AAN News
New Generation Taking Times-Shamrock Helmnew
Times-Shamrock Communications this week announced plans to begin passing operational control of the company to the fourth generation of the Lynett-Haggerty family. Four family members will join publisher William R. Lynett as chief executive officers, since they've completed the company's Management Development Program, a four-year track that provides future Times-Shamrock leaders with experience in each of its three major divisions as well as a year interning at an outside media company. The company, through its Times-Shamrock Alternative Newsweekly Group, owns AAN members Baltimore City Paper, Metro Times, Orlando Weekly, and the San Antonio Current. Of the new CEOs, Scott Lynett and Bobby Lynett spent time working at City Paper; while George V. Lynett Jr. put in three years at the Current. In addition, City Paper promotions manager Greg Lynett will now take the helm as publisher of The Citizens Voice in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
The Scranton Times-Tribune |
03-07-2008 11:29 am |
Industry News
Metro Newspapers & Boulevards Launch Virtual Valley Network
Metro and Boulevards are joining forces with a Bay Area NBC affiliate, two leading local citizen journalism sites, and the news aggregator Topix to create "a wide-ranging community-based news initiative ... that will span print, web, citizen journalism and broadcasting." Stories from Metro will be available for the broadcast partners to use, and stories from the citizen journalism sites and the TV network will be excerpted in a new section called "Mashup!" in Metro's print edition. "We are concerned about the consolidation, layoffs and disinvestment in local publishing and want to make sure that communities here are well covered," Dan Pulcrano, executive editor of Metro and CEO of Boulevards, says in a statement. "We will be expanding our news coverage and adding resources."
(FULL STORY)
Boulevards Press Release |
03-07-2008 8:34 am |
Press Releases
Philly City Paper's Local Band Battle Will Lead to AAN Conventionnew
City Paper and Philadelphia radio station Y-Rock On XPN have each picked eight local bands to go head-to-head in the first "Philly Rock Shootout." The voting began this week, and the band that receives the most votes from each side will face off next week. The winner of that contest will be invited to play a showcase at this year's AAN Convention, to be held June 5-7 in Philly, as well as a Y-Rock festival. In addition, if City Paper wins, it gets to run the radio station for an hour; but if the alt-weekly loses, it will turn over a full page of its music section in an issue to Y-Rock.
Philadelphia City Paper |
03-07-2008 8:09 am |
Industry News
Village Voice Critic Curates Film Seriesnew
To celebrate his 30th anniversary at the Village Voice, the Brooklyn Academy of Music asked J. Hoberman to select films that have sparked some of his most stimulating reviews and articles, as well as a few personal favorites, in a series that begins next week. "30 Years of J. Hoberman" opens Monday with David Lynch's Eraserhead and runs through April 3. In an interview with Gothamist, Hoberman talks about the state of the film world, and reflects on his roots in the 1970s avant-garde film scene. When asked if he'd ever want to step behind the camera again, Hoberman says he's not sure. "I still have some ideas for things I was never able to realize twenty odd years ago but I don't know that I have the necessary desire," he says. "It's tough to make avant-garde films. You have to really will this stuff into the world."
Gothamist |
03-06-2008 10:08 am |
Honors & Achievements
Bay Area AAN Members Act to Fight Newspaper Theftnew
A rash of free newspaper heists is "making unlikely allies of Bay Area alternative publishers, whose intense competition over the years has seemed as much personal as a matter of business," Editor & Publisher reports. East Bay Express publisher Hal Brody has organized a group of free-paper publishers that is taking the thieves on with a two-front strategy: finding an aggressive DA who recognizes the real value of a free-circulation newspaper, and going after the recyclers who look the other way, according to E&P. Brody says he wasn't aware how bad the problem was until he and others bought the Express from Village Voice Media last year. "In one heavily trafficked area, where we lay out literally thousands of papers at dawn, we'd get calls from readers at noon that there were all gone," he says.
Editor & Publisher |
03-06-2008 9:56 am |
Industry News
Reaction Pours in to Verdict in Bay Guardian/VVM Trial
A number of stories and blog posts have come out since a jury ruled in favor of the Bay Guardian in its predatory pricing suit against SF Weekly and Village Voice Media yesterday. Here are some:
- The Associated Press via the San Jose Mercury News: "SF Weekly Ordered to Pay Rival $15M for Predatory Pricing Ads"
- East Bay Express: "Guardian Wins $15 Million, Express Not Affected"
- Editor & Publisher: "Bay Guardian Awarded $15.6 Million In Lawsuit"
- The Georgia Straight: "SF Guardian Wins 'David and Goliath' Suit Over Village Voice Media's SF Weekly"
- San Francisco Chronicle: "Bay Guardian Wins Suit with SF Weekly"
- SF Weekly: "Ka-Ching!"
- SF Weekly: "Who You Callin' Guilty?"
AAN |
03-06-2008 9:47 am |
Industry News
L.A. Weekly Film Critic Talks About Her Career and Worknew
"Like her fellow alt-weekly brethren, L.A. Weekly scribe Ella Taylor infuses prose with a touch of sass, delivering the well-read skinny on films great and small with dexterity and, oftentimes, the patience of a saint," Rotten Tomatoes writes. In this Q&A, Taylor talks about how she got into film criticism 19 years ago ("I was an uncomfortable academic sociologist who preferred journalistic to academic writing"), what she wanted to be as a kid when she grew up ("A shoe saleswoman") and the best part of being a film critic ("Free movies, and the regular opportunity to carp.")
Rotten Tomatoes |
03-06-2008 8:58 am |
Industry News
Oklahoma Gazette Picks Up Dozens of State Awards
The Gazette won a total of 38 awards during the last two weekends, including a sweep of the Best Reporting Portfolio category in the annual Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) awards. The paper took home a total of 24 honors in the SPJ contest, including a second-place finish overall in the Best Newspaper competition and eight first-place finishes -- in the Best Reporting Portfolio, Feature Writing, In-Depth Enterprise Reporting/Team, In-Depth Enterprise Reporting by an Individual, Health Reporting, Feature Headlines, Feature Page Layout, and Best Use of Graphic Illustration categories. The Gazette also took home 14 awards at this year's Oklahoma City ADDY Awards, including Gold ADDYs in the Publication Design (Magazine or Book) Series and Newspaper Self-Promotion Single categories.
(FULL STORY)
Oklahoma Gazette Press Release |
03-06-2008 8:34 am |
Press Releases
Jury Rules in Favor of Bay Guardian in Suit Against VVM
The jurors handed down their decision in the Guardian's predatory pricing suit against SF Weekly and Village Voice Media today, awarding the Guardian more than $6.39 million in damages. Under California law, part of that verdict is subject to treble damages, bringing the total award to $15.6 million. The Weekly has indicated that it will appeal the decision. Read VVM's statement on the verdict here. The Guardian has a story on the verdict here.
SF Weekly | San Francisco Bay Guardian |
03-05-2008 5:30 pm |
Industry News
Sunshine Week Public Service Ads Available
A series of broadcast and print public service ads featuring 13 actors speaking about the importance of open and accountable government has been produced for Sunshine Week and can be used by any Sunshine Week participant throughout the election season in conjunction with the Sunshine Campaign. All of the ads are posted on the Sunshine Week website. Sunshine Week, which is March 16-22, is a yearly non-partisan open government initiative. This year's campaign is designed to spur campaign conversation -- and commitment -- to open government during this election year.
(FULL STORY)
Sunshine Week Press Release |
03-05-2008 2:30 pm |
Press Releases
Tags: Editorial
Michael Musto Channels Lindsay Lohan Channeling Marilyn Monroenew
Last month, New York magazine ran a photo series of Lindsay Lohan recreating Marilyn Monroe's legendary series known as "The Last Sitting," which were taken six weeks before Monroe's death in 1962. Now Village Voice columnist Michael Musto is getting in on the act with a cover story and photo spread of his own. "Anxious to share my desperate man-tits with an audience beyond Chelsea, I gleefully agreed to star in an homage to an homage: Musto as Lohan as Marilyn," he writes. The New York Post notes that Musto "is both hairer and more modest than Lohan" and reports that the Voice columnist's pre-shoot regimen was only slightly different than Lohan's. "Lindsay did 250 crunches the night before her shooting," Musto says. "Well, I did 250 Nestle's Crunches."
The Village Voice | The New York Post |
03-05-2008 10:06 am |
Industry News
Boston Phoenix Story Prompts Police Investigationnew
The Phoenix is reporting that Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis has ordered a review of evidence in the wrongful conviction of Stephan Cowans, following a report last month in the Phoenix that raised questions about possible police misconduct. The head of the department's homicide unit will examine ballistics, fingerprints, and other materials from the case, which will determine whether an internal-affairs investigation will begin against officers involved in the case. Cowans was exonerated in 2004, after spending six-and-a-half years in prison for the non-fatal shooting of a Boston police officer. The Phoenix's story reported on evidence suggesting that officers may have forged fingerprint documents and concealed evidence that the officer was not shot with his own weapon, as he testified. Cowans, who received a $3.2 million settlement from the city in 2006, was murdered in his home this past October.
Boston Phoenix |
03-05-2008 9:04 am |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Boston Phoenix
Bill Bleakley Elected to Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame
The Oklahoma Gazette founder and publisher will be inducted on April 4 along with eight other notable journalists. Bleakley started the Gazette in 1979 as a bimonthly publication with a circulation of about 2,000 and has grown it into a paper with a weekly circulation of more than 57,000. He also acquired the biweekly business newspaper OKCBusiness in 2003, and last year formed Tierra Media Group, an umbrella company for all of his papers. Bleakley also sits on AAN's Board of Directors as Organization/Bylaws Chair. "I share this recognition with the many staff members whose efforts achieved the successes of our publications while adhering to the highest journalistic standards," he says.
(FULL STORY)
The Oklahoma Gazette Press Release |
03-05-2008 8:26 am |
Honors & Achievements
Metro Pulse and Knoxville Films to Co-Host East TN Video Gallerynew
Metro Pulse Press Release |
03-05-2008 12:24 pm |
Press Releases
Longtime Chicago Reader Film Critic Retiresnew
Last week Jonathan Rosenbaum retired from his full-time job at the Reader, but the paper says he'll continue reviewing for the paper and writing for its website. The Reader, which has been Rosenbaum's home for more than 20 years, has compiled some of his favorite reviews and has a two-part video interview where he discusses his departure. He says he is leaving to have more free time. "I hope it won't be lessening my productivity, but it'll be shifting it to things that ... I'm more interested in, and not having to see a lot of movies that I'm not interested in." He says he'd also like to be able to do "other kinds of writing which would be broader than film criticism."
Chicago Reader |
03-04-2008 12:31 pm |
Industry News
