Tips and tricks for maximizing coolness at the AAN Convention from a conference virgin.
"After last week, Portland's politicians may think twice about trying to put one over" on Willamette Week's Pulitzer-winning reporter Nigel Jaquiss, according to Newsweek reporter Winston Ross. On Jan. 19, Jaquiss broke the news that Portland mayor Sam Adams had sex with an 18-year-old legislative intern and then lied about it. Newsweek notes that WW trumped other news outlets that were pursuing the story: "Jaquiss's scoop is significant not only because it represents the second huge political figure his journalism has humbled in a period of four years, but also because of whom he beat out to get the story: the much larger and much more heavily financed Oregonian."
The Falmouth Forecaster, a community paper in Portland, Maine, reports that Face -- owned by the publishers of Portland Phoenix, Providence Phoenix and Boston Phoenix -- regularly runs articles by writers using pseudonyms. Among them is Sam Pfeifle, editor of both Face and Portland Phoenix, who has written numerous articles as "Simon Peterson." He explains: "It's meant to be a way to have some fun and allow ourselves creative outlets." The report also notes that Face's "masthead offers few clues to who is real and who is make-believe," with job titles "arranged as if the writers and ad reps are members of a band." (Chris Busby, the author of the piece, is the former editor of the now-defunct Casco Bay Weekly, which competed against Portland Phoenix.)
Effective Jan. 1, Chris Ferrell will take over as publisher of Nashville Scene, replacing founding publisher Albie Del Favero, who announced his retirement in July. "I hoped we could find [a successor] who was passionate not only about this paper but also about this community," says Del Favero, calling Ferrell "the ideal person for the job." Ferrell is a Nashville businessman and former Metro Council member. His hire comes on the heels of Pacific Sun's announcement regarding the appointment of another former politician, Sam Chapman, as that paper's new publisher. Chapman was chief of staff to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer and a former member of the Napa County Board of Supervisors. He succeeds Steve McNamara, who recently sold the Sun after owning and operating the paper since 1966. "[Chapman] has an extraordinary varied background in journalism, law and politics, plus a longtime attachment to Marin County," says McNamara.
The Local Planet of Spokane, Wash., which was approved for AAN membership last month in New Orleans, is changing its name to The Local Planet Weekly. President and Co-Publisher Matthew Spaur credits Folio Weekly Publisher Sam Taylor for the suggestion: “He said it would add $100,000 to our value. I’m still waiting for the check,” Spaur jokes in a news release posted on the AAN Web site.
