Stay tuned this fall for a good read in the Chicago Reader. A federal judge ordered the city to release "five banker's boxes" of confidential police documents to the alternative newsweekly by August 30. The materials were sealed after the city settled a lawsuit filed by a woman who accused a police officer of rape. In an e-mail to AAN News, Reader Editor Alison True reports that in his written opinion (Download PDF Here), U.S. District Court Judge Ruben Castillo "commended" the Reader and reporter Tori Marlan "for their thorough investigative reporting and ongoing pursuit of truth in these types of misconduct cases."

Continue ReadingChicago Reader Wins Release of Files in Police Rape Case

Missoula Independent Publisher Matt Gibson writes a compelling story about the legal maneuvering that allowed Jeffrey M. Smith Jr. to obtain a concealed weapon permit in Montana, despite arrests for violent crimes and a diagnosis of manic depression. But this is Montana; what else is new? What makes this story unusual is that Smith formerly owned the Missoula Independent before he sold it to Gibson, who later sued him for breach of contract and trademark dilution.

Continue ReadingMissoula Independent Takes Shot at Former Owner

Dennis Freeland, the sports writer — and former editor — of the Memphis Flyer has been diagnosed with brain cancer, but this grim news has not robbed him of his wit or his friends, just his future, writes Geoff Calkins, a sports columnist for The Commercial Appeal.

Continue ReadingA Prayer for Dennis Freeland

In its summer issue, Columbia Journalism Review tenders "laurels" to three AAN members – The Village Voice, the Nashville Scene, and Tampa’s Weekly Planet – for “good old-fashioned criticism of the big boys in town.” The journalism-mag crowns the beneficiaries with a left-handed compliment: “Who says the alternative press has sold its birthright for a mess of personal ads and restaurant reviews?”

Continue ReadingCJR Extends Laurels to Three AAN Members

Norah Vincent, a lesbian columnist for The Village Voice and other publications, seriously ticks off much of the gay and lesbian community, The New York Times reports. Vincent, whose views are way right of center, says many in the gay community “dislike anyone they see as disagreeing with them.” Voice Editor Don Forst defends his decision to run her column: “She gets people to read her. And if she introduces thoughts that they haven't had, that's terrific."

Continue ReadingVoice’s Conservative Lesbian Columnist Makes Waves