Dan Kennedy tells PR Week he gets up so early to read The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald and The New York Times, plus Romenesko, Slate, Salon, Instapundit, Kausfiles, Drudge and other bloggers on the Web. But, he confesses, "I do not watch as much television as I should." The blog is an ill-defined part of his job done primarily for self-entertainment, he says in a Q&A interview.

Continue ReadingBoston Phoenix Media Blogger Explains What Wakes Him before 6

After Colorado Springs Independent Publisher John Weiss received a Small Business Person of the Year award from the local Chamber of Commerce, an office-supply store owner named Ed Bircham took out newspaper ads questioning whether Weiss deserved it. Responding to allegations made in Bircham's ads, Weiss admits in his latest column that, yes, the Independent had indeed used profanity in the paper recently when it quoted what Vice President Dick Cheney said to Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy. Weiss also pleaded guilty to running same-sex personal ads in the paper. But the alt-weekly publisher didn't sound the least bit remorseful.

Continue ReadingIn Response to Critic, Publisher Admits Quoting Cheney

There's no need to wait until Thursday to get an alternative view of the Democratic National Convention. The Boston Phoenix is providing daily updates and a listing of convention events on its Web site. It also has a city guide for protesters, delegates and anyone else who's in Boston for the convention this week. Media columnist Dan Kennedy is writing a media log, which today includes coverage of a tribute to the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone.

Continue ReadingThe Boston Phoenix Offers Convention-Goers’ Guide on Web

When an attorney for Newsday advertisers filed a federal racketeering suit against the daily paper last February, alleging circulation fraud, the AAN-member newsweekly, Long Island Press, jumped on the story. Reporter Christopher Twarowski found evidence of undelivered papers dumped in landfills, wooded lots and recycling bins, and interviewed former distributors and retailers who supported some of the lawsuit's claims. This week Newsday publisher Raymond Jansen announced his early retirement, and Twarowski reports that a grand jury has been impaneled in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn to hear testimony on the alleged fraud.

Continue ReadingLong Island Press’s Dogged Coverage Exposed Newsday Scandal