In a report on how Colorado's booming medical marijuana industry is creating a "so called gold rush" for media companies that are accepting advertising from the dispensaries, KUNC's Bente Birkeland says "no newspaper has embraced the industry more than Westword." The Denver alt-weekly "is covered with pages and pages of medical marijuana ads for green docs, natural remedies and alternative healing," KUNC notes. But Poynter's Al Tompkins says that accepting the ads could pose potential problems for newspapers. "The fact is it is still against the law on the federal level," he says. "Even though there is no desire to prosecute it, it is still illegal, and generally it's against the law to be advertising an illegal act."
After a few years and a few million dollars, the paper is finally moving into its new office -- a former supermarket that it purchased and renovated using green-building standards. As News & Review publisher Jeff vonKaenel points out, the move wouldn't have been possible without about $2 million in grants, loan guarantees and other incentives from the city -- but he says that doesn't mean the paper will all of a sudden go soft in its coverage of the city and its redevelopment agency. "During my 36 years as a newspaper publisher, there have been many instances where regular advertisers have called me to complain about a story and to cancel their advertising," he writes. "Our business relationship with the city is no different."
The Greenspun Media Group, which publishes the Weekly along with the daily Las Vegas Sun and a host of other properties, laid off a number of employees yesterday as part of a major restructuring to streamline operations. Staff at all of the company's publications will now be housed in one building and coalesce in three teams: editorial, advertising and support. Greenspun has not released the number of layoffs involved, but the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that the number is "at least 20" and includes two Weekly staffers. On his blog, Weekly columnist Steve Friess says those two are Bethany Acree and Josh Bell.
Stephen George is leaving the Louisville alt-weekly in January to become editor of the Nashville City Paper. Current LEO news editor Sarah Kelley will replace him, becoming the paper's first female editor. George, a Louisville native, has been with LEO since 2005 and has served as editor since May 2008. Both LEO and the City Paper are owned by SouthComm.
"While it may be easy to dismiss Seattle's most eccentric weekly paper, there is growing evidence that The Stranger may be more in tune with Emerald City voters than the other major papers in the area," writes Mike Noon in the University of Washington's student newspaper. "The Stranger has some serious political clout in Puget Sound politics." Noon points to the city's recent mayoral election as proof, saying the alt-weekly's "enthusiastic support of mayor-elect Mike McGinn was likely one of the key factors in his victory."
Albuquerque's Weekly Alibi took a novel approach to the grind of holiday gift guides afflicting most alt-weeklies this time of year, interviewing local crafters and folks with fledgling cottage industries, most of them undiscovered in their own hometown, in an attempt to translate the locavore movement to holiday shopping. Check out the package here.
Washington City Paper's Jeffry Cudlin will discuss his award-winning arts criticism with Tucson Weekly editor Jimmy Boegle this Friday, Dec. 4, in the latest installment of AAN's live chat series with 2009 AltWeekly Award winners. The chat will take place on AAN.org at 3 pm EST.
Toke of the Town is the latest national blog property launched by Village Voice Media, joining titles like Heartless Doll, Joystick Division and True Crime Report.
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