AAN News

More on Former Metro Pulse Owner's Offer to Buy Creative Loafingnew

Earlier this month, Knoxville, Tenn.-based real estate developer Brian Conley told Atlanta magazine he'd offered $13.3 million for the six-paper chain. Conley said the offer was based on cash flow estimates submitted last fall by CL in the company's bankruptcy proceedings, but CEO Ben Eason tells Metro Pulse that there was no such estimate submitted by his company. "Frankly, none of us has any idea what he's referring to," Eason says. "It sounds like he does not have a good enough handle of our plan to be making some of the comments he's been making."
Metro Pulse  |  02-20-2009  12:39 pm  |  Industry News

New York Press Film Writer Discusses His Criticismnew

Armond White, who recently took over as the new chairman of the NY Film Critics Circle, has tastes and opinions that have proved controversial in critic and fan circles. There's even a blog, "Armond Dangerous," devoted to "parsing the confounding film criticism of Mr. Armond White." But White says he doesn't mind, and that he's not stirring the pot just to stir the pot. "I don't say these things to call attention to myself or to get a rise out of people. I say them because I believe them," he tells New York. "We're living in times when critics get fired if they don't like enough movies. People don't need to hear what mouthpieces for the movie industry tell them. They need to hear the truth."
New York Magazine  |  02-20-2009  11:07 am  |  Industry News

Metro Pulse Parent Company Implements Pay Cutsnew

E.W. Scripps Co. exempt employees will see a 5 percent pay cut and the salaries of nonexempt employees will decline by 3 percent. The cuts also include a suspension of the company's 401(k) match and a freeze of the Scripps pension plan. The pay freezes are expected to last for at least a year.
The Knoxville News-Sentinel  |  02-20-2009  8:28 am  |  Industry News

Yelp Responds to East Bay Express Storynew

"Today the East Bay Express ran a lengthy story that accuses Yelp of manipulating review order for money," the user-generated review site's CEO Jeremy Stoppelman writes. "As we've said many-a-time we do not do this." He criticizes the story for relying heavily on anonymous sources and adds that the piece essentially overturns its "accusatory thrust" at the end.
Yelp.com  |  02-19-2009  11:35 am  |  Industry News

San Francisco Bay Guardian Lawyers Honored by Magazinenew

Among the 43 attorneys that California Lawyer magazine gave California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year Awards to are the three lawyers who worked the Bay Guardian's predatory-pricing case against SF Weekly and Village Voice Media. Ralph Alldredge, Rich Hill and Craig Moody "deftly made the case" for the Guardian, California Lawyer says in a press release.
San Francisco Bay Guardian  |  02-19-2009  10:30 am  |  Honors & Achievements

Tucson Weekly Kicks Off Year-Long 25th Anniversary Celebration

"It's a big deal for any business to survive for 25 years," editor Jimmy Boegle says. "But after looking at what the Weekly's accomplished over 2 1/2 decades, I can say this paper didn't just survive; as far as its content, it's thrived." To celebrate, the paper will release a 25th Anniversary issue on Feb. 26, launch a new website in March and host the 32nd Annual AAN Convention in June. "Seeing daily newspapers collapse all around us is unsettling," publisher Thomas P. Lee says. "But Tucson will have the Tucson Weekly to kick around for many years to come. We have our excellent staff, and our loyal readers, to thank for that." (FULL STORY)
Tucson Weekly Press Release  |  02-19-2009  9:28 am  |  Press Releases

Port Folio Weekly's Print Edition to be Suspendednew

As part of ongoing cost-cutting by its parent company, the 26-year-old alt-weekly will publish its last print edition next week. Its website will remain, and the paper may resume publishing when the economy improves, according to Maurice Jones, president and publisher of the Virginian-Pilot, which owns Port Folio. The Pilot is also laying off 30 employees, including some at Port Folio.
The Virginian-Pilot  |  02-19-2009  9:11 am  |  Industry News

Federal Shield Law Reintroduced in Senatenew

A federal shield law that would protect reporters from testifying about confidential sources was re-introduced in the Senate on Friday, just two days after shield legislation was re-introduced into the House. The Senate bill, S. 448, was introduced by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.). The bill is similar to a previous shield law that was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2007.
Newspaper Association of America Press Release (PDF)  |  02-18-2009  4:18 pm  |  Press Releases

Another AAN Diversity-Program Alum Pens Cover Story

Since we made note last week of Academy for Alternative Journalism graduate Ling Ma's recent Chicago Reader cover story, we'd be remiss not to mention that fellow class of 2008 alum Rich Knight also had a cover story in the Reader recently. Knight's Jan. 8 piece profiled Chicago's Michael "Frosti" Zernow, who some speculate could become the first superstar in the emerging sport of parkour.
AAN News  |  02-18-2009  2:00 pm  |  Honors & Achievements

Pilot Demands Alt-Weekly's Notes in Suit Against Whistleblowersnew

Last month, Phoenix New Times reported on three flight attendants facing a lawsuit from a US Airways pilot for daring to report their safety concerns to federal regulators. "Now New Times is getting sucked into the litigation," the paper reports. "[The pilot's attorney] filed a subpoena last week demanding that we turn over all our notes, as well as any documents provided to us by the flight attendants." New Times reports that the attorney is also attempting to subpoena information about people who've posted messages on a fund-raising website erected by the flight attendants.
Phoenix New Times  |  02-18-2009  10:50 am  |  Legal News

Columnist to Alt-Cartoonists: 'Don't Tell Me About Hard Times'new

"You're not picking cotton under a blazing Mississippi sun, man. You're not digging ditches in pools of raw sewage. You draw cartoons," San Diego CityBeat columnist Edwin Decker writes in response to alt-weekly cartoonists who've recently lamented the downturn in the alt-cartoon market. "There are a bizillion artists out there, writing, drawing and sculpting in obscurity, never to be paid a dime for their labor of love, or receive fanfare -- going out of their effin' minds every day craving something that resembles an audience or a paycheck." MORE: Lloyd Dangle of "Troubletown" responds, calling Decker's column "some of the most humorless, self-pitying, gen X, real-artists-must-starve hyperbole I've seen in a long time." And comic artist Jason Yungbluth has a bit of advice for Decker: "Let me suggest that you actually demonstrate some solidarity with the brothers of your profession instead of evacuating your bowels on them."
San Diego CityBeat  |  02-18-2009  10:35 am  |  Industry News

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