Fernando Loughlin, who left East Bay Express in 2005, has been charged with murdering his 3-month-old son, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Loughlin claimed he accidentally dropped the child in a bathtub, but an autopsy determined that the boy's injuries could not have resulted from an accidental fall, according to authorities. Mila Marques, who formerly worked at the Express with Loughlin, says he left the Bay Area weekly in part to spend time with his older son. "He wouldn't have done it," she says. "(He) was the sweetest man on Earth."

Continue ReadingFormer Alt-Weekly Classified Sales Director Charged With Murder

Yesterday, Judge David Stockdale sentenced News Editor Greg Flannery and three other defendants to one day in jail. The defendants also received six months probation and were ordered to pay court costs and perform 20 hours of community service, Flannery writes on the CityBeat blog. The sentences were suspended pending appeal. The defendants were arrested last September when they conducted a sit-in at U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot's office to protest the Iraq War.

Continue ReadingCincinnati CityBeat Editor Found Guilty of Criminal Trespassing

The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies will honor Ivins' contribution to journalism by bestowing an annual First Amendment award to a North American journalist whose work best embodies the spirit of Ivins' legacy. "She got her basic training at one of our member newspapers, and when she left she continued to speak truth to power with wit and style. Her work speaks for itself, and speaks volumes about how much difference one courageous journalist can make," says Kenneth Neill, AAN President and publisher of The Memphis Flyer.

Continue ReadingAAN to Name Annual Award After Molly Ivins

Will Swaim, who resigned in January over "philosophical differences" with the alt-weekly's new owners, is starting The District, a weekly paper covering Long Beach, Orange County Business Journal reports. Swaim has heavily recruited ex-OC Weekly staffers to work at The District, including the Weekly's former art director, sales director and sales manager. Former staff writers Steve Lowery, Dave Wielenga and Theo Douglas have also migrated to The District, which launches April 11, according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Meanwhile, LA Observed reports ex-staff writer Ellen Griley is also on board. For Swaim, the new location was a no-brainer. "Long Beach is the largest North American city without an independent newsweekly," he says.

Continue ReadingOC Weekly’s Founding Editor to Launch New Paper

That's what this year's "State of the News Media" reports, chronicling the slight decline of print readers and "enormous growth" online in 2006. The Project for Excellence in Journalism (PEJ) also looks at the VVM/New Times merger, which it cited as "the biggest issue on the horizon" for the industry in last year's report. "Economically, the early indications are that the merger may not have as dramatic an effect as many in the industry expected," says PEJ.

Continue ReadingWeb Gains, Print Losses for Alt-Weeklies