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."

Continue ReadingSan Luis Obispo New Times Marks 20 Years, New Ownership

On his blog "The Daily Pulp," New Times Broward-Palm Beach writer Bob Norman says that a July 9 Miami Herald article is "verging on a journalistic crime." Robert Santiago penned the Herald story on a transgender child that contains details similar to those in a May 18 New Times story by Julia Reischel. Norman argues that Santiago never saw the child, so he "got the information from the New Times story, plain and simple. And the Herald should have credited the NT story, damn straight." Santiago responds that "all the detail in the story comes directly from the parents and others I interviewed."

Continue ReadingNew Times BPB Writer Accuses Miami Herald of Lifting Details

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

Chuck Strouse's June 29 column addresses "hypocrisy, bullying, and misplaced priorities among the nation's top Latino journalists," specifically focusing on an argument between Sam Diaz, Washington Post assistant technology editor and financial officer for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and Monica Rhor, an Orange County Register reporter who edited the newspaper for the recent NAHJ convention. The point of contention is a quote by Diaz printed in the convention newsletter: Diaz alleges it was inaccurate and misleading, but Rhor refused to run a correction. Both Rhor and the NAHJ president, Rafael Olmeda, respond to the Miami New Times column in letters printed on Romenesko. "It saddens me that the accomplishments of such a talented group are being overshadowed by a debate which I consider unwarranted," Rhor says.

Continue ReadingMiami New Times Steps Into Hispanic Journalist Controversy

John Dougherty's "Polygamy in Arizona" investigation for Phoenix New Times won first place in the Nondaily Newspaper category of the 2006 Casey Medals for Meritorious Journalism, it was announced today. The awards honor distinguished coverage of disadvantaged children and families. The judges wrote that Dougherty's series "was a tough story to get and the New Times should be applauded for stepping in where authorities failed to go." An honorable mention was given to Jonathan Kaminsky of East Bay Express for "Wounded Warriors," which the judges called "an insightful, unflinching look at a football team in a bleak neighborhood."

Continue ReadingTwo Village Voice Media Papers Earn Casey Medals