At a debate held in a local bar over the weekend, Seattle mayoral candidates Mike McGinn and Joe Mallahan were given one minute to answer each question, with the option of being granted a time extension ... if they took a shot of whiskey. Weekly managing editor and debate co-moderator Mike Seely tells KING 5 News that the forum was designed to get the candidates to show off their personalities instead of relying on the usual sound bites, and also to bring the race to a new audience. "We figure we had a captive audience that had about no interest in politics, and we figured we'd force feed them politics," Seely says.

Continue ReadingSeattle Weekly’s Mayoral Debate Helps Candidates Reach New Audience

Mike Seely's Seattle's Best Dive Bars: Drinking & Diving in the Emerald City "chronicles the nooks, crannies, and characters in over 100 bars within the Seattle city limits," he writes. "By and large, these places are the most distinctive, preservation-worthy bars in a city where watering holes of their ilk are swiftly disappearing. What they have in common isn't so much attributes, but a state of mind -- you just know one when you see one."

Continue ReadingSeattle Weekly Managing Editor Releases Book on Dive Bars

Philadelphia Weekly and Seattle Weekly both finished first in two categories in this year's National Association of Black Journalists' Salute to Excellence National Media Awards. PW's Kia Gregory took first-place honors in Newspaper--Feature (Single Story) and Newspaper--Commentary, while Seattle Weekly's Mike Seely finished first in Newspaper--Sports and Brian Miller finished first in Newspaper-Business. Winners were announced Saturday in Chicago. This marks Seely's fourth award from the NABJ in the past five years, according to the Weekly.

Continue ReadingTwo AAN Members Win Four NABJ Awards

The finalists in the National Association of Black Journalists' 2006 Salute to Excellence Awards were announced Friday, and six of the nine nominations in the "Newspaper - Circulation Under 150,000" division are Village Voice Media newspapers. The other three finalists are not alt-weeklies. Riverfront Times is the leader with three nominations: "Newspaper - Enterprise" for Randall Roberts' "It Was Just Like Beverly Hills"; "Newspaper - Sports" for Mike Seely's "Alley Cat"; and "Newspaper - Features" for Ben Westhoff's "Rap vs. Rapture." Dallas Observer has two contenders in the "Newspaper - Sports" category: Keven McAlester for "Balls Out" and Paul Kix for "Alone No More." Finally, Chuck Strouse of Miami New Times is nominated in the "Newspaper - Commentary" category for "Free this Priest." The awards recognize exemplary coverage of people or issues in the African diaspora. Winners will be announced August 19 at the NABJ convention in Indianapolis.

Continue ReadingVillage Voice Media Papers Dominate NABJ Finalists