AAN News
NUVO Managing Editor Co-Authors Environmental Humor Book
NUVO's Jim Poyser has a side project with longtime friend Michael Jensen, a website -- ApocaDocs.com -- that aims to bring humor to "the horror of environmental collapse." Now the duo have released a free book, Converging Emergencies: 2010-2020. "Global warming and industrial toxins are combining to create a fragile environment, yet in some parts of the world, the status quo still seems OK," a release announcing the book reads, "thus need to educate -- via entertainment -- about our planet-wide predicament." MORE: Poyser tells AAN News that the ApocaDocs are offering their weekly PANIQuiz feature, free of charge, to any AAN member papers who may be interested.
(FULL STORY)
ApocaDocs Press Release |
02-22-2010 9:50 am |
Press Releases
Arellano: NPR's 'Ask an Arab' is an 'Ask a Mexican' Rip-offnew
"Those geniuses at NPR, the network that thinks Garrison Keillor and Mo Rocca are the height of hilarity, have shamelessly ripped off ¡Ask a Mexican! to start a new feature, Ask an Arab," Gustavo Arellano writes. "Oh, and before anyone begins leaving comments about me being so petty and me ripping off 'Ask a Black Dude,' I preface this post with a classic quote from Krusty the Clown: 'If this is anyone but Steve Allen, you've stolen my bit!'"
OC Weekly |
02-19-2010 3:24 pm |
Industry News
Style Weekly Fires Writer Who Used Obscenity in Emailnew
The Richmond alt-weekly has fired staff reporter Chris Dovi after Dovi accidentally sent an email meant for his editor, which referred to a blind motivational speaker a "blind [expletive]," to the speaker's public relations representative. Dovi tells the Richmond Times-Dispatch his language sprang from his frustration with the PR rep's frequent calls and emails about a potential story, but says he's "not making excuses." He adds: "I shouldn't have been flip." Style Weekly editor Jason Roop and publisher Lori Waran, in a joint statement, say Dovi's language "violated the core values" of the paper. "It showed an unacceptable disregard for one of our chief missions at Style: to honor diversity as a company in all of our dealings with the community, and within Style's hallways." MORE: Washington City Paper's Andrew Beaujon says Style "decided to assuage an awkward situation by cutting off a talented reporter at the knees."
Richmond Times-Dispatch |
02-18-2010 3:49 pm |
Industry News
Honolulu Weekly Editor Removes Himself from the Rail Beatnew
In response to some concerns "inside and outside the paper" about Ragnar Carlson's role as the Weekly's editor and his father's role as paid consultant to Parsons Brinckerhoff, Honolulu's prime contractor on the current stage of a massive rail project, Carlson says he's handing off all rail and rail-related stories to managing editor Adrienne LaFrance. "I've removed myself to avoid a conflict of interest, real or perceived, on this issue," Carlson writes, adding that he doesn't think that his father's role has influenced his editing or reporting. "[But] the perception of a conflict is as real a threat to our mission as any potential conflict itself," he writes. "Readers need to trust our coverage implicitly." On his blog, Carlson's father says it is "the right decision."
Honolulu Weekly |
02-18-2010 12:45 pm |
Industry News
Call for Applications: Rosalynn Carter Fellowships For Mental Health Journalismnew
The Carter Center |
02-17-2010 3:21 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Management
Cityview Editor/Publisher Takes Heat for Saying Newspapers Have Become 'More Feminine'
"Newspapers, especially corporate-owned dailies, have become more feminine, and that is quite obvious in the pages of the local Gannett daily," Shane Goodman wrote in his Cityview editor's note last week. "As reporters spend more time writing about the hot colors of throw pillows and less time investigating crime at city hall, it creates opportunities for papers like this one." His comments have drawn a rebuke from the Des Moines Register's Rekha Basu, who says that "the lack of logic, research or intellectual honesty" in Goodman's note "are appalling." She adds: "But even more so are the sexist stereotypes that pour off a few short paragraphs of the city's so-called alternative paper."
AAN News |
02-16-2010 1:22 pm |
Industry News
Discounted NewsU Webinar on Multimedia Tools This Thursday
AAN members can check out the latest cameras, mobile devices and apps to help you tell multimedia stories in Multimedia Tools: Your 2010 Shopping List. In this webinar from Poynter's NewsU, you'll learn about the latest gear as well as ways to get the most out of what you already have. The first 25 AAN members to register will pay just $10.95 when using the discount code (you can find it here).
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
02-16-2010 11:40 am |
Association News
Santa Fe Reporter is One of the Country's 'Best Venues for Illustration'new
That's Robert Newman's take, as he profiles yet another alt-weekly for the Society of Publication Designers' "Grids" blog. "The Reporter has an editorial budget for an entire issue that is less than what most national magazines pay for a spot illustration," Newman writes, praising cover designer Angela Moore's ability to create "engaging, timely covers, designed to drive circulation and appeal to the Reporter's readership." She says that despite her small budget, artists like to work for the Reporter because she trusts their instincts. "I'm always being told by illustrators how rare it is to work with someone who doesn't over direct, and I think that's why so many work for us even with our small budget," Moore says.
Society of Publication Designers |
02-16-2010 10:48 am |
Industry News
Conason: Alt-Weeklies Often 'Far Ahead' on Investigative Storiesnew
In a short blog post on the new Nation Investigative Fund website, Joe Conason says Paul Knight's 2009 story on problems with the Toyota Prius is just the latest example of alt-weeklies -- "those hippie outposts of the old print media" -- "provid[ing] an important outlet for investigative stories that are far ahead of their mainstream competitors." While Conason is certainly right about alts often getting a head start on big stories like the Prius problems, he is wrong about one thing: The story in question originated in the Houston Press, where Knight is a staff reporter. It was reprinted in the OC Weekly and a few other VVM papers.
The Investigative Fund |
02-12-2010 12:31 pm |
Industry News
San Francisco Bay Guardian Redesigns Websitenew
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
02-12-2010 12:33 pm |
Industry News
AltWeekly Awards Hard Copy Deadline Extended to Feb. 16
Due to potential weather-related mail delays, the deadline for hard copy submissions has been extended to Tues., Feb. 16. Entrants submitting payment with their entries will also have until that date to submit payment.
AAN News |
02-09-2010 12:05 pm |
Association News
Tags: Design & Production, Editorial
Alt-Weeklies Nab Dozens of New England Press Association Awardsnew
Three AAN members took home plenty of awards in this year's New England Newspaper and Press Association Better Newspaper Contest. Boston Phoenix staff writer Mike Miliard was named Weekly Journalist of the Year (judges said he was "obviously a very versatile and talented journalist") as part of the Phoenix's haul of 18 total awards, including 11 first-place wins. Worcester Mag took home nine awards, with five first-place finishes, while Burlington's Seven Days finished first in three categories and won seven total awards.
New England Newspaper and Press Association (PDF) |
02-09-2010 9:24 am |
Honors & Achievements
VVM Fellow Wins 2nd Place in College Journalism Awardsnew
City Pages |
02-09-2010 2:31 pm |
Honors & Achievements
Deadline to Apply for AAN Membership Extended to Feb. 19
The application deadline for newspapers to apply for AAN membership has been extended two weeks to Feb. 19. You can download an application here, or contact AAN to have one mailed to you. Find out more about admission guidelines and membership requirements here.
AAN |
02-05-2010 3:36 pm |
Association News
AAN Signs Book Contract with Northwestern University Press
As AAN papers scramble to meet the Feb. 8 deadline for the 2010 AltWeekly Awards journalism competition, entrants should know that several of the winning entries will be published in book form in 2011. AAN has just signed a contract with Northwestern University Press to publish a book titled Best AltWeekly Writing 2009 and 2010, which will feature a selection of first-place winning pieces from several categories, as well as a number of "How I Got That Story" interviews with winning authors.
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
02-05-2010 12:53 pm |
Association News
Tags: Editorial, Management
