The two papers were in San Francisco Superior Court on Tuesday to argue the Weekly's motion for a new trial and its request that the judge overturn a jury verdict in the predatory-pricing suit. Judge Marla Miller has until July 18 to rule on the motions; if she rules against the Weekly, it will take the case to the California Court of Appeals. In dueling blog posts, the Weekly lays out the four chief arguments put forth by its lawyers and pokes a little fun at the Guardian's lawyers, while the Guardian details the Weekly's "at times highly technical" arguments, which "hinged on the finer points of the definitions of words."

Continue ReadingSF Weekly and Bay Guardian Argue Weekly’s Motion for New Trial

Mayor Frank Melton and two of his bodyguards have been indicted by a federal grand jury for demolishing an alleged "drug house" in Aug. 2006, a story first reported by the Jackson Free Press in Sept. 2006. "The three men were charged in connection with a conspiracy to tear down a private home in Jackson and thereby violate the civil rights of the owner and resident of that home," a Department of Justice press release reads. They are also charged with using a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. Melton, who is running for a second term, tells the Clarion-Ledger that he's "very disappointed, because I have worked so hard on fighting crime in this city."

Continue ReadingNearly Two Years After Jackson Free Press Story, Mayor is Indicted

Scott Jordan is leaving the Lafayette, La., paper at the end of the month to become communications director for the Louisiana Democratic Party. Prior to joining the Independent at its inception, he worked at Gambit Weekly for five years. "This fall's elections, both statewide and national, promise to be historic," Jordan says. "And after 15 years of working as a journalist and editor, I've decided I want to be directly involved in politics in a different role." Kevin Allman, blogging for the Gambit, congratulates Jordan on his new role, and adds: "We hope never to have to write 'Scott Jordan, spokesman for the state Democratic party, did not respond to a request for comment.'"

Continue ReadingThe Independent Weekly’s Editor Leaves for Politics

CL's publications in Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Charlotte and Sarasota have joined the company's Chicago Reader and Washington City Paper as members of Ruxton, according to a press release issued this afternoon by Village Voice Media's national advertising firm. Under the arrangement, Ruxton will serve as Creative Loafing's exclusive representative for national print advertising and also will provide non-exclusive representation for online advertising.

Continue ReadingCreative Loafing’s Southern Papers Join Ruxton Media Group

CityBeat has filed a federal lawsuit against a number of local government officials and a coalition of local religious and nonprofit leaders led by Citizens for Community Values (CCV) who last month publicly asked the paper to stop publishing adult-oriented classified ads. The suit charges the coalition with violating the paper's First Amendment rights, conspiracy to violate its First Amendment rights and tortious interference with its business relationships. "When government officials use their position of authority to threaten a media organization with implied legal action unless a certain demand is met, that's wrong. And when CCV, ministers and nonprofit leaders conspire with government officials to threaten the media, they're wrong, too," writes CityBeat co-publisher and editor John Fox. "We've decided the only way to prevent permanent damage to our business is to ask a federal judge to intercede on our behalf and protect our right to exist."

Continue ReadingCincinnati CityBeat Files Federal Suit Against Coalition Group

In a story on the increased theft of curbside refuse and free newspapers, the Associated Press reports that legislation being considered in California "would make large-scale, anonymous recycling more difficult." The legislation, which was championed by the East Bay Express, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and other Bay Area publishers, would force recyclers to require a photo ID for anyone bringing in more than $50 worth of cans, bottles or newspapers and to pay the poachers with checks rather than cash. The AP also notes that the Express hired an ex-police detective to stake out thieves and began retrofitting curbside news boxes to make them theft-resistant. "We don't want to be spending all our energy printing papers that people take directly to the recyclers," Express president Hal Brody says.

Continue ReadingStates and Publishers Fight Theft of Free Newspapers

The Madison, Wis., alt-weekly is "looking at ways to reduce expenses like everybody has to," publisher Vince O'Hern tells the Capital Times. "Nothing is decided. It may involve some people taking leaves, and some people not being on staff anymore." News editor Bill Lueders says A&E editor Dean Robbins will take an unpaid six-month leave to tend to "personal projects and other work." Other than that, he says talk of any staff changes is premature. Isthmus employs 10 editorial staffers, and the total staff size is about three dozen, according to Lueders.

Continue ReadingFaced With ‘Pretty Flat’ Ad Revenue, Isthmus Considers Possible Layoffs

The city will begin with one rack at City Hall, and then will accept public input before making a decision on extending the program to all city-owned property and right-of-ways (including sidewalks), according to Santa Fe Reporter columnist Zane Fischer. He argues that the program is a waste of time and money, and that the modular racks -- not individual news boxes -- are the real eyesores. "The neatness purchased by such an investment tends toward homogeneity rather than beauty," Fischer writes. "Santa Fe's dedication to retaining its distinctive appearance has been so enormous over the past century -- and its resistance to architectural progress remains so formidable -- that there is sad irony to be found in watching its difference be chipped away by small, aesthetic technicalities."

Continue ReadingSanta Fe Will Test Out Modular Newsracks