect to have a new provider in a reasonable amount of time."
Santa Fe Reporter |
12-13-2006 1:27 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Santa Fe Reporter
Isthmus News Editor's Book Draws National Media Attentionnew
Bill Lueders' "Cry Rape," which details the sexual assault of a woman and her hellish ordeal navigating the Madison justice system, has been covered by more than 100 media outlets around the world, reports the Capital Times. The author and his subject also appeared last night on FOX News' "Hannity and Colmes" show. The woman's attorney tells the paper that he has also received a preliminary contact from a representative of Oprah Winfrey's production company. A second printing of "Cry Rape" is due in stores this week.
The Capital Times |
12-13-2006 12:54 pm |
Industry News
Santa Barbara Independent Fights Back in News-Press Casenew
The 40,000-circulation SoCal weekly has hired the services of high-powered law firm Leopold, Petrich & Smith -- currently representing 20th Century Fox in the suits against the movie Borat -- in its legal battle against the Santa Barbara News-Press and its litigious owner, Wendy McCaw.
McCaw's Ampersand Publishing accuses the alt-weekly of copyright infringement and a host of other offenses for posting a PDF of a story -- originally written for the News-Press -- about a public protest against the daily. Reporter Scott Hadly, who wrote the article, quit the News-Press after his story was killed by the assistant publisher. "We have never bowed to intimidation, and hope that by fighting [Ampersand], we are leading by example and showing that this little freebie weekly [isn't] going to roll over," writes Indy Pop Culture Editor Matt Kettmann.
The Santa Barbara Independent |
12-13-2006 11:50 am |
Industry News
The Village Voice Grabs Three Golds in NYC Critics Round-Upnew
Voice art critic Jerry Saltz (pictured), dance critic Deborah Jowitt, and film critic J. Hoberman each took top honors in a poll of artists and industry insiders commissioned by Time Out New York and conducted by Samir Husni, chairman of the department of journalism at the University of Mississippi. Critics were rated in eight different categories; the Voice was the only New York publication to win three first-place awards.
Time Out New York |
12-11-2006 4:06 pm |
Honors & Achievements
Dailies Aren’t Telling Citizens the Things They Need to Knownew
As big-city dailies increasingly face cutbacks that threaten their ability to cover local affairs, civic leaders are expressing disquiet over the impact the downsizing has had on their communities, reports Governing magazine. From St. Louis to Los Angeles, prominent residents are concerned that the dailies' withering newsrooms and declining local coverage are doing damage to their cities. "If the people who live in a community are going to understand the way city hall or the county commission or the school board shapes their lives," writes Rob Gurwitt, "they need journalism that is there for the long haul and not just the occasional shout in the dark."
Governing |
12-11-2006 1:35 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial
Metro Times Culture Editor 'Can't Hold Out Any Longer' in Detroitnew
After writing about Detroit's cultural underground for seven years, Sarah Klein has developed a "hate-hate" relationship with the city and has decided to flee it for the sunny climes of California. "People are leaving Detroit -- in droves," she says, driven away by crime, lack of city services and a bad economy. Although she loves the Motor City and its "incredible people," she has had enough: "I'm tired of struggling, and I'm exhausted -- emotionally and physically. I'm ready to go."
Metro Times |
12-08-2006 1:23 pm |
Industry News
'Deb Kaplan Was One Tough Reporter'new
So says Metro Times founder Ron Williams, recalling the recently deceased journalist "who made an important contribution to the newspaper in its formative years." Kaplan was the Detroit alt-weeklies' news editor from 1989 to 1991, when "she wrote about urban issues with ... gritty detail," according to the paper.
The 53-year-old writer and University of Washington assistant professor died last month of an apparent heart attack.
Metro Times |
12-08-2006 12:42 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Metro Times
Former Missoula Independent "Mentor," Copy Editor Diesnew
Missoula Independent |
12-08-2006 11:20 am |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Missoula Independent
Finke Signs New Agent After Ovitz Bio Cancelednew
Nikki Finke's "long-awaited biography" of Hollywood superagent Michael Ovitz was picked up by The Martell Agency only days after the LA Weekly columnist's book deal was canceled by a Warner/Hachette imprint, reports Authorlink. "The Man Who Wanted Everything," which was originally due to be published in July 2007, has been in the works for 15 years, according to the site.
Authorlink |
12-07-2006 4:14 pm |
Industry News
Free Weeklies Vie for Similar Audience in Fort Collinsnew
Five papers are duking it out in the 128,000-population Northern Colorado town, and two of them have an alt-weekly pedigree, Westword reports. The Rocky Mountain Chronicle debuted in October, arising from the ashes of former AAN member Rocky Mountain Bullhorn, and the mostly direct-mailed Fort Collins Weekly launched in early 2003, with Boulder Weekly alum Greg Campbell and Joel Dyer at the helm. The other three are faux-alts, including one owned by Gannett's Coloradan, which Campbell calls "one of the weakest, worst daily newspapers I've ever come across." Chronicle Editor Vanessa Martinez (pictured) predicts they won't all survive. "I think some of them are going to fall by the wayside," she says.
Westword |
12-07-2006 2:55 pm |
Industry News
New Editor Named at Colorado Springs Independent
Ralph Routon, 54, a columnist and editor at the Colorado Springs Gazette for 24 years, will return to his adopted hometown to take the position of executive editor at the Pikes Peak region's alternative newspaper. Since leaving the area in 2001, Routon spent the past five years as an editor at daily newspapers in Florida and Texas. He will assume his new position in January, according to a release from the Independent.
(FULL STORY)
Colorado Springs Independent |
12-07-2006 10:50 am |
Press Releases
Not That Dan Savagenew
PW performs a public service for local citizens this week by distinguishing between the editor of The Stranger and Philadelphia's "newly installed" city councilman Dan Savage. The former is the guy who writes Savage Love and thinks drugs and prostitution should be legalized. The latter is a judge's son who has never been asked for advice on strap-ons, vaginal farts or uncircumcised penises. "What's he look like?" asks our Dan about the politician with an identical name. "Does he have a gut? He's out there representing me. I don't want him to have a big gut. He's got to do his crunches."
PW-Philadelphia Weekly |
12-07-2006 1:00 am |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Dan Savage
The Demise of the Professional Photojournalistnew
Center for Citizen Media Blog |
12-07-2006 5:40 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Electronic Publishing
