The Observer is one of eight nominees in two 2009 Utne Independent Press Awards categories: Best Writing and Political Coverage. Winners will be announced during the Magazine Publishers of America's Independent Magazine Group conference (May 17-19) and published in the July-August issue of Utne Reader.

Continue ReadingTexas Observer Nabs Two Utne Award Nominations

Euro RSCG has done a print and poster campaign for the Chicago alt-weekly, Sun-Times media and marketing columnist Lewis Lazare reports. Euro RSCG's chief creative officer says the deal is being paid mostly in barter, but it included enough cash to hire local photographer Ross Feighery, who Lazare says "has done a smash-up job shooting the campaign visuals."

Continue ReadingColumnist: New Ad Campaign for NewCity is ‘Bold, Eye-Catching’

In a blog post on the struggling newspaper business, the New York Times columnist points to WW as "an example of how a small paper" has successfully undertaken investigative and watchdog journalism. But Kristof seems to think the Portland alt-weekly is a rare bird: He adds that small news operations -- especially websites -- can't "undertake major investigations, partly because they're enormously expensive with uncertain results."

Continue ReadingNicholas Kristof: Willamette Week Plays an ‘Important Watchdog Role’

A controversial executive training program known as NXIVM filed a lawsuit alleging defamation against the paper earlier this week, but the Albany alt-weekly has not yet been served with the suit. Turns out it was filed one day before the statute of limitations would have expired. NXIVM president Nancy Salzman tells Metroland that, indeed, they filed the suit "because of statutory considerations." The paper has not sought legal counsel in response to the lawsuit. "As far as we're concerned right now, it's almost as if there's not a lawsuit because it has not been served to us," editor and publisher Stephen Leon says. "They may never serve the lawsuit for all we know."

Continue ReadingSuit Filed Against Metroland Remains Unserved

Earlier this week, we noted that a piece in the Fort Worth Weekly had won a 2008 Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) Award in the local-circulation weeklies category, but we neglected to mention that four other alt-weekly stories were IRE finalists. In the local-circulation weeklies category, Phoenix New Times' John Dickerson had two stories place, while the Houston Press' Chris Vogel had one. In addition, L.A. Weekly's Christine Pelisek was the runner-up for the Tom Renner Award, which is specifically for crime reporting.

Continue ReadingThree Alt-Weekly Writers Place in Investigative Reporting Contest

In 2001, the alt-weekly adopted a new policy eliminating "adult" ads. But after taking a glance at the Personals section of a recent issue of the Weekly, Westword's Michael Roberts thinks the paper has reversed course. Weekly publisher Stewart Sallo tells AAN News via email that Roberts is incorrect. "Boulder Weekly's policy on 'sex ads' has not changed," he says. "We discontinued our adult advertising section in 2001 and redrew the line to eliminate ads that contain images that explicitly objectify women."

Continue ReadingHas Boulder Weekly Changed its Policy on Adult Ads?

As Vermont has debated gay marriage for the past few weeks, the alt-weekly has been reporting the details aggressively on the web. Seven Days political correspondent Shay Totten covered the floor debate using Twitter, and when the legislature held a public hearing and asked for testimony from Vermonters, staffers Cathy Resmer and Don Eggert moderated a live blog using a free service called CoverItLive. The paper has also been covering the debate on its staff blog.

Continue ReadingSeven Days Uses Twitter to Cover Historic Vote

Noting that Los Angeles CityBeat was "pretty much birthed here in the offices of the Pasadena Weekly," Kevin Uhrich looks back at the life of his Southland Publishing sister paper, which folded last week. He also asks the obvious question: Could the same fate befall the Weekly? "I don't think so," he writes. "However, I can say with some certainty -- just by virtue of being on staff with one of the few papers still upright on a rapidly diminishing print media landscape -- that if that day ever comes, there will probably be no newspapers around anymore to note our passing."

Continue ReadingPasadena Weekly Editor Mourns ‘A Death in the Family’