AAN News
Dallas Observer Reports Pentecostal Minister Abused Womennew
In a blistering investigation, Editor Julie Lyons, aka "Bible Girl," dives into Fort Worth Pastor Sherman Allen's decades-long history of alleged sexual abuse. She reports that since late January, when local TV station KXAS broke the story of a lawsuit against Allen by former church member and employee Davina Kelly, seven other women have come forward with tales of paddling and degradation at the hands of the Pentecostal pastor. The victims have also told her that Allen "is involved in the occult, employing such tactics as hypnosis, magic or illusions and the use of healing potions." GetReligion, a blog covering religion in journalism, says: "Lyons is an articulate, opinionated evangelical Christian who is doing some of the most freewheeling, confessional first-person religion writing I have ever seen."
Dallas Observer |
02-28-2007 11:03 am |
Industry News
Papers Underspending in Newsroom, Overspending in Advertisingnew
A new study done by researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia analyzes financial data from papers with a circulation of 85,000 or less and finds that "news quality most directly affects the bottom line," according to DM News, which covers direct and internet marketing. The study will be published in April's Journal of Marketing.
DM News |
02-27-2007 10:30 am |
Industry News
Chicago Alt-Weekly Enlists Readers as Poll Watchersnew
In today's citywide election, the Chicago Reader will "try a little experiment in citizen journalism" and have readers send in dispatches from the polls as election day unfolds, E&P reports. On Clout City, the paper's politics blog, Executive Editor Mike Lenehan tells readers: "Keep your eyes and ears open, ask questions if you need to, carry your camera or picture phone, and e-mail your anecdotes and photos." The best of this user-generated content will be posted on Clout City, along with reports from the Reader's regular bloggers. While Lenehan promises that editors "will be manning the inbox...until 8 pm at least, longer if it gets interesting," E&P says the biggest race will likely be a snoozer. "Mayor Richard M. Daley looks to be a shoo-in," E&P writes, before noting there are a few "spirited aldermanic elections" to watch.
Editor & Publisher |
02-27-2007 9:27 am |
Industry News
Village Voice Names New Managing Editornew
Deborah Kolben, most recently city editor of the New York Sun, will join the Voice in April, reports the New York Observer. The winner of two National Newspaper Association awards for investigative reporting, she becomes the third former Sun employee to join the alt-weekly's staff since ex-Sun TV critic David Blum took over as editor-in-chief, according to the Observer. "I grew up in New York reading the Voice and I'm looking forward to being a part of a newspaper that plays such a vital role for so many in New York and elsewhere," Kolben says.
New York Observer |
02-26-2007 5:01 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, The Village Voice
Military Recruiters Punished On Heels of Alt-Weekly Investigationnew
The Maryland Army National Guard's recruitment chief was stripped of his command and about a dozen other recruiters were punished after an internal investigation revealed misuse of government money, fraudulent enlistments and improper relationships among Guard members, the Washington Post reports. The probe was sparked by recent stories in Baltimore City Paper that "alleged deceptive recruiting practices aimed at meeting quotas," according to the Post.
The Washington Post |
02-26-2007 4:29 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Baltimore City Paper
Former Cincinnati CityBeat Columnist Adapts Book for the Stagenew
Kathy Y. Wilson has turned "Your Negro Tour Guide: Truths in Black and White," a collection of her columns written for the Cincinnati alt-weekly, into a one-woman play, according to the University of Cincinnati's student paper. Wilson, who teaches at the university, tells The News Record she hopes the seats are filled for this evening's one-time performance: "What can be more important for college students right now in America, in this time of political excitement, with a bi-racial man and a white woman running for president of the United States, than to hear some black woman stand up and talk about the shit that made that all possible: race, gender and class."
The News Record |
02-26-2007 1:44 pm |
Industry News
Arkansas Times' Associate Editor to Leave for University PR Postnew
Warwick Sabin, the alt-weekly's columnist, reporter and blogger, will leave next month to be associate vice president for communications for the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas Business reports. Sabin, who joined the Times in 2004 after working for the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation and played an important role in creating the Times' popular Arkansas Blog, will earn $92,000 in his new job, according to the Times.
Arkansas Business |
02-26-2007 1:25 pm |
Industry News
Isthmus' TheDailyPage.com Forum Wins National Press Award
Isthmus Publishing Co. Press Release |
02-26-2007 2:26 pm |
Press Releases
The Hearst Corp. to Launch San Antonio Faux-Alt
San Antonio Express-News says 210 SA, "a new weekly publication aimed at the 18-35-year-old reader ... is not unlike other free young-adult newspapers, such as Red Eye in Chicago and Quick in Dallas," according to an internal memo obtained by AAN News. 210SA, which will compete with AAN member the San Antonio Current, marks the first foray into faux-alts for The Hearst Corp.
(FULL STORY)
AAN News |
02-23-2007 12:34 pm |
Industry News
Early Village Voicers Reminisce at New York Forumnew
The focus of Saturday's panel was the Voice's impact on the theater, as drama critic Jerry Talmer, co-founder Edwin Fancher and cartoonist Jules Feiffer "trigger[ed] each other's memories about the early days of America's first alt-weekly," according to the Villager, a Greenwich Village community newspaper. The discussion ranged from the paper's creation of the Obie Awards -- Off-Broadway's highest honor -- to the merits of today's Voice to the role of World War II in the paper's origins. "There was the feeling in all of us that we have survived this ordeal, and they can't do anything to us," said Fancher, who, like co-founders Norman Mailer and Dan Wolf, served in the war. "We can have an open newspaper, and no one will shoot us."
The Villager |
02-23-2007 11:48 am |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, The Village Voice
Free Online Training Courses from the BBCnew
Poynter Online |
02-23-2007 11:50 am |
Industry News
Laura Fries Joins AAN Staff as Web Director and Editor
Creative Loafing Inc.'s former web editor will be responsible for overseeing the development of AAN's websites -- AAN.org and AltWeeklies.com. She will also share editing duties on both sites with Jon Whiten, the organization's senior editor. Fries got her start in journalism at the San Antonio Current, writing news and editing the food section. She also was the food editor of Tampa's Weekly Planet (now called Creative Loafing) for a short time before she was tapped for the web position in Atlanta.
(FULL STORY)
AAN Staff |
02-22-2007 4:37 pm |
Association News
Atlanta Daily to Further Differentiate Web and Print Productsnew
Facing a continually declining readership, Cox Newspapers' Atlanta Journal-Constitution announced last week an overhaul "that's expected to funnel breaking news and youth-oriented content to the Internet, while reserving the print version for investigative news and long-form feature stories for older, more educated readers," Creative Loafing reports.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
02-22-2007 1:57 pm |
Industry News
Nashville Scene Investigation Leads to Businessman's Suspensionnew
Prominent Hispanic businessman Robert Chavez has been suspended as president of the Tennessee Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for 90 days as a result of the alt-weekly's cover story detailing his "nefarious business activities and poor chamber leadership," according to NashvillePost.com, a website covering Nashville business and politics. One of the chamber's board members, Miguel Torres, tells the Scene: "You did a good thing for the Hispanic community ... without your article, we would never have known the true Chavez."
NashvillePost.com |
02-22-2007 1:03 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Nashville Scene
Arkansas Daily Planning Faux-Altnew
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's free weekly will target young readers by focusing on entertainment and short news items, according to the Arkansas Times. Internal memos provided to the Times reportedly reference the alt-weekly repeatedly, and reveal that "Focus" and "Mo" (as in, "More") are possible names for the new publication. Times Publisher Alan Leveritt accuses the D-G of starting the faux-alt "to eliminate a strong dissenting voice ... and to further monopolize the newspaper advertising market." But Leveritt is prepared to fight. "Over the last 30 some odd years any number of competitors have tried to swallow the Arkansas Times," Leveritt says. "We're about as digestible as hickory nuts."
Arkansas Times |
02-21-2007 5:15 pm |
Industry News
