The finalists include stories about a unitard-clad unicyclist, tuberculosis testing in prisons, and a cancer that may be caused by the implosion of the World Trade Center on 9/11. Other honorees that emerged from the 1,481 entries include a comic strip starring Republican strategist Ralph Reed and an illustrated guide for African-Americans to navigate DC's posh Georgetown neighborhood. L.A. Weekly and Style Weekly are the big winners this year, with the former setting a contest record with 13 winning entries.

Continue Reading2007 AltWeekly Awards Finalists Announced

Dan Lacey "thinks he is incredibly clever," writes Jonathan Kaminsky. As we reported yesterday, the man behind the Faithmouse blog has put his City Pages "Best Of" award up for auction on eBay, but lacking an actual certificate, he offered to draw one for the winner instead. Now City Pages is getting into the auction game. "If anyone wants the real deal, and not that phoney-baloney certificate that Lacey drew up in his spare time, I snatched it from our ad people before they got around to sending it out," Kaminsky says. "I've got it sitting right here at my desk, and I'm ready to talk turkey."

Continue ReadingCity Pages Responds to ‘Best Of’ Auctioneer

As expected, American Community Newspapers LLC announced yesterday that it has purchased the publishing and printing assets of CM Media, Inc. In addition to the Columbus alt-weekly, the Texas-based American Community Newspapers will take over CM's community papers, magazines and printing facility. "Our decision to sell the company was a difficult one, but we believe that (ACM president) Gene (Smith) and American Community Newspapers will continue our tradition of providing Central Ohio with quality journalism," says CM president and Other Paper publisher Max Brown.

Continue ReadingSale of The Other Paper’s Parent Company Finalized

That's almost twice as many as last year, and the most since 2001, when 22 papers applied. This year's hopefuls are spread across 14 states and one Canadian province, and include many repeat applicants and several other papers with pre-existing connections to AAN. And in a new twist in the admissions process, AAN prepared a report that provides background information on the companies and individuals who hold ownership stakes in each paper.

Continue ReadingNineteen Papers Apply for AAN Membership

The Free Flow of Information Act was introduced today in the House by U.S. Reps. Rick Boucher (D-VA), John Conyers (D-MI), Mike Pence (R-IN), Howard Coble (R-NC), Greg Walden (R-OR) and John Yarmuth (D-KY). A similarly bipartisan group of legislators will introduce an identical bill in the Senate. AAN is a member of an alliance of over 40 media companies and professional organizations that issued statements of support for the legislation. The bill would "establish important and balanced ground rules for compelled disclosure of sources and information from reporters," according to a press release issued by the Newspaper Association of America, which organized the coalition. Thirty-two states and the District of Columbia currently have shield laws in place.

Continue ReadingCoalition Applauds Reintroduction of Federal Shield Law

Be sure to register by Friday, May 4, to save $50 on registration rates for the Portland Convention. It's quick and easy to register online. Don't forget the registration bonuses for AAN member papers: Pay for two registrations and get one free; pay for a third and get one more for free. Our online system automatically calculates each paper's freebies.

Continue ReadingEarly Registration Deadline is Friday

"I've enjoyed my City Pages award for the past week, and now I'd like to pass it along to someone, anyone, who might really deserve it," writes Dan Lacey. His Faithmouse blog was recently named Best Locally Generated Blog (Right-Wing) in the paper's annual Best Of the Twin Cities issue, and now he's put it up for your bidding pleasure on eBay. Since City Pages doesn't actually issue physical certificates, Lacey will draw one to spec for the auction winner. Alas, the bidding action hasn't been too hot thus far: no bids have yet been placed.

Continue ReadingCity Pages ‘Best Of’ Winner Puts Award on eBay