AAN News
Ben Eason Sees Opportunity in Chapter 11 Protectionnew
The Creative Loafing CEO tells Editor & Publisher that bankruptcy has given the six-paper chain the opportunity to speed its transformation to digital publishing and to cut its costs. He says that his staff is spending 90 percent of its energy on the web and the other 10 percent on print -- which would be impossible without bankruptcy. "Everyone in the business knows print pays the bills, but most folks don't understand that digital contributes to the profits," he says. In a pre-Chapter 11 company, "the profit expectation baked into the capital structure is entirely based on maintenance of historical print profit margins." Eason also says he expects CL to emerge from bankruptcy this summer.
Editor & Publisher |
05-20-2009 9:19 am |
Industry News
Two Florida Alt-Weeklies Finalists in SPJ's Green Eyeshades Contestnew
Miami New Times and New Times Broward-Palm Beach have a handful of contenders in the Society of Professional Journalists' 59th annual Green Eyeshade Awards. Miami New Times has five finalists, and Broward-Palm Beach has three, in a variety of categories, from Public Service to Sports Commentary. The Green Eyeshade Awards is a regional journalism competition covering Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia. Winners will be announced this summer.
Society of Professional Journalists via Media of Birmingham |
05-20-2009 8:30 am |
Honors & Achievements
2009 AltWeekly Awards Finalists are Announced
The 2009 award winners come from 57 different member papers, including one paper that will be receiving honors in its first year of eligibility. The final placement of the winners will be announced at the AltWeekly Awards luncheon to be held on Friday, June 26 during the 32nd annual AAN Convention in Tucson.
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
05-19-2009 1:28 pm |
Association News
Tags: Design & Production, Editorial
Recession's Latest Victim: Hipsters?new
Matt Singer, formerly a staffer at the Ventura County Reporter, moved up the coast to Portland in October with hopes of landing another alt-weekly editorial gig. The Wall Street Journal reports that Singer's quest has been less-than-successful, and uses that anecdote as a springboard into a piece that details how cities like Portland are dealing with a continual influx of hipsters and fewer and fewer jobs. (A story BusinessInsider.com summarized as: "Hipsters In Portland Can't Get Jobs Writing For Alt-Weekly Newspapers.") Willamette Week gets a shout-out in the story as well, for its new "Restaurant Apocalypse" column, which keeps track of the city's myriad restaurant closings.
Wall Street Journal |
05-19-2009 9:43 am |
Industry News
LEO Weekly Reporter Assaulted, Files Chargesnew
Jonathan Meador, a freelancer for the Louisville alt-weekly, was covering a local Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner last week when he was assaulted by local businessman and GOP activist J.D. Sparks, who was apparently trying to get the reporter to stop videotaping the event. Meador will pursue charges of fourth-degree assault and menacing, both misdemeanors, against Sparks.
LEO Weekly |
05-18-2009 1:11 pm |
Industry News
Former OC Weekly Staffer and AAN Diversity Intern Diesnew
On Friday, Nguyen Huy Vu's family decided to take the 34-year-old reporter off artificial life support following a Mother's Day heart attack that had left him brain dead, OC Weekly reports. In 2001, Vu was one of the first two journalists to receive an internship under AAN's Diversity Grant Program. MORE: A number of current and former Weekly staffers remember Vu fondly in the comments of this blog post.
OC Weekly |
05-18-2009 8:48 am |
Industry News
City Pages Nabs 27 State SPJ Awardsnew
The Twin Cities alt-weekly did well on Thursday night, when the Minnesota chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists held their annual Page One Awards banquet to honor the best journalism in the state. City Pages took home 27 awards, including 15 first-place honors. The impressive showing led MinnPost.com media critic David Brauer to wonder if City Pages might be the best newspaper in Minnesota.
City Pages |
05-18-2009 8:04 am |
Honors & Achievements
Pasadena Weekly Editor Gets Annenberg Fellowshipnew
Deputy editor Joe Piasecki was chosen last month for the Annenberg Fellowship at the University of Southern California, which requires two semesters of study in USC's graduate-level Specialized Journalism program and includes a $20,000 stipend. In addition, a number of Pasadena Weekly writers, along with scribes from sister papers LA CityBeat and Ventura County Weekly, have been been nominated for the Los Angeles Press Club's 51st Annual Southern California Journalism Awards. L.A. Weekly and OC Weekly also have a large number of nominees in the awards contest.
Pasadena Weekly | L.A. Weekly |
05-18-2009 7:58 am |
Honors & Achievements
Study: More Than Half Of Mobile Users Getting Contentnew
Online Media Daily |
05-18-2009 12:12 pm |
Industry News
Newspapers No Longer Dominate Journalism Fellowshipsnew
The New York Times |
05-18-2009 8:52 am |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Management
Charleston City Paper Launches Redesigned Websitenew
Charleston City Paper |
05-18-2009 8:25 am |
Industry News
The Stranger Runs Photo That Got Photographer Arrestednew
Last Friday Seattle police arrested a 29-year-old man and banned him from a REI store after he used his phone to photograph two security guards who were servicing an ATM inside the store. The Stranger put the photo on the cover of this week's issue, and has a story on the controversy.
Photo District News |
05-15-2009 1:58 pm |
Industry News
Will the New York Times' Next Food Critic Come from an Alt-Weekly?new
When the Times announced this week that it was moving food critic Frank Bruni to a new assignment writing for the Times Magazine, foodies immediately began speculating as to whom the paper would replace him with. The Associated Press says LA Weekly's Pulitzer-winning critic Jonathan Gold is one of the "obvious contenders," while Eater has him as a "dark horse," with 250-1 odds. Eater also pegs Village Voice critic Robert Sietsema an "underdog," giving him 1000-1 odds. Meanwhile, the Times staffer who will lead the search says she hasn't started thinking about who will be named for what the AP calls "what's widely considered the most important restaurant critic job in the country."
The Associated Press | Eater |
05-15-2009 9:41 am |
Industry News
Seven Days Starts News-Sharing Partnership With Local TV Stationnew
The Burlington, Vt., alt-weekly has entered into a content-sharing agreement with WPTZ NewsChannel 5. As part of this agreement, Seven Days contributors will appear twice a week during the station's 11 pm newscast. Elements of Shay Totten's political column will appear on Tuesday nights, in advance of the Seven Days' Wednesday distribution, and on Thursdays, music editor Dan Bolles will recommend upcoming events from "Notes on the Weekend," the paper's email newsletter.
Vermont Business Magazine (scroll to bottom of article) |
05-15-2009 8:45 am |
Industry News
Judge Unseals Some but Not All Records Requested by Alt-Weeklynew
Pittsburgh City Paper will be able to see the court order sealing details of the divorce between local publisher Richard Mellon Scaife and his wife, but it won't get access to the official schedule of proceedings. The alt-weekly hoped to see the docket "in order to keep abreast of future developments" in the case. MORE: City Paper editor Chris Potter weighs in on a "surreal few days."
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |
05-14-2009 11:35 am |
Legal News
