Liz Garrigan says in a blog post that she'll be leaving the paper at the end of June to become editorial director of Magellan Media, an umbrella company of book imprints and (non-newspaper) publishing enterprises. "I'm attempting something pretty rare in journalism these days: a chance to make an exit while I'm still having an enormous amount of fun," she writes. "It might be a bit anticlimactic, but this is not a protest resignation, a corporate cost-cutting measure or a veiled firing." She says she hopes to continue contributing to the Scene, but "after 12 years at one place -- as political writer, news editor, associate editor, then editor -- it's time for this root-bound journalist to repot herself."

Continue ReadingNashville Scene Editor to Step Down

The national advertising firm announced today that all "AAN publications that meet a set of standards and practices specifications are eligible for non-exclusive representation by the Ruxton Digital Media Network." Ruxton currently represents 39 alt-weeklies and says it is on pace to deliver more than $2 million in digital sales this year to its partner publications. "Our growing success in digital sales to date and increasing demand from advertisers for more inventory has spurred us to open up the network to all AAN papers," Village Voice Media president and chief operating officer Scott Tobias says in a press release. "A large national digital advertising network will give everyone the opportunity to participate in the growth of national digital advertising sales."

Continue ReadingRuxton Rolls Out National Digital Network

In the non-daily print division, AAN members comprise 16 of the 30 finalists in the Society of Professional Journalists' Green Eyeshade Awards, which "recognizes outstanding journalism in 11 southeastern states." The Memphis Flyer and Miami New Times each has six finalists, New Times Broward-Palm Beach has two, and the Independent Weekly and Mountain XPress each has one.

Continue ReadingAlt-Weeklies Well-Represented in Green Eyeshade Award Finalists

The Weekly took home eight Idaho Press Club awards, including first-place finishes in four categories: Environment Reporting, Light Feature, Political Reporting, and Serious Feature. "The awards received by Idaho Press Club support our belief and efforts to be the best newspaper in Idaho," owner/publisher Sally Freeman says in a statement.

Continue ReadingBoise Weekly Nabs Idaho Journalism Honors

The Dallas Observer's Megan Feldman and Jesse Hyde, Phoenix New Times' John Dickerson, and Washington City Paper's Dave Jamieson are among this year's Livingston Award finalists. The contest awards three $10,000 prizes for Local, National, and International Reporting to journalists under the age of 35. The winners will be announced on June 4.

Continue ReadingFour Alt-Weekly Journalists Named Livingston Award Finalists

"The housing sector is, in fact, shoring up newspaper classifieds," City Paper reports. "The collapsed housing sector, that is." The executive director of the Virginia Press Association says there are more foreclosure notices in her papers than she's seen in 30 years. "And it's one category Craigslist can't touch," says City Paper. "Placing a legal notice on Craigslist or some other site won't satisfy municipal distribution requirements."

Continue ReadingThe Mortgage Crisis: Good for the Newspaper Business?