This year's crop of applying newspapers hail from 10 U.S. states and one Canadian province, and seven of them have previously applied for membership. AAN's Membership Committee will review the papers over the next several months and will discuss their findings when the committee meets in Washington, D.C. on May 3. The committee will then issue its recommendations regarding each application prior to the Annual Meeting, which will take place in Philadelphia on June 7, the last day of the annual AAN convention. The 12 applying papers must be approved by two-thirds of the members voting at the meeting in order to join AAN. In addition, as we reported in December, the status of five current member papers will be reviewed this year.

Continue ReadingTwelve Newspapers Apply for AAN Membership

Damages expert Clifford Kupperberg continued his testimony on Wednesday in the Guardian's predatory pricing trial against SF Weekly and Village Voice Media. He put forth six "damage models," which estimated the financial toll on the Guardian by the Weekly's alleged below-cost sales at anywhere between $4 million to $11.8 million. For more details, check out the reports from the Bay Guardian and from the Weekly. The trial resumes today with continued cross-examination of Kupperberg.

Continue ReadingBay Guardian Expert Testifies in VVM Trial

Between Dec. 2005-March 2006, Sam Slovick wrote a series of Weekly cover stories on the everyday tragedies and triumphs found on Los Angeles's Skid Row, and now he's used that work as a jumping-off point for a five-part documentary. The short film, which is written and directed by Slovick and sponsored by GOOD Magazine, debuted this week on MySpace TV. "We couldn't be prouder of Sam and the light he's helped shine on this issue," Weekly deputy editor Joe Donnelly says.

Continue ReadingL.A. Weekly Series on Skid Row Leads to Documentary

The paper yesterday filed a formal Notice of Claim against the officials responsible for the October blowup which ended with the paper's founders in jail. The notice, which is required by Arizona law to be filed before government officials can be sued, accuses the defendants of violating Michael Lacey's and Jim Larkin's constitutional rights, with malicious prosecution, racketeering and conspiracy. The paper is asking for $15 million in damages if the matter is settled before April 15. "If New Times is required to pursue litigation, the settlement demand will increase," the notice warns. "This is not a decision undertaken lightly," says Lacey. "But I feel like if we don't do something, it's an invitation for this kind of behavior to continue." The County Attorney's office, which is named in the claim, dismisses the legal maneuver as "frivolous," with a spokesman telling the Arizona Republic: "We are confident that it will be exposed as the bunk it is."

Continue ReadingPhoenix New Times Files Prelude to Lawsuit in Grand Jury Probe Fiasco

SF Weekly publisher Josh Fromson took the stand on Friday and remained there until Tuesday (there was a day off on Monday for President's Day), and Bay Guardian expert witness Clifford Kupperberg also appeared before the court Tuesday. For more details, check out the reports from the Weekly, which says Kupperberg talked about "imaginary profits and damages," and the Guardian, which says Fromson "dodge[d] the facts."

Continue ReadingTwo More Witnesses Testify in Bay Guardian/VVM Trial

b, a free daily tabloid with an initial planned distribution of 50,000, will target younger readers, the Sun says. In addition to original content, the paper will feature user-generated content and repurposed material from RedEye, the daily youth tabloid run by the Sun's sister publication, the Chicago Tribune.

Continue ReadingBaltimore Sun’s Free Youth Tabloid to Launch April 14

"This week's issue marks a thorough redesign of the paper, only the fourth new design in the paper's 29 years," writes editor Stephen Buel. "It also is the culmination of the transformation we intended to make when a group of investors bought the Express last year and returned it to independence and local control." Changes include a 1.5 inch reduction in the height of the paper and four additional pages of editorial content.

Continue ReadingEast Bay Express Redesigns With Trimmed Size, Expanded Content

"Jane Doe," a woman who had cosmetic surgery to remove excess skin, is suing her doctors for providing before-and-after photographs to the St. Louis alt-weekly for a 2006 story on one of the surgeons, UPI reports. She claims she was told the photos were only for the doctors' internal use. The Times, which is not a party in the suit, has more on the case here.

Continue ReadingPhotos in Riverfront Times Story Lead to Lawsuit

Legal proceedings for the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation's case against three Weekly employees and the paper on charges related to adult advertising are scheduled to get underway later this month. Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Thomas thinks the case, which "smacks of payback," should be settled, and suggests a way forward: "Immediately drop all charges against the employees," he writes. "Drop all felony charges against the Weekly and ask the judge to withhold adjudication on misdemeanor charges of aiding and abetting prostitution. In exchange, the Weekly reimburses all costs and agrees in writing to stop taking ads from prostitutes and unlicensed massage parlors."

Continue ReadingColumnist: ‘Prosecutors Need to Settle’ Orlando Weekly Case