A closer look at one of the icons of Christmas, "Jingle Bell Rock," unveils a tale of dastardly deeds and a lengthy dispute between the family of the song's claimed coauthor and the Nashville music industry. A lot of patient listening and research allowed Folio Weekly staff writer Susan Cooper Eastman to unfold the drama in her award-winning arts feature, "Jingle Bell Crock." This is the 20th in a "How I Got That Story" series highlighting the AltWeekly Awards' first-place winners.

Continue ReadingSusan Cooper Eastman: Exposing the Dark Side of a Christmas Classic

Free newspapers aimed at young readers are, for the most part, "just dumbed-down versions of a daily newspaper," writes AAN'S Roxanne Cooper, in an editorial published in the International Newspaper Marketing Association's monthly magazine. Basing a newspaper's content on market research instead of a creative vision is getting it backwards. And if young people have such short attention spans, why are so many of them reading books during their commutes?

Continue ReadingNew Youth-Oriented Papers Lack Vision, AAN Says