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

Lisa Chamberlain has been let go as editor-in-chief of the Cleveland Free Times and has gone to work for an Ohio congressman. Publisher Matt Fabyan says the decision was his. The Free Times is conducting a national search for a replacement. In the meantime, Don Forst, editor-in-chief, of The Village Voice will be spending three days a week in Cleveland to help put out the paper.

Continue ReadingLisa Chamberlain Leaves Free Times

Eugene Weekly is planning to publish by committee for the time being after letting go Publisher Sonja Snyder early this month. “We just had insurmountable differences as to the direction of the paper, and you can’t run a paper that way,” says Snyder, who helped found the weekly 19 years ago.

Continue ReadingExecutive Committee to Manage Eugene Weekly

Chicago Magazine reports that 75 Chicago Reader staffers and freelancers have signed a letter in support of Patrick Arden, the newspaper's managing editor who was fired Jan. 15. However, the letter does not ask for Arden's reinstatement, the magazine reports. Jane Levine, publisher of the Reader, tells Chicago Magazine the firing was partly the result of tensions between Arden and Reader Editor Alison True, "but that's not all that it was."

Continue ReadingReader Staff Rallies Behind Fired Editor

Earlier this month. Hawes Spencer, editor and co-owner of C*Ville Weekly in Charlottesville, Va., was ousted from the paper by the other two owners, Bill Chapman and Rob Jiranek. The two remaining C*Ville owners are quiet on the subject, but Spencer plans to launch a new weekly, The Hook, on Feb. 7 and has taken four C*Ville staff with him..

Continue ReadingOusted C*Ville Editor Starting New Weekly

Jill Mogen, advertising director of the Seattle Weekly, has left her position, David Schneiderman, CEO of Village Voice Media, says. Mogen had been at the newspaper for more than 11 years and was the first president of the Alternative Weekly Network in 1996-97. It is the second management shakeup at a West Coast VVM paper this month and follows Alisa Cromer's resignation as publisher of Seattle Weekly in November. Schneiderman has said he wants to spend more time personally managing Seattle Weekly and LA/OC Weekly. Cromer is now with Metro Newspapers on an interim basis.

Continue ReadingSeattle Weekly Ad Director Steps Down

David Schneiderman, CEO of Village Voice Media, wants to move LA Weekly/OC Weekly into "a larger media world in terms of advertising," he tells AAN News. He says asking Michael Sigman to resign as president and publisher last week was "not fun" and says the decision to cut the 20-year veteran loose was not driven by VVM investors. "My goal is to bring in as much revenue as possible so that I can keep putting money back into editorial and grow the editorial quality," he says.

Continue ReadingVVM Wants Broader Sales Reach at LA Weekly

Russ Martineau, who was let go last week by City of Roses Newspapers, announces today the formation of a new sales and marketing consulting company, Ad Director.com. Martineau had managed the revenue departments for Willamette Week for the past 10 years. He resigned his position as president of the AAN board last week and is replaced by Bill Towler, publisher of City Newspaper in Rochester, N.Y.

Continue ReadingMartineau Launches New Company

Michael Sigman, president and publisher of LA Weekly/OC Weekly, has been asked to leave by Village Voice Media. His last day is Jan. 25. In other developments, three other AAN member papers have asked top managers to leave, including Eugene Weekly, Willamette Week and C-Ville Weekly.

Continue ReadingSigman Asked to Resign at LA Weekly