Last week, a San Francisco Superior Court commissioner granted the San Francisco Bay Guardian's request to place a lien on assets of SF Weekly's parent company, as the Guardian attempts to collect millions of dollars it was awarded in 2008's predatory-pricing trial. (The case is being appealed by the Weekly.) While the Guardian says it is "exploring the possible sale" of one or more of Village Voice Media's papers, reaction from several of those papers was relatively muted. Westword editor Patricia Calhoun tells the Denver Daily News she thinks it's highly unlikely that her paper will be impacted in any way. "This is a lawsuit that I'm sure our lawyers will resolve," she says. Meanwhile, the Seattle Weekly gives the Guardian a tongue-in-cheek look at some of the paper's assets it could seize, and MinnPost's David Brauer wonders if the ruling could hurt City Pages. His take? It's not likely, but "VVM had better start winning in court ... or we'll all have to start taking this a lot more seriously."

Continue ReadingHow Will the Bay Guardian/SF Weekly Ruling Impact Other VVM Papers?

Steve Sebelius will soon have an additional hat to wear. On top of his job as CityLife's editor, he is joining the local TV station Channel 8 as part of its investigative team; he will also appear on-air twice a week to discuss politics, and cover and analyze the 2010 elections. Sebelius says his TV commentary will not be ideological, but it will be contextual. "I'm not going to deny I have an ideological point of view, it would be foolish and intellectually dishonest," Sebelius says. "But when you are a professional journalist, you have the obligation to be fair. My role is not to argue with these newsmakers, but report what they do and put it into context for people."

Continue ReadingLas Vegas CityLife Editor Picks Up a TV Gig

Marty Petty, who was named the six-paper company's first post-bankruptcy CEO in November, has been dubbed one of the people to watch in the Tampa Bay business scene by the St. Petersburg Times. "Petty has her work cut out for her. Any newspaper is a business challenge in these lean days. Creative Loafing faces direct competition from tbt* Tampa Bay Times, the free, Monday-through-Friday alt-like tabloid that belongs to the St. Petersburg Times," the Times reports. "But Petty, 57, now controls a geographically diverse audience with five other alts published in Sarasota, Charlotte, Atlanta, Chicago and Washington, DC. Let the games begin."

Continue ReadingNew Creative Loafing CEO Named One of ‘Ten People to Watch’ in 2010

John Weiss has been named the recipient of the Citizens Project's 2010 Divine Award, which is given each year to someone who "create[s] a vibrant democracy in which equal rights are protected and differences are respected." Weiss' "leadership has created a more diverse, progressive and green Colorado Springs over the last 27 years," the Project says.

Continue ReadingLocal Nonprofit Honors Colorado Springs Independent Publisher

A San Francisco Superior Court commissioner has granted the San Francisco Bay Guardian's request to place a lien on the Weekly's holding company and the firm's interests in the Village Voice Media chain, as the Guardian attempts to collect the millions of dollars it was awarded in 2008's predatory-pricing trial. The Guardian's lawyer says the lien would enable it to seek another court order allowing it to sell off any of the VVM papers -- including SF Weekly - or simply take money from them to pay the judgment. But the Weekly's lawyer says the ruling is much narrower, and doesn't allow the Guardian to go after any of VVM's assets. Meanwhile, the Weekly continues its appeal of the initial ruling.

Continue ReadingCourt: Bay Guardian Can Place Lien on SF Weekly Parent Co.’s Assets

The Denver alt-weekly's cover story this week details how video game developer NetDevil is creating a LEGO version of World of Warcraft with the game LEGO Universe, so Westword decided to have NetDevil's digital model model designer create a giant LEGO version of its logo. The designer worked with Westword art director Jay Vollmar to create a four-foot-long, bright-red logo, which is on the paper's cover and now sits in the office window of editor Patricia Calhoun, "much to the amazement of passersby."

Continue ReadingVideo Game Developer Makes Giant Westword Logo out of LEGOs

Holly Mullen, who left the alt-weekly in February 2009 after nearly two years at the helm, has entered the 2010 race for the at-large Salt Lake County Council seat currently held by her step-daughter, Jenny Wilson. "She will be running as a Democrat in one of the few major races where a Democrat can actually win," the Weekly reports. READ MORE from the Salt Lake Tribune.

Continue ReadingFormer Salt Lake City Weekly Editor Running for Office

A three-judge panel of the federal 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in December upheld a U.S. District Court's 2008 dismissal of a defamation suit brought against the Scene and one of its reporters by an Ohio doctor. The circuit court found Dr. Edward Patrick failed to demonstrate the threshold requirement of falsity in regards to a 2004 article that the doctor claimed falsely suggested his resume was misleading, his medical credentials were not valid, and that his board certification process was fraudulent.

Continue ReadingAppeals Court Upholds Dismissal of Suit Against Cleveland Scene