"It's a testament to the unending dedication of [founding publisher] Amy Singmaster that she continued to take on such tasks as delivery and small-time sales some seven years into the paper's existence," writes editor Dan Cook. "But it also speaks to how long it actually took for Free Times to reach a solid footing." Like many AAN papers, the Columbia, S.C., alt-weekly began its life as a biweekly in 1987, and has only grown since then. In 2004, the paper was bought by Portico Publications, which also owns C-Ville Weekly and Metro Spirit. "Twenty years into its history, Free Times is stronger than it’s ever been, now publishing larger issues and more of them -- 40,000 copies -- than it ever has," Cook writes.
"Over the years, Willamette Week (now owned by the paper's editor and publisher) has benefited from the great generosity of many Portlanders and has been blessed by lots of luck," writes publisher Richard Meeker. "No outsider did more for us than Dennis Lindsay, a local lawyer who died Oct. 2 of complications from a stroke." Lindsay's donation of $6,000 gave founder Ron Buel the financial confidence to start the paper in 1974. Lindsay's law firm also served as general counsel for the paper from 1974 until the early '80s, and he was the first chair of the paper's board of directors.
The gesture by the Richmond, Va., alt-weekly celebrates an idea recently offered by Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors Chairman Kelly E. Miller, who suggests that the county make English its official language. "Unfortunately, we were unable to make the issue 100 percent in English," Style Weekly editor Jason Roop says. "But if Mr. Miller can bear with us, we are evolving. We are trying our best." The paper hit a snag on its path to full English immersion in its always-difficult food section. "It was unavoidable to write about Nate's Taco Truck ... without using the word 'taco,'" Roop says.
Bill Bleakley has published the Gazette since he founded it in 1979, and four years ago, he purchased OKCBusiness, a biweekly business newspaper. Now he has moved both of those publications, along with High Plains Events LLC, which organizes events for the papers and other groups, under the umbrella of Tierra Media Group. Bleakley will take the title of president of the new company. In a statement, he says the company does not plan to expand out of its current geographic area. "We don't consider ourselves a chain because everything we do relates to niches right here in Central Oklahoma," he says. "Oklahoma City is a very hot economy and we're positioned right in the middle of it with no intention of acquiring properties outside of this market." Bleakley serves on AAN's Board of Directors as the Organization/Bylaws Chair. In other Gazette news, the paper and High Plains Events have announced Oklahoma City's inaugural Halloween parade, Gazette's Ghouls Gone Wild, featuring a performance by the Flaming Lips (singer Wayne Coyne will be the parade's Grand Marshal). Filter magazine reports that the band is currently looking for 1,000 fans to take part in the March of a Thousand Flaming Skeletons at the parade. CORRECTION: We originally noted that the Halloween parade would include a performance by the Flaming Lips. That is incorrect -- the band will only be appearing and leading the skeleton march, not performing music.
Taking a cue from friends at the Sacramento News & Review, last month the Express launched "Urban Express-ions," a project that hopes to "pre-graffiti" distribution boxes by inviting local artists to adorn them with spray paint. The paper put out a call for artists, held a "painting day" in it's parking lot, and then displayed the results in a prominent Oakland gallery before putting the news boxes back on the street. "Instead of being blighted, we want these to be community art," says publisher Jody Colley, who spoke to AAN News with account manager Mary Younkin about the project. "We have new ownership at the Express and we really want to connect to the artist community more than we have in the past. This is kind of our first project doing that."
BONUS: Check out a video of the painting day below.
The Washington Post media columnist's new book Reality Show: Inside the Last Great Television News War has the Beltway buzzing after being partially leaked on the Drudge Report this weekend. "Kurtz's story was treated as big news -- but the substance, and some of the language as well, was no different from New York Press editor-in-chief David Blum's 2004 book, Tick... Tick... Tick..: The Long Life and Turbulent Times of 60 Minutes," according to Gawker. The big scoop from Kurtz was that Dan Rather threatened to take his Bush/National Guard documents -- which ultimately cost him his anchor chair at CBS -- to the New York Times, which was included in the 2005 paperback edition of Blum's book. Kurtz says he never saw that edition of the book. "Good for him for getting there first," he tells Gawker. "I'm a fanatic about giving credit, which is why my book is filled with footnotes, but you can't do that if you've never seen the information." That's all fine and good, but it leaves the New York Observer to wonder: Will Kurtz "continue to tout the anecdote as a 'scoop' in his upcoming appearances supporting the book?"
"The Adventures of Strangie," an anonymous weekly strip distributed online and in at least one Seattle neighborhood, is hell-bent on getting the Stranger -- and other Seattle publications -- to drop advertising from tobacco companies, the Seattle Times reports. The strip's main character is -- you guessed it -- Strangie, a tabloid-sized newspaper who is always pushing smokes on folks. In an open letter, the strip's creator calls on Stranger publisher Tim Keck, Seattle Weekly publisher Ken Stocker and two other Seattle publishers "to meet with each other and create a pact to stop advertising tobacco altogether." (S)he is also "calling on all employees to consider where your paychecks are coming from, and to stand up to your employers." Keck says he's not swayed by the comic. "Our readers are educated adults who can make up their own minds about smoking, drinking and fixed gear bikes," he tells the Times. "We've added their site to our 'Friends of The Stranger' Slog roll. Who doesn't love a didactic comic with the Space Needle as the protagonist?" UPDATE: The Seattle Times now reports that 37-year-old Seattle artist Jeff Weedman is the creator of "Strangie."
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