After the Manhattan alt-weekly named Keach Hagey its new media columnist last week, it didn't take long for the NYC blogosphere to find her band, Fur Cups For Teeth, which Philadelphia City Paper has described as "part vacuum-pushing pep squad, part women's studies posse." But Hagey assures Gawker that her new responsibilities at the Voice will not be the demise of Fur Cups. "Nothing's gonna happen to the band," she says. "We're going to keep rocking!"

Continue ReadingVoice’s New Press Clips Columnist Promises She’ll ‘Keep on Rocking’

Admitting it "has had a rather checkered history when it comes to our commitment to the Web," the paper announces it is moving into "the mid-2000s" with its newly reconfigured site. Among the changes: the blogs are no longer using Blogger, i.e., an open-source software solution; a "toolbox" with listings and classifieds has been added to each page on the site; and the previously pay-for-access editorial archives are now free.

Continue ReadingWashington City Paper Launches Redesigned Website

The Internet giant says the trial run of the program -- in which advertisers bid for open ad space in newspapers -- has exceeded its expectations, E&P reports. Peter Cobb explains one of the attractions of the program for his business, eBags.com: "[It] makes it easier for people like us ... I didn't have to call up the sales reps ... I wouldn't know where to start."

Continue ReadingGoogle Looks to Extend Newspaper Print-Ad Pilot Program

A new study released by the Audit Bureau of Circulations and NSON Opinion Research says few advertisers have confidence that their online ad impressions are measured and reported accurately, according to E&P. Ninety-one percent of the 270 online ad professionals surveyed said it's important to audit ad impressions and 89 percent want to see the verification of online traffic. In addition, 83 percent of survey respondents plan to increase online ad spending in 2007, and more than half expect double-digit budget increases. The survey also found that younger respondents were more trusting than older ones. Seventy-five percent of those under 25 said they trust metrics provided by online publishers, compared to only 22 percent of those between 55-64.

Continue ReadingAdvertisers Don’t Trust Online Ad Measurement

The Icelandic conglomerate Dagsbrun is planning a launch of Boston Now, a free commuter daily that will compete with Metro Boston, according to the Boston Globe. The paper will be run by free-daily vet Russel Pergament, who launched Metro Boston and then AM New York. In explaining the new paper, which he hopes to roll out by the fall, Pergament tells the Globe: "Our commitment is local ... We are going to break some news. It is not going to be just watered down wire copy."

Continue ReadingBoston to Get Another Free Daily

The Congressional Research Service issued a new report (PDF) last week on the history of the Freedom of Information Act and related legislative reform efforts. Meanwhile, the newly formed House Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, Feb. 15, on a FOIA reform bill that is supported by AAN and the other members of the Sunshine in Government Initiative, a Washington-based coalition of media organizations committed to promoting open-government policies. Rep. John Yarmuth, the former owner of AAN member Louisville Eccentric Observer, is a member of the Information Policy subcommittee.

Continue ReadingFOIA Report Issued, Hearing Scheduled

Deputy Editor Joe Piasecki's five-part series on foster care and homeless youth, "Throwaway Kids," won a first-place award in the National Low Income Housing Coalition's first-ever Cushing Niles Dolbeare Media Awards, the group announced on Tuesday. Piasecki's series, the publication of which spanned over a month and 16,000 words, received the $2,500 prize in the Non-Daily Newspaper or Magazine category.

Continue ReadingPasadena Weekly Series Wins National Award

In a preview of an on-campus panel discussion about The Onion, Tim Keck tells a student newspaper that he and Chris Johnson (now publisher of Albuequrque's Weekly Alibi) started the satirical newspaper in their dorm room in 1988 in honor of Keck's hometown paper. "At the time, (the Oshkosh Northwestern) was really bad, and the headlines were unwittingly hilarious," Keck says. He also tells the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire's The Spectator that Johnson's uncle came up with the name, which derives from the steady diet of onion sandwiches that penury compelled the co-founders to consume during their college days.

Continue ReadingThe Stranger’s Keck on The Onion’s Origins