AAN News
Director Michael Bay Adapting Miami New Times Seriesnew
Bay, who is best known for big-budget action flicks like Transformers and Armageddon, is working on Pain & Gain, a feature he is adapting from a series of Miami New Times stories on steroid-abusing bodybuilders who become criminals. According to an update on Bay's official website over the weekend, the film "is looking very possible."
MichaelBay.com |
09-15-2009 9:07 am |
Industry News
Google Unveils Fast Flip; New Service Designed for Quick News Browsingnew
The New York Times |
09-15-2009 9:12 am |
Industry News
Will Alts Benefit if Dailies Go Behind Pay Walls Online?new
As daily newspaper publishers and even magazines continue to mull charging for content online, little has been written about how such a move would help or harm alt-weeklies. Village Voice Media new media director Bill Jensen, for one, says he's licking his chops. "We're praying for the day that [daily newspapers] go behind a pay wall," he tells Mediaweek. "That's good for us. We've always been free and we know free. We're not complaining about it."
Mediaweek |
09-14-2009 9:49 am |
Industry News
Village Voice Brings the F-Bomb to Google News' Front Pagenew
The Voice's recent feature from A History of Violence screenwriter Josh Olson titled "I Will Not Read Your Fucking Script" was apparently popular enough to land on the Google News front page late yesterday -- a development that a few folks decided was worth complaining about.
Search Engine Roundtable |
09-14-2009 11:43 am |
Industry News
Senate Judiciary Committee Revises Federal Shield Lawnew
The Associated Press |
09-11-2009 12:20 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial
Politician Resigns After Alt-Weekly & TV Station Reveal Alleged Affairnew
Republican Michael D. Duvall has resigned from the California state Assembly amid the scandal uncovered on Tuesday by OC Weekly and KCBS/KCAL. The staunch conservative was caught on video talking graphically about two affairs, one of which was with a lobbyist whose clients had business before a committee on which Duvall sat. Weekly reporter R. Scott Moxley and TV reporter Dave Lopez were both chasing the story at the same time on Tuesday -- literally -- as they followed Duvall around the capitol, trying to get him to respond. In a statement, Duvall says his resignation "is in no way an admission that I had an affair or affairs," adding that his only "offense was engaging in inappropriate story-telling."
OC Weekly |
09-10-2009 11:21 am |
Industry News
Competing Colorado Springs Papers Band Together for Endorsements
The alt-weekly Colorado Springs Independent has joined with the daily Colorado Springs Gazette to publish tandem endorsements regarding two upcoming ballot questions. "We have set aside our differences to graphically illustrate how important it is for citizens to vote this fall to ensure the short- and long-term health of the city we call home," Independent publisher John Weiss says. "Join with us to help save our city from a terrible -- yet still avoidable -- fate."
(FULL STORY)
Colorado Springs Independent Press Release |
09-10-2009 9:36 am |
Press Releases
Indie Film Distributors Say They're Hurt by Media Cutbacksnew
Independent film is more reliant on film critics than mainstream big-budget film, with critics often having the ability to "help drive positive word of mouth and nudge arthouse moviegoers into seats without a big marketing spend," Variety reports. And the distributors of indie film say they're feeling the pain from "the loss of regional movie reviewers and diminishing newspaper space." Strand Releasing's Marcus Hu says his company has been particularly hurt by Village Voice Media's practice of assigning reviews to a few critics that run in every VVM market. "Before, at least, you had a new shot in each market," he says.
Variety |
09-10-2009 8:40 am |
Industry News
AAN to Offer $500 for Shareable Stories
In the past, AAN's editorial committee has initiated and overseen a number of editorial projects for use in multiple markets. This year, however, the committee is approaching shared projects in a slightly different way and offering four $500 payments for stories from AAN papers that can be used in other markets.
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
09-08-2009 2:56 pm |
Association News
News & Review Publisher: What Will Remain After the Dailies Go Away?new
in 1996, Jeff vonKaenel wrote a widely discussed piece predicting that most daily newspapers would be out of business in ten years. Although his timing was off, there's no question he nailed the trajectory. Now he's back to ask, What comes next? His "guess" and "hope" is that weekly newspapers will survive as "a viable economic model," and journalism that is "more cutting-edge, more controversial ... (and) less locally based" will flourish online through the joint support of nonprofits, corporations and individual citizens.
Sacramento News & Review |
09-03-2009 11:24 am |
Industry News
Handful of Alt-Weekly Pieces End Up in 'Best Food Writing 2009'
AAN News has just received a copy of Da Capo's Best Food Writing 2009, and it is chock full of alt-weekly talent. Included in the collection are stories from City Pages' Rachel Hutton ("Spam: It's Not Just for Inboxes Anymore"), New Times Broward-Palm Beach's John Linn ("Highway to Hog Heaven"), SF Weekly's Peter Jamison ("Out of the Wild"), The Stranger's Bethany Jean Clement ("The Beauty of the Beast"), Washington City Paper's Tim Carman ("How Not to Hire a Chef"), and Westword's Jason Sheehan ("The Last of the Great $10 Steaks"). The book also includes a selection from Houston Press food writer Robb Walsh's book on oysters, and is slated to be released this fall.
AAN News |
09-02-2009 4:54 pm |
Honors & Achievements
Media Critic: Here are Four Ways to 'Improve Things' at Creative Loafingnew
St. Petersburg Times media critic Eric Deggans says that Creative Loafing should, among other things, "get some aggressive, entertaining name writers back in the house" and "break news, especially news mainstream outlets won't report." He says alt-weeklies are well-positioned to do the latter. "An alternative newspaper often does its best work holding accountable those who hold others accountable," Deggans writes. "There's a multitude of civic issues at hand that a grass roots alternative newspaper could grab hold of, and explore in new ways; doing that in a provocative, localized way builds the brand tremendously."
The St. Petersburg Times |
09-02-2009 2:38 pm |
Industry News
Judge Removes Politician from Lawsuit by Ex-Scene Reporternew
Ohio state Sen. Kevin Coughlin has been dismissed as a defendant in James Renner's lawsuit over his termination by the Scene, according to the Akron Beacon Journal. The alt-weekly has requested the rest of the suit be tossed out as well; the judge is reportedly considering that request now. Renner's suit alleges he was unjustly fired over an unpublished story about an alleged affair involving Coughlin and a former campaign aide.
Akron Beacon Journal |
09-02-2009 9:56 am |
Legal News
AAN Releases AltWeekly Awards Judges Bios & Comments
The judges came from academia and the newsroom, and they reviewed entries from as far away as Mexico City and Beirut. Many judges began their careers at an alt-weekly and several were fellows at the Academy for Alternative Journalism. A selection of their remarks on the winning entries has been compiled into a pdf document.
(FULL STORY)
AAN News |
09-01-2009 2:39 pm |
Association News
New Creative Loafing Board Members Meet the Atlanta Staffnew
After Atalaya gained control of the six-paper company in bankruptcy court last week, several of the new board members met with staff at Creative Loafing (Atlanta). "I want your ideas," Jim O'Shea told them. "I want to hear from you. And I'll do everything in my power to make sure we're sitting here two, five, 10 years from now with more resources, more people, better salaries and more of a future." O'Shea, a former Los Angeles Times editor, will advise Atalaya on editorial strategy while former Des Moines Register president Richard Gilbert will be interim CEO. The Atlanta staff "applauded the sentiments" expressed by O'Shea, Thomas Wheatley reports. "After the meeting, one staffer likened the mood in the room to the elation with which liberals greeted the inauguration of President Barack Obama after eight years of George W. Bush."
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
09-01-2009 9:52 am |
Industry News
