"Cartoons Covered: The Art of the City Paper," which opened last Friday at the Toonseum, features 25 cover illustrations from the past decade, from 16 cartoonists and illustrators, curated by City Paper art director Lisa Cunningham and the Toonseum's Joe Wos. "This is a chance for people to get a second look at the rich and varied talent we've shamelessly exploited for years," City Paper editor Chris Potter says.

Continue ReadingPittsburgh City Paper Cover Artists Get Museum Exhibit

Saying her presence in Denver is "as durable as the U.S. Mint," Denver Post columnist Bill Husted sits down for a few drinks with Patricia Calhoun for his "Bar & Grilled" column. Their wide-ranging conversation touches on everything from why she drinks beer ("I read an article that said women in business should not drink beer because it wasn't professional. And I am enough of a contrarian that I decided to embrace beer with a vengeance.") to why she's stayed with Westword for 33 years ("I guess I haven't found anything more interesting than what I am doing now.") to how she would describe the alt-weekly ("We're bossy, and we're glossy.").

Continue ReadingColumnist: Westword Editor ‘is a Denver Fixture’

Seattle Weekly columnist and former Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan says he has landed a book deal with Touchstone, a division of Simon and Schuster, who will publish the book in Fall 2011. "I want to thank the readers of my column for really pushing me to write this book," he writes. "The Weekly staff have also been invaluable to me -- certain editors here have made a big difference as far as what they expect from me. That too makes for a better product." He explains that the book won't be a "GN'R tell-all" or a typical rock 'n' roll book. "There are a lot of those at this point," McKagan writes. "Sure, I will touch on all of that, as it is part of my story, but only just a part of it."

Continue ReadingSeattle Weekly Columnist Lands a Book Deal

The IFC-owned Independent Film Center, which is owned by Cablevision and Jimmy Dolan, has pulled its $400/week print advertisement from the Village Voice, "following our trenchant commentary on the sale of Gothamist to Rainbow Media, replete with a joke about Mr. Dolan's penis that required the attention of his corporate publicity and legal affairs crews," writes the Voice's Foster Kamer. "In a rare breach of editorial and sales, I'd like to openly apologize to the ad salesperson who closed that account: I'm sorry Jimmy Dolan's penis cost you some commission," Kamer continues. "If you'd like me to write your child's college admission's essay, I'll do it pro-bono. I'd just give you the money, but I've spent the last four days considering Jimmy Dolan's penis. The pay is proportionate."

Continue ReadingWas it Something They Said? Cablevision Pulls IFC Ad from Voice

Judge Denise deBellefeuille has granted an injunction sought by Independent co-owner and editor-in-chief Marianne Partridge in her contract dispute over the paper's sale with publisher and majority owner Randy Campbell. The injunction effectively bars Campbell from selling or distributing his shares of the Independent until the conflict with Partridge over the sale of his shares is finally resolved, the paper reports.

Continue ReadingJudge Grants Injunction Sought by Santa Barbara Independent Editor

Miami Caliente players Anonka Dixon and Tina Caccavale have been placed on probation by the Lingerie Football League for wearing too many clothes during a photo shoot for Miami New Times and New Times Broward-Palm Beach. A league spokesperson tells NBC Miami that the problem stems from the players wearing non-sponsored league gear. "One of the covers has an NFL logo and they had on Rawlings shoulder pads and Nike wristbands," Stephon McMillen says. "They were displaying non-league partners. It's a legal issue for us." Turns out the league didn't like the New Times story that much either; the writer, Michael J. Mooney, has been banned from being credentialed to cover any Lingerie Football League or Miami Caliente events.

Continue ReadingLingerie Footballers Get Probation for Wearing Too Much in New Times

"Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins" had its world premiere Wednesday night at the Philadelphia Theatre Company. The play, which stars Turner as Ivins, offers a "complex, nuanced sense" of the former Texas Observer editor "in all her loud messiness," according to Politics Daily. Half the words in the play are from Ivins, and the other half were written by Margaret and Allison Engel. "The day after Molly died I was so upset that her voice was gone that I called Allison and said we have to do a show about her," Margaret says. "I felt she was our Mark Twain, our Will Rogers, and by 'ours' I meant the country's."

Continue ReadingKathleen Turner Plays Molly Ivins in New Play

Reid, whose "Boiling Point" has appeared in a number of AAN papers, says she is "retiring from regular weekly political cartooning." Why? She singles out the tough market for political cartoons, the relentless deadlines and her impending motherhood as a few of the reasons. "With the peanuts I was earning for political cartooning, I was theoretically doing it for fun -- but I wasn't really having fun anymore," she writes. In addition to being a full-time working mother, Reid says she will be blogging about sewing and style on her Polka Dot Overload site.

Continue ReadingAlt-Cartoonist Mikhaela Reid Ending Her Strip

In a Monday post about the rumored purchase of the Gothamist blog network by Cablevision, the Village Voice's Foster Kamer wrote: "Wonder how [Gothamist publisher Jake] Dobkin's gonna feel with Jimmy Dolan's cock in his mouth?" Dolan, the Cablevision CEO, has a reputation as being aggressive and sometimes litigious. That reputation seems to be well-deserved, as his corporate communications team pounced on Kamer's post with multiple emails and a follow-up call to a Voice editor that said Cablevision lawyers were looking into the post to see if it could be considered defamatory. "As a guy who was once named as a defendant in an employee's high-profile (and ultimately successful) sexual harassment lawsuit, Dolan should understand the difference between what one could and could not get away with when discussing things like where one puts one's penis," Kamer shoots back. "And thankfully, there's no law that's going to force us to take Jimmy Dolan's figurative cock out of anyone's mouth. Least of all ours."

Continue ReadingCablevision Upset Over Village Voice Dick Joke

Finalists for the third annual Los Angeles Press Club National Entertainment Journalism Awards were announced this week. L.A. Weekly received five nominations, including three for former film critic Scott Foundas, who was included in the best critic category. The Weekly's film issue was nominated for "best entertainment publication," and staff writer Libby Molyneaux got a best feature (under 1,000 words) nod.

Continue ReadingL.A. Weekly Gets Five Nominations in Entertainment Journalism Awards