AAN News
Opinion: Nashville Scene is Protected from Former Stripper's Lawsuitnew
Calling Michelle Peacock's defamation suit "a masterpiece of minimalism," the On Point blog from Courthouse News Service notes that the paper has little to worry about. "[Peacock] won't be able to gloss over the common-law privilege which protects reporters from liability when they fairly and accurately report the information in a public document," On Point reports. "In commenting on Peacock's alleged mid-afternoon handjobs, the Nashville Scene didn't say anything that was not in the police reports. So the privilege clearly applies."
On Point News |
10-14-2008 10:49 am |
Legal News
Nashville Scene Sued for Defamationnew
The Scene and staff writer P.J. Tobia were hit Wednesday with a defamation suit filed by a former stripper in response to a story published last October, the Nashville City Paper reports. Scene parent company City Press LLC, which is owned by Village Voice Media, was also named in the suit. Michelle Peacock alleges that Tobia's representation of her in the article resulted in injury to her character and reputation, and she's seeking at least $25,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. In the story, Tobia cited a police report that stated Peacock twice "offered to manually stimulate (an undercover cop) until ejaculation for $100 U.S. Dollars." According to the suit, Peacock "continues to suffer a diminution in her earnings and earning capacity" since the strip club refused to allow her to continue working there after the Scene story was published.
Nashville City Paper |
10-03-2008 11:02 am |
Legal News
How I Got That Story: Tracy Moore and Matt Sullivan
In the fifth installment of this year's "How I Got That Story" series, the Nashville Scene writers Tracy Moore and Matt Sullivan talk about their work on Nashville Cream, which garnered a first-place win in the blog category. In a city so strongly associated with country music, they chose to go a different way with the Scene's music blog, which has helped it stand out. "There's a misconception that Tennessee only covers country and honky tonk," Moore says, "So when I took over [the site], I really made the rock scene my thing."
(FULL STORY)
AAN News |
10-02-2008 10:35 am |
Association News
New Nashville Scene Editor Gets Mixed Reactionnew
Outgoing editor Liz Garrigan reports that she had "openly recommended Scene managing editor Matt Pulle for [her] job, and he was seriously considered." But in the end, Village Voice Media brought Pete Kotz over from the soon-to-be-defunct Cleveland Scene, a move that was criticized by some of the paper's staff. "Bypassing Matt sent exactly the wrong message to the city: It said that the Scene is just another interchangeable cog in a big corporate wheel," one staffer says anonymously. Former Scene media critic Henry Walker agrees. "The idea of an alternative weekly paper importing an editor would have been almost unthinkable just a decade ago," he says. "[But VVM] has pioneered the adoption of a cookie-cutter news and design formula and the employment of fungible editors among the alternative weeklies." VVM executive editor Michael Lacey, for one, isn't buying Walker's critique. "For nearly 40 years, we, like most alternative newspaper owners, have selected editors, writers and columnists based upon their skill, not their birth certificate," Lacey says. "Walker's simplistic comments reflect parochial jingoism."
Nashville Scene |
06-26-2008 1:04 pm |
Industry News
From Scene to Scene: Cleveland Editor Heads to Nashvillenew
Cleveland Scene editor Pete Kotz has been named the new editor of the Nashville Scene in the wake of last week's news that the Cleveland paper will be merged with Cleveland Free Times in July. On July 1, Kotz will replace Liz Garrigan, who announced she was leaving the Nashville alt-weekly in May. "I know Pete from editors' meetings and conventions and can say unequivocally that he's a wonderful guy, a talented journalist and a good soul, if not the 'dangerously handsome man' he claims to be," Garrigan writes. "He has five kids, loves to 'bust a phrase,' holds dear the value of a great story, and prefers to chase his whiskey with beer."
Nashville Scene |
06-25-2008 8:36 am |
Industry News
Nashville Scene Editor to Step Downnew
Liz Garrigan says in a blog post that she'll be leaving the paper at the end of June to become editorial director of Magellan Media, an umbrella company of book imprints and (non-newspaper) publishing enterprises. "I'm attempting something pretty rare in journalism these days: a chance to make an exit while I'm still having an enormous amount of fun," she writes. "It might be a bit anticlimactic, but this is not a protest resignation, a corporate cost-cutting measure or a veiled firing." She says she hopes to continue contributing to the Scene, but "after 12 years at one place -- as political writer, news editor, associate editor, then editor -- it's time for this root-bound journalist to repot herself."
Nashville Scene |
05-07-2008 8:40 am |
Industry News
Ex-Nashville Scene Publisher Buys Another Ex-Scene Publisher's Companynew
Nashville Scene |
04-10-2008 3:19 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Management, Nashville Scene
Nashville Scene Names New Associate Publisher
Mike Smith will replace Chris Ferrell, who announced his departure to start a new media company last month. Smith, who has been with the company since 1997, will also be associate publisher of Nfocus magazine. "It was important to me and the Scene to search internally for Chris
Ferrell's successor," says Stuart Folb, group publisher of Village Voice Media, which owns the Scene. "After interviewing Mike, there was no doubt that my search was over and that he was the right person for the job."
(FULL STORY)
Nashville Scene Press Release |
10-12-2007 8:06 am |
Press Releases
Tags: Management, Nashville Scene
Nashville Scene Publisher Stepping Downnew
"Chris Ferrell announced to the staff this morning that he'll be leaving the paper soon to start a new media company," the Scene reports. "I have worked with some of my favorite people in Nashville for the last three years, and week in and week out we put together a paper that matters to this city in terms of our coverage of news, our support of the arts and of culture," says Ferrell. "I have loved my time at the Scene. This was just too good an opportunity for me to pass up." Ferrell took over as the paper's publisher Jan. 1, 2005, succeeding founding publisher Albie Del Favero, now publisher of The City Paper.
Nashville Scene |
09-27-2007 3:02 pm |
Industry News
Nashville Scene Editor Talks Fred Thompson, Alt-Weeklies in Chatnew
In a live chat yesterday, Liz Garrigan discussed her recent Washington Post piece on Fred Thompson's presidential chances and briefly highlighted two elements of alt-weekly journalism. After she said Al Gore won't enter the 2008 race because "he's got swimming pools to heat," a reader complained about Garrigan's off-hand remark. "Snarky asides help to pay my bills," she replied. Later, when a reader asked if she "might want to at least appear objective," Garrigan took the question head-on. "Part of what distinguishes alt-weeklies from mainstream media is that we don't peddle objectivity (or even think it's possible)," she said. "We do value fairness and balance but in the context of point of view. But that's another chat."
The Washington Post |
05-22-2007 8:37 am |
Industry News
Nashville Mayor Vetoes News Box Ordinancenew
Last month, the city's Metro Council passed legislation restricting the placement of news boxes and requiring publishers to pay permit fees and maintain their newsracks in good repair. But yesterday, as expected, Mayor Bill Purcell vetoed the bill. "The ordinance before me is an abridgement of a free press and raises significant First Amendment issues,” Purcell says. Meanwhile, 22 publishers, including AAN member the Nashville Scene, are working on a self-monitoring agreement intended to be a substitute for legislation. Twenty-seven votes would be necessary to override Purcell's veto -- the same number of votes that originally passed the legislation.
The City Paper |
05-16-2007 8:37 am |
Industry News
Nashville Scene Wins Legal Fight Against Corrections Departmentnew
Last week, the alt-weekly sued the Tennessee Department of Corrections (DOC) for information about its review of the state's execution protocol. The City Paper reports that Davidson County Chancellor Claudia Bonnyman ruled yesterday that all documents relating to the review must be turned over to the Scene. "We're thrilled," says Scene editor Liz Garrigan. "This isn't really about the paper, this is about accountability in government." Bonnyman gave the state until Thursday to file an appeal. With the May 2 deadline for the DOC's recommendations looming, it's unclear what the Scene will be able to do with the documents, especially if the state continues to delay the process with an appeal. "Time is of the essence," Garrigan says, adding that she'd like to publish a story about the DOC's deliberations by the paper's next publishing deadline.
The City Paper |
04-26-2007 7:24 am |
Legal News
Nashville Scene Editor Liz Garrigan a New Mothernew
The City Paper (fourth item) |
04-24-2007 12:04 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Nashville Scene, Liz Garrigan
Nashville Passes News Box Regulationnew
The Metro Council approved the legislation this week despite opposition from the Nashville Scene and other local publications. According to the Tennessean, the law takes effect July 1. It will restrict the placement of news boxes and require publishers to pay permit fees and maintain their newsracks in good repair. "I'm not sure what it's supposed to accomplish, other than that we'll all have to register with a government entity and keep the boxes in working order," Scene publisher Chris Ferrell says. The councilman who co-sponsored the ordinance says he would lead the charge to rescind it if local publishers developed a better, voluntary plan.
An earlier self-policing plan submitted by publishers was rejected by the council.
The Tennessean |
04-19-2007 8:32 am |
Industry News
Nashville Scene Sues for Information Denied by Dept. of Correctionsnew
In February, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen issued an executive order halting all executions for 90 days so the Department of Corrections (DOC) could perform "a comprehensive review" of the state's execution protocol. Soon thereafter, the Scene filed an open-records request seeking information on the DOC's deliberations, but it was denied. With the May 2 deadline for the DOC's recommendations looming, the Scene filed suit yesterday in Davidson County Chancery Court. "We're talking about how we're going to go about killing people in this state," editor Liz Garrigan tells the Nashville Post. "We think that ought to be an open discussion." Nashville's City Paper reports the DOC has conducted its review entirely behind closed doors, with the exception of one 40-minute public forum.
The Nashville Post | The City Paper |
04-18-2007 8:19 am |
Legal News
