Just as CL settles into its new permanent office space in a historic former cigar factory in Tampa's Ybor Square, the alt-weekly has learned that The Church of Scientology is looking to purchase the building from its current owner. The paper, which signed a 5-year lease for the new digs last fall, wasn't aware that the building was to be sold. "If the deal does come to fruition, Creative Loafing will enjoy, if that's the word, a unique vantage point: a next-door-neighbor's view of what goes on at the Tampa facilities of one of the most controversial religious organizations in the world," CL editor David Warner writes.

Continue ReadingChurch of Scientology Could be Creative Loafing (Tampa)’s New Landlord

The fake Twitter stream of San Francisco Bay Guardian publisher Bruce Brugmann is "drunken, outrageous, [and] rails against Village Voice Media executive editor Mike Lacey," the SF Weekly reports. "Once upon a time, if you wanted to roast your newspaper editor, you would make a drunken speech at an office party or draw a funny cartoon," the Weekly notes. "But that was back in the bad old days, before fake Twitter accounts created the perfect medium for a constant stream of homage/mockery." The Weekly adds that it is not behind the account, which has the handle "Bossy_Brugmann," despite its ongoing public battles with the Guardian and its founder.

Continue ReadingFake Bruce Brugmann Now on Twitter

The Village Voice's Elizabeth Dwoskin, Jaclyn Galluci of the Long Island Press, and Chris Vogel of the Houston Press are among the finalists for this year's Livingston Awards for Young Journalists, an all-media, general reporting contest that awards three $10,000 prizes for Local, National, and International Reporting to journalists under the age of 35. It's Dwoskin's second nomination in a row; last year's local reporting winner was Phoenix New Times' John Dickerson. Winners will be announced on June 2.

Continue ReadingThree Young Alt-Weekly Staffers Finalists for 2009 Livingston Awards

John Dougherty, who left New Times in August 2006, says he has filed documents with the Federal Elections Commission as a first step to run in the upcoming Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat. New Times reports that, if he collects enough signatures to get on the ballot, Dougherty will be matched against two other Democratic hopefuls before potentially facing off with the winner of the Republican primary battle between incumbent John McCain and J.D. Hayworth. "This will be a great exercise in the regular folks standing up and saying, 'Enough of this bullshit,'" Dougherty says. "We're going to try to make the debate more than just about rounding up people and tossing them back across the border and thinking that will solve everything, including our economic crisis."

Continue ReadingFormer Phoenix New Times Staff Writer Running for U.S. Senate

Writers from the Chicago Reader, L.A. Weekly and Westword all took home top prizes at this year's James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards, which recognize excellence in food writing. The Reader's Cliff Doerksen won in the Newspaper Feature Writing category for his feature on mince pie, and Westword's Jared Jacang Maher came out on top in the Newspaper Feature Writing About Restaurants and/or Chefs category for his piece on the pay-what-you-want SAME Cafe. Meanwhile, the Weekly's Pulitzer-winning food critic Jonathan Gold added another awards notch to his belt with a win in the Craig Claiborne Distinguished Restaurant Reviews category.

Continue ReadingThree Alt-Weekly Writers Pick Up James Beard Awards

Newslaw, the legal hotline provided by AAN exclusively for its members that is owned and operated by Washington attorney Alice Neff Lucan, is in the midst of an office move from D.C. to Harrisonburg, Va. As of May 1, the new office phone number will be 540-568-8400; the email address -- newslaw (at) newslaw.com -- will remain the same.

Continue ReadingAlice Lucan’s Newslaw Office is Moving; New Phone Number Coming

Just months after San Dieguito Printers filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against the Reader, publisher Jim Holman has filed a cross-complaint against the printer, alleging that it has been profiting off the Reader to the tune of $1 million per year, despite telling Holman its rates were the lowest possible it could charge while still making a minimal profit.

Continue ReadingSan Diego Reader Accuses Printer of Fraud