AAN News

The Gotham Group Signs Village Voice Media

Leading Entertainment Management and Production Firm Will Represent Country's Largest Group of Alternative Newsweeklies (FULL STORY)
The Gotham Group Press Release  |  02-02-2010  10:31 am  |  Press Releases

Monterey County Weekly Raises More than $500,000 for Nonprofits

The Weekly says its five-week Community Fund campaign has raised a total of $529,337 for local nonprofits. A total of 1,609 readers donated to the campaign, in amounts ranging from 27 cents to over $50,000. (FULL STORY)
Monterey County Weekly Press Release  |  01-28-2010  1:09 pm  |  Press Releases

Baltimore City Paper Comics Contest Judges Want Winning Comic Backnew

Tom Scocca, Tony Millionaire, Dina Kelberman, Benn Ray and Emily Flake have written a letter to City Paper asking the paper to bring back Larnell Custis Butler's "Just Ask Larnell" strip, the most recent winner of the alt-weekly's comics contest. The writers, all of them judges in the contest, allege that the paper "broke the terms of the contest" by dropping the strip before its promised year run was up. But editor Lee Gardner begs to differ. "Contest winner or not, Ms. Butler's comic became part of City Paper's weekly editorial content, and each aspect of that content runs or not at my discretion," he responds. "She will receive full payment for a year's run. I have a good deal of regard and respect for Ms. Butler, but I stand by my decision."
Baltimore City Paper  |  01-28-2010  10:13 am  |  Industry News

Metro Pulse Makes a Few Staffing Changes

Staff writer Chris Barrett moves on (again), and former editor Jesse Fox Mayshark returns after six years at The New York Times (FULL STORY)
Metro Pulse Press Release  |  01-28-2010  10:34 am  |  Press Releases

Bay Guardian/SF Weekly Case Moves Along

The San Francisco Bay Guardian last week filed its response to SF Weekly's appeal of the 2008 jury award in the Guardian's predatory-pricing lawsuit against the Weekly. The Weekly says it will file one more reply with the court within the next month or so, at which point the Court of Appeals will either set a date for oral arguments or issue a ruling based on what has been submitted by the two parties. In related news, the Guardian reports that a federal judge last week rejected the attempts of Weekly parent company Village Voice Media Holdings to avoid a state court proceeding where it may be added to the judgment against the Weekly.
AAN News  |  01-27-2010  11:56 am  |  Industry News

Fort Worth Weekly Staff Writer Helping to Lead Local Music Co-Opnew

Eric Griffey has joined the Fort Worth Music Co-Op as a co-president. The co-op was formed last year by a local musician "as a go-between for Fort Worth musicians and clubs that would, so to speak, allow the scene to book itself," according to the Weekly. The co-op has applied for federal nonprofit status, and launched the Co-Op Outreach Program, which provides free guitars and music lessons to low-income Fort Worth high-school students.
Fort Worth Weekly  |  01-27-2010  11:44 am  |  Industry News

Long Island Press Names New Editor-in-Chief

Michael Patrick Nelson, who been with the Press since its inception in 2003, was most recently managing editor. He will take over as the paper's top editor following Robbie Woliver's departure last summer. "No one knows the Press better than Michael and he has earned the respect of not only every reporter in the newsroom but everyone in our organization," says publisher Jed Morey. "We're all excited about the Nelson era." (FULL STORY)
Long Island Press Press Release  |  01-26-2010  11:39 am  |  Press Releases

This Thursday: Discounted NewsU Webinar for AAN Members

For the first of several opportunities in 2010, AAN members have the opportunity to participate in an online webinar that addresses the credibility of online news sites. The webinar, "News Site Credibility: Whom Do Readers Trust," is directed at editors, as well as anyone who manages user-generated content. The first 25 registrants that use the AAN-member only discount code will get a special rate of $15 (the seminar's "retail" cost is $27.95). (FULL STORY)
AAN  |  01-25-2010  3:16 pm  |  Association News

Center for Independent Media President to Kick off Web Conference

David Bennahum will kick off AAN's 2010 Web Publishing Conference with a keynote address on the rise of new media amidst the collapse of the newspaper industry. Bennahum has been following new media since 1994, when he began writing for Wired magazine; additional reporting of his on the rise of the internet and its impact on our culture has been published in The New York Times, New York magazine, and The Economist. His Center for Independent Media, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, publishes six public-interest news sites around the country (many of which feature alt-weekly alums as reporters). Bennahum's talk will be Thursday, Jan. 28 at 9:15 am, kicking off a day and a half of intensive web publishing programming. For more details on the conference, click here.
AAN  |  01-22-2010  1:30 pm  |  Association News

Alt-Weeklies Pick Up Some Wins at the 2009 'Sexies' Awardsnew

The Sex-Positive Journalism Awards have announced the winners of the 2009 Sexies, the annual awards that go to stories that "improve the quality of dialogue around sex and create a more well-informed reading public." Seven Days' Judith Levine took home a first-place win in the Opinion category, where she also tied for second place with a Village Voice piece by Tristan Taormino. Amanda Hess of Washington City Paper picked up a third-place win in the Columns category for "The Sexist," while in the News/Features (Alt-Weeklies, Monthlies) category the Alibi's Marisa Demarco placed third and Rich Kane (OC Weekly) and Michael J. Mooney (New Times Broward-Palm Beach) both were named runners-up.
The Sex-Positive Journalism Awards  |  01-22-2010  9:23 am  |  Honors & Achievements

Sacramento News & Review Settles into New Digsnew

The News & Review has finally moved into the "leaky old supermarket" that it purchased a few years ago and then renovated to be as energy-efficient as possible. Co-owner Deborah Redmond looks back at the process and details some of the building's new green features (blue jean insulation, dual-flush toilets and lights that turn off automatically, to name just a few). "Several years ago, I was having green nightmares. Getting here was no easy task," Redmond writes. "Now, I'm inspired to explore ideas about how we can work in an even more sustainable manner."
Sacramento News & Review  |  01-21-2010  1:15 pm  |  Industry News

City Pages' Music Blog Organizes Haiti Benefit Concertnew

Gimme Noise has put together a Feb. 6 concert to benefit victims of the Haiti earthquake. The show's co-headliners -- Mark Mallman and Solid Gold -- were both City Pages cover subjects last year. All proceeds from the show will be split evenly between the Red Cross Haiti Relief & Development Fund and Architecture for Humanity.
City Pages  |  01-21-2010  11:36 am  |  Industry News

'Ask a Cougar' Column Bid Becomes Issue in Woman's Run for Congressnew

In 2008, Teri Newman entered the Riverfront Times' "Ask a Cougar!" contest, which sought an older woman to pen an advice column of the same name. Now, the 51-year-old Illinois woman is running for the Republican nomination in that state's 12th U.S. Congressional District, and her primary opponent says the columnist bid raises questions about her character. But Newman defends her decision, saying she entered the contest at her husband's urging and her opponent's tactics show desperation. "The whole thing is crap-ola," Newman says. "A big bowl of crap-ola." The winner of the Feb. 2 primary will face off against longtime Democratic U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello and Green Party candidate Rodger Jennings this fall.
Quad-City Times  |  01-21-2010  11:28 am  |  Industry News

The Gambit Teams Up with LimeWire for Compilation Albumnew

LimeWire has revealed its latest free "Ear to the Ground" sampler, which features 19 tracks from New Orleans artists. The album is curated by the staff of the Gambit, and it follows similar comps curated by alt-weekly staffs in Athens, Boston, Detroit, Nashville, Philadelphia and Portland.
LimeWire  |  01-21-2010  8:53 am  |  Industry News

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