Andrew Kiraly has taken to Twitter to poke fun at Nevada politicians like Sen. John Ensign and Gov. Jim Gibbons, in what he calls "a text version of an editorial cartoon." Kiraly's fake account for Ensign, who admitted to having an affair this summer, drew the attention of a staffer for the senator, who called the content "vulgar," "offensive" and "deceptive." That account has been shut down by Twitter, but Kiraly has launched a new one that is more clearly labeled as parody. The most recent entry from SenatorEnsign2: "I advise the women of America NOT to postpone breast exams. Be responsible and proactive. Take your health into my own hands."
Las Vegas CityLife, Las Vegas Weekly and the Reno News & Review took home a total of 74 awards at the annual Better Newspaper Contest put on by the Nevada Press Association. CityLife won 34 awards, with 16 first-place finishes; the News & Review won 28 awards, including 11 firsts; and the Weekly won 12 awards, four of which were first-place.
Stephens Press, the book publishing division of CityLife's parent company Stephens Media, is launching the CityLife Books imprint, which will publish up to four titles each year. The imprint will be edited by CityLife publisher Geoff Schumacher, who says he will be looking for proposals and manuscripts that speak to regular readers of the alt-weekly. "We want to publish books that question the conventional wisdom and offer new ways of looking at this region and its people," he says in a release. "Great writing will be paramount."
Pasadena police say they arrested a 26-year-old man on suspicion of grand theft yesterday. They think he's responsible for stealing 18 Pasadena Weekly news boxes over the past few months. The boxes, which are bolted to the ground, may have been stolen for their metal, cops say. MORE: In other thievery news, Las Vegas CityLife reports that a bill is being considered in Nevada that would make taking more than 10 copies of a free newspaper a misdemeanor.
The Nevada Press Association announced the winners of its 2008 "Better Newspaper Contest" Saturday night, and two AAN members fared quite well. The Reno News & Review won a total of 44 awards, including 18 first-place finishes; and Las Vegas CityLife won a total of 32 awards, with 12 of those being first-place wins.
Scott Dickensheets, who left the Weekly to become special projects editor at Las Vegas CityLife in February, is once again editor of the Weekly, according to a press release. "We're fortunate to have Scott back in the saddle," says Bruce Spotleson, group publisher for Weekly parent company Greenspun Media Group. "He's one of the most talented journalists in Nevada, and one of the best editors I've ever been associated with."
Geoff Schumacher, a former editor of CityLife and parent company Stephens Media LLC's director of community publications, has been named CityLife's new publisher, effective May 21. The paper is applying for AAN membership this year.
Scott Dickensheets, who had been at the Weekly since 2002, has joined the staff of Las Vegas CityLife as special projects editor. He will oversee features, cover presentation and special projects. The Weekly is an AAN member, and CityLife is applying for membership this year.
Eight of the prospective members are previous applicants, and two are owned by alt-weekly veterans who had been members during a previous association with different papers. AAN members will also be asked this year to evaluate Boston's Weekly Dig and Des Moines' Cityview, the first two post-sale newspapers whose membership will be reviewed under a process established in 2004 when the association's bylaws were amended. The fate of all of these papers will be determined at the organization's next Annual Meeting, which will be held in Little Rock on Saturday, June 17, the last day of the 29th annual AAN convention.
