AAN News
Phoenix New Times Story Helps Push Congressman from Committeenew
Last week, U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) said he would step down from the House Intelligence Committee after a FBI raid on his offices. The New York Times reports the investigation "involves accusations that he improperly used his influence as a congressman to engineer a land swap benefiting a business associate" -- accusations first revealed by New Times last October. In addition, the federal prosecutor who began the investigation was one of the eight U.S. Attorneys fired by the Bush administration last year. But as the Times notes, thus far documents released by the Justice Department "detail a handful of reasons" for officials' unhappiness with Paul Charlton, but do not mention the Renzi investigation.
Prescott Daily Courier | The New York Times |
04-23-2007 9:15 am |
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
Houston Press Reporter Wins IRE Awardnew
All the finalists in the "Newspapers: Local Circulation Weeklies" category were AAN members, but Todd Spivak came out on top for "Run Over By Metro." The prestigious awards, given by Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc., recognize the most outstanding watchdog journalism of the year. Judges said Spivak's "compelling and vivid narrative writing gives extraordinary power to the victims' stories and fuels the outrage over the agency's misconduct." The other finalists were Sarah Fenske of Phoenix New Times (for "Cracked Houses"), Dan Frosch of the Santa Fe Reporter (for "The Wexford Files"), and Matthew Fleischer of LA Weekly (for "Navahoax").
Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. |
03-27-2007 9:12 am |
Honors & Achievements
Phoenix New Times Reveals the Anatomy of a Hoaxnew
As we reported earlier this month, the alt-weekly's story on Anna Nicole Smith's "secret Native American love child" was indeed fake. Stephen Lemons, who wrote the story, tallies up the carnage this week, reporting that CBS News, Gawker and the New Zealand Herald were among the outlets that fell for it. And while the paper was offered $500,000 for photos of the non-existent baby boy at one point, Lemons notes that many of the paper's regular readers knew it was a hoax all along.
Phoenix New Times |
03-26-2007 2:29 pm |
Industry News
Phoenix New Times' Anna Nicole Story is -- Gasp! -- a Hoaxnew
After a week of internet chatter and blogospheric speculation about the alt-weekly's story on the deceased starlet's "secret Native American love child," Inside Edition finally gets the paper to admit it was false. Reporter Steven Lemons, who wrote the story under the nom de plume Charles Tatum, admits to the TV tabloid that "absolutely none" of the story was true. "Our aim was to sort of make fun of all the Anna Nicole Smith coverage, you know, just the mania over that," an unnamed New Times editor tells Inside Edition.
Inside Edition |
03-16-2007 8:40 am |
Industry News
Phoenix New Times Faces Criminal Charges in Clash with Sheriffnew
Village Voice Media's headquarter's paper has been threatened with a felony indictment unless it removes the home address of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio from its Web site and agrees to never publish the address of a law enforcement officer online again, the paper's Stephen Lemons reports. The threat comes more than two years after the paper first published Arpaio's address in an article intended "to show the absurdity of [the sheriff's] home address' being readily available to any idiot with access to a computer when [he] used the very same law to justify hiding information on commercial real estate he owns." The alt-weekly has long been a critic of Arpaio, who it accuses of corruption and having a "vindictive streak." The paper's cover this week depicts an envelope containing a Christmas card addressed to the Sheriff at his home.
Phoenix New Times |
12-21-2006 12:02 pm |
Industry News
Phoenix New Times Barred From Press Conferencenew
Stephen Lemons reports that he and photographer Lilia Menconi were denied entry yesterday when the press was briefed on an indictment against Maricopa County's schools superintendent. Subordinates of County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said the paper was banned because it was "in litigation" with the Sheriff's office; according to Lemons, that's a reference to a New Times lawsuit seeking access to public records. "Take good notes!" Lemons yelled at fourth-estate colleagues as he was escorted from the building. "We’re from the New Times and we’re being kicked out."
Phoenix New Times | Feathered Bastard |
11-21-2006 6:25 pm |
Industry News
Phoenix New Times Article Prompts Goldwater Family to Seek File Closurenew
The heirs of the late Sen. Barry Goldwater are in a dudgeon over a recent cover essay, the alt-weekly reports. Stephen Lemons' "Goldwater Uncut" included details about the Republican icon's bawdy, hard-drinking lifestyle that didn't make it into an HBO documentary. Lemon's source: the Goldwater family's own correspondence from an archive established by the senator in 1959 with no restrictions on public access. The Arizona Historical Foundation has temporarily blocked access to part of the documents at the request of family members.
Phoenix New Times |
11-13-2006 9:57 am |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Phoenix New Times
Hard-Hitting Alternative Weekly Stories Make Powerful 'Google Bombs'
More and more Republican candidates are falling prey to "Google bombing' by liberal bloggers, according to the New York Times. The bloggers rack up slews of links to negative stories on candidates, which then pop to the top of Google searches. The Times offers as example an April 13 Phoenix New Times story about Senator John Kyl, charging that the Arizona republican neglected his constituents to serve the radical right. The Times' anecdotal lede underscores a harsh reality: the hard-hitting investigations of the alternative press can seem like powerful ammo when deployed against one's adversaries.
10-26-2006 11:22 am |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Phoenix New Times
John Dougherty's Last Column for Phoenix New Times
"The kind of journalism I practiced at [Phoenix] New Times is not for the weak-hearted who want approval from the powerful and wealthy, or who want to be invited to lunch with the governor and to power brokers' fancy parties," reporter John Dougherty writes in the weekly's Aug. 31 issue. In his final column, Dougherty reflects on his personal and professional development and explains his decision to leave "one of the best jobs in American journalism" after 13 years.
09-05-2006 9:33 am |
Industry News
Staff Writer John Dougherty Leaves Phoenix New Timesnew
Phoenix New Times |
08-24-2006 8:46 am |
Industry News
Two Village Voice Media Papers Earn Casey Medals
John Dougherty's "Polygamy in Arizona" investigation for Phoenix New Times won first place in the Nondaily Newspaper category of the 2006 Casey Medals for Meritorious Journalism, it was announced today. The awards honor distinguished coverage of disadvantaged children and families. The judges wrote that Dougherty's series "was a tough story to get and the New Times should be applauded for stepping in where authorities failed to go." An honorable mention was given to Jonathan Kaminsky of East Bay Express for "Wounded Warriors," which the judges called "an insightful, unflinching look at a football team in a bleak neighborhood."
06-13-2006 9:29 am |
Industry News
Phoenix New Times Explains Dog-Cooking Satirenew
Phoenix New Times |
05-22-2006 7:12 am |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Phoenix New Times
Mansion Battles Reaction from Phoenix New Times 'Spoof' Storynew
The Business Journal (Phoenix) |
05-16-2006 2:34 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Phoenix New Times
Alt-Weeklies Lap Up Nominations in Food-Writing Awards
Foodies at Creative Loafing (Atlanta), Riverfront Times, Westword, L.A. Weekly, East Bay Express, City Pages (Twin Cities), Phoenix New Times, and Houston Press picked up ten of the 21 nominations for which they qualified in the 2006 James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards announced today. The complete list is available as a PDF here. Alt-weeklies were particularly dominant in the "Newspaper Writing on Spirits, Wine or Beer" category, in which all three nominees are AAN members. The awards recognize and honor excellence and achievement in the culinary arts.
03-16-2006 1:26 pm |
Industry News
