AAN News
Two Alt-Weekly Writers Receive NEA Fellowshipsnew
Two freelancers "affiliated" with AAN members are among the 23 journalists selected to participate in the fifth National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater at the USC Annenberg School for Communication. LEO Weekly's Rebecca Haithcoat and Washington City Paper's Glen Weldon will participate in the 10-day program this August.
USC Annenberg School for Communication |
03-04-2009 8:24 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
LEO Founder Re-Elected, Jim Holman's Measure 'Too Close to Call' Fails
LEO Weekly founder John Yarmuth was re-elected to Congress yesterday, where he'll continue to serve Kentucky's 3rd District. Today's Louisville Courier-Journal reports that with 99 percent of precincts reporting, unofficial vote totals had Yarmuth, a Democrat, with 59 percent of the vote and Republican challenger Anne Northup with 41. In California, San Diego Reader publisher Jim Holman once again bankrolled a ballot measure that would require doctors to notify parents before performing an abortion on a minor, and the Los Angeles Times reports that it remained too close to call Tuesday night. With four-fifths of precincts reporting last night, 52.8 of voters were opposed to the measure while 47.2 favored it, according to the AP, which says the initiative "appear[s] headed for defeat." Holman contributed more than $1.3 million of the reported $2.6 million raised for the measure, the AP reports. UPDATE (4:55 pm EST): A number of news outlets are now reporting that the ballot measure was indeed defeated.
Louisville Courier-Journal | Los Angeles Times | The AP |
11-05-2008 9:11 am |
Industry News
City Pages Reporters Maced, Assaulted at RNC Protestnew
Updating their reporting every few minutes by telephone last night, City Pages' Jeff Shaw and Andy Mannix say they were "assaulted by the cops" while trying to cover a RNC protest march. Here's the play-by-play, from Shaw: "The police said we needed to leave, we showed them our press credentials. I said I was a reporter and that it was a public street. An officer struck me and knocked me backwards over a curb. I tried to get up, and three or four officers shoved me to the ground. Andy was maced." Meanwhile, The Stranger's Brendan Kiley was pepper-sprayed earlier this week at the RNC. "I've hurt myself in a lot of different ways," he reports, "but nothing hurts like pepper spray. The pain is fleeting, but it is crippling." Lastly, Sam Stoker, who attended the AAN/Medill Academy for Alternative Journalism this summer, was arrested twice this week while covering RNC protests for In These Times. He's been tapped by LEO Weekly to write a first-person account, which he's agreed to make free to AAN members to reprint. For more on Stoker's piece, contact LEO's Stephen George at sgeorge (at) leoweekly.com.
City Pages |
09-05-2008 7:48 am |
Industry News
New LEO Owner Talks About His Plans for the Papernew
Chris Ferrell, whose SouthComm Communications bought the Louisville alt-weekly in May, tells the 'Ville Voice that they are busy working on a redesign of LEO's website, and that there will be a lot of emphasis on the web when the new site debuts in late September. He also says that he's added one staff writer and has been working on the design of the print product. "The paper looks better now that (sic) it did three months ago," Ferrell says. "We've created a larger news hole, and we wanted to make sure we have the kind of content people expect, even when the ad/edit mix doesn't justify it."
The 'Ville Voice |
08-28-2008 10:08 am |
Industry News
Another LEO Alum Enters Political Arenanew
Former editor Cary Stemle is not following in the footsteps of LEO founder and current Congressman John Yarmuth by running for office, but he has has joined Democratic Senate candidate Bruce Lunsford's team as campaign spokesperson, Politicker KY reports. Lunsford is running against Senator Mitch McConnell, the current Senate Minority Leader who has served in Congress since 1984. Stemle, who edited LEO for a decade, was let go when the paper was purchased by SouthComm Communications in May.
Politicker KY |
07-30-2008 2:05 pm |
Industry News
John Yarmuth Offers His Two Cents on the LEO Salenew
LEO's founder, who currently represents Kentucky's Third Congressional District in Congress, says that the recent sale of the paper to SouthComm Communications was "probably a good thing." He tells the 'Ville Voice that the former owners "had lost interest" over the past few years, and that "their business plan wasn't working," because it was based on owning a chain of alt-weeklies, and they only ended up with two. "[SouthComm] obviously cares about the paper, it's part of a business plan that they've already executed, to a certain extent, because they already own multiple papers," Yarmuth says. "Not all are alt-weeklies but they are in the region so they can do regional ad buys and so forth. I think it will be good for the paper."
The 'Ville Voice |
07-22-2008 10:00 am |
Industry News
LEO Weekly Takes 19 Metro Journalism Awards
LEO Weekly earned 19 awards at last Thursday's Society of Professional Journalists Metro Journalism awards ceremony in Louisville, including first place honors for Column Writing, Editorial Cartoon, Minority and Women's Affairs Reporting, and Reviews/Criticism. The paper swept the Column Writing and Reviews/Criticism categories.
(FULL STORY)
LEO Weekly Press Release |
06-30-2008 12:23 pm |
Press Releases
LEO Names New Editor and Sales Manager
The Louisville Eccentric Observer, which was acquired last month by Nashville-based SouthComm Communications, has named Stephen George as editor and Tammy Norkiewicz as sales manager, according to a press release. George, who previously served as managing editor, has been with LEO since January 2005, and Norkiewicz has been an account executive with the paper since December 2005. LEO has also named former associate editor Sara Havens as the new arts & entertainment editor, and has hired 2008 Academy for Alternative Journalism fellow Phillip Bailey as staff writer. Reached via email, George tells AAN News that Bailey will still participate in the scholarship program this summer; the paper is giving him a leave of absence to do so.
(FULL STORY)
Louisville Eccentric Observer Press Release |
06-02-2008 11:01 am |
Press Releases
LEO Acquired by Ex-Nashville Scene Publisher's Companynew
The Louisville Eccentric Observer was acquired by SouthComm Communications, a company headed by former Scene publisher Chris Ferrell, according to LEO. The change was announced to staff this morning. Pam Brooks will stay on as publisher, but other LEO staffers were not so lucky. Brooks told a local blog that editor Cary Stemle, sales director Kelly Gream, and two other employees weren't offered positions with the new company. SouthComm, which was formed late last year, owns a custom publishing company based in Atlanta, as well as various Nashville websites and magazines.
Louisville Eccentric Observer |
05-22-2008 4:21 pm |
Industry News
Louisville Eccentric Observer Co-Founder Diesnew
Robert Schulman, who joined John Yarmuth and three other investors to launch the paper in 1990, died on Sunday. "He was kind of a conscience of local journalism," says Yarmuth, who is currently serving in Congress. In addition to his role with the Observer, Schulman worked at the Louisville Courier-Journal and the Louisville Times and was "one of the first full-time media critics in the nation." He was 91 years old.
Louisville Courier-Journal |
01-07-2008 8:36 am |
Industry News
Tags: Management, LEO Weekly
Louisville Eccentric Observer Settles Inquiry Over Light-Hearted Adnew
"In our issue before the Kentucky Derby, we ran an ad for a bar that
was holding a 'no celebrities allowed' party," LEO editor Cary Stemle
tells AAN News. "At that time of year here, there's lots of fancy
parties that involve celebs and it gets tons of attention," he
explains. The ad read, in part: "If you
have an agent, publicist, third world adopted baby, or front row seats
to the Church of Scientology, you have no chance of getting in."
Alfonso Lanceta, the chairperson of the enforcement board of the Metro
Human Relations Commission, filed a formal complaint against the
paper, contending that the ad's text attempted to prevent not Angelina
Jolie and Tom Cruise from attending its party, but anyone who's
adopted a person from the Third World, as well as all Scientologists.
After spending more than $5,000 in attorney's fees, LEO settled with
the Commission, and had to print an ad this week reaffirming its
commitment to uphold non-discrimination standards. "This advertisement
is an appeal to the common man in every sense of the term," a
University of Louisville dean tells LEO. "I have to
believe that the Metro Human Relations Commission didn't get the
joke."
Louisville Eccentric Observer |
12-20-2007 11:26 am |
Legal News
Louisville Eccentric Observer Obtains Humana Memos on 'Sicko'
Ask and ye shall receive: In last week's paper, LEO ran a short notice inviting employees of Louisville-based health-care giant Humana "to share interoffice memos" the company had prepped on Michael Moore's latest documentary. Several employees came through, and LEO has published three documents this week, all of which repeatedly cite Humana's acknowledgment of America's health care problem, claim that the Congressional testimony of an ex-employee featured in the film is false, and refer all media inquiries to the company's press office.
(FULL STORY)
Louisville Eccentric Observer Press Release |
07-18-2007 8:29 am |
Press Releases
Louisville Eccentric Observer Wins 14 SPJ Awardsnew
The alt-weekly placed first in nine categories in this year's Metro Louisville Journalism Awards: business reporting, minority affairs, editorial writing, column writing, feature photography, sports photography, review/criticism, headline writing, and page design. The winners of the awards, which are sponsored by the Metro Louisville chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, were announced last night.
Louisville Eccentric Observer |
06-29-2007 4:01 pm |
Honors & Achievements
Alt-Weekly Writer Ditches Car, Blogs His Life Without Itnew
Louisville, Ky., probably isn't the easiest place to live car-free, but Louisville Eccentric Observer staff writer Stephen George is giving it a shot. For the next month, he'll try to navigate the city that has only "a single viable mode of public transit." He's blogging the experience for the paper, in part "to prove getting around Louisville without your own ride isn't as hard as it seems."
Louisville Eccentric Observer |
04-20-2007 9:32 am |
Industry News
Tags: LEO Weekly, Stephen George
