AAN News
After Tough Story, Alt-Weekly Disappears from Farmers Marketnew
After Fast Forward Weekly ran a story last week about vendors who are frustrated with how the Calgary Farmers' Market is run, about 200 copies of the paper distributed at the market disappeared. Several people who work at the market tell Fast Forward the papers were taken into an upstairs office. "By partaking in that kind of activity and pulling a paper off a shelf, it's just kind of shining more light on the issue that was talked about in the article in the first place," one vendor says. "It's pretty embarrassing, and not exactly what a farmers' market should be about." Market officials say they don't "have a clue" about the missing papers.
Fast Forward Weekly |
06-12-2009 9:11 am |
Industry News
Tim Redmond Responds to VVM Appeal
Tim Redmond |
06-12-2009 7:48 pm |
Letters to the Editor
Huffington Post to Washington City Paper: Take Down Parody Pagenew
Faithful AAN.org readers may recall that on April Fool's Day, City Paper reworked its website to ape HuffPo's look. The parody -- The Huffington City Paper -- even received kudos from HuffPo itself. Now -- a day after the publication of a well-read City Paper column criticizing HuffPo -- the aggregator is asking the alt-weekly to remove the lightly trafficked page from its archives, in part because it contains a link to HuffPo. "Never thought I'd be scolded by a Huffington Post official for linking," writes editor Erik Wemple. "But I was!"
Washington City Paper |
06-11-2009 2:27 pm |
Industry News
National Archives Appoints First FOIA Ombudsmannew
Miriam Nisbet, who now heads the information society division of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization in Paris, has been chosen to direct the Archives' new Office of Government Information Services. The appointment is being hailed by open government advocates. Nisbet "has dedicated her entire professional life to working for open access to government records," Sunshine in Government Initiative (SGI) coordinator Rick Blum says. "This is a promising start for those who want the FOIA to work better." MORE: Read SGI's statement on the appointment.
The Associated Press via the Los Angeles Times |
06-11-2009 2:05 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Management
City Ethics Commission Gives Folio Weekly Contributor Kudosnew
Marvin Edwards, a longtime contributor to the Jacksonville alt-weekly, recently received a commendation from the city's Ethics Commission for exposing the city's failure to respond to public-records requests. The 87-year-old writer went to great lengths to obtain public records from the city -- an effort that required hiring a law firm -- in his push to expose the true cost to the city of hosting the 2005 Super Bowl. Ultimately, the chief deputy in Jacksonville's General Counsel Office acknowledged the city "dropped the ball" and should have responded faster and more appropriately. "It shouldn't have taken that kind of effort to obtain the records or get the story," the Florida Times-Union editorializes. "Because of what Edwards did, perhaps it won't be as hard for the public or the media in the future."
The Florida Times-Union |
06-11-2009 9:30 am |
Honors & Achievements
VVM Sues Owners of East Bay Expressnew
Eastbay Express Publishing LP, an entity controlled by former Express owner Village Voice Media, has filed suit against two of the alt-weekly's current owners, Hal Brody and Stephen Buel, claiming they owe $500,000 under the terms of the 2007 deal in which the paper was sold. Brody admits they owe the money but says their debt is exceeded by the damage they suffered as a result of VVM's violation of a non-compete clause included in the original agreement. "The SF Weekly [also owned by VVM] is not supposed to solicit our advertisers in Alameda and Contra Costa, and they've been doing it, over and over," Brody tells the San Francisco Bay Guardian. "We have massive claims against them for violating those terms." But VVM's attorney disagrees: "(VVM) is not aware that it has violated the terms of any its agreements with the current publisher of the East Bay Express or with Mr. Brody or Mr. Buel," Randall S. Farrimond says. "We believe that any judge or jury who reviews the facts of this matter will conclude that Mr. Brody and Mr. Buel owe us the amounts stated in our complaint." More from the Express.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
06-10-2009 2:05 pm |
Industry News
Long Island Press' Shop Local Campaign Spins Off a Local Marketnew
The KIOLI Flea Market and Farmers Market, an extension of the Press' KIOLI (Keep It On Long Island) shop local campaign, kicked off last weekend on a Long Island college campus, the Daily News reports. The market, which features more than 200 vendors, will run every Saturday and Sunday this summer. Press publisher Jed Morey says he hopes the market will help bring a sense of community to shoppers. "The mall sort of took the soul out of the flea market, so I think this is us getting a little bit of our groove back," he says. "The malling of America is hopefully coming to a little bit of a close, and we will get back to promoting local business."
The Daily News |
06-10-2009 9:54 am |
Industry News
Alt-Weekly Food Column Expands to Include a Catering Businessnew
Four years ago, Alex Brown and Evan George started writing the "Hot Knives" column in AAN member LA Alternative Press (later known simply as LA Alternative). The paper went web-only in 2006 shortly before disappearing altogether, but the duo continued the column, and eventually expanded to catering after readers approached them to do a wedding. George tells the Los Angeles Times they love cooking for fans. "People who are like, 'Oh yeah, I've been up late at night at my computer and I've been hungry and I've totally wanted to hang out in that website, and now I can hire those guys to chill with me and drink beer and make me my wedding feast,'" he says.
Los Angeles Times |
06-10-2009 8:19 am |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Management
Report: Craigslist's 2009 Revenue Will Top $100 Millionnew
The AIM Group/Classified Intelligence estimates the online classifieds network will generate $100 million in revenue this year, an increase of more than 23 percent from Craigslist's estimated revenue of $81 million in 2008. "This is a down market for just about everyone else but Craigslist," AIM Group editorial director Jim Townsend says. To come up with what it calls a conservative projection, the firm counted the number of paid ads on the site for a month and extrapolated an annual figure.
The New York Times |
06-10-2009 7:50 am |
Industry News
Facebook Rolls Out Vanity URLs This Weekendnew
CNET |
06-10-2009 8:32 am |
Industry News
Metro Spirit Editor to Leave Paper
Tom Grant, who has edited the Augusta, Ga., alt-weekly since October 2005, will be leaving his post in late July. "The last four years have been an exciting time for Metro Spirit and we've accomplished a lot together," Grant says in a statement. "Metro Spirit is ready for a new voice and the paper and I have agreed that it's a good time for someone new to write the next chapter of Spirit's history." The paper is currently undertaking a nationwide search for a replacement.
(FULL STORY)
Metro Spirit Press Release |
06-09-2009 3:01 pm |
Press Releases
VVM Strategist Talks Social Media, Journalismnew
In a Q&A with The Future Buzz, Village Voice Media social media strategist John Boitnott talks about how VVM is merging traditional journalism work with social media work. "What we are realizing at [VVM] is that one's effectiveness as a journalist now may depend to some degree on your social media prowess," he says. "It's absolutely a revolutionary concept -- and one that many old schoolers may scoff at or ignore."
The Future Buzz |
06-09-2009 2:32 pm |
Industry News
Crafty Folks Try Their Hand at the Adaptive Re-use of News Boxesnew
The New York Times' Green Inc. blog looks at two examples of news box re-use: a Toronto artist who is transforming abandoned metal boxes into planter boxes for flowers and a Birmingham-based editor who has turned an old dispenser into a digital display showing the front pages of newspapers.
The New York Times |
06-09-2009 12:13 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Circulation, Management
Nielsen: U.S. Ad Spending Down 12 Percent in First Quarternew
Preliminary figures show that the decline from 1Q 2008 to 1Q 2009 amounts to a drop of $3.8 billion in total U.S. ad spending, according to Nielsen. Local newspaper advertising was off by 14.3 percent, while internet advertising was only down by 3.4 percent. The worst-faring sector was local newspapers' Sunday supplements, which was off by 37.7 percent.
Marketing Daily |
06-09-2009 10:22 am |
Industry News
How Apple's New iPhone Changes Mobile Marketingnew
Advertising Age |
06-09-2009 1:26 pm |
Industry News
