In 1977, Johns Hopkins University graduates Russ Smith (who later founded New York Press) and Alan Hirsch launched the first issue of City Squeeze. "Despite the dreadful name (soon changed to its current handle) and shoestring origins, it quickly established itself as the house organ of Baltimore's demimonde as well as a feisty elbow-thrower in the local media scrum," says current editor Lee Gardner in this week’s cover intro. The issue features several stories from the archives, including a 1979 examination of Charm City's political bosses by Black Hawk Down author Mark Bowden, a 1984 interview with child molester Arthur Goode by Hairspray filmmaker John Waters, and a selection of photography by long-time contributor Jennifer Bishop. Online readers can also check out the first year of City Squeeze issues in a PDF gallery. "As for the future of City Paper, well, there’s another issue to get out next week, and another the week after that, and I believe that the paper offers something distinctive enough that the demand for it will endure for weeks and weeks and weeks to come," writes Gardner.
The Denver-based Avalon Equity Fund sold the 20-year-old alt-weekly to Manhattan Media, owner of five neighborhood weeklies and other Manhattan-focused publications. The company plans to merge the Press with Our Town Downtown, a weekly paper started last year that circulates in Lower Manhattan, according to the New York Times. In the company's press release, Tom Allon, president and CEO of Manhattan Media, says: "At its best, The New York Press has been one of the most distinctive community publications in this city. ... It was a leader in blogging before the word was even used -- distinctive perspectives, opinions, reporting and reviews. While New York City has changed dramatically in the nearly twenty years since Russ Smith founded the Press, the need for independent voices and real community news and views hasn't."
In its main feature (subscription-only), the newspaper industry trade publication focuses on the intense competition alternative newspapers now face from new products launched by daily newspapers. "All kinds of competition have been muscling in a market niche that the alternatives have had to themselves for a long time," Washington City Paper editor Erik Wemple tells E&P. On top of burgeoning web competition, he adds, "now everybody is doing free distribution, and listings-driven publications." A shorter piece (also subscription-only) looks at consolidation in the alt-weekly biz, with a special focus on its affect on national advertising.
How was PortlAANd? Out of the attendees who participated in the survey, 98.6 percent agreed the convention was a success. This year, roundtables and peer-to-peer discussions earned high approval ratings. Member-led sessions also received praise, particularly presentations by Todd Stauffer of Jackson Free Press for "Online Event Listings: Best Practices and Solutions," Joe MacLeod of Baltimore City Paper for "Isn't That Special!," and Fran Zankowski of Colorado Springs Independent for "Financial Management for Ad Sales Managers." The mild weather was a big hit too, with the exception of a few Southern members who found it chilly. AAN members may download a PDF of the survey results with members' comments in the Resource Library.
The American Bar Association is considering resolutions that would "drastically limit public access to criminal justice system records," according to a press release issued by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. One of the ABA recommendations would urge federal, state and local governments to limit access to closed criminal-case files that didn't result in a conviction; another seeks to seal conviction records "after passage of a specified period of law-abiding conduct." The ABA's House of Delegates will vote on the resolution Aug. 13-14. The Reporters Committee urges news outlets to report and comment on the matter in advance to make ABA delegates aware of media and public concerns.
Ken Silverstein's undercover story focused on Washington lobbyists who represent oppressive foreign governments. Michael Sigman hopes to bring it to the silver screen, according to Variety Magazine's Wilshire and Washington. Silverstein posed as an executive for an energy firm interested in exploiting natural gas reserves in Turkmenistan, which is led by a dictatorial regime. Several K Street firms pitched their services and described how they would spin U.S. officials and journalists to promote favorable policies and news coverage for the Turkmen regime. "It's bad enough to be a lobbyist for the tobacco industry, but some of these guys are mass murderers," Sigman tells Variety.
It's an open question, reports Associated Press, after talking to several real estate executives who say they are moving more of their advertising online. "For our agents, newspapers are an old standby," says Abby Lee, director of regional advertising for a major real estate franchisor. "With younger agents, there’s a trend of going online. There’s a realization that’s where they need to be." Newspaper publishers need to move more aggressively to hold on to real estate advertising, argues Charlie Diederich, the director of marketing and advertising at the Newspaper Association of America. "We’ve got to improve both our print but especially our online products ... so consumers will continue to come to us first so we can deliver that audience to the professional realtor," Diederich tells AP.
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