AAN News

Isthmus News Editor Pens 'The Open Records Blues'

Bill Lueders (pictured) wrote the lyrics based on his own troubles with records requests, then convinced Wisconsin musician Peter Leidy to write music and record the song in time for Sunshine Week, a national observance of the public's right to information about its government. "It's a topic with contemporary resonance," says Lueders, who is also the president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council. Isthmus won two open records lawsuits against the Madison Police Department, in 1996 and 1998. "The Open Records Blues" can be downloaded here and is free for broadcast.
03-07-2006  11:25 am  |  Industry News

Isthmus News Editor Plays Pundit for Local News

Bill Lueders was one of two news commentators asked to predict Madison's news in 2006 by WISC-TV. He guessed it would be a good year for the city's mayor and Sen. Russ Feingold, but "a very rough year for Republicans in Wisconsin."
01-04-2006  2:54 pm  |  Industry News

Isthmus News Editor Communes With Satan?new

During a discussion of "the war on Christmas" on the Dec. 13 episode of Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor," host Bill O'Reilly suggested that "you expect those people to be communing with Satan up there in the Madison, Wisconsin media." A Madison-based Web site decided to investigate further, eliciting several tongue-in-cheek responses from local media and political officials -- including Bill Lueders, news editor for AAN member paper Isthmus. Lueders said, "Actually, I commune with Satan often, and consider him a pal. Not the scary Biblical Satan who eats babies and the like, but the kind of guy who is considered sinister by Bill O'Reilly and friends: You know, the kind who believes that government ought to be on the side of people in need, not people in greed; the kind who supports equality for woman and gay people; the kind who tries to be respectful of religious diversity and not trumpet the 'majority' religion. That Satan. Praise be with him."
Dane101.com  |  12-20-2005  2:54 pm  |  Industry News

Kent Williams: Looking at Art's Provocative Side

With his award-winning arts criticism in Madison's Isthmus, Kent Williams makes the case for the local critic: someone who will see The Passion of the Christ the way the community sees it, who will marvel at the complexity of the pipe organ in the local symphony hall, and who will notice the naked sculpture at the local museum that people have walked past all these years without ever really understanding her. This is the 24th in a "How I Got That Story" series highlighting the AltWeekly Awards' first-place winners. (FULL STORY)
Isaiah Thompson  |  12-09-2005  6:53 pm  |  Association News

AAN Member to Address State Press Association Conventionnew

Catherine Nelson, associate publisher of AAN member Shepherd Express in Milwaukee, Wis., is scheduled to deliver a lecture titled "There Are Alternatives" at the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association convention next month. The PNA Web site describes Nelson, who was formerly publisher of two Pittsburgh alt-weeklies that went out of business, as "an industry guru on alternative papers." In addition to her position at Shepherd Express, Nelson presently serves as publisher of the new, daily-owned Core Weekly, which competes with AAN member Isthmus in Madison, Wis. (Scroll down the linked page to read about Nelson's lecture.)
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association  |  09-16-2004  3:01 pm  |  Industry News

Isthmus Gets "Stitched"

08-26-2004  5:48 pm  |  Press Releases

Alt-Weeklies Look to Media Rivals as Partners

Alternative newsweeklies have found myriad ways to team up with competitors for lucrative cross-promotional arrangements. Radio is perhaps the most common partner for alt-weeklies and music events the most frequent vehicle for cooperation, Ann Hinch writes for AAN News. Television and even print, however, have been mined by AAN members “to reach a broader audience and more diverse demographic.” (FULL STORY)
Ann Hinch  |  11-18-2002  12:34 pm  |  Industry News

Alt Pubs Threatened for Criticizing President, Policy

Alternative newsweeklies across the country have bucked the trend of unquestioned support for the president and the new war in Afghanistan. They’ve also paid the price for their criticism, with retribution ranging from yanked ads to death threats. (FULL STORY)
AAN Staff  |  10-17-2001  12:32 pm  |  Industry News

Two AAN Papers Produce Poets

An Isthmus editor and NewCity circulation manager each publish first book. (FULL STORY)
Christine Iwan  |  09-13-2000  11:50 am  |  Industry News

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