Bill Lueders' "Cry Rape," which details the sexual assault of a woman and her hellish ordeal navigating the Madison justice system, has been covered by more than 100 media outlets around the world, reports the Capital Times. The author and his subject also appeared last night on FOX News' "Hannity and Colmes" show. The woman's attorney tells the paper that he has also received a preliminary contact from a representative of Oprah Winfrey's production company. A second printing of "Cry Rape" is due in stores this week.
Isthmus News Editor Bill Lueders first chronicled Patty's ordeal in 1998, a year after the visually impaired woman was charged with falsely reporting a rape. Prosecutors eventually dropped the charges, and in 2001 a suspect was charged with her sexual assault. Now the Madison City Council has voted to make an official apology to Patty, to pay her $35,000 in reparations, and to review police department policy on dealing with victims of sexual assault. According to The Capital Times, the apology resolution was "inspired" by the recent publication of Lueders book, Cry Rape, an "engrossing tale" based on his original investigation of the case.
When Isthmus News Editor Bill Lueders first wrote about "Patty," a visually impaired woman charged with falsely reporting a rape, he hoped his 4,400-word piece would influence the prosecution to change direction. That was in 1998, and Lueders was so confident Patty was telling the truth that he told the mayor he would quit his job if he was proved wrong. His article didn't have the effect he had hoped, but prosecutors did eventually drop the charges against Patty, and in 2001 a suspect was charged with sexually assaulting her. Lueders expanded his investigation into a book, Cry Rape, newly published by the University of Wisconsin Press. The Capital Times in Madison, Wis., says Lueders' "achievement is large -- the book is not a polemic, the tone is not angry, but the systemic fallibility Cry Rape reveals is frightening."
Isthmus News Editor Bill Lueders will join songwriter Peter Leidy in performing "a medley of songs about journalism" this Saturday at the Society of Professional Journalists'convention in Chicago. Lueders first combined his passions for writing and music when he and Leidy released "The Open Records Blues" for Sunshine Week in March. The duo promises to debut a new song this weekend that was written specifically for SPJ.
Bill Jensen (pictured) will take the reins at the Boston Phoenix as part of its parent company's effort to assemble a staff with the right "mix of experience and youth," the Boston Globe reports this morning. Jensen was hired as the Phoenix's associate editor last year. His predecessor, Peter Kadzis, says "Bill is the hip, happening guy" who will focus in part on pop culture. Kadzis had been editor for 16 years; he now will become executive editor for Phoenix Media, which owns a radio station and a mobile marketing firm in addition to the Phoenix weeklies in Boston, Portland (Maine) and Providence (R.I.). The company's multiple operations and ability to strategize marketing across platforms may be the key to its survival in the future, Vice President Brad Mindich tells the Globe.
Erin Sullivan (pictured), managing editor of Baltimore City Paper, is running for the membership chair position being vacated by Seven Days' Paula Routly, one of several spots on the AAN board that are up for grabs this year. Voting will take place on Saturday, June 17, during the annual meeting on the final day of the convention in Little Rock. AAN News put together this voting guide to help members get acquainted with the candidates.
Foodies at Creative Loafing (Atlanta), Riverfront Times, Westword, L.A. Weekly, East Bay Express, City Pages (Twin Cities), Phoenix New Times, and Houston Press picked up ten of the 21 nominations for which they qualified in the 2006 James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards announced today. The complete list is available as a PDF here. Alt-weeklies were particularly dominant in the "Newspaper Writing on Spirits, Wine or Beer" category, in which all three nominees are AAN members. The awards recognize and honor excellence and achievement in the culinary arts.
Bill Lueders (pictured) wrote the lyrics based on his own troubles with records requests, then convinced Wisconsin musician Peter Leidy to write music and record the song in time for Sunshine Week, a national observance of the public's right to information about its government. "It's a topic with contemporary resonance," says Lueders, who is also the president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council. Isthmus won two open records lawsuits against the Madison Police Department, in 1996 and 1998. "The Open Records Blues" can be downloaded here and is free for broadcast.
The former President has agreed to be the featured speaker at this year's convention in Little Rock, Ark., which will be held June 15-17. The three-day convention will also feature an opening night reception at the Clinton Presidential Library.
