AAN News
Tom Tomorrow is Back in The Village Voicenew
Tom Tomorrow's "This Modern World" returns to the Village Voice this week after a seven month absence. Tomorrow's comic was cut from all Village Voice Media papers -- along with all syndicated comics -- back in January. The strip is only returning to the Voice for now, but that may change in the coming months. "Altweekly cartooning overall has kind of been on the ropes for the past year or two, and any editor who takes a stand in support of the art form deserves profound thanks," Tom Tomorrow writes on his blog. "This is a first step, but it's a huge one in the right direction -- for me personally, of course, but with any luck, for other cartoonists as well."
The Village Voice |
09-02-2009 3:51 pm |
Industry News
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 Renner's suit alleges he was unjustly fired over an unpublished story about an alleged affair involving Coughlin and a former campaign aide.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
Boise Weekly Working on Happy Hour iPhone Appnew
BW's iPhone app that will provide users details about local happy hours should be available next week, according to KTRV-TV. The app will include need-to-know information on each happy hour, including travel directions and details on drink specials. "If there's something in particular you want to go and do you can really narrow it down and not play the guessing game," the Weekly's Shea Sutton says.
KTRV-TV |
09-02-2009 9:50 am |
Industry 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
Report: Mobile Advertising to Grow 74 Percent in 2009new
Online Media Daily |
09-01-2009 9:55 am |
Industry News
Former, Current Owners of East Bay Express Resolve Differences
Eastbay Express Publishing LP, an entity controlled by former Express owner Village Voice Media, has reached a settlement with two of the paper's current owners to settle a suit VVM filed earlier this year. The suit alleged that Hal Brody and Express editor Stephen Buel still owed VVM $500,000 under the terms of the 2007 deal in which the paper was sold. Brody and VVM executive vice president Scott Spear say the parties have resolved that dispute and all other issues raised by the two parties in connection with the transaction. "We are pleased to have been able to reach an agreement satisfactory to both parties," Brody says in a statement. "It puts aside this distraction so we can all concentrate on running our daily business."
(FULL STORY)
Village Voice Media Press Release |
08-31-2009 4:47 pm |
Press Releases
Atalaya: CL Generating Positive Cash Flow, Will 'Fill Holes' Soonnew
Managing partner Michael Bogdan tells the Chicago Tribune that without the crushing debt, Creative Loafing is now generating positive cash flow, which will allow the individual papers to hire new employees "to fill holes where they need to grow." He acknowledges that despite all the promises, employees at the six-paper company will likely remain skeptical of Atalaya. "I don't expect people to trust me right now," he says. "The proof's in the pudding." MORE: Chicago Reader associate publisher Steve Timble discusses the sale and the new media landscape on WTTW's Chicago Tonight TV show.
Chicago Tribune |
08-31-2009 1:13 pm |
Industry News
Publisher Discusses Changes at Worcester Mag and the Alt Industrynew
In July, Worcester Mag underwent a redesign and launched a new format as part of the paper's evolution since changing owners last summer. Publisher Gareth Charter recently spoke to Worceseter's public radio station about some of the changes and the overall health of the alt-weekly industry. "Weekly newspapers ... are not facing nearly the declines that daily newspapers are," Charter tells WICN-FM. He says that one reason is because an alt-weekly is "more of a leisure read ... as opposed to that daily drumbeat [of news]."
WICN-FM |
08-31-2009 10:20 am |
Industry News
AltWeeklies.com Launches Partnership With Indiebound.org
Starting this week, book reviews and profiles posted on AltWeeklies.com are also being featured on Indiebound.org, a website run by the American Booksellers Association. AltWeeklies.com content will appear, when it exists, on the information page for an individual book title. For examples of this partnership in action, click here and here.
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
08-28-2009 2:06 pm |
Association News
Yelp Brings First US Augmented Reality App to iPhone Storenew
The new feature turns on a view called "the Monocle" when iPhone 3Gs users shake their phones three times. The app then uses the phone's GPS and compass to display markers for restaurants, bars and other nearby businesses on top of the camera's view.
Read Write Web |
08-28-2009 1:21 pm |
Industry News
What's the Best Way for Your Newsroom to Use Twitter?new
"Journalists and news organizations are all atwitter these days, but they are seeing different returns on investment from their uses of Twitter," Poynter's Patrick Thornton writes. He notes that the New York Times' main Twitter account features very little interaction, which many deem a death knell in social media. But the feed is wildly popular: it has more than 1.6 million followers, and is the 18th most popular account on Twitter. "There is a market for interactive and non-interactive accounts," Times social media editor Jennifer Preston says. "Like most media organizations, we recognize that Twitter is about conversations, not broadcasting. That said, some people do like their headlines." Thornton also holds up the Chicago Tribune's Colonel Tribune account as a model of a curatorial Twitter presence. "The Colonel's Twitter account links to interesting Tribune content, content from around the web and spurs discussions," he writes. "The Colonel doesn't just grab headlines, but rather finds interesting parts of stories and points them out to users."
Poynter |
08-28-2009 10:17 am |
Industry News
Former Chicago Reader Editor Reflects on Sale to Ben Easonnew
"Maybe we should have been smarter, or less starry-eyed about it, but we thought and hoped Eason would succeed," says Mike Lenehan, who owned a small part of the Reader before it was sold to Eason. "I don't think there would have been much sentiment to do [the deal] if we thought he'd turn out to be Ben Eason. Maybe we should have known better -- but that's what we thought." MORE: Reader media columnist Michael Miner discusses the paper's future with Chicago Public Radio, and Creative Loafing (Tampa) publisher Sharry Smith has sent out a memo calling Atalaya's acquisition of the company "a very positive development." (AAN News has been told the memo was drafted by all of the CL publishers together.)
Chiacgo Reader | WBEZ |
08-28-2009 9:49 am |
Industry News
NAA: Newspaper Revenues Down 29 Percent in Second Quarternew
Media Daily News |
08-28-2009 11:05 am |
Industry News
