San Luis Obispo New Times has held an annual short story writing contest—known as 55 Fiction—for 26 years and counting.
Monterey County Weekly took first place for General Excellence.
In the old days, when the media reported on problems in the newspaper industry, alternative newspapers weren't included. But alt-weeklies are immune no longer: In 2008, many AAN papers faced some of the same issues afflicting their mainstream brethren in the print media. However, you can still find alt-weeklies that had a pretty good year in 2008. That's just what AAN's editor Jon Whiten did, and he reports on 10 papers that increased revenue in a story published by Editor & Publisher.
Award-winning veteran investigative reporter Ed Connolly has taken over as editor of New Times, the paper announced Monday. Former editor Ryan Miller will remain at the paper as executive editor and will also assume responsibility for the production of New Times' sister paper, the Santa Maria Sun, for which he is also executive editor. Connolly first found his way to New Times after applying for a proofreader opening -- then he wandered into the wrong interview, one for an opening at the Sun. Miller said it quickly became clear Connolly's skills made him a good fit for New Times. "Ed sort of fell into our laps here at New Times," Miller says in a statement. "He was too good of an asset to pass up."
Twenty years after Bev Johnson, Alex Zuniga, and Steve Moss (pictured) produced the first issue of San Luis Obispo New Times, the newspaper is celebrating not only its anniversary but also having new owners who are familiar faces at the office. Founding owner Moss died in 2005; Zuniga, the art director, and Bob Rucker, the longtime general manager, had to compete with others to purchase the paper. Their majority co-ownership became official on Aug. 2. "We have a lot of potential to keep getting better," Zuniga says. "We're not done yet. Steve developed the philosophy and feel of the paper that we want to maintain: If it's important, accurate, and relevant, it should be in the paper."
