Saying that the Philadelphia Inquirer reporter tasked with turning in a "breezy" report about last weekend's AAN Convention "must have drawn the short straw," Bruce Schimmel writes that "it must have been challenging for [Suzette] Parmley to do something chipper about industry upstarts who are eating her lunch." But she rose to that challenge, filing what Schimmel calls a "flattering portrait" of alt-weeklies. He goes on to draw distinctions between the cultures of dailies and alt-weeklies, ultimately concluding that "the daily is dying." He adds: "And while that might mean a temporary measure of good fortune for weeklies, even the most eccentric of independents dread the daily's demise. A functional democracy needs the good reporting that comes with these dinosaurs."
"It all started two weeks ago, with an innocuous-looking fax from the Federal Service for Mass Media, Telecommunications and the Protection of Cultural Heritage," writes editor Yasha Levine. "The barely legible fax informed us that our paper was slated for an unscheduled inspection to see if it had violated any media laws. It didn't specify which ones. A week later, a four person team of polite chinovniks showed up to ask some questions and, on their way out back to their lair, grabbed a few eXile issues for an 'expert analysis.' News of their visit had our investors fleeing instantly, and, in no time at all, was kicking up a media shit storm that's only now beginning to gather full strength." The English-language bi-weekly, which launched the careers of New York Press alums Matt Taibbi and Alexander Zaitchik, is trying to save itself by holding a fundraiser. For more, read eXile founder (and past New York Press contributor) Mark Ames's two dispatches for Radar.
"I think our primary problem was simply finding solid sales reps," Laurie Carlson tells the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The Journal, which was accepted as a member of AAN last weekend, will print its last issue this weekend. Carlson also says it "wasn't a helpful thing" for the Journal that the Stephens Media Group, owner of the island's two daily papers, started its own alternative paper about a year ago. "They have much deeper pockets and they can run something that was heavily subsidized and we can't," she says. "It's a very sad thing."
Continuum Books has published D.X. Ferris' book, 33 1/3: Reign in Blood, which examines the classic heavy metal record by Slayer. It is part of Continuum's 33 1/3 series, a growing collection of volumes about and inspired by classic albums. "Writing the book, I had two goals in mind," Ferris says. "First, I didn’t want to be the guy who screwed up a Slayer book. Second, I wanted present the story in a way that's compelling to both rabid Slayer fans and to NPR listeners who love pop music, but have never lost a shoe in a mosh pit."
The motions, which were filed earlier this week, ask Superior Court Judge Marla J. Miller to order a new trial if she won't reverse the verdict in the predatory-pricing case, the Weekly reports. The thrust of the Weekly's motion: That the Guardian didn't offer "any actual evidence of an illegal below-cost pricing conspiracy," that the verdict "violates the Weekly's First Amendment and due process rights," and lastly that "the trial was riddled with legal error that unfairly shifted the burden of proof onto the defense." If the judge denies the new motions, the Weekly says it and Village Voice Media intend "to take the case to the California Court of Appeals, which in turn would trigger a process expected to take up to eighteen months."
Berl Schwartz thanks the AAN membership for admitting City Pulse on Saturday in a letter to the editor. "This was our fourth time to apply, and I am sure the membership committee was tired of looking at us, so allow me to thank you on behalf of its members as well," he writes. He also says he's printing a banner to hang in the paper's office that quotes from a membership committee report on City Pulse: "It's still not perfect."
Web advertising "will continue to grow fast even as the current economic woes will lead to a contraction in ad spending overall, essentially accelerating the transfer of marketing budgets from the traditional media into the new," according to a new study by research group IDC. The group finds that overall internet advertising revenue will double from $25.5 billion in 2007 to $51.1 billion in 2012, making it the second-largest advertising medium, behind only direct mail. IDC predicts that video will be the fastest growing format for web advertising, but search will continue to be the format generating the most revenue.
The Journal, which was voted into AAN on Saturday in Philadelphia, will close after its next edition is printed this weekend, according to the Honolulu Advertiser. The paper, which was founded in 1999, was owned by Pacific Catalyst Publishing LLC, which also owns AAN member Honolulu Weekly. "The Journal faced a direct challenge for more than a year from the new Big Island Weekly published by Stephens Media Group," the Advertiser reports. Editor Peter Serafin tells the Pacific Business News that publisher Laurie Carlson told him Monday about the paper's closure but gave no reason for the shutdown. "It came as a complete surprise," he says.
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