The Denver alt-weekly debuted a new look this week, with a glossy cover and staples. Westword editor Patricia Calhoun tells Face the State that the new format pushes the paper's deadline back a day because it takes more production time, and that it costs a little more. But that added cost gets offset by the higher rates the paper can charge to run ads on the glossy stock. "It all evens out pretty quickly," Calhoun says.
Columbia Journalism Review assistant editor Jane Kim claims in a blog post that "one thing that was sorely lacking from the past two weeks of convention spotlighting was good alt weekly coverage." She then uses a couple of blog features from convention host-city papers Westword and City Pages to prove the "sad results" of "consolidation of the alt weeklies under VVM." In the comments section, Westword editor Patricia Calhoun argues that staff cartoonist Kenny Be, whose "Delegating Denver" series provided grist for Kim's critique, is "the town's best political columnist," adding that "to quote lines without the context of the artwork is hardly fair" when criticizing a cartoon. AAN executive director Richard Karpel, meanwhile, points out that both papers broke significant convention-related news prior to the conventions, and that several dozen other alt-weeklies had folks on the ground during the confabs. "It seems clear from the tone of this piece that Kim went in with a set of preconceived ideas -- the all-too-easy meme that corporate ownership leads to homogenization -- and wasn't going to let the facts get in her way at 4:42 p.m. on a Friday," City Pages' editor-in-chief Kevin Hoffman adds. Lastly, Village Voice Media executive associate editor Andy Van De Voorde takes Kim to task for "focusing on 'the various shades of Banana Republic grey' worn by the Palins" in her own work during the conventions, while City Pages reporters were arrested, roughed up, and pepper-sprayed as "a direct result of their decision to actually go out and cover news."
On Friday, Village Voice Media executive editor Michael Lacey testified in the predatory pricing trial. The Guardian says Lacey "had some trouble answering some key questions" about SF Weekly's ad sales and a 1995 meeting where he met the Weekly staff shortly after purchasing the paper. The Weekly says Lacey's testimony illustrated that his and Bruce Brugmann's "editorial philosophies were worlds apart," and notes that Lacey's testimony showed he is not involved in the business side of VVM's affairs. This is key because of comments he made about being "the only game in town," which the Guardian is using as evidence he wanted to drive them out of business. Patricia Calhoun, editor of Denver's Westword, which New Times bought in 1983, also testified on Friday, and according to the Weekly, she "got on and off the stand in only about twenty minutes, a timely performance that drew appreciative nods from jurors." The trial resumes today.
"Sandy was fresh from Texas, a tiny blonde in even tinier hot pants, with a big personality," the current Westword editor says of Widener, who she first met at Cornell in the '70s. Widener, who died with her husband and one of her daughters in a car accident late last month, went on to co-found the Denver alt-weekly with Calhoun and Rob Simon. "With each reminiscence," Calhoun says, "I keep wanting to reach for the phone to call Sandy, to utter a few words and be rewarded with a shriek. I'll get several numerals into the call before I suddenly remember that she's gone." There will be a service for Sandy, her husband John, and their daughter Chase in a few weeks in Denver, when daughter Katy, who was spared in the accident, is well enough to attend. In the meantime, a memorial site has been set up at johnsandychase.muchloved.com.
Sandra Widener, who started the Denver alt-weekly in 1977 with Patricia Calhoun and Rob Simon, died on Saturday when the vehicle her family was in skidded out of control and a tractor trailer slammed into the driver's side, the Denver Post reports. She was 53 years old. Her husband, Democratic political consultant John Parr, and one of their two daughters also died in the crash. Their 17-year-old daughter is expected to leave the hospital today, according to the Rocky Mountain News. "Their house became a focal point for the neighborhood, and the world. Their friends included everybody," Calhoun tells the Post. "They always had students in from other countries. It was just a nonstop party." The News also reports that three drivers have been charged with driving too fast for conditions in the chain-reaction crash.
"Patty Calhoun is the co-founder and editor of Westword and probably has a greater knowledge of metro Denver than any other living journalist," the Denver Post writes. She was inducted into the Hall with four others on Friday evening. Calhoun, who was a founding member of AAN and served as its president in 1999-2000, currently chairs the association's editorial committee.
Earlier this year, Steve Horner filed a discrimination complaint against Denver's alt-weekly for running an ad for a ladies' night promotion at a local bar. Yesterday, a Denver county judge dismissed Horner's claim. "Now I know how black people in the early part of the last century felt about being cheated out of their civil rights," said Horner, perhaps overreaching. The Rocky Mountain News reports that as the trial ended, Westword editor Patricia Calhoun announced that she was running to the ladies room. Turning to Horner, she added, "You don't object, do you?"
This week, Denver's Curious Theatre Company put on their annual "Denver Stories" benefit show, and Act One featured the story of longtime Westword editor Patricia Calhoun. In Dee Covington's "The Showdown at Straight Creek, Or How the Westword Was Won," Martha Harmon Pardee "played a raucous Calhoun, getting Westword off the ground between saloon stops," the Denver Post reports. Calhoun, who served as AAN President in 1999-2000, currently chairs the association's Editorial Committee.
Patricia Calhoun will be inducted to the Hall of Fame at a Sept. 21 banquet, the Denver Post reports. Calhoun, who served as AAN President in 1999-2000, currently chair's the association's editorial committee.
The winners of the Clarion Awards were recently announced, and Patricia Calhoun, editor of Westword, took first place in the Regular Opinion/Editorial category, small circulation division, for her weekly column. Houston Press Staff Writer Todd Spivak also won for his feature story "Against All Odds" in the small circulation division, and SF Weekly Staff Writer Cristi Hegranes won for her feature story "The Identity Makers" in the large circulation division. Both men and women are eligible for the Clarion Awards, which are presented by The Association for Women in Communications.
