AAN News
Judge Says She'll Raise Damages Award in SF Weekly/Bay Guardian Casenew
Judge Marla Miller of San Francisco Superior Court said Friday she's inclined to boost a jury's damages award against the Weekly from $6.3 million to $15.6 million, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Miller, in what she described as a tentative decision, said she would triple the portion of the damages that equals one year of losses, bringing the total to $15.6 million. She also said she'll likely issue an injunction barring the Weekly from continuing to sell ads below cost. She is expected to make a final ruling this week. The Weekly says it will appeal. Read more from the Bay Guardian and the Weekly.
San Francisco Chronicle |
05-12-2008 10:41 am |
Industry News
David Carr Weighs in On Phoenix New Times Arrests and Lawsuitnew
"Reporters have ended up in handcuffs in the United States before -- some have gone to jail to protect the identity of sources -- but it is a rare moment when someone here is imprisoned for the crime of typing," Carr writes in today's New York Times. He details how the tumultuous relationship between New Times and Sheriff Joe Arpaio ultimately led to the arrest of the paper's founders last year for disclosing a grand jury probe of the paper and its readers. Jim Larkin and Michael Lacey recently sued the sheriff and other officials for the debacle. "Suing people is not the core of what we do, but our arrest was just the culmination of an ongoing reign of terror that is still continuing," Lacey says.
The New York Times |
05-12-2008 9:46 am |
Industry News
The Village Voice Announces Initial Lineup for 8th Annual Siren Music Festival
The Village Voice Press Release |
05-07-2008 12:56 pm |
Press Releases
Ruxton Rolls Out National Digital Network
The national advertising firm announced today that all "AAN publications that meet a set of standards and practices specifications are eligible for non-exclusive representation by the Ruxton Digital Media Network." Ruxton currently represents 39 alt-weeklies and says it is on pace to deliver more than $2 million in digital sales this year to its partner publications. "Our growing success in digital sales to date and increasing demand from advertisers for more inventory has spurred us to open up the network to all AAN papers," Village Voice Media president and chief operating officer Scott Tobias says in a press release. "A large national digital advertising network will give everyone the opportunity to participate in the growth of national digital advertising sales."
(FULL STORY)
Ruxton Media Group Press Release |
05-06-2008 2:06 pm |
Press Releases
David Brauer Weighs in on the Changes at City Pages, Post-VVM Mergernew
"These days, compliments about City Pages are as rare as pro-R.T. Rybak stories during [Steve] Perry's 13-year tenure as editor," Brauer writes on MinnPost.com. But he thinks that despite the paper's "obvious problems" in the Village Voice Media era, the piling-on is unfair. "The beat-down has become so relentless that the good things aren't being acknowledged," he writes. The most recent staffer to depart, reporter Paul Demko, agrees. "I see people here doing a lot of good work and hard work and -- whatever the failings of the paper -- that also needs to be acknowledged," he tells Brauer. "It pisses me off when I think about some jackass on [the local blog] MnSpeak talking about how worthless the paper is." In the rest of the nearly-3,000 word piece, Brauer looks at everything from the recent City Pages stories that have generated the most web traffic to what he sees as the paper's remaining weaknesses.
MinnPost.com |
05-01-2008 1:46 pm |
Industry News
Sheriff Joe Arpaio on New Times Suit: 'I Welcome Being Sued'new
The Maricopa County sheriff "reacted with bluster" to the news that he was named in a suit filed yesterday by Phoenix New Times, the Arizona Republic reports. "They can't take their own medicine, so they have to be like crybabies and file a lawsuit against the sheriff and the county attorney," Arpaio says. "So you know what? I welcome the lawsuit. I welcome being sued. They're going to have to answer a lot of questions." Arpaio also defended the rationale behind the original probe. "It became a problem when they put my name illegally on the web," he says. "And that became a problem for me and my family. A big problem." New Times founder Michael Lacey defended the suit, calling the actions of Arpaio and the other defendants "unprecedented. ... They locked up journalists for something they've written, not for something they've withheld," he says.
The Arizona Republic |
04-30-2008 11:29 am |
Industry News
Phoenix New Times Files Suit Over Last Year's Grand Jury Debacle
The lawsuit, filed today in Maricopa County Superior Court, says defendants Sheriff Joe Arpaio, County Attorney Andrew Thomas, lawyer Dennis Wilenchik and two county agencies subverted "the grand jury process" and committed other wrongdoing in their probe of New Times, which led to the arrests of the paper's founders. The 34-page lawsuit also accuses the defendants of retaliatory conduct in falsely arresting Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin and in maliciously prosecuting New Times. The lawsuit does not ask for a specific amount of money, but seeks general and punitive damages, and requests a jury trial. Read more on the Phoenix New Times' blog.
(FULL STORY)
Phoenix New Times Press Release |
04-29-2008 11:28 am |
Press Releases
L.A. Weekly Eliminates #2 Editor Positionnew
Deputy editor Joe Donnelly's position was cut by Village Voice Media, LA Observed reports. "I can tell you that Joe Donnelly was one of the reasons the L.A. Weekly has been so strong over the past few years," Weekly editor Laurie Ochoa says. "The good news is that Joe plans on doing a lot more writing, much of which we plan to publish. He's been the guiding force behind so many books through the years -- I think it's time he writes his own book." According to LA Observed, Donnelly will do just that -- he plans on writing a novel. Also, longtime copy editor Sheila Beaumont, who has worked at the paper for 26 years, has retired rather than make the commute to Culver City, where the Weekly is moving next week.
LA Observed |
04-24-2008 10:52 am |
Industry News
VVM Websites' Traffic in March Up 139 Percent Over Last Yearnew
Editor & Publisher |
04-22-2008 9:40 am |
Industry News
Michael Lacey Responds to Brouhaha Over Commentsnew
"My invoking the argot of Black artists achieved a level of insensitive stupidity almost galactic in scale," writes the Village Voice Media executive editor in a blog post. "Whatever discussion lingers about the use of the words 'bitch' or 'ho' in hip-hop, comedy, film or literature, there is no question about the N-bomb coming out of the mouth of a 59-year-old white man." Lacey's post includes a link to Friday night's error-riddled FOX News segment from Hannity & Colmes about the incident.
Phoenix New Times |
04-14-2008 3:58 pm |
Industry News
Michael Lacey's Statement to the Society of Professional Journalists
Michael Lacey |
04-11-2008 3:59 pm |
Industry News
Fallout from Michael Lacey's Comments Continuesnew
The Village Voice Media executive editor's Friday night utterance of the "n-word" continues to be discussed in media circles and on the internet. Maricopa County attorney Andrew Thomas, who may be sued by Phoenix New Times soon, criticized Lacey's comments at a press conference on Tuesday, saying "this should be the Don Imus moment for
Arizona's media," KTVK-TV reports. KTVK-TV also has the full video of the
acceptance speech in which the offending comment was made. And Philadelphia City Paper publisher Paul Curci is weighing in as well, calling Lacey's comments "vicious and hateful" in an incensed letter to AAN News.
KTVK-TV |
04-10-2008 1:33 pm |
Industry News
Letter to the Editor RE: Michael Lacey's Comments
Paul Curci |
04-10-2008 1:30 pm |
Letters to the Editor
Michael Lacey Causes Controversy While Accepting SPJ Awardnew
The Village Voice Media executive editor ruffled some feathers when he used the "n-word" to refer to an old friend while accepting the President's Award from the local Society of Professional Journalists chapter, the East Valley Tribune reports. "My words, meant to honor a friend, were inappropriate," Lacey says. "All present have my sincere apology. It is regrettable that any phrase of mine offended those attending a First Amendment awards banquet." In other news, Phoenix New Times will receive a Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism for standing up to last fall's grand jury probe. Lacey and VVM CEO Jim Larkin were both arrested and briefly incarcerated as a result of the probe.
East Valley Tribune |
04-08-2008 10:32 am |
Industry News
Arizona ACLU Names VVM Execs 'Civil Libertarians of the Year'new
Village Voice Media executive editor Mike Lacey and chairman/CEO Jim Larkin received the honor at the AZ ACLU's annual Bill of Rights dinner this weekend. They were being honored for publishing the county's illegal grand jury subpoenas against the Phoenix New Times and its readers last fall, for which the pair was ultimately arrested. But in presenting the award to the New Times founders, AZ ACLU past president John Hay explained that the well-publicized dust-up was only the tip of the iceberg. "The excuse we're using is what happened this fall when they faced down the Sheriff and the County Attorney. But they have in fact been defending civil liberties now for at least 38 years," Hay said. "So it is my pleasure to present these awards, which I think are slightly wrong. This says Civil Libertarian of the Year. I present these awards to Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin for being Civil Libertarians of the past four decades."
Phoenix New Times |
04-01-2008 9:04 am |
Honors & Achievements
