AAN News

Group of Alt-Weekly Vets to Buy East Bay Express

In a press release issued this afternoon, Village Voice Media says it is selling its Emeryville-based paper to an investment group led by current editor Stephen Buel, AAN veteran Hal Brody, and Express co-founder Kelly Vance. Monterey County Weekly founder and CEO Bradley Zeve is also one of the investors. Brody, who owned Pitch Weekly in Kansas City until he sold it to New Times in 1999, will take over as publisher. The Express, which was founded in 1978, has been owned by New Times/VVM since 2001. "It's great that Hal and Steve will be taking over the Express," VVM chief executive officer Jim Larkin says. "They are amazingly talented people who will devote themselves to continuing the paper's excellence." Editing the Express "is the best job I've ever had," Buel says. "It will be an honor to build upon the legacies left by the founders and Village Voice Media." (FULL STORY)
Village Voice Media Press Release  |  05-17-2007  5:09 pm  |  Press Releases

Michael Musto Meets Keith Olbermann ... Finally!new

After talking pop culture on MSNBC's Countdown from a remote location for four years, the Village Voice columnist got to meet Olbermann in the flesh last week when the TV news anchor was awarded the first annual Molly Ivins Award by AAN. "The patron saint of skeptical liberals turned out to be as appealing as he is on the tube," he says in his La Dolce Musto column.
The Village Voice  |  05-17-2007  4:38 pm  |  Association News

Design & Production Buzz Loungenew

A new feature of the 2007 Convention is the D&P Buzz Lounge. Take advantage of this dedicated area in the Trade Show to network with fellow D&P professionals in a casual atmosphere. Meet colleagues and outside experts during scheduled breaks or use the Lounge to set up informal one-on-one critiques or mentoring sessions. Look for the ad in the Convention Program with more details.
PortlAANd 2007  |  05-17-2007  3:07 pm  |  Association News

CVS Stops Carrying Alt-Weekly; Protests & Arrests Ensuenew

When CVS took over Osco Drug in Milwaukee, the Shepherd Express was told to remove its news racks from the stores. Since then, free-lance journalist Jeff White has been standing vigil in protest outside one of the stores for about 20 hours a week. Last week, White and a man he was chatting with were arrested after a CVS manager called the cops to complain. Shepherd publisher Louis Fortis says he's called the company's headquarters to determine why they stopped carrying the paper, but hasn't received a response. But he says he's heard that a customer complained about the paper's criticism of President Bush and the Iraq War. "CVS has every right to not carry the Shepherd, but I don't believe that the top management at CVS would want to politicize their retail stores," Fortis says. "It would be a shame if CVS became a pharmacy that only catered to conservative Republicans."
Shepherd Express  |  05-17-2007  2:01 pm  |  Industry News

David Carr: City Pages is 'A Great Paper'new

That's his take after picking up a copy this week, though he says he has "hurt feelings" about City Pages "running the Twin Cities Reader [a now-defunct AAN paper he used to edit] out of business." Carr, who also served as editor of Washington City Paper and is now a reporter for the New York Times, tells the Minnesota Monitor: "I share newspaper approaches with [Village Voice Media]. I've always been equal opportunity in terms of choosing opponents and choosing targets." He adds that VVM papers "in general are far superior to most weeklies, and they fund great journalism, pay a living wage, pay healthcare."
Minnesota Monitor  |  05-17-2007  1:02 pm  |  Industry News

Huffington, Taibbi and Hamsher to Talk Politics in Portlandnew

That's Arianna Huffington (pictured) of Huffington Post and NPR, Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone, and Jane Hamsher of firedoglake.com. They'll share ideas about national and local election coverage in a Friday afternoon panel at this year's convention. The panel will be moderated by Willamette Week editor Mark Zusman.
PortlAANd 2007  |  05-17-2007  11:40 am  |  Association News

Film Festival Taps Two Alt-Weekly Critics for Selection Committeenew

The New York Film Festival has added the LA Weekly's Scott Foundas and the Village Voice's J. Hoberman to the roster of critics choosing the 2007 festival slate. They join the Film Society Of Lincoln Center's Richard Pena and Kent Jones and Entertainment Weekly critic Lisa Schwarzbaum on the committee.
Screen Daily  |  05-17-2007  8:12 am  |  Industry News

Alt-Weeklies Clean Up at Arizona Press Club Awardsnew

Phoenix New Times and Tucson Weekly took home a total of 13 first-place awards, with New Times winning in eight categories and the Weekly placing first in five. New Times staff writers Sarah Fenske and Paul Rubin both triumphed in two categories, and the Weekly's Margaret Regan managed the same feat. Both AAN papers also received a number of second- and third-place prizes. Winners of the awards, which honor the best in Arizona print journalism, were announced last week at a Phoenix banquet.
Arizona Press Club  |  05-17-2007  7:53 am  |  Honors & Achievements

Variety, AMC Team for Film Festival Sitenew

Media Daily News  |  05-17-2007  1:49 pm  |  Industry News

Looking for Some Web Training?new

We'll have it for you next month in Portland, where there will be at least a dozen different Web-focused presentations and panels, from an eyetracking seminar by a representative of Poynter Institute to sessions on web metrics and analytics, and online real estate marketing.
PortlAANd 2007  |  05-16-2007  12:11 am  |  Association News

AltWeeklies.com: The Week in Review

In this week's installment: Leaving death row, Mother's Day, gun control, obsessive vegans, summer movies, Bob Barker, and more. (FULL STORY)
AAN News  |  05-16-2007  4:38 pm  |  Association News

Rudy Giuliani Says Village Voice Reporter is 'Obsessed' With Himnew

In response to last week's Voice cover story, which raised questions about whether the presidential candidate's four New York Yankees World Series rings were obtained in a legal and ethical manner, Giuliani told an Alabama crowd that Wayne Barrett "sticks pins in a doll of me every night" and "almost never gets his facts right." The story quoted appraisers who approximated the rings' value at $200,000, while Giuliani only paid $16,000 for them. More importantly, the article called into question the timing of the deals, alleging that he received them while still mayor -- a violation of law that could still be prosecuted. The Voice's allegations, which Giuliani says are "totally untrue," have sparked a new round of criticism of his administration, especially given his last-minute approval of a $400 million new stadium for the Yankees.
The Village Voice  |  05-16-2007  2:09 pm  |  Industry News

Alt-Weekly Cartoonist Talks 'Maakies,' 'Drinky Crow'new

The Drinky Crow Show, based on Tony Millionaire's "Maakies" comic strip, hit The Cartoon Network's Adult Swim Sunday night. He tells the New York Times that after he started to draw the characters in exchange for beer at a Brooklyn bar, the New York Press eventually picked up the strip for $25 a week. "Maakies," which now runs in other alt-weeklies, remains the driving force behind Millionaire's creative output, even as he branches out into TV and books. "Without it I'd still be a bum, I'd still be drawing houses," he says. "I needed a deadline. That's the code of the cartoonist: make the deadline." He also explains to Baltimore City Paper why the TV show doesn't share the strip's name: "Maakies" works better visually than aurally. "But 'Drinky Crow' is a word that's very catchy, everybody loves to say 'Drinky Crow.' Little kids love to say 'Drinky Crow.'"
The New York Times  |  05-16-2007  11:51 am  |  Industry News

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