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."

Continue ReadingBen Fulton Named Editor of Salt Lake City Weekly

Two days after reporting that "the paper's freelance writers heaved a sigh of relief" when Salt Lake City Weekly Editor John Yewell was fired, Elaine Jarvik of Deseret News is back to report that her earlier story "prompted other free-lancers to weigh in with praise for their former editor as thorough, honest and hard-hitting." Despite the dueling free-lancers, staff members at City Weekly still chose to remain silent for the record.

Continue ReadingDaily Tells New Story About Yewell Firing

John Yewell (pictured) was fired last month for unspecified reasons and replaced for the interim by Managing Editor Ben Fulton. "I'll be carefully vague ... there were differences," Publisher John Saltas tells the Deseret News. According to the daily, "Some of the paper's freelance writers heaved a sigh of relief on hearing the news that Yewell was let go." Before taking the position in Salt Lake City, Yewell had been fired as editor of Independent Weekly.

Continue ReadingSalt Lake City Weekly Dismisses Editor

When the free weekday tabloid Express debuted Monday morning, the City Paper and its band of merry pranksters were prepared, hawking 10,000 copies of its own Expresso at subway stops across the nation's capital. The City Paper parodists, led by Webmeister Dave Nuttycombe, "anticipated the journalistic emptiness of Express," according to Slate's Jack Shafer, who says the Post's new lite version "ladles the news out with an eyedropper into tiny text boxes and then flattens it with a steamroller." Also revealed: The editor of Express is none other than Dan Caccavaro, former editor of AAN-member Valley Advocate.

Continue ReadingCity Paper Parodies Post Co.’s Free Daily

The alt-weekly contrarian launches a new weekly column this week in City Paper under the header "Right Field." Smith will also continue writing his "Mugger" column for New York Press, which he sold late last year. But he and his family left Manhattan to return to Charm City, where he co-founded the City Paper (it was originally called City Squeeze) in 1977 and sold it a decade later.

Continue ReadingRuss Smith Returns to Baltimore

"Twin Cities Babelogue" has turned more than 20 writers, editors and freelancers loose on the paper's Web site to talk about anything they want, any way they want. The experiment is paying off so far, with 10 percent of all Web site visitors now checking out the Babelogue during their time on the site. "I figured it was going to be a waste of time and lobbied openly against it," Senior Editor Brad Zellar tells AAN News. "Turns out, however, that I've taken to it."

Continue ReadingCity Pages Debuts Weblog Section

New Times writers swept the Newspaper Restaurant Review or Critique category of the 2003 James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards with Jason Sheehan of Westword winning, while Jill Posey-Smith of Riverfront Times and Robb Walsh of Houston Press were finalists. Mark Stuertz of the Dallas Observer was the winner in the Newspaper, Magazine or Internet Reporting on Consumer Issues, Nutrition and/or Health category for his article “Green Giant." Dara Moskowitz, City Pages (Twin Cities) and Walsh were finalists in the newspaper series category.

Continue ReadingAAN Writers Are Winners and Finalists in James Beard Awards

A few weeks ago the Baltimore Sun launched "LiVE!" its version of the ubiquitous daily paper sop to "young readers." Baltimore City Paper wasted no time in starting its own new weekly "Advice Column for Journalists Looking to Get in on the Lucrative Alt-Weekly Market." Here's a sample: "After more than two years with virtually no homegrown pop-music coverage ... three LiVE! covers in a row devoted to the hot musical acts of today. Ga-zinga! You surely are giving us a run for our money, pop-music-wise, which, of course, as everyone knows, is a big reason people pick up a publication like ours. And that's the idea, right? A publication like ours? Except folks gotta pay for yours."

Continue ReadingBaltimore City Paper Razzes the Sun

Washington City Paper leads the field with six nominations in the eighth annual awards contest, followed by the Dallas Observer with five. Among individual contestants, Thomas Francis of Cleveland Scene and Heather Swaim of OC Weekly are nominated twice. The order of finish in the contest will be announced June 6 at the AAN Convention.

Continue ReadingFinalists Announced in Alternative Newsweekly Awards