Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas asked a federal judge last week to dismiss the lawsuit from New Times accusing him, Sheriff Joe Arpaio and attorney Dennis Wilenchik of violating the constitutional rights of the paper, its owners and its readers, the East Valley Tribune reports. Thomas claims he has "absolute immunity" from such cases while in office. Arpaio and Wilenchik have also asked the court to throw out the lawsuit for similar reasons. In addition, Wilenchik has asked that the suit be moved from county to federal court because it deals with civil rights issues. Michael Manning, the attorney for New Times, says the change of venue means the case will likely move more slowly, but added that "we're happy in either place."
Ragnar Carlson, who formerly worked as a staff writer and later news editor at the paper from 2004 to 2005, replaces Mindy Pennybacker, an environmental journalist who took over the alternative newspaper's reins in January, Pacific Business News reports. Carlson is no relation to Honolulu Weekly Publisher Laurie Carlson.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino has proposed capping at 300 the number of boxes a publisher could place in the city and charging them $25 per box per year, plus a $300 annual fee to receive a certificate of compliance, the Boston Globe reports. The ordinance would have to be approved by the City Council, which yesterday sent it to a committee. "We only have so much room on the sidewalk for news boxes," says a spokeswoman for Menino. "We think 300 news boxes per publication is generous in order to cover the city." City records show that no publication has 300 boxes yet, though several are close, including Boston's Weekly Dig, which currently has 284. Boston Phoenix circulation director Jim Dorgan tells the Globe the new fees are significant -- AAN's quick calculation shows that a publisher with the max of 300 boxes would pay $7,800 a year. He also says that another aspect of the ordinance, which precludes a publisher from having two news boxes for the same publication within 150 feet of each other, is "very restrictive."
ProPublica, "a non-profit newsroom producing journalism in the public interest" founded by former Wall Street Journal managing editor Paul Steiger last October, has hired Jake Bernstein as a reporter, according to a press release. Bernstein has been with the Observer since 2002, and before that, he worked at Miami New Times. In the same release, ProPublica announced another AAN-alum hire: Former San Francisco Bay Guardian and SF Weekly staff writer A.C. Thompson has also been hired as a reporter.
In this week's editor's note welcoming AAN folks to this year's Convention, Philadelphia Weekly editor Tim Whitaker looks at what's sure to be a much-discussed topic this weekend: the state of the alt-weekly business. "In the alt world, editorial staffs are small and getting smaller," he writes. "Not only must a winning online blueprint be conceived and executed with shrinking resources, but great attention must be paid to what is still, for the moment, the nest egg -- the weekly newspaper." He talks to alt-weekly editors from around the country, many of whom have recently seen their editorial staffs drastically cut -- some in half. But even though many staffs are being asked to do more with even less, the editors Whitaker talks to aren't all pessimistic about the future of the industry, and many of them have specific prescriptions. And as professional journalists, we're reminded, the situation could be far worse: We could be in the daily newspaper industry. "We write for intelligent readers," says Village Voice editor Tony Ortega. "Dailies cater to people who don't like to read. Look at the way they're written."
Geoff Schumacher, a former editor of CityLife and parent company Stephens Media LLC's director of community publications, has been named CityLife's new publisher, effective May 21. The paper is applying for AAN membership this year.
Tristan Taormino's Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships, which "gives practical advice on how to create responsible, fulfilling, non-monogamous relationships," was released last month by Cleis Press. The "Pucker Up" columnist tells Adult Video News the book is for anyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, who is interested in open relationships. "Monogamy, marriage, and cheating are among the most talked-about issues in society today," Taormino says. "When I began this book, I was interested to find out how people in non-monogamous relationships make those relationships work-how they design their relationships, what issues they face, and what makes them tick." She is currently on the West Coast leg of her Astroglide-sponsored book tour -- check her site for complete tour dates.
AB 1778, sponsored by Assemblymember Fiona Ma, passed the California Assembly by a vote of 45-24 on May 22 and is now headed to the State Senate, the Berkeley Daily Planet reports. The law would require recycling companies to identify those who bring recyclables and newspapers worth $50 or more to sell. "This should give us the ability to cut off the [poachers'] money supply," East Bay Express publisher Hal Brody says, since a full pick-up load of newsprint usually fetches $80 to $100. The Express, along with the San Francisco Bay Guardian and other Bay Area publications, has been pushing for more action on newspaper theft in the wake of a rash of heists.
According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau's (IAB) Internet Advertising Report, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and released this month, internet advertising revenues in the United States totaled $21.2 billion for 2007, up from $16.9 billion in 2006. "This achievement is a testament to the continued vitality of interactive," IAB president and ceo Randall Rothenberg says. "Explosive innovation in the industry is providing marketers with new and unique ways to reach consumers."
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