Despite the upheaval in the alt-weekly's legendary film pages since its merger with New Times, there may yet be reason for hope among cinephiles, one film site is reporting. The Reeler, a Web site devoted to New York film, acknowledges the fear and loathing accompanying recent personnel changes under the new regime and decries an apparent de-emphasis of local, art and foreign film. The good news is that Jim Hoberman is staying put and now New Yorkers can read top-notch film criticism from Voice Media's 16 other papers.

Continue Reading‘Existential Crises’ Grips Village Voice Film Section

Media reporter Christian Vachon reconstructs how male escort Mike Jones pulled the rug out from under the Denver alt-weekly and an NBC affiliate. Before giving his seismic scoop to a local radio station, Jones talked to both Westword Editor Patricia Calhoun and Paula Woodward, an investigative reporter with KUSA-TV, but balked at going public. Vachon calls the episode "a cautionary [tale] for every journalist who has ever wondered when she has enough to go with a story."

Continue ReadingMore on How Pastor Ted Haggard’s Rentboy Blew Off Westword

Born out of the '60s counterculture ferment and a thriving local small-press environment, Boston Phoenix evolved to become a paragon of what we mean today when we say "alternative newspaper." In their 40th anniversary issue, Phoenix editors and contributors retrace the long, strange trip that got them here. "We're the good guys," writes Senior Managing Editor Clif Garboden. "We never got rich, but we are going to heaven."

Continue ReadingBoston Phoenix Crosses 40-Year Threshold

Vice detectives arrested nearly 100 men in a prostitution sting using escort-service ads in The Stranger, The Seattle Weekly and craigslist as bait, according to the Seattle Times. About three quarters of the men lured to a downtown hotel responded to craigslist ads. Founder Craig Newmark told the Times that he has heard "prostitution is a significant problem," on the Web site, but he added that "we would prefer that [police] go after violent criminals or crooked congressmen."

Continue ReadingSeattle Cops Dangle Craigslist, Alt-Weekly Ads as Bait in Prostitution Sting