AAN News
More on the Chicago Reader, John Conroy, and Police Torturenew
"No one here told John Conroy to lay off police torture," is the headline to Michael Miner's blog post written in response to last week's Chicago Sun-Times column on Conroy's work on police torture at the Reader and a related piece from the Beachwood Reporter, an online newspaper. Editor Alison True strikes the same chord in a separate blog post, saying that "I encouraged John to explore other subjects," but "never asked him to lay off police torture."
Chicago Reader |
10-27-2008 10:37 am |
Industry News
California Alt-Weeklies Take Home Dozens of State Awardsnew
The California Newspaper Publishers Association announced the winners of its annual Better Newspapers Contest on Saturday, and nine AAN members won a total of 38 awards. The Sacramento News & Review won a total of nine awards, five of which were first-place finishes, including a General Excellence win. "The News & Review is a salty and irreverent weekly packed with excellent coverage of news and culture, multiple voices in columns and two pages of letters," the judges wrote. "Its colorful design is inviting and, praises to the sales department, it is packed with ads." In addition, Palo Alto Weekly also won nine total awards; the North Coast Journal won eight; Chico News & Review won four; the San Francisco Bay Guardian won three; Metro Silicon Valley won two; and the Pacific Sun, Pasadena Weekly and SF Weekly each took home one award. CORRECTION: The Santa Barbara Independent also won five awards.
California Newspaper Publishers Association (pdf) |
10-27-2008 9:09 am |
Honors & Achievements
How I Got That Story: Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl
In the tenth installment of this year's "How I Got That Story" series, former City Pages staff writer Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl talks about her award-winning entries for Food Writing. She tells Angelica Herrera she started writing about food because she "needed the protein," though she's gone on to win numerous awards for her food writing. Moskowitz Grumdahl talks about her process for reviewing a restaurant, what she thinks the impact of a bad review can be, and the perks of being a food critic. "I was renovating my house once and realized I hadn't had a stove for four years," she says. "You don't have to wake up early -- and you get free lunch and dinner, and sometimes even brunch."
(FULL STORY)
AAN News |
10-24-2008 1:14 pm |
Association News
At Forum, Journos Say Information Freedom Hurt by Revenue Lossesnew
MarketWatch |
10-24-2008 8:59 am |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial
AAN Hires New Advertising and Awards Coordinator
The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies has hired Jason Zaragoza to the newly created position of advertising and awards coordinator. His first day with AAN was Oct. 14. Zaragoza takes over for Stephanie Roswell in handling the logisitics of the AAN CAN classified network, and for Heather Kuldell in coordinating the AltWeekly Awards. "Jason is smart and organized, and he has an incredibly professional attitude for someone so young," says AAN executive director Richard Karpel. "We're counting on him to keep AAN CAN and the awards contest running smoothly."
(FULL STORY)
AAN News |
10-23-2008 1:49 pm |
Association News
Ex-Chicago Reader Reporter Thanked for His Focus on Police Torturenew
When former Chicago Police Commander and alleged torturer Jon Burge was arrested this week for perjury and obstruction of justice, Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mark Brown knew exactly where to point some kudos. "[John] Conroy was probably as responsible as anyone for keeping the police torture issue in Chicago's consciousness," Brown writes. Conroy's 1990 story in the Reader marked the first time the allegations of police torture came to light, and after that, Conroy kept writing about the issue until he left the paper last year. "His editor suggested he move on to the next subject, and he tried," Brown writes. "After all, he told himself, he wasn't having much impact. But he kept coming back."
The Chicago Sun-Times |
10-23-2008 12:25 pm |
Industry News
Long Island Press Reporter Held for Hours at Final Presidential Debatenew
Timothy Bolger describes how he was held for three hours by Secret Service agents before last Wednesday's presidential debate because of "volatile" wifi signals emanating from his computer. "They said they wanted to check my machine to see if there was something that I had installed to bring down the debates, or determine if my computer was simply the victim of hackers and an ineffective virus scanner," he writes. However, "of most interest to them were my instant messages, especially those to my friend Dave. ... His less-than-flattering comments about vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin and his asking if I would meet the candidates raised eyebrows for the investigators." Bolger was eventually released before the debate, though he was ordered not to use wifi for the rest of the evening.
Long Island Press |
10-23-2008 9:33 am |
Industry News
Defamation Suit Against Cleveland Scene Dismissednew
US District Judge Lesley Wells this week dismissed in its entirety a suit brought against the Scene by Dr. Edward Patrick. Patrick had argued that a 2004 article by Thomas Francis falsely suggested his resume was misleading, his medical credentials were not valid, and that his board certification process was fraudulent. The doctor sought compensation for defamation, invasion of privacy by disclosure of private facts, and false light invasion of privacy, all of which were thrown out by the court.
US District Court, Northern District of Ohio |
10-23-2008 8:44 am |
Legal News
Alt-Weeklies Win Four Food Journalism Awardsnew
Miami New Times' Lee Klein won a first-place award for Newspaper Restaurant Criticism in this year's Association of Food Journalists awards. Robb Walsh of the Houston Press and Randall Roberts of Riverfront Times took second and third place, respectively, in the Newspaper Food Feature category; and Seattle Weekly's Maggie Dutton finished second in the Newspaper Food Column category. Winners were announced last weekend at a banquet in Houston.
Association of Food Journalists (PDF) |
10-22-2008 10:36 am |
Industry News
Folio Weekly Story Leads Ethics Commission to Ask for Meetingnew
"Has anybody seen this?," asked Jacksonville Ethics Commission member Pat Sher at the commission's meeting this week. She was holding a Folio story detailing how the city withheld public records from the paper for years. "I have, and I have gotten calls about this from concerned citizens. The public is concerned about the withholding of public records. We need to make sure the public is getting the information they request." The Jacksonville Daily Record reports the commission ultimately voted 5-3 to request that the city's general counsel meet with the Ethics Commission to discuss the accusations made in the Folio article.
The Jacksonville Daily Record |
10-22-2008 8:41 am |
Industry News
Editors in Tampa and Philly Bet on World Series
Creative Loafing (Tampa) editor David Warner (who used to work at Philadelphia City Paper) and City Paper editor Brian Howard (who didn't work in Tampa, but whose grandfather lives there) make a friendly wager on the Rays and Phillies and, most importantly, find a way to create a poll that drives traffic on their blogs.
Creative Loafing (Tampa) | Philadelphia City Paper |
10-21-2008 1:19 pm |
Industry News
Find AAN on Facebook and LinkedIn
Are you a member of Facebook or LinkedIn? If so, AAN invites you to join our groups on each of these social networking sites. Click here to join us on Facebook, and here to do so on LinkedIn.
AAN |
10-20-2008 9:35 am |
Association News
NOW Magazine Columnist Releases Book on Global Food Issuesnew
Wayne Roberts' The No-Nonsense Guide to World Food covers the loss of "real food," the growing dominance of Western agribusiness, and successful alternative practices based on the concept of community food security. Roberts, who writes about food issues for NOW, is also active in the community food security movement, serving on the board of the Community Food Security Coalition and Food Secure Canada, and coordinating the Toronto Food Policy Council. "[The book] clocks in at just under 200 pages and is a great primer for how the global food system really works," writes Jeff Nield in a review on Treehugger.com.
Between the Lines Books |
10-20-2008 9:07 am |
Industry News
Monterey County Weekly Writer Wins Environmental Reporting Awardnew
Weekly reporter Kera Abraham took home a third-place award in the Outstanding Small Market Reporting (Print) category in the Society of Environmental Journalists' annual awards for reporting on the environment. "Abraham did an excellent job with two divergent environmental issues," the judges write, "the omnipresent plastic in the aquatic environment, and the destructive environmental practices of marijuana farms on federal park land."
Society of Environmental Journalists |
10-17-2008 8:56 am |
Honors & Achievements
New York Press Film Critic Elected Chairman of NY Critics' Groupnew
Armond White will replace Entertainment Weekly critic Lisa Schwarzbaum as chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle. White, who previously held the same post in 1994, becomes the third African-American to chair NYFCC in the group's 75-year history.
The Hollywood Reporter |
10-17-2008 8:11 am |
Honors & Achievements
