AAN News

Was it Something They Said? Cablevision Pulls IFC Ad from Voicenew

The IFC-owned Independent Film Center, which is owned by Cablevision and Jimmy Dolan, has pulled its $400/week print advertisement from the Village Voice, "following our trenchant commentary on the sale of Gothamist to Rainbow Media, replete with a joke about Mr. Dolan's penis that required the attention of his corporate publicity and legal affairs crews," writes the Voice's Foster Kamer. "In a rare breach of editorial and sales, I'd like to openly apologize to the ad salesperson who closed that account: I'm sorry Jimmy Dolan's penis cost you some commission," Kamer continues. "If you'd like me to write your child's college admission's essay, I'll do it pro-bono. I'd just give you the money, but I've spent the last four days considering Jimmy Dolan's penis. The pay is proportionate."
The Village Voice  |  03-26-2010  8:09 am  |  Industry News

Lingerie Footballers Get Probation for Wearing Too Much in New Timesnew

Miami Caliente players Anonka Dixon and Tina Caccavale have been placed on probation by the Lingerie Football League for wearing too many clothes during a photo shoot for Miami New Times and New Times Broward-Palm Beach. A league spokesperson tells NBC Miami that the problem stems from the players wearing non-sponsored league gear. "One of the covers has an NFL logo and they had on Rawlings shoulder pads and Nike wristbands," Stephon McMillen says. "They were displaying non-league partners. It's a legal issue for us." Turns out the league didn't like the New Times story that much either; the writer, Michael J. Mooney, has been banned from being credentialed to cover any Lingerie Football League or Miami Caliente events.
New Times Broward-Palm Beach  |  03-25-2010  11:48 am  |  Industry News

Diversity Grant Applications Now Available

The AAN Diversity Grant Program, which was instituted in 2001 to help papers add diversity to their newsrooms and to encourage minority journalists to start their careers at alt-weeklies, is accepting new applications. The program offers AAN papers the opportunity to apply for a grant for a diversity-related project or for an intern. The Diversity Committee will award up to four grants of $1,250 each per year; the deadline for applications is April 23. Recent awardee Boise Weekly tells AAN News that the "global culture blog" for the local refugee community it launched with the grant money "would have never happened" without the Diversity Grant. Now that the blog has become a success, the Weekly will keep it going with its own funding. (For all the details, download an application here.) (FULL STORY)
AAN News  |  03-24-2010  6:15 pm  |  Association News

Alt-Cartoonist Mikhaela Reid Ending Her Stripnew

Reid, whose "Boiling Point" has appeared in a number of AAN papers, says she is "retiring from regular weekly political cartooning." Why? She singles out the tough market for political cartoons, the relentless deadlines and her impending motherhood as a few of the reasons. "With the peanuts I was earning for political cartooning, I was theoretically doing it for fun -- but I wasn't really having fun anymore," she writes. In addition to being a full-time working mother, Reid says she will be blogging about sewing and style on her Polka Dot Overload site.
Mikhaela.net  |  03-24-2010  5:44 pm  |  Industry News

Cablevision Upset Over Village Voice Dick Jokenew

In a Monday post about the rumored purchase of the Gothamist blog network by Cablevision, the Village Voice's Foster Kamer wrote: "Wonder how [Gothamist publisher Jake] Dobkin's gonna feel with Jimmy Dolan's cock in his mouth?" Dolan, the Cablevision CEO, has a reputation as being aggressive and sometimes litigious. That reputation seems to be well-deserved, as his corporate communications team pounced on Kamer's post with multiple emails and a follow-up call to a Voice editor that said Cablevision lawyers were looking into the post to see if it could be considered defamatory. "As a guy who was once named as a defendant in an employee's high-profile (and ultimately successful) sexual harassment lawsuit, Dolan should understand the difference between what one could and could not get away with when discussing things like where one puts one's penis," Kamer shoots back. "And thankfully, there's no law that's going to force us to take Jimmy Dolan's figurative cock out of anyone's mouth. Least of all ours."
The Village Voice  |  03-24-2010  8:58 am  |  Industry News

L.A. Weekly Gets Five Nominations in Entertainment Journalism Awardsnew

Finalists for the third annual Los Angeles Press Club National Entertainment Journalism Awards were announced this week. L.A. Weekly received five nominations, including three for former film critic Scott Foundas, who was included in the best critic category. The Weekly's film issue was nominated for "best entertainment publication," and staff writer Libby Molyneaux got a best feature (under 1,000 words) nod.
L.A. Weekly  |  03-24-2010  8:37 am  |  Honors & Achievements

Alt-Weeklies Nominated for a Number of James Beard Awardsnew

As usual, AAN members are well-represented in the list of finalists for the 2010 James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards, which recognize excellence in food writing. The L.A. Weekly's Jonathan Gold and Westword's Jason Sheehan (who is now at Seattle Weekly) are both nominated for the Craig Claiborne Distinguished Restaurant Reviews, and Gold is also a finalist in the Writing on Spirits, Wine or Beer category. Elsewhere, the Newspaper Feature Writing category is comprised only of AAN members, with two Chicago Reader pieces and one from the Village Voice vying for the top prize. Westword nabs another finalist in the Newspaper Feature Writing About Restaurants and/or Chefs, where it is joined as a finalist by Washington City Paper. And last, but certainly not least, the Houston Press is a finalist in the Multimedia Food Feature category. Winners will be announced on May 2.
James Beard Foundation  |  03-23-2010  10:24 am  |  Industry News

Isthmus News Editor Wins National Award for Animal Issues Reporting

Isthmus news editor Bill Lueders has received a Genesis Award from the Humane Society of the United States for his reporting on animal issues. Lueders was honored for his reporting on animal research at the UW-Madison, including his story about a 5-year-old primate named ro4040 and his articles on decompression experiments involving sheep. "It was a great honor for me and for Isthmus," says Lueders, whose article on primate research was excerpted in the award booklet for the star-studded ceremony in Beverly Hills. (FULL STORY)
Isthmus Publishing Press Release  |  03-23-2010  8:44 am  |  Press Releases

Video: Web-First Publishing - How Alt-Weeklies Can Survive

The clip below is of a SXSW panel featuring Joran Oppelt and Stephen Hammill of Creative Loafing, Carly Carioli of the Boston Phoenix and the East Bay Express' Jody Colley. (Note: there are a few minutes of video before the discussion begins.)

AAN  |  03-19-2010  5:11 pm  |  Industry News  |  Comments (2)

Top Editor Will Leave Mountain Xpressnew

Managing editor Jon Elliston will leave the Asheville alt-weekly in mid-April to write a book based on his 2008 Xpress story about a short-lived summer camp that was attacked and run out of the state in 1963. Elliston, who started contributing to Xpress in 2003 and was hired as news editor in 2005 and subsequently became managing editor, says his departure is "bittersweet" but necessary. "I had dreamed of writing this book in my spare time, but that's proved impossible," he says. "It's a story that's begging to be told, and it's become clear that in order to do it right, I'll need to make it my primary endeavor for at least six months or so." Meanwhile, Xpress staff writer Brian Postelle will start a new job next week doing PR for the city of Asheville, and multimedia editor Jason Sandford recently left the paper to work on his popular local blog. "These are major changes in our news staff, which have put us all in high gear. We're losing some strong news personnel," publisher Jeff Fobes says. "But Xpress has come through a number of staff changes over the years -- and we've managed to learn and grow from them."
Mountain Xpress  |  03-19-2010  5:01 pm  |  Industry News

Three North Carolina AAN Members Nab State Press Awardsnew

The Independent Weekly won seven total awards this year from the North Carolina Press Association, including the Hugh Morton Photographer of the Year, the highest honor given in the photography category. That award for non-daily photographers went to the paper's D.L. Anderson for the second year in a row, with the judges praising him for having "an eye for the unique, a great sense of composition, a technical touch and a natural knack." The Indy also placed first in the Online Breaking News, Best Video, General Excellence Website and Criticism categories. Mountain XPress took home two awards, including a first place win for Best Multimedia Project, and Creative Loafing (Charlotte) received one award.
North Carolina Press Association  |  03-19-2010  11:22 am  |  Honors & Achievements  |  Comments (1)

The Mexican Asks a New Mexicannew

Albuquerque's The Alibi turned the tables on Gustavo Arellano, the columnist behind the racy ¡Ask a Mexican! column. The paper challenged Arellano to ask a New Mexican, and the result, he says, was "brilliant." Joseph Baca, a wine writer and native of the state, answered questions on Santo Niño de Atocha, curanderas, chile and Hispanos. "That Baca guy has a future outside of vacas!," Arellano says.
The Alibi  |  03-18-2010  10:06 am  |  Industry News

Alt-Weeklies Finalists in Many Maggie Award Categoriesnew

The Western Publishing Association has announced the finalists for its annual Maggie Awards, which go to work deemed "The Best in the West." Six alt-weeklies are finalists for best overall publication, with five Village Voice Media titles -- Houston Press, LA Weekly, OC Weekly, SF Weekly and Westword -- the only finalists in the Tabloids/Consumer category, and the San Francisco Bay Guardian a finalist in the Politics & Social Issues/Consumer category. Houston Press and OC Weekly are both also finalists in the Best Web or Digital Edition Magazine Blog/Trade & Consumer category, and many of the VVM papers are competing in other categories:
  • Best Series of Articles/Consumer: City Pages, Phoenix New Times and Westword
  • Best Public Service Series or Article/Trade & Consumer: Houston Press, Phoenix New Times and SF Weekly
  • Best News Story/Consumer: LA Weekly, Phoenix New Times and SF Weekly
  • Best Signed Editorial or Essay/Consumer: Phoenix New Times
  • Best Feature Article/Consumer: SF Weekly
Winners will be announced May 7.
Western Publishing Association  |  03-18-2010  9:28 am  |  Honors & Achievements

Armond White Talks 'Greenberg' Snub, Attacks Village Voice Criticnew

White uses most of his space in this week's New York Press review of Greenberg to reflect on the controversy that spilled out last week over his being disinvited from the film's screening. The snub, which was the subject of much chatter among New York film and media types, was allegedly due to White's calling for the mother of Greenberg director Noah Baumbach to have an abortion. As this allegation was debated on the web, Village Voice critic J. Hoberman dug up a copy of the review, which wasn't available online, from the public library and posted it online in a post titled "Proof That Critic Armond White Did Call for Noah Baumbach's Abortion." (By the way, Baumbach's mother, Georgia Brown, was a Voice film critic in the 1980s.) That gesture was not looked upon kindly by White, who contends that Hoberman "deliberately mischaracterized the review," before attacking the longtime Voice critic for "normaliz[ing] the arrogance of class privilege" and calling him "a force behind racist snobbery" and "the scoundrel-czar of contemporary film criticism." MORE: Hoberman responds.
New York Press  |  03-17-2010  6:44 pm  |  Industry News

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