KOMO-TV says it "has received several viewer e-mails" complaining about this week's Seattle Weekly cover (pictured), which features an illustration of a kid wearing a T-shirt that reads "Fuck School." The TV station assumes "the paper made the bold move to make people pick up the paper," and talks to a few angry Seattle residents, but finds others who certainly don't seem to mind. Managing editor Mike Seely explains the decision to KOMO, saying "I took a look at the guy on the cover and I thought, 'what is this guy thinking?' And it was crystal clear." On the Weekly's blog, editor-in-chief Mark Fefer writes that the paper didn't go with the cover "just to get attention or stoke controversy." He adds: "I take no pleasure whatsoever from knowing that many people -- mostly (I think) people who aren't the paper's readers -- took offense."

Continue ReadingSeattle Weekly Makes Waves with F-Bomb on the Cover

This week, Denver's Curious Theatre Company put on their annual "Denver Stories" benefit show, and Act One featured the story of longtime Westword editor Patricia Calhoun. In Dee Covington's "The Showdown at Straight Creek, Or How the Westword Was Won," Martha Harmon Pardee "played a raucous Calhoun, getting Westword off the ground between saloon stops," the Denver Post reports. Calhoun, who served as AAN President in 1999-2000, currently chairs the association's Editorial Committee.

Continue ReadingWestword Editor’s Life, Adapted for the Stage

In February, Observer editor Julie Lyons reported on her "Bible Girl" blog that Pentacostal Minister Sherman Allen had a decades-long history of alleged sexual abuse. Her investigation also revealed that several women have alleged that the minister, who is being sued by a former employee and church member, is also involved in the occult. Now, the Church of God in Christ has suspended Allen "from all national and local pastoral roles and activities" until his trial is settled, according to the Observer. The Church of God in Christ is the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States, as well as the fourth-largest Christian church organization in the country, with some 6 million members.

Continue ReadingMinister is Suspended Following Dallas Observer Reports of Sexual Abuse

John Boonstra, a 54-year-old film reviewer for the Hartford Advocate, had arranged a meeting with what he thought was an underage girl on Friday, police tell the Courant. Instead, he found the officers who had been posing as the girl online and was arrested. Boonstra was charged with criminal attempt at risk of injury to a minor and criminal attempt at second-degree sexual assault, although police say additional charges related to the incident are expected.

Continue ReadingCops: Alt-Weekly Film Reviewer Tried to Meet Underage Girl for Sex