AAN News

Sacramento News & Review Publisher Steps Down

Scott Hassenflu will leave the News & Review and the board of the Alternative Weekly Network (AWN) on May 18. In a letter sent yesterday to his AWN colleagues, Hassenflu says his "short term plans" call for "some much needed R & R" and a more active role in a home-furnishings store he co-owns. Hassenflu has served on the AWN board for the past 10 years, and has had a long career in the alternative press, including stints with the Dallas Observer and San Francisco Bay Guardian.
AAN News  |  04-03-2007  1:38 pm  |  Industry News

Influential Musician to Write Column in Washington City Papernew

Bob Mould, best known as the singer, guitarist and songwriter for the indie bands Hüsker Dü and Sugar, will answer reader questions on "music, cooking, travel, politics, religion, neighborhoods, sociology and more" in a column appropriately called "Ask Bob Mould," according to City Paper. Arts editor Mark Athitakis tells AAN News the idea "was kicking around for a while here at the office" and that the column will run "on the opening spread of the arts section."
Washington City Paper  |  04-03-2007  12:59 pm  |  Industry News

Former Alt-Weekly Writer Suspected of Being 'Salon Bandit'new

Joseph William Watson III, a former staff writer for the Phoenix New Times, was arrested Friday in conjunction with the robberies of three Scottsdale, Ariz., beauty salons and as many as six other businesses, investigators tell The Arizona Republic. According to police, Watson confessed the crimes and told detectives he was driven to steal to cover gambling debt. Watson won two 2006 AltWeekly Awards, including a first-place finish for Feature Writing. "I'm in a state of shock," New Times staff writer Stephen Lemons says. "I knew Watson had been battling an obsession with gambling for some time, and I know he'd sunk low in the past because of it. But I had no idea he'd go so far."
The Arizona Republic  |  04-03-2007  9:08 am  |  Industry News

Are Cops Overemphasizing Orlando Weekly's Role in Prostitution Sting?new

Orlando's Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI) tells WFTV-TV they used massage parlor ads in the Orlando alt-weekly to nab Li Ping Ding, a "ringleader" who was "running prostitution out of 10 locations in Central Florida." On the Orlando Weekly's blog, editor Bob Whitby smells something funny: He says the Weekly has been a thorn in the MBI's side for some time, and thinks it may be more than a coincidence that the Bureau included four pages of Weekly ads in the press release for Ding's bust. "Could this be part of the culture of retribution the MBI is so famous for?," Whitby asks.
WFTV-TV  |  04-03-2007  8:15 am  |  Industry News

Alt-Weekly Comic Strip Spawns Adult Swim TV Pilotnew

The pilot of The Drinky Crow Show, based on Tony Millionaire's Maakies, is set to premiere on The Cartoon Network's Adult Swim May 13. Maakies, which debuted in the New York Press in 1994, is now featured in the Village Voice and other AAN papers. With a theme song by They Might Be Giants and a plot involving a mermaid, a suicidal crow, a shark attack, "head-chopping violence" and "ferocious Napoleonic French alligators," the pilot should make for an interesting 11 minutes.
Publishers Weekly  |  04-03-2007  7:49 am  |  Industry News

Salt Lake City Weekly Owner Responds to Spurious Ad Claimsnew

Last week, the entertainment magazine In Utah This Week ran an ad claiming that it has eroded the alt-weekly's readership by 20 percent in five months. But Weekly owner John Saltas sarcastically points out the ad -- which appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune, In Utah's sister publication -- grossly overestimates the magazine's readership by referencing the wrong numbers. "CUME numbers mostly impress young reps and rookie managers and are a crock when used to purposely mislead as the In Utah folks did in [the] ad," Saltas says.
Salt Lake City Weekly  |  04-02-2007  2:23 pm  |  Industry News

Man Suspended for Sharing '¡Ask a Mexican!' Isn't Suing His Employernew

But Robert Diefenbach tells the Oregonian he would like his record cleared of the racial and sexual harassment charges that accompanied his suspension last year after sharing Gustavo Arellano's popular syndicated column. He still reads '¡Ask a Mexican!' and even received an autographed column from Arellano, who has gained at least a few readers as a result of the brouhaha. "I've had people come up to me and say they're really glad this came up because they discovered him," Diefenbach says.
The Oregonian  |  04-02-2007  10:43 am  |  Industry News

Longtime Village Voice Art Critic Leaves for New York Magazinenew

Jerry Saltz, a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist for criticism, will start at New York in April, the New York Observer reports. Saltz joined the Voice in 1998. "Jerry is one of the city's most well-respected critics," Voice editor Tony Ortega says in a staff memo. "I know he'll continue doing outstanding work for his new editors just as he's done at the Voice for so long."
New York Observer  |  04-02-2007  8:24 am  |  Industry News

Village Voice Media 'Most Active Prospect' in Philadelphia Weekly Salenew

Unnamed "insiders" tell the Philadelphia Inquirer that Review Publishing LP, the Weekly's parent company, wants to package its three other publications with the alt-weekly in a sale, but VVM only wants the Weekly. Rumors of the paper's sale first appeared last week, and it has been reported that Philadelphia Media Holdings, the parent company of the city's two dailies, is also interested.
Philadelphia Inquirer (Second item)  |  04-02-2007  7:42 am  |  Industry News

Riverfront Times Articles Subpoenaed in Protest-Arrest Casenew

The St. Louis alt-weekly complied with the Missouri Attorney General's request for copies of two articles covering the 2003 protests of the World Agricultural Forum and the 27 arrests that ensued, the paper reports. The AG is defending the city in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the protesters. The suit claims the city arrested potential demonstrators in order to "harass, intimidate, deter and to otherwise force individuals, including Plaintiffs, into silence." The trial is set to begin in July.
Riverfront Times  |  03-30-2007  12:54 pm  |  Industry News

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