A strip each of Matt Bors' "Idiot Box" and Jen Sorenson's "Slowpoke" are among the 12 finalists in The Union of Concerned Scientists' competition rewarding "creative takes on the issue of political interference in science." Voting for "Science Idol: the Scientific Integrity Editorial Cartoon Contest" closes July 23.

Continue ReadingTwo Alt-Weekly Cartoonists Compete in ‘Science Idol’ Contest

Former L.A. Weekly news editor Alan Mittelstaedt joined Los Angeles CityBeat yesterday as news editor, replacing Dean Kuipers, who moved to the Los Angeles Times. A little further down the coast, Rich Kane, who left OC Weekly in 2005 and ended up as editor of Inland Empire Weekly (a paper started by ex-OC Weekly staffer Jeremy Zachary that was later acquired by LA CityBeat-parent Southland Publishing), returns to the Weekly Aug. 2 as its new managing editor. Replacing Kane at Inland Empire is Charles Mindenhall, a former L.A. Weekly staffer.

Continue ReadingIt’s Musical Chairs at SoCal Alt-Weeklies

The president of the largest real estate brokerage company and franchisor says that the Coldwell Banker and Century 21 branding budgets for newspapers will shrink by as much as two-thirds next year from 2006, Inman Real Estate News reports. Realogy intends to slash its newspaper advertising budget to 70 percent of its home-sale ad spend by 2010, down from 84 percent this year, as it shifts more ad dollars online. Borrell Associates has found that online real estate advertising grew from a $1.2 billion in 2004 to a $1.7 billion in 2005, and will grow to a $3.1 billion by 2010.

Continue ReadingRealogy Chief: Newspaper Ad Spend to Shrink By As Much As Two-Thirds

Eric Johnson says he'll be leaving next month. "I feel sad to have to leave this newspaper," he says. "For the past six years, I've been proud to work with a team that tries every week to create something that can make a difference in people's lives. ... I'll miss almost everything about it, but it's time to go."

Continue ReadingMonterey County Weekly Editor Steps Down

That's what the suburban Northwest Herald is saying about Reader media critic Michael Miner's recent column criticizing a Herald TV ad. Editor & Publisher has the entire letter exchange between Chris Krug, group editor of the Herald's parent company; Reader editor Alison True; and Miner. E&P also has comments on the column from Andy Schotz, chairman of the Society of Professional Journalists' Ethics Committee and a source in Miner's story.

Continue ReadingDid a Chicago Reader Columnist Twist His Facts?

Kim Dorn, Sara Dick, and Liz Eckstein tell Nest in a Q&A that the idea for City Paper's annual craft fair, which celebrates its fourth anniversary this year, originated in the heart of the classifieds section. "Through our free ads, we create a community marketplace where people can sell goods and services directly to each other. ... We had been tossing around the idea of hosting a big citywide yard sale," they say. "In the spring of 2004, the indie craft movement was just getting its legs and we decided it made more sense to do an arts-focused event. ... [Publisher Amy Austin] is a huge supporter of the arts and theatre and pretty much gave us free reign."

Continue ReadingWashington City Paper’s ‘Crafty Crew’ on the Origin of Crafty Bastards