Finalists have been announced in the annual Salute to Excellence Awards sponsored by the National Association of Black Journalists. More than half of the finalists named for papers with a circulation under 150,000 are from New Times papers. The Riverfront Times of St. Louis has four stories nominated, including two by staff writer Mike Seely. The Cleveland Scene boasts two finalists. Phoenix New Times, Dallas Observer and New Times Broward-Palm Beach are also represented on the short-list. Winners will be announced at the NABJ's awards banquet Oct. 9 in Washington, D.C.

Continue ReadingNew Times Fares Well in Salute to Excellence Awards

A plaintiff who alleges the Observer wrongfully disclosed his HIV-positive status has sued the Dallas alt-weekly; its parent company, New Times; and other parties, Texas Lawyer reports. In "Fallen Angel," an article published last December, the Observer referenced the man by name. The plaintiff doesn't dispute that he's HIV-positive but contends that the paper didn't have the right to disclose his condition without his consent. By doing so, he claims, the paper violated the Texas Health and Safety Code. Miriam Rozen writes: "Most attorneys have assumed the statute applied to parties in the medical and insurance industries -- not media organizations." Three of the defendants are seeking the outright dismissal of the plaintiff's petition.

Continue ReadingDallas Observer Hit with $1.1 Billion Lawsuit

Last month, New Times Broward-Palm Beach reporter Sam Eifling visited the office of Steven West. The paper had run a story about the South Florida businessman in August 2002, tracing his career path from department-store raider to convicted felon. This time, the reporter wanted to ask West about a controversial firing of one of West's office workers. Instead of a quote, New Times got a lawsuit. Filed without aid of an attorney, the suit claims the 2002 story "willfully omit[ted] positive information and willfully ignore[d] positive interviews." Eifling writes that West might simply be practicing what his company's Dilbertian policy manual expounds: "Do Not Get Pushed Around."

Continue ReadingFlorida Businessman Slaps New Times with Lawsuit

Jeremy Voas, editor of Detroit's Metro Times since October 2001, was fired last week, reports the Detroit News. He contends the dismissal was prompted by his disagreement with publisher Lisa Rudy over the paper's mission in general and its emphasis on special sections in particular. "I thought if the paper wanted to do more of that kind of thing they needed to hire a special staff to do more promotional issues," he says. Curt Guyette, news editor at the Metro Times, says Voas' departure will be addressed in Wednesday's issue.

Continue ReadingMetro Times Editor Fired

Just in case St. Louis, Mo., residents aren't getting their full sex education in the public schools, school board member Bill Haas has started offering supplemental advice in the city's alt-weekly. His column "Bill Me!" covers such sexual topics as -- well, AAN News would like to report what the St. Louis Post-Dispatch said they were, but the paper's Jake Wagman wrote that he couldn't mention them in any but the most general terms in a family newspaper.

Continue ReadingRiverfront Times Hires School Board Member As Sex Columnist

Outgoing Cleveland Free Times editor-in-chief David Eden used to work for Barney, the purple dinosaur, Connie Schultz reports in The Plain Dealer. Schultz takes issue with reporting in the alt-weekly's "The Nose," which Eden described to her as "a snarky gossip column," and with news coverage at Channel 19, where Eden will soon become managing editor. But, she writes, "a guy who used to cavort with Barney can't be all bad."

Continue ReadingColumnist Says Editor’s Move to Tabloid TV Is Perfect Merger