The Louisville alt-weekly won a total of 18 awards in the 2009 Metro Journalism Awards, sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists Louisville Chapter. LEO, which was competing in the Metro Newspapers/Wire Services division, finished first in five categories: Column Writing, Feature Photography, Feature Writing, Health Reporting and Review/Criticism (which it swept).

Continue ReadingLEO Weekly Fares Well at Local SPJ Awards

The Massachusetts alt-weekly unveils a new format today with more color pages and a stapled bind. Savvy readers may also notice that the publication's title is five letters shorter: Worcester Mag is the official title of the paper now. "We are embracing the abbreviation so many readers have used for years," publisher Gareth Charter says. "We are not a magazine in the traditional sense of that term. We are an alternative news voice; in print once a week and online 24/7."

Continue ReadingWorcester Magazine Debuts New Design and Format, Shortens Name

The Houston Press and Fort Worth Weekly were the big winners in this year's awards competition sponsored by the Houston Press Club. The Press won a total of 16 awards. In the big papers division, it finished first for Business Story and General Commentary/Criticism, while staff writer Craig Malisow was named Print Journalist of the Year (his colleague Chris Vogel was runner-up.) In the art and web divisions open to all papers, the Press took home first-place awards for Feature Story, Hard News Reporting, Photo Package and Sports Photo. The Weekly, competing in the small papers division, won a total of 11 awards, including first-place finishes in Feature Story, Investigative Reporting, Politics/Government, Sports Story and Business Story (which it swept). Also in the large division, the Dallas Observer won four awards, including firsts for Feature Story, Sports Story; in the small division, San Antonio Current took home three awards.

Continue ReadingFour AAN Members Clean Up at the Lone Star Awards

First Call Properties, a Texas real estate company, has sued Craigslist for trademark infringement based on ads posted by users in what Online Media Daily says "appears to be a first." The company alleges that shortly after it began placing ads on Craigslist, rival AAA Apartment Locating began posting Craigslist ads using the phrases "first call," "call first," and "call us first" in a deliberate attempt to confuse consumers. First Call claims that Craigslist knew that AAA was using the First Call trademark and failed to stop the ads from appearing.

Continue ReadingCraigslist Sued For Trademark Infringement Based On Listing

"Somebody broke into the Bay Guardian parking lot last night, rammed through the chain-link fence and drove away with our van," Guardian executive editor Tim Redmond writes. "Kinda crazy -- it's ten years old, it's all beat up -- and it has the Guardian logo all over it and a Best of the Bay mural on the side. Hard to hide."

Continue ReadingSan Francisco Bay Guardian’s Van is Stolen

The alt-weekly won this year's Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism in the non-daily category for its story on the growing heroin epidemic among Long Island's youth -- a story the judges called "the epitome of public service journalism." The story -- "Long Highland" -- also won the AltWeekly Award for Public Service last week in Tucson. The Dallas Observer and New Times Broward-Palm Beach received honorable mentions in the Casey Medal competition, which recognizes "exemplary reporting on children and families in the U.S."

Continue ReadingLong Island Press Wins Casey Medal