AAN News
Jury Rules in Lawsuit That Stemmed from Riverfront Times Storynew
A federal jury has awarded $100,000 to "Jane Doe," a cosmetic surgery patient who claimed that doctors provided before-and-after photographs of her torso without her permission to illustrate a 2006 Riverfront Times story. The woman's lawyers were seeking millions of dollars for compensatory damages alone, but one juror says the jury awarded only enough to pay something to her lawyers and to allow for her hotel and travel expenses. The St. Louis alt-weekly was not named in the woman's suit. However, one of the doctors being sued testified that Times reporter Kristen Hinman promised not to use the photos and to let him review the article before publication, charges that Hinman and her editor deny.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch |
11-17-2009 9:28 am |
Industry News
Next 'How I Got That Story' Slated for This Friday
At 3 pm EST, this Friday, Nov. 20, AAN will continue its live chat series with winners from the AAN 2009 journalism contest with Anne Schindler, editor of Folio Weekly, who won first place in the column writing category in the 50,000 and under circulation category. She will be interviewed by Santa Fe Reporter editor Julia Goldberg in a chat that will happen right here on the AAN.org home page.
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
11-16-2009 4:03 pm |
Association News
Alt-Weekly Writer Helps Put Together Book Drive for Liberian Journos
NewLiberian.com, a nonprofit human-rights news site co-founded by San Diego CityBeat's Dave Maass, is partnering with the NGO The Niapele Project in an effort to get American newsrooms to donate spare books and magazines for a "Journalists' Book Drive" to benefit reporters in Liberia. "Books are very expensive in Liberia and some reporters can't even afford a day's meal, let alone buy journalism books," NewLiberian.com editor Sematics King Jr. says. "Therefore, books will really be an added advantage to many Liberian journalists who did not get the opportunity to study journalism at all in college."
(FULL STORY)
NewLiberian.com Press Release |
11-16-2009 11:12 am |
Press Releases
Dallas Observer Refuses to Hand Over Interview Tape to Judgenew
After a guilty verdict was handed down in Dallas' high-profile political corruption trial last month, one juror told an Observer reporter that the jurors may have discussed -- or overhead outside discussion about -- some pieces of evidence during the trial, both of which are against the rules of the court. That revelation led one of the defense attorneys to request a new trial, which led the judge to request the interview tape from the Observer. The paper said no, drawing a snippy rebuke from the judge, who wrote that the alt-weekly was citing "some vague constitutional protection unknown to this Court" in its refusal to give her the tape. "But 'round here we call that 'vague constitutional protection' the First Amendment," notes Observer managing editor Patrick Williams, adding: "We're not in the business of becoming an adjunct to the government."
Dallas Observer |
11-13-2009 10:35 am |
Industry News
Another Discounted NewsU Webinar Scheduled for Next Week
AAN is pleased to offer its members another opportunity for online professional development through a recently-created partnership with News University. "Newswriting for the Web," a one-hour webinar, is available to the first 20 AAN members who register at the special rate of $15.00 (the webinar regularly costs $29.95). To access the AAN-member only code, click here
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
11-12-2009 12:56 pm |
Association News
L.A. Weekly Film Critic and Editor Leaves for Film Societynew
Scott Foundas has been named the new associate program director of The Film Society of Lincoln Center, where he will work on series and event programs, including the New York Film Festival. "Scott's writing is an exhilarating dialogue with artists and audiences alike," society executive director Mara Manus tells Variety. "It is this vibrancy, along with Scott's deep film knowledge, that will contribute greatly to our growing organization, ensuring we continue to offer a vital place of serious film culture." IndieWire's Anne Thompson says Foundas' move is another nail in the coffin for the "dying art" of film criticism. "As one of the best critics working today, Foundas should be anticipating a long and happy career," she writes. "He's giving it up to program movies. This should not happen."
Variey | IndieWire |
11-12-2009 8:33 am |
Industry News
AAN Urges State's Attorney to Reconsider Medill Subpoenas
Last month it was revealed that the Cook County state's attorney subpoenaed emails, grades, and notes and recordings of witness interviews from students at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism who were investigating a 1978 homicide case for the school's Innocence Project. Today, AAN sent a letter to the state's attorney citing "grave concerns" about her actions and urging her to reconsider the subpoenas. "Our members are concerned whenever the values of a free press are threatened," reads the letter, written by AAN First Amendment chair Tim Redmond, "and we believe the actions by your office do just that."
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
11-09-2009 12:56 pm |
Association News
Tags: Editorial, Management
The Stranger's Books Editor Talks About How He Manages His Sectionnew
Paul Constant, who says he thinks he's "one of the only books page editors left at an alternative weekly in America," tells the Rejectionist blog how he chooses books to include in The Stranger. "Basically, I read what I want. I figure, at a page and a half a week and with a very, very small freelance budget, there's no way I'm going to do a comprehensive books page, New York Times-style," he says. "So what I think is important is to keep track of my reading life."
The Rejectionist |
11-09-2009 10:15 am |
Industry News
Alt-Weekly Staffers Curate Local Compilations for LimeWirenew
Music writers and editors at the Nashville Scene and Willamette Week have put together compilation albums of their respective local scenes as part of LimeWire's "Ear to the Ground" series. "There's lots of talk these days about localism being dead, but these kinds of collections remind listeners that geography still has a lot to do with an artists' sounds and aesthetics," WW music editor Casey Jarman says. "Ear to the Ground compilations are fantastic primers, and we think this is a pretty amazing primer for Portland music." Nashville Scene music editor Steve Haruch adds: "Any time we have a chance to get the word out to a wider audience about what's going on here, we jump at it." These two papers join fellow alts like Boston's Weekly Dig, Flagpole, Metro Times, and Philadelphia City Paper, all of which have previously curated discs for LimeWire. (The free digital downloads are all available here.)
LimeWire Press Release (via AntiMusic.com) |
11-06-2009 10:19 am |
Industry News
What Did Isthmus Learn from its First Collaborative Reporting Project?new
Nearly two dozen media outlets in and around Madison, Wisc., took part in All Together Now's first project on health care, and the organizers are already talking about doing another project next year. Looking back, Isthmus news editor Bill Lueders offers six suggestions for news organizations in other cities who might want to take a stab at a collaborative project.
Isthmus |
11-04-2009 10:02 am |
Industry News
New Yorker: Jonathan Gold is 'High-Low Priest of the L.A. Food Scene'new
This week's New Yorker has a profile of the Pulitzer-winning L.A. Weekly food critic that has reportedly been "almost a year in the making." While the full article is available only to subscribers, here's an interesting tidbit from an abstract on the magazine's website: "To Gold's readers, his reviews have the ontological status that the New York Times has for people interested in current events: he doesn't write about it because it is, it is because he's written about it."
The New Yorker | LA Observed |
11-03-2009 11:30 am |
Industry News
Houston Press Food Writer Sheds Anonymitynew
"For nearly ten years now, I have done my job incognito," Robb Walsh writes. "Now I am joining the ranks of no-longer-anonymous restaurant critics." He notes that fellow VVM food writers Jason Sheehan (Westword) and Jonathan Gold (L.A. Weekly) have had few problems since moving away from the time-honored tradition of being an anonymous food critic. "[I've] noticed absolutely no difference in being recognized in restaurants," Gold says. "None. Zero."
Houston Press |
11-03-2009 8:59 am |
Industry News
Weekly Alibi Gets New Editor
Laura Marrich, who started at the Weekly Alibi as an intern in 2003, takes over the editor-in-chief role today, filling the shoes of Christie Chisholm, who is leaving the paper to pursue work as an independent journalist. Marrich will continue to edit the food section, while Jessica Cassyle Carr will take over the music section from her. Marisa Demarco, who is already the paper's news editor, will also take the title of managing editor. "Laura is a born leader with seemingly boundless reservoirs of energy, humor and creativity that energize everyone around her," Alibi publisher Carl Petersen says in a statement. "She will no doubt shine all the brighter as editor."
(FULL STORY)
Weekly Alibi Press Release |
11-02-2009 8:58 am |
Press Releases
Senate Dems, White House Reach Compromise on Federal Shield Lawnew
The compromise bill would allow federal judges to quash government subpoenas against reporters if they determine that the public interest in the news outweighs the government's need to uncover the source of that news, including some disclosures of classified national security information. The bill would also extend shield protection to unpaid bloggers engaged in newsgathering. "We've come a long way in these negotiations and have now reached a compromise that strikes the right balance between national security concerns and the public's right to know," Sen. Charles Schumer said in a statement. The Times notes that the compromise could still falter if press groups object to the concessions made to prosecutors. "This is a huge deal, but it's not a done deal," Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press executive director Lucy Dalglish says. "And quite honestly, until all of the media coalition members sign off on it, it's not a deal."
The New York Times |
10-30-2009 4:37 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial
How I Got That Story Live Chat: Erik Wemple Talks About His Award-Winning Media Reporting
Washington City Paper editor Erik Wemple discussed "One Mission, Two Newsrooms," his piece of the divide between the digital and print staffs at the Washington Post, with Tucson Weekly editor Jimmy Boegle.
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
10-30-2009 2:47 pm |
Association News
Tags: Editorial, Management
