Citing the need for new and younger leadership, Art Zimmer has sold the alt-weekly to local entrepreneur William Brod, who took over operations Wednesday morning. Zimmer, who is 71 years old, purchased the paper in 1984. In a letter to the staff, Zimmer says he's had "several opportunities to sell the paper (and for more money), but most included out of town people. I feel local ownership of media, especially like the New Times is very important." Brod says he doesn't expect any layoffs as a result of the ownership change; in fact, he says he plans to hire new staff soon to beef up New Times' web presence. "I think the New Times is in a unique and the most unique position to speak to the community in a way no other media organization can," Brod says. "We can be proactive, go to people, bring people together we can follow up and push politicians and heads of organization or in authority to do what they should do or said they were going to do."

Continue ReadingLongtime Owner Sells Syracuse New Times

As of April 7, the Georgia Straight was number one, and the San Francisco Bay Guardian number four, on the list, which is put together by the researchers and students at The Committee for Newspaper and Media Integrity. Oxford University law student Aron Ping D'Souza, one of the project leaders, says they initially combed the web looking for "key terminologies" about newspaper names, articles and links. "We surveyed millions of pieces of data and found where people were using language that would indicate reputability based on a theory called natural-language queries, and we developed preliminary data from that," he says. "Now that people can give rankings in supplement to that chatter-theory-based argument, we can verify the method in some ways, and also we can improve the method."

Continue ReadingTwo Alt-Weeklies Land on ‘Most Reputable Papers in the World’ List

The OC Weekly staffer and "¡Ask a Mexican!" columnist, who received a master's degree from UCLA in 2003, will be the keynote speaker for the university's June commencement ceremony. "Gustavo Arellano is a keen observer of life in America — in particular the culture and diversity of Southern California," says Judith L. Smith, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education in the UCLA College of Letters and Science. "He explores today's issues of diversity and ethnicity with incisive commentary and a sharp wit that punches holes in traditional thinking about race and stereotypes." On the OC Weekly blog, Arellano pulls out some of the "flattering reactions" to the decision, like this one from one Tweeter: "That's the weakest thing ever."

Continue ReadingGustavo Arellano Will Keynote UCLA Commencement Ceremony

An advertisement in this week's City Pages that shows an apparently suicidal man with a gun to his head has upset some readers and advocacy groups. Critics say the ad, for R.F. Moeller Jeweler, treats mental illness as a punch line rather than a serious illness. The ad was created by columnist T.D. Mischke, who puts together a different ad for the jeweler, a column sponsor, each week. "Certainly I'm sorry to the people who were hurt by it," he tells KSTP-TV. "I'm not in the business of going out to hurt people so anytime I hurt somebody I have to apologize for that." MORE from MinnPost.com and the Consumerist.

Continue ReadingAd in City Pages Comes Under Fire

From The Pope to The Situation, from Glenn Beck to Tiger Woods, the Phoenix has rolled out its annual list of the year's 100 unsexiest men. "Nike's robotically perfect pitchman took that whole 'Just Do It' slogan a smidge too literally -- with virtually any hooker, cocktail waitress, golf groupie, substitute teacher, den mother, and rodeo clown within a chip shot of his 5-iron," the Phoenix says of Woods, who took top honors this year. "Making matters worse, to repair his nuked image, he hired evil former Bush White House press secretary Ari Fleischer as his public-relations caddy."

Continue ReadingBoston Phoenix Unveils This Year’s 100 Unsexiest Men

A San Francisco Superior Court judge last week granted a motion by the San Francisco Bay Guardian to set a hearing to determine if Bank of Montreal, the lead bank for SF Weekly, should be held in contempt of court for telling the Weekly's advertisers that it has first right to that paper's money. The Guardian contends that the March ruling allowing the Guardian to take half of the Weekly's ad revenue means it has first right to any money from the Weekly, not the bank. The hearing is set for April 30.

Continue ReadingJudge Sets Hearing on Bay Guardian’s Contempt Claim Against Bank

Continuing a trend from previous suveys, more than 70 percent of respondents in the 2010 PRWeek/PR Newswire Media Survey indicate a heavier workload as compared to last year. The survey finds the workloads being driven up by web reporting and social media, with 62 percent of respondents now required to write for the web, and 37 percent of the American respondents required to maintain a Twitter account.

Continue ReadingSurvey: Web Updates, Social Media Equal Heavier Workloads for Journos