AAN News
Village Voice Media Execs Talk Web Strategy
VVM's digital publishing strategy has been in the news quite a bit lately, whether it was the company's partnership with a social-networking site or its use of Digg to help drive traffic to its stories. Chief operating officer Scott Tobias and web and digital operations director Bill Jensen spoke with AAN News this week about where the paper is going with web publishing. They tell us that digital is a growth area for VVM, both in terms of pageviews and revenue, and they talk about new projects like geo-targeted ads and a national food website.
(FULL STORY)
AAN News |
02-10-2009 4:28 pm |
Industry News
What Role Will Alt-Weeklies Play in the Future of Journalism?new
In an all-star panel of journalism experts discussing the industry's future on the New York Times website, several people point to alt-weeklies as having an important role going forward. Columbia University Journalism School dean Nicholas Lemann says that alt-weeklies are one type of organization that will fill "the gap in independent reporting on matters of public importance left by ailing newspapers." Meanwhile, Arizona State University journalism professor Rick Rodriguez thinks that alt-weeklies, along with ethnic media, "mostly will survive, and possibly even thrive by specializing in coverage of fields like entertainment or local politics."
The New York Times |
02-10-2009 12:35 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Management, Marketing
Attorney Sues Willamette Week for Defamationnew
Portland attorney Robert L. Wolf's case boils down to this: Yes, I had sex with a 16-year-old girl, but she wasn't brain damaged. According to The Oregonian, Wolf claims that Willamette Week published stories about his 1988 incident with a minor that "falsely referred to the girl as 'brain damaged.'" Wolf says he demanded a retraction and editor Mark Zusman agreed in 1996 to eliminate references to brain damage in WW's subsequent coverage of the case, but that
in March 2004, the paper published a story reporting that the girl had suffered "neurological damage." Wolf is asking for up to $58 million for alleged defamation, false light, breach of contract, fraud and intentional infliction of severe emotional distress. The Oregonian notes that "(t)he statute of limitations may have run out on some of those claims, because the article was published nearly five years ago."
The Oregonian |
02-10-2009 12:08 pm |
Legal News
Judge: Companies Must Contract For 'Unique' Visitorsnew
Ruling on a lawsuit brought against WebMD, a New York judge says that the term "visitors" in an online ad contract does not mean "unique visitors." Judge Doris Ling-Cohan added that if companies want guarantees of unique visitors, they must spell out that expectation in the contract.
Online Media Daily |
02-10-2009 9:19 am |
Industry News
Alt-Weeklies at the Moviesnew
Although it was tops at the box office last week, we haven't seen He's Just Not That Into You yet, so we'll have to trust a review in Cleveland's Sun News that says Drew Barrymore (pictured) plays Mary, "a free spirit selling ads for an alternative newspaper." (It isn't the first time that Barrymore has "sold" alt-weeklies.) In other alt-weeklies-at-the-movies news, the Dead in the South blog notes that "a young reporter/publisher of an alternative newspaper" is one of the characters in The Wizard of Gore, the remake of the 1970 splatter film.
The Sun News (Cleveland) |
02-10-2009 8:45 am |
Industry News
Tags: Management
Ticketmaster, Live Nation to Mergenew
CNET |
02-10-2009 3:24 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Management, Retail Advertising
Santa Barbara Independent Reporter Heads to Iraqnew
Against the advice of friends, family, and colleagues, The Independent's news reporter Ben Preston has embarked on a month-long embedded tour of Iraq with the U.S. Army's 425th Civil Affairs Battalion, which is based in Santa Barbara. Why? "I'm hoping to take a look at some of the economic work that is being done here," he explained. "I knew that coalition forces from all over the world were here, but seeing how many non-military people are working here, it becomes apparent that many people have become economically dependent upon the rebuilding process." Follow Preston's continually updated blog online at independent.com/iraq.
Santa Barbara Independent |
02-09-2009 8:48 am |
Industry News
Online Marketing's Bright Spot: In-Text Adsnew
Fortune |
02-09-2009 12:00 pm |
Industry News
Call for Applications: 2009 McCloy Fellowships in Journalismnew
The American Council on Germany |
02-09-2009 9:44 am |
Press Releases
Tags: Editorial, Management
Nearly 6,000 Copies of N.C. Free Weekly Stolennew
Editor & Publisher |
02-09-2009 9:42 am |
Industry News
Tags: Circulation, Management
Metroland Celebrates 30th -- or 31st? -- Birthdaynew
This week, the Albany alt-weekly begins a yearlong celebration of its 30th birthday, but as the Albany Times-Union notes, it is actually the paper's 31st, since it launched in mid-1978. Editor and publisher Stephen Leon says he wanted to peg the celebration to 1979, which was when Metroland switched from a "disco monthly" to a weekly. "The legend was I started the magazine to meet girls," founder Peter Iselin says. "And that was pretty much the case. What can I say? I was 23 years old." The Times-Union reports that Iselin got serious after the paper was denied AAN membership in 1986. He hired Leon to help build the paper's journalistic credibility, and Metroland was admitted to AAN the following year.
The Albany Times-Union |
02-06-2009 9:59 am |
Honors & Achievements
Memphis Flyer Cuts Salariesnew
Editor Bruce VanWyngarden reports that employees at Flyer parent company Contemporary Media, Inc. are taking four or eight percent pay cuts, and that the company is suspending its 401(k) matching program. "The cuts are intended to be temporary and will be reevaluated at the end of the second quarter," VanWyngarden writes.
The Memphis Flyer |
02-06-2009 9:58 am |
Industry News
Boise Weekly Editor Named a 2009 Idaho Woman of the Yearnew
Rachael Daigle is one of 50 women named an Idaho Woman of the Year by the Idaho Business Review. The women will be featured in a glossy magazine and honored at an awards dinner in late March.
Idaho Business Review |
02-06-2009 9:56 am |
Honors & Achievements
The New LEO Debutsnew
When the Louisville Eccentric Observer's new creative director joined the paper last year, she said it "looked crappy" and the logo was "dated and silly." Those problems were erased today when LEO hit the streets with a fresh design, coated stock and a new logo that editor Stephen George calls "mature and refined yet still with some kink." George also says the paper expanded several sections, added new features, and wrapped it all within an improved navigation scheme. The radical makeover at LEO coincides with a redesigned website that launched late last year.
Louisville Eccentric Observer |
02-05-2009 7:28 pm |
Industry News
Former Metro Pulse Owner Offers $13.3 Million for Creative Loafingnew
Knoxville, Tenn.-based real estate developer Brian Conley tells Atlanta magazine his offer price for the six-paper chain was based on cash flow estimates submitted last fall by CL in the company's bankruptcy proceedings. Conley sold Metro Pulse to the EW Scripps Co. in 2007 after owning the paper for four years. He recently made an investment in the Sunday Paper, a free-circulation competitor to CL's flagship paper in Atlanta; his investment was intended to help the company start new papers and go head-to-head with CL in Tampa and Charlotte.
Atlanta Magazine |
02-05-2009 11:08 am |
Industry News
