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Read more about the article Veteran Santa Barbara News-Press Columnist Moves to Independent

After 46 years at the News-Press, Barney Brantingham resigned during a staff exodus last week; he explains why in the Santa Barbara Independent: "You can't do good journalism if you're worried about offending someone 'important.' This, coupled with pressure from the business side, has a chilling, intimidating effect," he writes. He calls the reign of owner Wendy McCaw "Amateur Hour." The Independent also announces that it has hired Brantingham as a regular columnist, calling him "perhaps Santa Barbara’s most beloved writer."

Continue ReadingVeteran Santa Barbara News-Press Columnist Moves to Independent
Read more about the article Huston-Baer Leaves Santa Barbara, To Be Replaced by Robbins

Penelope Huston-Baer is leaving her position as director of new media for the Santa Barbara Independent to move back to her hometown, Memphis, but she is excited that Robby Robbins (pictured) is pulling up his Southern roots to take her place. She has been at the Independent for seven years, and in the alt-weekly industry for 16; Robbins is leaving the Independent Weekly in Durham after 12 years.

Continue ReadingHuston-Baer Leaves Santa Barbara, To Be Replaced by Robbins

Robert Wilder, who writes the column "Daddy Needs a Drink" for the Reporter, is the guest columnist for the "My Turn" feature in the current issue of Newsweek. Wilder's subject is his own father, whom he contacts each Mother's Day to "let him know how much I appreciate all the ways he tried to be both the hand that rocked the cradle and the one that held a hammer."

Continue ReadingSanta Fe Reporter Columnist Takes a ‘Turn’ in Newsweek

Robert Wilder pens a regular column titled "Daddy Needs a Drink" for the Reporter; now he's published a book by the same name that is "a funny look at Wilder’s life with his wife, artist Lala Carroll, and their two children, Poppy and London," according to the weekly. The TV rights have already been sold for adaption into a potential sitcom. The Reporter promoted its own last week with a cover story and a two-chapter excerpt from the book.

Continue ReadingSanta Fe Reporter Columnist Publishes First Book

Staff Reporter Nathan Dinsdale is a finalist in the Religion Newswriters Association contest for his profile of Fred Phelps, leader of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church. Dinsdale is one of 10 finalists in the Templeton Story division, which "honors the best single story or serialized story about religion, religious movements or religious figures and their effect on American life," according to the RNA Web site. Winners will be announced Sept. 9 at the RNA's annual conference.

Continue ReadingWriter for Santa Fe Reporter Is Finalist in Religion-Writing Contest

When Steve Billings thought about what kind of food reviewer he wanted to be, he knew one thing. He didn't want to write dish-by-dish accounts of dining out. Instead, in his award-winning column for Metro Santa Cruz, he writes of the philosophy behind making sauerkraut, the goals of an organic farmer and other topical subjects. This is the 19th in a "How I Got That Story" series highlighting the AltWeekly Awards' first-place winners.

Continue ReadingSteve Billings: It’s Not Just About Food

Clare Nisbet sold over $16,000 of new business to run away with the AAN CAN "Back To School" sales contest that ended on Friday. As a result, both Clare and her classified manager, Penelope Huston Baer, will receive an Apple Prize Package consisting an Apple G4 iBook, a U2 Special Edition iPod, and 200 free downloads from iTunes.

Continue ReadingSanta Barbara Independent Rep Wins AAN CAN Sales Contest

Santa Fe Reporter's editor files the first post-convention blogpost after returning from San Diego. Well, we think it's the first. If anyone else has written about the convention in their paper or on their blog let us know and we'll find a way to post it.

Continue ReadingJulia Goldberg Blogs San Diego
Read more about the article AAN Papers Cover Iraq War’s Psychological Impact on Veterans

This week, almost two dozen Association of Alternative Newsweeklies member papers published "Soldier's Heart," an article by freelance reporter Dan Frosch that casts a critical eye on the Department of Veterans Affairs' ability to properly treat Iraq War veterans with serious psychological problems. The article will appear in more than 40 AAN papers in coming weeks. Many of the participating weeklies will supplement the article -- AAN's latest collaborative story project -- with additional reporting to reflect the issue's regional and local impact. The collective stories can be found in a dedicated section of AltWeeklies.com.

Continue ReadingAAN Papers Cover Iraq War’s Psychological Impact on Veterans