AAN News
On His Blog, Florida Weekly Publisher 'Stirs a City'new
A few days after Byrd and Melanie Billings were murdered in their Florida home in early July, Independent News publisher Rick Outzen ran an exclusive on his blog disputing the state attorney's version of events and suggesting the murders may have been a contract killing. Despite the story being disputed by competing news outlets and other individuals, the local sheriff is now investigating the claim, saying that many of Outzen's sources have been correct. Outzen, whose Pensacola weekly has applied for AAN membership a few times and is a familiar face at AAN conventions, tells the New York Times that he feels vindicated, and his work has led to an assignment from The Daily Beast and praise from local officials. "I don't always agree with him, but he is the conscience of the community," the chairman of the Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce says. "People have come to trust that Rick's going to be out there, pushing us in ways sometimes we're not comfortable with."
The New York Times |
08-18-2009 3:10 pm |
Industry News
Story Subject Attempts to Ambush Westword Writer in Parking Lotnew
Tom Martino, a nationally syndicated talk radio host and Denver-area TV personality known as The Troubleshooter, apparently had an associate call in a fake tip to reporter Jared Jacang Maher so he could confront Maher on camera about a recent Westword article linking Martino to a multi-level marketing company. Once Maher got to the parking lot where he was set to meet the purported tipster, Martino ran after Maher's car with a cameraman. "Why won't you answer some questions?," he shouted. "Are you a coward?" Maher drove away, and Martino headed to the Westword office, where he confronted managing editor Jonathan Shikes. Eventually, Martino put together a short video (see below) on the episode, in which he calls Maher a "cowardly writer" over footage of a picture taken off the internet. But while Martino tells his audience that picture is of Maher, it is actually of standup comedian and former Westword staffer Adam Cayton-Holland, a fact Michael Roberts says Martino should have easily known. For his efforts, The Troubleshooter has earned "Shmuck of the Week" honors from the Denver alt-weekly.
Westword |
08-17-2009 4:54 pm |
Industry News
John Dickerson Goes from Writing Features to Writing Sermonsnew
Dickerson, whose work for Phoenix New Times won him national recognition, recently left journalism to focus on his other vocation: being a pastor. "It really came down to there were not enough hours in the week to minister to people the way I wanted and to do journalism," Dickerson tells the Prescott, Ariz., Daily Courier. New Times managing editor Amy Silverman says the traits that led Dickerson to religious leadership were the same ones that made him a good reporter. "I believe it's the sincerity and goodness that led him to the clergy that make him such a terrific investigative reporter," she says.
The Daily Courier |
08-17-2009 9:57 am |
Industry News
'Lynn Cullen Live' Radio Show Comes to Pittsburgh City Paper
Starts tomorrow and streaming live on pghcitypaper.com M-F, 10-11 am.
(FULL STORY)
Pittsburgh City Paper Press Release |
08-17-2009 10:34 am |
Press Releases
UPDATE: Houston Press Contributor Also Named Annenberg/Getty Fellownew
Yesterday, we noted that L.A. Weekly music editor Randall Roberts had been named one of the six journalists to receive a 2009 USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Fellowship. However, we neglected to note that Houston Press contributor Kelly Klaasmeyer will also be in the 2009 class of fellows when the three-week program begins this November. We apologize for the omission.
USC Annenberg School for Communication |
08-14-2009 2:48 pm |
Honors & Achievements
L.A. Weekly Columnist Working on Book on Dive Barsnew
Lina Lecaro, who writes the "Nightranger" column for the Weekly, is busy putting together a book on Los Angeles' dive bars, Tricia Romano reports. Los Angeles' Best Dive Bars (Drinking and Diving in the City of Angels) is scheduled to be released in the summer of 2010.
Black Book |
08-14-2009 8:34 am |
Industry News
L.A. Weekly Editor Tapped for Arts Journalism Fellowshipnew
Music editor Randall Roberts has been named one of six journalists to receive a 2009 USC Annenberg/Getty Arts Journalism Fellowship. "This year the Fellowship will focus on the visual arts and architecture of Los Angeles, with attention paid to the challenges confronting journalists working in the digital-media era," according to a press release. The three-week program begins in November.
USC Annenberg School for Communication |
08-13-2009 8:24 am |
Honors & Achievements
Philadelphia Weekly Executive Editor Among Those Leaving the Papernew
Longtime PW staffer and well-regarded mental health columnist and blogger Liz Spikol has left the paper. Philip Dawdy reports that Spikol will return to blogging at some point, but is currently taking a bit of a break. Her departure comes on the heels of recently reported layoffs, pay cuts and furloughs at the paper, moves addressed by PW parent company Review Publishing's president and chief operating officer in a statement given to AAN News. "Like most organizations, we needed to take proactive and hopefully temporary measures to preserve as many jobs as possible while best positioning the organization for long term growth," George Troyano writes. "We remain very optimistic about the future and will continue to invest in new initiatives and technologies. We will maintain a strategic and creative approach to best
maneuver through these challenging times."
Philebrity |
08-12-2009 10:28 am |
Industry News
Metroland Contributor's Play Hits NY Fringe Festivalnew
Byron Nilsson, who reviews restaurants and writes about music and theater for the Albany alt-weekly, will premiere Mr. Sensitivity during the 2009 New York International Fringe Festival opening this weekend. Nilsson tells The Ridgefield Press that the play, which is a comedy about a man who gives his wife an hour with a porn star for her birthday, "combines the antic humor of a Neil Simon play with potty-mouthed drollery too crude even for David Mamet."
The Ridgefield Press |
08-12-2009 8:58 am |
Honors & Achievements
Washington City Paper's 'Key Players' Talk About the Past & the Futurenew
In a lengthy Post Magazine feature, City Paper alums like Russ Smith, Jack Shafer and David Carr join current leaders Erik Wemple and Ben Eason in discussing the paper's history, its legacy and its future. Even former mayor Marion Barry, who recently appeared on a City Paper cover that incited some controversy, weighs in on the alt-weekly.
The Washington Post |
08-10-2009 11:12 am |
Industry News
Sam Sifton Named New York Times' Restaurant Criticnew
In a move that once again demonstrates the enormous influence that alternative newspapers have had on contemporary food writing, the gray lady announced this afternoon that the former managing editor of the New York Press will replace Frank Bruni as the paper's restaurant critic. It's not necessarily a promotion for Sifton, who vacates his position as the Times' culture editor to take the marquee assignment. In his staff announcement, executive editor Bill Keller calls Sifton "a writer of discernment and wit and erudition."
The New York Times |
08-05-2009 2:14 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial
AltWeeklies.com Related Stories Widget Now Available For Use
Using the tags on your stories, the new widget, developed by DesertNet, pulls in similarly tagged stories from AltWeeklies.com, giving your website additional related links for particular movies, bands or issue areas. Click here, here or here to see it in action, and visit AltWeeklies.com for more technical information or to download the widget.
AAN |
07-31-2009 3:39 pm |
Association News
Jackson Free Press Launches 'JFP Daily'new
Earlier this month, the alt-weekly launched a daily e-blast that will feature one full story along with listings and other timely content, like profiles of musicians or authors who have appearances that day. The Daily, which has the catchy slogan "Today's News...Today," will be published each day at 1 pm. "It's been twenty years since Jackson had an afternoon daily," publisher Todd Stauffer tells the Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership (pdf). "We thought it would be interesting to revive that tradition, but starting from the ground up using 21st Century technology."
Jackson Free Press |
07-30-2009 12:42 pm |
Industry News
Editor of Wired Magazine is Bullish on East Bay Expressnew
Discussing the future of newspapers in a recent episode of C-Span2's Book TV, Chris Anderson, who also is the author of The Long Tail and Free: The Future of a Radical Price, had good things to say about his local alt-weekly: "The (New York) Times will be fine. They will figure it out," Anderson says. "My local newspaper -- my local, local newspaper -- the East Bay Express. They're already pretty lean and mean, they're probably going to be good about covering my local community even better. The San Francisco Chronicle? I'm not sure it has a future."
CSpan2's Book TV |
07-30-2009 10:54 am |
Industry News
San Diego Reader Releases Posthumous Book by Former Editor
The Reader this month published Judith Moore's A Bad, Bad Boy, which looks at the life of Frank Bompensiero, "the most feared mobster in Southern California for 30 years." Moore, who passed away in 2006, spent 10 years following the traces of Bompensiero, a Mafia hit man who later became the basis for the Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bompensiero character in The Sopranos.
(FULL STORY)
San Diego Reader Press Release |
07-30-2009 9:17 am |
Press Releases
