In his annual report to readers, Richard Meeker says that despite "the gloom-and-doom reports" on newspapers across the country, Willamette Week's story in 2007 "is anything but a tale from the crypt." He notes that "this will be the paper's best year ever in display sales," with sales up 7.6 percent over 2006. And although classifieds continue to decline, with sales down about $115,000, total revenue at the paper is expected to be up 4 or 5 percent from last year, with pre-tax profit expected to be about 5 percent. "If [the paper was] owned by a media conglomerate, co-owner Mark Zusman and I would have been relieved of our responsibilities long ago for unsatisfactory financial performance," Meeker writes. "While we certainly could be a little more efficient, we feel it would seriously harm the culture of our operation to try to match national averages calling for profits two to three times greater than ours."
Tonight's birthday party for the Athens, Ga., weekly will feature a variety show modeled after a gong show, a contest for costumes made with flagpoles, and local bands, according to Red and Black, an independent student newspaper. "You'll see everything from people eating fire to singing," Flagpole editor and publisher Pete McCommons says. In the paper's own 20th anniversary special issue, McCommons reflects on Flagpole's history and its ongoing mission: "We have fought a 20-year battle against those who would exploit local resources for gain regardless of the impact on our community," he writes. "And we have continued to be the Colorbearer of Athens alternative music, along with other music and arts and entertainment."
Bryan Osborn becomes the third publisher in the Augusta, Ga., alt-weekly's 18-year history. He was most recently advertising director of The Times and Democrat in Orangeburg, S.C. "Bryan comes to Metro Spirit with over 13 years of newspaper experience with industry leaders," says Steve Delgado, president of Portico Publications, Metro Spirit's parent company. "His passion for our business and track record of success will drive Metro Spirit's continuing growth and community prominence."
According to AAN executive director Richard Karpel, reporters often mistakenly apply the term "alternative newspaper" to the wrong publications. So in an effort to "make some small contribution to human understanding and the brand equity of our member papers," he decided to note every time he sees the term used incorrectly. In this first edition of "Hey, That's Not an Alt-Weekly!" -- an irregular series devoted to the correct use of the term "alternative newspaper" and all its variants -- Karpel explains what an alternative newspaper is and why The Sun News in Santa Fe, N.M., doesn't qualify.
The rights to the syndicated columnist's book, Revengerella: One Woman's Battle to Beat Some Manners Into Impolite Society, have been sold to McGraw-Hill. The book will feature "true stories of the spectacular ways a self-described 'manners psycho' pranks cell phone abusers, telemarketers, spamsters, road hogs, and other bad guys out of being rude."
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