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").

Continue ReadingHouston Press Reporter Wins IRE Award

On the heels of yesterday's story that the alt-weekly is reportedly on the market for $25 million, unnamed "informed observers" tell the Philadelphia Daily News that Philadelphia Media Holdings (PMH) is among the bidders. PMH owns both the Daily News and Philly's other daily, the Inquirer. "All I can say is no comment," PMH CEO Brian Tierney says.

Continue ReadingMore Rumblings About Possible Philadelphia Weekly Sale

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.

Continue ReadingPhoenix New Times Reveals the Anatomy of a Hoax

As circulation and revenue from print advertising both continue to drop, many analysts are predicting a major shift over the next decade in how newspapers do business, the Times reports. The one bright spot in the newspaper industry is a jump in online ad spending, but it still accounts for only 5.4 percent of all newspaper ad expenditures, according to the Newspaper Association of America. "This is a time of wrenching change and chaos," a media analyst at Jupiter Research says. "All of our assumptions about newspapers are going to be changed. The format, the business model, the organization of newspapers have outlived their usefulness."

Continue ReadingDrop in Ad Revenue Raises Tough Questions for Newspapers

That's what Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Michael Klein says he's heard from unnamed "publishing sources around town." His sources tell him that Review Publishing LP, the parent company of the alt-weekly, is asking $25 million for the paper and signing confidentiality statements with prospects. While neither Review President Anthony Clifton nor Vice President Jim Stokes responded to Klein's requests for comment, the Weekly's editor says he's heard nothing about a sale. "It would be a shock to me," Tim Whitaker says.

Continue ReadingPhiladelphia Weekly on the Market?