Artvoice Publisher Jamie Moses buys and closes rival Blue Dog Press in a deal announced today. Blue Dog prints its last run Thursday, ending alt-weekly competition in Buffalo. Former staffers at Blue Dog, once called Buffalo Beat, lament the demise of the scrappy paper, but Moses has the last word: "This market can support two weeklies, but not two successful weeklies."

Continue ReadingArtvoice Buys, Closes Blue Dog Press

Laura Miller, firebrand ex-Dallas Observer columnist, wins the runoff mayoral election in the Big D. "She is intelligent, articulate and dedicated to her goals," says The Dallas Morning News in an editorial. "And the fact that she is a former investigative reporter is certain to attract national attention."

Continue ReadingMiller Wins Mayoral Election in Dallas

Darrell Oldham, a co-founder of Seattle Weekly and one of AAN’s founders, passed away early Saturday morning after a battle with lung cancer. Oldham, who also spent a decade at the Seattle Times, was a beloved and respected mentor to many in alternative newsweekly and Seattle publishing circles.

Continue ReadingAAN Founder Victim of Lung Cancer

In a case against two Connecticut Tribune Co. papers, The Hartford Courant and AAN-member New Haven Advocate, knotty issues of jurisdiction and Web pages are at stake. Editor & Publisher examines the "long-arm statute" case involving coverage of housing Connecticut prisoners in Virginia jails and whether the two papers libeled a Virginia prison warden. AAN is one of more than two dozen newspapers and trade associations signing onto an amicus curiae brief in the case.

Continue ReadingVirginia’s “Long-Arm” Reaching to Connecticut

With a terse note, Philadelphia City Paper kills its serialized novel, Transit of Venus by Anonymous D, because the local Fox affiliate threatened a lawsuit. The novel about a young woman's experiences as a TV news neophyte apparently cut too close to the Fox bone. The chapters published to date have been removed from the newspapers' Web site.

Continue ReadingCity Paper Yanks Series After Fox Threatens to Sue

The bare-knuckled battle between Seattle Weekly and The Stranger in the land of Starbucks is laid bare by Seattle Post-Intelligencer writer John Marshall. He looks into whether two alt-weeklies can survive in a city the size of Seattle and whether the Stranger's "performance-art" journalistic style can knock out the more upscale, serious Weekly.

Continue ReadingAlt Wars in Seattle

After only four months, the St. Petersburg Times reports the upstart St. Pete Weekly has ceased publication. Publisher Dean Capone tells the Times he's not given up and is seeking new financing to start again. Meanwhile, the daily reports staffers haven't been paid and that one has filed a claim for nearly $5,000.

Continue ReadingSt. Pete Weekly Deep in Red Ink

After 24 years with East Bay Express, Editor John Raeside is hanging it up. Raeside has announced his resignation, effective March 1. Managing Editor Stephen Buel will take his place. Raeside says the paper has had some remarkable accomplishments in its first year under New Times ownership and that he feels he's leaving it in good hands.

Continue ReadingJohn Raeside Resigns as East Bay Express Editor