AAN News

US Reps. Boucher and Pence Receive Sunshine Award

The Sunshine in Government Initiative (SGI) yesterday presented its 2008 Sunshine Award to Representatives Rick Boucher of Virginia and Mike Pence of Indiana for their commitment and work to strengthen open government. "Boucher and Pence have strongly pushed for a federal shield law to protect a reporter's sources," the SGI release says. "Under their leadership shield legislation has gone much farther than ever through the halls of Congress." The legislation, the Free Flow of Information Act, was passed by the House and the Senate Judiciary Committee last October, but has since languished, waiting to be called to the Senate floor for a vote. (FULL STORY)
Sunshine in Government Initiative Press Release  |  04-16-2008  8:36 am  |  Press Releases

Pearlstein: Dailies Facing Declining Margins, Must Consolidatenew

The Washington Post  |  04-16-2008  10:18 am  |  Industry News

Michael Lacey Responds to Brouhaha Over Commentsnew

"My invoking the argot of Black artists achieved a level of insensitive stupidity almost galactic in scale," writes the Village Voice Media executive editor in a blog post. "Whatever discussion lingers about the use of the words 'bitch' or 'ho' in hip-hop, comedy, film or literature, there is no question about the N-bomb coming out of the mouth of a 59-year-old white man." Lacey's post includes a link to Friday night's error-riddled FOX News segment from Hannity & Colmes about the incident.
Phoenix New Times  |  04-14-2008  3:58 pm  |  Industry News

Westword Wins SPJ Sigma Delta Chi Awardnew

The Society of Professional Journalists has named Westword staff writer Alan Prendergast a 2007 Sigma Delta Chi Award winner in the feature writing category (under 100,000 circulation) for "The Caged Life," a story about life in solitary confinement. The awards will be presented July 11 during the annual banquet at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Society for Professional Journalists  |  04-14-2008  1:41 pm  |  Honors & Achievements

New York Press Publishes Wall Street Journal Parody

Back in 1982, Press editor David Blum -- who was then a Wall Street Journal reporter -- was part of a team that published the one-off satire Off the Wall Street Journal, and now he and the Press have published the sequel: My Wall Street Journal, which is published "in honor of Rupert Murdoch's ever-expanding media empire." The project brings Murdoch's tabloid sensibilities to the legendary paper, with results like a full-page spread of a bare-breasted Ann Coulter; a gossip section entitled "Page Sex;" and headlines such as "Cleaning Lady Sees Virgin in Merrill-Lynch Q4 Loss." The team also produced a fake YouTube video of Murdoch reacting to My Wall Street Journal. Read more from the New York Times and Editor & Publisher. (FULL STORY)
Manhattan Media Press Release  |  04-14-2008  1:06 pm  |  Press Releases

AAN Members Win Handful of Pennsylvania Press Awardsnew

Both the Philadelphia City Paper and Philadelphia Weekly took home plenty of the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association's 2008 Keystone Press Awards. City Paper's Tom Namako and Doron Taussig placed first and second, respectively, in the speciality category of Distinguished Writing in a Weekly. The Weekly won the Sweepstakes award for the division in which alt-weeklies are eligible. In competition within that division, the Weekly won 11 awards, including first-place finishes in Feature Story, Headline Writing, News Feature Story, News Photo, and Online Journalistic Innovation. City Paper also nabbed 11 awards in that division, including first-place wins in Business or Consumer Story, Column, Investigative Reporting, and News Beat Reporting.
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association  |  04-14-2008  8:37 am  |  Honors & Achievements

Free Daily in Boston Shuts Down After One Yearnew

Boston Business Journal  |  04-14-2008  6:16 pm  |  Industry News

Chicago Reader Named in Defamation Suitnew

Former assistant commissioner for the Chicago Department of Aviation James Sachay has filed suit against the Reader and political activist Frank Coconate for defamation after a comment on the paper's "Clout City" blog was attributed to him, CBS-2 Chicago reports. According to the suit, Coconate wrote the incriminating comment, dated January 31 at 7:37 a.m., and attributed it to Sachay. Despite the Reader having a comments policy that states, in part, "please note that commenters are free to use whatever name(s) they choose," the suit claims the paper was negligent for not screening the blog. The four-count suit asks for more than $800,000 from Coconate and the Reader.
CBS-2 Chicago  |  04-11-2008  12:25 pm  |  Legal News

The Other Paper's Founding Editor Steps Downnew

In a farewell column this week, Danny Russell says he's leaving to do PR and marketing for Delaware's Methodist Theological School in Ohio. He's been with the Columbus, Ohio, paper since its inception in 1990.
The Other Paper  |  04-11-2008  11:03 am  |  Industry News

Seven Days Wins Burlington Business Awardnew

This year's Burlington Business Award recognizes Seven Days for "for exemplary business practices, contributions to the community and promotion of a positive image for Burlington." Co-founders Pamela Polston and Paula Routly accepted the award at the Burlington Business Assocation dinner this week, where more than 400 attendees, including Vermont's governor and the mayor of Burlington, gave them a standing ovation.
Seven Days  |  04-11-2008  9:07 am  |  Honors & Achievements

Alt-Weeklies Fare Well in Colorado SPJ Awards

The winners of the Colorado Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists' 2008 Mark of Excellence awards were announced late last month, and both Boulder Weekly and the Colorado Springs Independent went home winners, AAN News has learned. The Indy won 13 awards total, including six first-place finishes -- in A&E Reporting, Education Reporting, Food and Beverage, Legal Affairs Reporting Personal Columns, and Political Reporting. Boulder Weekly won a total of four awards, including one first-place finish in the Science/Environment/Ag/Medical reporting category. In addition, Indy contributing editor Cara DeGette placed first in the blog category for her writing on ColoradoConfidential.com, the Denver-based website she helped launch in 2006.
AAN News  |  04-11-2008  8:39 am  |  Honors & Achievements

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