While last year's verdict in favor of the San Francisco Bay Guardian in its predatory pricing lawsuit against SF Weekly and Village Voice Media is being appealed, the Guardian claims VVM is ducking its debts and hiding its assets in an effort not to pay the $15.6 million it owes in damages. VVM executive editor Michael Lacey says that's not correct. "The case is on appeal. You are not entitled to a penny," he writes in a blog post.

Continue ReadingNew Twist in VVM/Bay Guardian Case

Seattle Weekly, The Village Voice and Westword have all won 2008 Prevention for a Safer Society (PASS) Awards, which honor journalists "who try to focus America's attention on our criminal justice system, juvenile justice system, and child welfare systems in a thoughtful and considerate manner." The awards are sponsored by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.

Continue ReadingThree VVM Papers Win Criminal Justice Reporting Awards

During an interview before his SXSW keynote address with Wired editor Chris Anderson, Kawasaki says that he's been told that Village Voice Media papers are "doing quite well." The web publishing entrepreneur uses that example to say he doesn't believe all newspapers face the decision to charge for content or go under. "It's something to look at. It can be done," he says. "I don't think it's a situation where everything is going to die."

Continue ReadingAlltop CEO Guy Kawasaki Bullish on Alt-Weeklies

The State Bar has dismissed the final two complaints pending against Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, including one about his handling of the 2007 investigation of Phoenix New Times that ended with the arrests of Village Voice Media executive editor Michael Lacey and CEO Jim Larkin. "No one in their right mind has ever looked to the Arizona Bar as a beacon of courage, and it has certainly upheld its longstanding reputation with this dismissal today," Larkin says.

Continue ReadingComplaint Against Attorney for New Times Probe is Dismissed

The Simpsons creator and longtime alt-weekly cartoonist tells CNN that, after 22 years, "Life in Hell" is being dropped by its flagship paper. The cut is part of Village Voice Media's suspension of all syndicated cartoons. Groening hints he's thinking of discontinuing the cartoon. "I'm still in a bunch of other papers, so I may continue to do my strip," he says, "but it doesn't look good."

Continue ReadingMatt Groening’s Comic Dropped by L.A. Weekly