Oklahoma Gazette staff writer Ben Fenwick tied for first place in the Domestic Coverage (newspapers with a circulation less than 100,000) category of the Military Reporters and Editors 2006 Awards Contest, the paper announced today. Fenwick was recognized for two stories on the National Guard's role in the evacuation of New Orleans.
The finalists in the National Association of Black Journalists' 2006 Salute to Excellence Awards were announced Friday, and six of the nine nominations in the "Newspaper - Circulation Under 150,000" division are Village Voice Media newspapers. The other three finalists are not alt-weeklies. Riverfront Times is the leader with three nominations: "Newspaper - Enterprise" for Randall Roberts' "It Was Just Like Beverly Hills"; "Newspaper - Sports" for Mike Seely's "Alley Cat"; and "Newspaper - Features" for Ben Westhoff's "Rap vs. Rapture." Dallas Observer has two contenders in the "Newspaper - Sports" category: Keven McAlester for "Balls Out" and Paul Kix for "Alone No More." Finally, Chuck Strouse of Miami New Times is nominated in the "Newspaper - Commentary" category for "Free this Priest." The awards recognize exemplary coverage of people or issues in the African diaspora. Winners will be announced August 19 at the NABJ convention in Indianapolis.
Ben Allen, a conservative Ward 1 Councilman in Jackson, Miss., is authoring a blog hosted on the Jackson Free Press Web site. The blog went live on Jan. 12 with a post in which Allen explains that Free Press Editor in Chief Donna Ladd is "a personal friend," and that he can "live with" the paper's liberal bent if his blog is a venue for two-sided political discussion. Allen goes on to say that he is "enthusiastic about the depth of many of the local ISSUES researched AND REPORTED in-depth by the JFP. We in government get so weary of the lack of real information in local and state issues as covered by our State's largest newspaper." In its first week, the blog generated nearly a thousand views and some polite questions about bike lanes and streetlights.
Throughout his career, Ben Joravsky has worked to illuminate issues affecting Chicagoans. In his award-winning political column for the Chicago Reader, The Works, he explains how the city treats certain individuals, shedding light on the larger schemes of government. This is the 27th in a "How I Got That Story" series highlighting the AltWeekly Awards' first-place winners.
Ben Westhoff, a staff writer at the St. Louis alt-weekly, has been nominated for the Religion Newswriters Association's Templeton Story of the Year award for a feature titled "Jesus For Juniors," which ran on June 23. Read RNA's announcement here.
In response to complaints, Provo's city library stopped carrying Salt Lake City Weekly. Now, in response to complaints about the paper's disappearance, the library is reconsidering its previous decision, reports the Associated Press (via Editor & Publisher). SLC Weekly Editor Ben Fulton tells the AP: "We would hope they would still carry our paper for the reading public that is interested in what we have to offer." But, he concedes, "In a county where Rodin sculptures can cause offense, one person's ceiling is another person's floor."
Ben Eason, CEO of Creative Loafing Inc., confirmed last week that his company's board has agreed to buy out Cox's minority stake in the alt-weekly chain, Steve Fennessy reports in Creative Loafing Atlanta. In addition to the Atlanta paper, the alt-weekly chain publishes newspapers in Charlotte, Tampa and Sarasota. Cox bought a 25 percent stake in Creative Loafing in 2000, but friction resulted when the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a Cox-owned daily, launched its own free entertainment weekly last year. Eason says that if all goes well, the deal could be completed by mid-July.
After working at the paper for over a decade and filling in as interim editor on three separate occasions, the veteran Admissions Committee member is named to replace John Yewell. There are two Ben Fultons, says Publisher John Saltas: The one who "has a special rapport with budding writers and the respect of veteran wordsmiths," and the "worry-wort" who "is consumed with the curse of being only nearly perfect."
Alternative newsweeklies are feeling the one-two punch of war and recession. National advertising is down across the board, but classifieds are providing a cushion. While several papers have had to lay off employees, others are taking the opportunity to add sales staff.
