"Through the miracle of email forwarding technology," Matt Bors writes, his latest comic eventually found itself in the hands of the military lawyer for Osama Bin Laden's former driver Salim Hamdan. Hamdan, who was convicted yesterday of providing material support for terrorism and acquitted of a conspiracy charge, apparently was "quite amused" when the cartoon was translated for him. "At first I was excited ... Then reality set in," Bors writes. "This puts 2 degrees of separation between me and Bin Laden ... With the flimsy standards of evidence preferred by the Bush administration, does this mean I could be tried in a military tribunal for giving aid and comforting humor to the enemy?" More from Willamette Week.

Continue ReadingAlt-Weekly Cartoonist’s Latest Makes its Way to Gitmo

The Portland Phoenix has created a local alternative to the Beijing Olympic Games, the 2008 Portland Phoelympics, which will be "free of smog, lead toys, forced child-labor, political oppression, and large, ancient walls," according to a press release. "The Phoenix is proud to have created an international event worthy of the great city of Portland," said Marc Shepard, associate publisher of the Phoenix and president of the IPC (International Phoelympic Committee). "We expect the economic impact of these games on the city to be substantial, as we've already spent close to $47 on equipment, and that does NOT include our bar tab and first aid supplies."

Continue ReadingPortland Phoenix Launches 2008 ‘Portland Phoelympics’

Veronis Suhler Stevenson's (VSS) annual Communications Industry Forecast notes that newspapers, long the dominant U.S. advertising platform, have fallen behind broadcast TV this year, which itself is poised to be usurped by the internet within the next three years, Media Daily News reports. The VSS report also shows that traditional media are increasingly claiming online ad space. VSS estimates that traditional media operators will account for nearly half (49.5%) of online ad dollars this year. That share is up from less than a third (29.1%) in 2002, and is projected to take a dominant position by 2011.

Continue ReadingTV Passes Newspapers as Dominant Ad Platform; Online Hot on Trail

Electile Dysfunction, a documentary about political campaigns that City Paper's Mary Patel made with Joe Barber, has been bought by an independent film studio, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Cinema Libre plans to distribute the doc, which uses the 2006 U.S. Senate campaign in Pennsylvania as "a case study to explore how campaigns work," through Netflix, Blockbuster and Amazon. Patel tells the Inky that Electile Dysfunction will be out next month.

Continue ReadingPhilly City Paper Writer Sells Her Documentary

"The reasons for my departure are complicated, but at the heart of the matter is a fundamental disagreement with the management of our parent company over editorial philosophy," Robotham wrote in an editor's note last week. "The higher ups here believed that Port Folio under my leadership had become too staunchly liberal." Robotham, who had been at Port Folio for ten years, has been replaced by a co-editing team of former arts editor Leona Baker and contributor Jeff Maisey, according to the Virginian-Pilot. The daily also notes that the aforementioned "higher ups" have penned a response to Robotham to run in this week's paper. "It has to do with a need for significant change," the column by publisher Colleen Nabhan and general manager Edward Power reportedly says. The paper "has experienced a graying of its audience" and must "embrace new audiences in more inventive and effective ways," they argue.

Continue ReadingTom Robotham Out as Editor of Port Folio Weekly

Jacob Shafer has replaced Anthony Pignataro as the paper's editor, according to a press release. Shafer comes to Maui from Northern California, where he served as calendar editor and later staff writer for The Pacific Sun. "Jacob has a firm grasp of important environmental issues that are so critical to our delicate and precious market, an isolated island in the middle of the Pacific. He contributes a maturity level way beyond his years to this gift that we offer our community," says Maui Time publisher Tommy Russo.

Continue ReadingMaui Time Weekly Announces New Editor