AAN News
David Carr: Nikki Finke is a 'Digital-Age Walter Winchell'new
"In the three years since she started Deadline Hollywood Daily," Carr reports in today's New York Times, "her combination of old-school skills -- she is a relentless reporter -- and new-media immediacy has made her a must-click look into the ragingly insecure id of Hollywood." Finke recently sold the website, which she owned but Village Voice Media hosted, to Mail.com Media for an undisclosed sum.
The New York Times |
07-17-2009 11:59 am |
Industry News
Riverfront Times' All-Star Game Guide Gets its MLB Credentials Revokednew
With the All-Star Game taking place in St. Louis this week, the alt-weekly published a guide that included, among other things, home addresses of some current and former Cardinals baseball players. Some of the players were upset, and the team "felt it had no option but to instruct Major League Baseball to revoke the credentials they'd granted Riverfront Times to cover the All-Star Game, and to rescind our credentials to cover the team over the course of the regular season," editor Tom Finkel reports.
Riverfront Times |
07-17-2009 9:57 am |
Industry News
AAN's Schedule for the Year is Firming Up [members only]
Richard Karpel |
07-17-2009 1:56 pm |
AAN Staff Blog
Report: Ad Spending Confidence Improves ... But Not for Local Papersnew
Media Daily News |
07-17-2009 10:01 am |
Industry News
TIME: Willamette Week Festival an 'Authentic American Experience'new
WW's annual MusicFest NW "is probably the most popular music festival you've never heard of," TIME magazine writes in a special package.
TIME |
07-16-2009 8:58 am |
Honors & Achievements
Two Florida Alts Nab a Baker's Dozen at Weekly Newspaper Awardsnew
Winners of the Florida Press Association's 2008 Better Weekly Newspaper Contest were announced last weekend, and two AAN members were well-represented amongst the winners. Miami New Times took home a total of 11 awards, including first-place wins for Community History, Criticism, News Story, Outdoor Writing and Website Development; its sister paper New Times Broward-Palm Beach won two awards -- both first-place finishes -- for Investigative Reporting and Serious Column.
Florida Press Association (pdf) |
07-16-2009 8:31 am |
Honors & Achievements
New Eye Tracking Study Reveals Search Going Socialnew
Online Media Daily |
07-16-2009 9:39 am |
Industry News
New Owner of San Diego's Daily Threatens Reader Over Lawsuit Storynew
A law firm representing Platinum Equity, the Beverly Hills-based buyout firm that in March bought the San Diego Union-Tribune, sent a threatening letter last month to the San Diego Reader after it learned the alt-weekly was working on a story about sexual improprieties at Platinum. The Reader's story was based on public records arising from three lawsuits filed by former employees of Platinum, all of which were dismissed. The letter written by lawyer Martin Singer (nickname: Mad Dog) claimed his firm would sue the Reader for "potentially astronomical damages" if it published a story "that (Platinum) engaged in wrongdoing as alleged in those lawsuits or otherwise". In a sidebar to the main story, the Reader published Singer's letter in full despite his warning that it was confidential.
San Diego Reader |
07-15-2009 4:17 pm |
Industry News
Creative Loafing Auction Setnew
A federal bankruptcy judge scheduled the auction for Aug. 25 after Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason and the chain's largest creditor agreed on a reorganization plan, reports Creative Loafing Tampa's Wayne Garcia. Under the plan, Atalaya Capital Management LP will take a $19 million haircut, writing down the value of the loan it made two years ago to Eason to $12 million. Atalaya still plans to battle Eason and his allies for ownership of the company and has already put in a $2 million "stalking horse offer" that constitutes "the first bid up during the Aug. 25 equity auction," according to Garcia.
Creative Loafing (Tampa) |
07-13-2009 6:02 pm |
Industry News
Some D.C. Residents Cry Foul Over Washington City Paper's Covernew
The cover of this week's paper -- with the provocative headline, "You put me out in Denver 'cause I wouldn't suck your dick" -- has some district residents upset, the Washington Post reports. City Paper says the city's Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs has received several calls complaining about the cover, which features a photo of councilman and former mayor Marion Barry with his arm around an ex-girlfriend who has accused him of stalking her. (The quote was taken from a recording of a confrontation between Barry and the ex-girlfriend.) "Some people are going to find that vulgar -- that's inevitable," editor Erik Wemple says. "If they find it vulgar, they can complain. It's worth putting it out there, and it's the truth. Sometimes the truth is vulgar." Publisher Amy Austin tells the Post that the negative reaction has been "much less than I expected," and that only three distribution spots have called to say they wouldn't display the paper while one has called to ask for more copies.
Washington Post | Washington City Paper |
07-10-2009 10:08 am |
Industry News
Memphis Flyer's Landlord Gets Foreclosure Noticenew
The building that houses Flyer parent company Contemporary Media Inc. has been foreclosed and will be sold on the Shelby County Courthouse steps next month, the Memphis Daily News reports. The building is owned by Robert Williams and Huey Holden, according to court papers. Flyer publisher Kenneth Neill tells AAN News it is "way too soon to tell" if the company will be forced to move as a result of the foreclosure.
Memphis Daily News |
07-10-2009 8:45 am |
Industry News
Tags: Management, The Memphis Flyer
Why Are There So Few Women Cartoonists?new
The uphill battle that female cartoonists face is the main topic of discussion in Daryl Cagle's two-part video interview of alt-cartoonists Mikhaela Reid ("The Boiling Point") and Jen Sorensen ("Slowpoke"). "Maybe women are just too smart to get into a profession that's in so much trouble," Reid says before adding: "But I really think that's just not it at all." They both say that within the alt genre, the male cartoonists have been "totally supportive" of female artists and also briefly touch on the mainstreaming of alt-cartoonists within the cartooning world and state of the alt-weekly industry. Sorensen says she's lost about one-third of her clients, but she remains hopeful. "The well-run alternative newspapers will survive," she says.
Cagle.com |
07-10-2009 8:05 am |
Industry News
Didja Know About AltWeeklies.com Widgets? [members only]
Richard Karpel |
07-09-2009 8:14 pm |
AAN Staff Blog
Washington City Paper: 'Marion Barry Killed Our Web Server'new
Yesterday City Paper posted a series of voicemails in which notorious former mayor and current councilman Marion Barry "alternately cajoles and spurns" (as the Washington Post put it) an ex-girlfriend who is charging Barry with stalking her. The clips and the accompanying cover story -- which feature classic one-liners like "You put me out in Denver 'cause I wouldn't suck your dick" -- quickly went viral, causing some issues for City Paper's server. "Marion Barry killed our web server," the paper tweeted yesterday afternoon. "[W]e're working on bringing it back to life."
DCist | Washington City Paper |
07-09-2009 9:35 am |
Industry News
Gannett Folds Faux-Alt Into Metromix Brand in Cincynew
The entire staff of CiN Weekly, the free weekly published by Gannett property The Enquirer, was let go yesterday. "Over the last few days, they've been re-stickering the outdoor plastic boxes with Metromix labels," Cincinnati CityBeat editor and co-publisher John Fox tells Editor & Publisher. Gannett has made similar moves with faux-alts in Nashville and Indianapolis. On Twitter, Enquirer editor Tom Callinan confirms the change: "CiN in print and online will continue with Metromix as dominant brand," he writes. "That does not lessen the sadness of layoffs."
Cincinnati CityBeat | Editor & Publisher |
07-09-2009 9:19 am |
Industry News
