After 18 years at the alt-weekly, Jim Mullin (pictured) will step down from his position. The announcement comes less than a month after former city official Arthur Teele's suicide, which came on the heels of a New Times cover story about Teele's involvement with a transvestite prostitute. Mullin says that while he was "profoundly affected" by the tragedy, he'd been considering leaving the paper for the past year. His successor will be Chuck Strouse, the current editor of New Times Broward-Palm Beach.
Bob Norman of New Times Broward-Palm Beach and Bruce Rushton of Phoenix New Times were named today as finalists in the 2005 Gerald Loeb Awards contest. Norman and Rushton received two of the four nominations in the small-newspapers category, which includes papers with circulation under 150,000. The Loeb Awards, which recognize superior business journalism, have been presented by UCLA's Anderson School of Management since 1973.
The Society of Professional Journalists announced the 2004 Green Eyeshade Award finalists yesterday, and AAN papers received 17 of the 27 nominations in the weekly/monthly division. According to SPJ, the Green Eyeshades "have honored the best in professional journalism in 11 southeastern states for 55 years." New Times Broward-Palm Beach and its sister paper, Miami New Times, did particularly well, receiving eight and five nominations, respectively. (NTBPB swept the nominations in the sports reporting category.) Independent Weekly's FEMA story, which ran in over 20 AAN papers this fall as part of an editorial joint project, was nominated in the investigative reporting category. Here's SPJ's announcement.
Because sometimes winning a Pulitzer just isn't enough: Willamette Week's Nigel Jaquiss also won an award from Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE) for "The 30-Year Secret" -- the same work for which he won the Pulitzer yesterday. Qualifying as a finalist was New Times Broward-Palm Beach's Bob Norman for "Sick District," his investigation into the mismanagement of Broward County's tax-assisted public health care system.
On Nov. 9, America's second-largest newspaper publisher, Tribune Company, sued two of its ex-employees, as well as their current employer, New Times. Why? Because the employees in question, both entry- to mid-level advertising representatives, have agreements (that they don't remember signing) with Tribune that forbid their working for competing publications within a certain amount of time after leaving the company. An article in New Times Broward-Palm Beach calls the lawsuit an attempt to force the employees -- one a single mother, the other a divorced dad paying for his daughter's college education -- from their current positions.
The recipients of this year's National Association of Black Journalists Awards were announced Oct. 9 in Washington, D.C. New Times writers fared impressively, winning nine of the 22 awards handed out to newspapers with a circulation of 150,000 or less. Dallas Observer, Cleveland Scene, Phoenix New Times and New Times Broward-Palm Beach each had writers take home awards, while Riverfront Times writers won four awards -- including a clean sweep of the business category by Randall Roberts and Mike Seely. According to the NABJ, the awards recognize "outstanding coverage of people or important issues in the African diaspora."
Readers of Gambit Weekly, New Times Broward-Palm Beach, Miami New Times, Weekly Planet (Tampa), Weekly Planet (Sarasota), Folio Weekly and Orlando Weekly have lately seen Mother Nature at her worst. Distributed in areas affected by the hurricanes that have pounded Florida and surrounding states since August, these alt-weeklies have come out on schedule -- thanks to determined staffers and contingency plans.
Finalists have been announced in the annual Salute to Excellence Awards sponsored by the National Association of Black Journalists. More than half of the finalists named for papers with a circulation under 150,000 are from New Times papers. The Riverfront Times of St. Louis has four stories nominated, including two by staff writer Mike Seely. The Cleveland Scene boasts two finalists. Phoenix New Times, Dallas Observer and New Times Broward-Palm Beach are also represented on the short-list. Winners will be announced at the NABJ's awards banquet Oct. 9 in Washington, D.C.
Last month, New Times Broward-Palm Beach reporter Sam Eifling visited the office of Steven West. The paper had run a story about the South Florida businessman in August 2002, tracing his career path from department-store raider to convicted felon. This time, the reporter wanted to ask West about a controversial firing of one of West's office workers. Instead of a quote, New Times got a lawsuit. Filed without aid of an attorney, the suit claims the 2002 story "willfully omit[ted] positive information and willfully ignore[d] positive interviews." Eifling writes that West might simply be practicing what his company's Dilbertian policy manual expounds: "Do Not Get Pushed Around."
