I Love You Phillip Morris, starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor, is based on a series of stories by former Press reporter Steve McVicker about relentless con man Steven Russell. The film "will be showing at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival, and publicity is starting to build," the Press reports. McVicker, who now works for a Houston attorney, makes a cameo in the film as a judge.

Continue ReadingFilm Based on Houston Press Stories Heads to Sundance

The Dallas Observer, Fort Worth Weekly, and Houston Press were all honored when the Press Club's announced its 50th annual Katie Awards Saturday night. The Press won a total of three awards in the large newspapers division, including a first-place win for Column. The Observer, which also competed in the large newspapers division, won one award. In the small and medium newspapers division, the Weekly took home a total of four awards, three of which were first-place finishes -- in Business reporting, Investigative Series or Story, and Specialty Reporting.

Continue ReadingThree AAN Members Take Home Press Club of Dallas Awards

Timothy Bolger describes how he was held for three hours by Secret Service agents before last Wednesday's presidential debate because of "volatile" wifi signals emanating from his computer. "They said they wanted to check my machine to see if there was something that I had installed to bring down the debates, or determine if my computer was simply the victim of hackers and an ineffective virus scanner," he writes. However, "of most interest to them were my instant messages, especially those to my friend Dave. ... His less-than-flattering comments about vice presidential candidate Gov. Sarah Palin and his asking if I would meet the candidates raised eyebrows for the investigators." Bolger was eventually released before the debate, though he was ordered not to use wifi for the rest of the evening.

Continue ReadingLong Island Press Reporter Held for Hours at Final Presidential Debate

Miami New Times' Lee Klein won a first-place award for Newspaper Restaurant Criticism in this year's Association of Food Journalists awards. Robb Walsh of the Houston Press and Randall Roberts of Riverfront Times took second and third place, respectively, in the Newspaper Food Feature category; and Seattle Weekly's Maggie Dutton finished second in the Newspaper Food Column category. Winners were announced last weekend at a banquet in Houston.

Continue ReadingAlt-Weeklies Win Four Food Journalism Awards

In the ninth installment of this year's "How I Got That Story" series, Jackson Free Press editor Donna Ladd discusses her award-winning feature on the Seale family, which has long ties to the Ku Klux Klan, but has tried to ameliorate its past. She talks to St. John Barned-Smith about how they found the story, how her upbringing in Mississippi informs her work, and how she connects with her sources. "I find the best way is to just have absolute interest in what they're saying," Ladd says. "I have no judgment when I'm sitting in front of someone. I am a sponge.

Continue ReadingHow I Got That Story: Donna Ladd

The JFP has "resurrected the alt-weekly tradition of maverick investigations and cultural provocation," Casey Sanchez writes in Next American City magazine. In doing so, "it has cultivated an audience uncommon in the South and practically nonexistent among alt-weeklies -- young, white conservatives and black professionals, many of whom are lifelong Jacksonians." Editor Donna Ladd says the paper's dogged coverage of City Hall has helped build a loyal following. "Any cover with the mayor on it doesn't stay on the stands more than a day," she says.

Continue ReadingHow the Jackson Free Press Built an Uncommon Alt-Weekly Audience

The Press is partnering with The Independent "to offer advertisers a two-paper deal that officials at the free weeklies tout as an 'all Island' option," Newsday reports. The deal was hatched a few months ago during a meeting of the papers' publishers and key officials to discuss a "strategic alliance," according to Michael Castonguay, chief financial officer of the Long Island Press. "It's an advertising-marketing partnership that we hope will expand as we continue to grow on Long Island," he says. According to Newsday, the Press has a circulation of more than 97,000, and the Independent has a circulation of about 20,000.

Continue ReadingLong Island Press Partners with Another Weekly for Ad Sales

Replacing David Blum as editor-in-chief of the Press is Jerry Portwood, who was previously the paper's managing editor. Blum becomes editor of 02138, the bi-monthly magazine acquired in May by Press parent company Manhattan Media. Blum's move coincides with a major re-launch of the luxury lifestyle magazine for Harvard alumni.

Continue ReadingNew Editor Named at New York Press in Editorial Shuffle