As part of ongoing cost-cutting by its parent company, the 26-year-old alt-weekly will publish its last print edition next week. Its website will remain, and the paper may resume publishing when the economy improves, according to Maurice Jones, president and publisher of the Virginian-Pilot, which owns Port Folio. The Pilot is also laying off 30 employees, including some at Port Folio.
A federal shield law that would protect reporters from testifying about confidential sources was re-introduced in the Senate on Friday, just two days after shield legislation was re-introduced into the House. The Senate bill, S. 448, was introduced by Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.). The bill is similar to a previous shield law that was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2007.
Last month, Phoenix New Times reported on three flight attendants facing a lawsuit from a US Airways pilot for daring to report their safety concerns to federal regulators. "Now New Times is getting sucked into the litigation," the paper reports. "[The pilot's attorney] filed a subpoena last week demanding that we turn over all our notes, as well as any documents provided to us by the flight attendants." New Times reports that the attorney is also attempting to subpoena information about people who've posted messages on a fund-raising website erected by the flight attendants.
"You're not picking cotton under a blazing Mississippi sun, man. You're not digging ditches in pools of raw sewage. You draw cartoons," San Diego CityBeat columnist Edwin Decker writes in response to alt-weekly cartoonists who've recently lamented the downturn in the alt-cartoon market. "There are a bizillion artists out there, writing, drawing and sculpting in obscurity, never to be paid a dime for their labor of love, or receive fanfare -- going out of their effin' minds every day craving something that resembles an audience or a paycheck." MORE: Lloyd Dangle of "Troubletown" responds, calling Decker's column "some of the most humorless, self-pitying, gen X, real-artists-must-starve hyperbole I've seen in a long time." And comic artist Jason Yungbluth has a bit of advice for Decker: "Let me suggest that you actually demonstrate some solidarity with the brothers of your profession instead of evacuating your bowels on them."
Six businesspeople tell the East Bay Express that sales reps from the popular user-generated review site promised to move or remove negative reviews if their business would advertise. "In another six instances, positive reviews disappeared -- or negative ones appeared -- after owners declined to advertise," the Express reports. Similar accusations were made by California small business owners last fall. Yelp officials deny that they move negative reviews. "We wouldn't be in business very long if we started duping customers," chief operating officer Geoff Donaker says.
Pulcrano, the CEO and executive editor of Metro Newspapers Group, has signed an agreement to purchase the Los Gatos Observer. The site will be run by the division of Metro known as Boulevards.
Boston Phoenix staff writer David Bernstein was named Journalist of the Year by the New England Press Association. He also brought home two additional first-place awards for the Phoenix -- in the Investigative Reporting and Serious Columnist categories. "Mr. Bernstein's in-depth articles are compelling and hyper-relevant, challenging myths and assumptions with sharp, clear reporting and a highly readable writing style," the judges write. "Very impressive!" All in all, the Phoenix won another nine awards, including additional first-place wins for Convergence and Reporting on Religious Issues. Worcester Magazine took home six awards, including first-place finishes in the Personality Photo, Social Issues Feature Story and Local Ad: Color categories. Boston's Weekly Dig won four awards, finishing first in Educational Reporting, Infographics and Transportation/Commuter Reporting. The Portland Phoenix also won four awards, and placed first in the General News Story category.
Washington City Paper recently saved $8,000 by dropping all of its syndicated comics, the Chicago Reader's Michael Miner reports. City Paper still carries one local strip, "Dirtfarm," only because author Ben Claassen lets the paper run it for free. "City Paper feels like family to me," Claassen tells Miner by way of explanation. But Lynda Barry, who quit her "Ernie Pook's Comeek" strip, and her friend Matt Groening are feeling less familial these days about their former alt-weekly clients. Nevertheless, Groening keeps plugging away, creating "Life in Hell" every week even though his success with The Simpsons has left him financially secure. "I like sitting down once a week and knocking something out all by myself," says Groening. "The rest of my life is full of collaborators."
Takes one to know one? Maybe not. Despite New Times' propensity to publish the occasional tall tale, staff writer Niki D'Andrea admits that this time the paper fell victim to another publication's spoof. In a lengthy cover story about the tattoos of Phoenix Suns basketball players, D'Andrea credulously reported that NBA Commissioner David Stern was proposing a "tattoo cap" limiting each team's "roster as a whole to 61 percent tattoo coverage of the 'upper arms and necks.'" D'Andrea says she picked the story up from Foxsports.com, which posted an item originally published on a blog called the Gerbil Sports Network. Bloggers Alana G, who first caught New Times' mistake, and Heat City, weigh in on the incident.
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