AAN News
Boulder Weekly Wins 36 Awards in Top of the Rockies Contestnew
Colorado Springs Independent won 21 awards and the Santa Fe Reporter won 12 awards. Westword editor Patricia Calhoun earned the Keeper of the Flame Award.
SPJ Announces Sigma Delta Chi Awardsnew
Writers for Miami New Times, Philadelphia City Paper, and Westword have been named as Sigma Delta Chi Award honorees by the national Society of Professional Journalists.
The Society of Professional Journalists |
05-10-2011 4:31 pm |
Honors & Achievements
Columnist: Westword Editor 'is a Denver Fixture'new
Saying her presence in Denver is "as durable as the U.S. Mint," Denver Post columnist Bill Husted sits down for a few drinks with Patricia Calhoun for his "Bar & Grilled" column. Their wide-ranging conversation touches on everything from why she drinks beer ("I read an article that said women in business should not drink beer because it wasn't professional. And I am enough of a contrarian that I decided to embrace beer with a vengeance.") to why she's stayed with Westword for 33 years ("I guess I haven't found anything more interesting than what I am doing now.") to how she would describe the alt-weekly ("We're bossy, and we're glossy.").
Denver Post |
03-26-2010 8:53 am |
Industry News
Alt-Weeklies Among National Education Reporting Award Winnersnew
Westword's Patricia Calhoun took home a first place win and Willamette Week's Beth Slovic received a special citation at the Education Writers Association's 2009 National Awards for Education Reporting. Calhoun took first in the Small Media: Opinion category for "School Daze," while Slovic was recognized in the Small Media: Feature, News Feature or Issue Package category for "Cheerless."
Education Writers Association |
03-11-2010 8:32 am |
Honors & Achievements
Westword No Longer Accepting Pot Critic Applicationsnew
The Denver alt-weekly received a total of more than 200 applications for a gig reviewing the region's medical marijuana dispensaries. Editor Patricia Calhoun says the flood of interested critics, applying from all over the globe, was likely correlated to the worldwide media coverage Westword's unusual opening has received.
Westword |
10-22-2009 11:30 am |
Industry News
How I Got That Story Live Chat: Joel Warner Talks About His Award-Winning Feature Story
Westword's Joel Warner, who won first place for feature story in the above 50,000 circulation category for "The Good Soldier," discussed the story with his editor Patricia Calhoun in a live chat.
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
10-09-2009 3:21 pm |
Association News
Applications for Westword Pot Critic Gig 'Continue to Pour In'new
In its quest to find a medical marijuana dispensary reviewer, the Denver alt-weekly is asking would-be critics to write a brief essay on "What Marijuana Means to Me." Editor Patricia Calhoun says that the national media attention has brought in quite a few applications -- "some silly, some actually spelled correctly (many potheads don't seem to care for punctuation), some very sincere."
Westword |
10-08-2009 11:17 am |
Industry News
Westword Editor: Pot Critic Story is 'Very Serious'new
"It's funny how the national media has jumped all over this," Patricia Calhoun writes of the attention being given to the paper's quest to hire a freelance critic to review medical marijuana dispensaries. But while most outlets have taken a "light, fun" tone to the story, she says the issue is serious business in Colorado. "There's one aspect of our search for a reviewer that's not funny: How very, very important easy access to quality medical marijuana is for so many people," Calhoun writes.
Westword |
10-06-2009 2:43 pm |
Industry News
Third 'How I Got That Story' Live Chat Coming This Friday
Westword staff writer Joel Warner and editor Patricia Calhoun will be live on AAN.org this Friday talking about Warner's story "The Good Soldier," which won first place for feature story in the above 50,000 circulation category. The chat will begin at 3:30 EDT.
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
10-05-2009 1:41 pm |
Association News
Westword Seeks a Pot Criticnew
"Do you have a medical condition that necessitates marijuana? Do you have a way with words?," the Denver alt-weekly asked in a job posting earlier this week. "If so, Westword wants you to join the ranks as our freelance marijuana-dispensary reviewer." As the paper has reported, the number of medical marijuana dispensaries in the area has exploded, so they're launching a weekly column called "Mile Highs and Lows" to review them. Westword editor Patricia Calhoun tells the Wall Street Journal the process of looking for a critic to review drugs isn't any different than looking for, say, a food critic -- they will post the ad and ask for a sample review. "Our restaurant critic, Jason Sheehan, won a James Beard award," she says. "We're hoping we'll have similar success, although there don't seem to be as many rewards for marijuana reviewers."
The Wall Street Journal |
10-01-2009 12:10 pm |
Industry News
Westword Gets Minor Faceliftnew
The Denver alt-weekly debuted a new look this week, with a glossy cover and staples. Westword editor Patricia Calhoun tells Face the State that the new format pushes the paper's deadline back a day because it takes more production time, and that it costs a little more. But that added cost gets offset by the higher rates the paper can charge to run ads on the glossy stock. "It all evens out pretty quickly," Calhoun says.
Face the State |
05-22-2009 8:11 am |
Industry News
Critic Pans Alt-Weekly Convention Coverage; Alts Fight Backnew
Columbia Journalism Review assistant editor Jane Kim claims in a blog post that "one thing that was sorely lacking from the past two weeks of convention spotlighting was good alt weekly coverage." She then uses a couple of blog features from convention host-city papers Westword and City Pages to prove the "sad results" of "consolidation of the alt weeklies under VVM." In the comments section, Westword editor Patricia Calhoun argues that staff cartoonist Kenny Be, whose "Delegating Denver" series provided grist for Kim's critique, is "the town's best political columnist," adding that "to quote lines without the context of the artwork is hardly fair" when criticizing a cartoon. AAN executive director Richard Karpel, meanwhile, points out that both papers broke significant convention-related news prior to the conventions, and that several dozen other alt-weeklies had folks on the ground during the confabs. "It seems clear from the tone of this piece that Kim went in with a set of preconceived ideas -- the all-too-easy meme that corporate ownership leads to homogenization -- and wasn't going to let the facts get in her way at 4:42 p.m. on a Friday," City Pages' editor-in-chief Kevin Hoffman adds. Lastly, Village Voice Media executive associate editor Andy Van De Voorde takes Kim to task for "focusing on 'the various shades of Banana Republic grey' worn by the Palins" in her own work during the conventions, while City Pages reporters were arrested, roughed up, and pepper-sprayed as "a direct result of their decision to actually go out and cover news."
Columbia Journalism Review |
09-09-2008 9:10 am |
Industry News
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VVM Witnesses Begin Taking the Stand in Bay Guardian Suit
On Friday, Village Voice Media executive editor Michael Lacey testified in the predatory pricing trial. The Guardian says Lacey "had some trouble answering some key questions" about SF Weekly's ad sales and a 1995 meeting where he met the Weekly staff shortly after purchasing the paper. The Weekly says Lacey's testimony illustrated that his and Bruce Brugmann's "editorial philosophies were worlds apart," and notes that Lacey's testimony showed he is not involved in the business side of VVM's affairs. This is key because of comments he made about being "the only game in town," which the Guardian is using as evidence he wanted to drive them out of business. Patricia Calhoun, editor of Denver's Westword, which New Times bought in 1983, also testified on Friday, and according to the Weekly, she "got on and off the stand in only about twenty minutes, a timely performance that drew appreciative nods from jurors." The trial resumes today.
San Francisco Bay Guardian | SF Weekly |
02-11-2008 12:21 pm |
Industry News
Patricia Calhoun Remembers Westword Co-Founder Sandy Widenernew
"Sandy was fresh from Texas, a tiny blonde in even tinier hot pants, with a big personality," the current Westword editor says of Widener, who she first met at Cornell in the '70s. Widener, who died with her husband and one of her daughters in a car accident late last month, went on to co-found the Denver alt-weekly with Calhoun and Rob Simon. "With each reminiscence," Calhoun says, "I keep wanting to reach for the phone to call Sandy, to utter a few words and be rewarded with a shriek. I'll get several numerals into the call before I suddenly remember that she's gone." There will be a service for Sandy, her husband John, and their daughter Chase in a few weeks in Denver, when daughter Katy, who was spared in the accident, is well enough to attend. In the meantime, a memorial site has been set up at johnsandychase.muchloved.com.
Westword |
01-03-2008 8:39 am |
Industry News
Tags: Westword, Patricia Calhoun
Westword Co-Founder Dies in Car Crashnew
Sandra Widener, who started the Denver alt-weekly in 1977 with Patricia Calhoun and Rob Simon, died on Saturday when the vehicle her family was in skidded out of control and a tractor trailer slammed into the driver's side, the Denver Post reports. She was 53 years old. Her husband, Democratic political consultant John Parr, and one of their two daughters also died in the crash. Their 17-year-old daughter is expected to leave the hospital today, according to the Rocky Mountain News. "Their house became a focal point for the neighborhood, and the world. Their friends included everybody," Calhoun tells the Post. "They always had students in from other countries. It was just a nonstop party." The News also reports that three drivers have been charged with driving too fast for conditions in the chain-reaction crash.
The Denver Post | Rocky Mountain News |
12-26-2007 8:16 am |
Industry News
