Outgoing editor Liz Garrigan reports that she had "openly recommended Scene managing editor Matt Pulle for [her] job, and he was seriously considered." But in the end, Village Voice Media brought Pete Kotz over from the soon-to-be-defunct Cleveland Scene, a move that was criticized by some of the paper's staff. "Bypassing Matt sent exactly the wrong message to the city: It said that the Scene is just another interchangeable cog in a big corporate wheel," one staffer says anonymously. Former Scene media critic Henry Walker agrees. "The idea of an alternative weekly paper importing an editor would have been almost unthinkable just a decade ago," he says. "[But VVM] has pioneered the adoption of a cookie-cutter news and design formula and the employment of fungible editors among the alternative weeklies." VVM executive editor Michael Lacey, for one, isn't buying Walker's critique. "For nearly 40 years, we, like most alternative newspaper owners, have selected editors, writers and columnists based upon their skill, not their birth certificate," Lacey says. "Walker's simplistic comments reflect parochial jingoism."
The two sides are trying to reach an agreement on a new contract before June 30, when the unionized Voice employees' current contract will expire, the New York Post reports. "The battle lines have already been drawn, and, not surprisingly, health care is a major focal point," says the Post. Staff writer and shop steward Tom Robbins says that the unionized employees are being asked to join a contributory health plan for the first time. He estimates the plan could cost each employee up to $5,500 per year, and notes that the union has put forth a wage increase proposal, but he isn't sure that will work. "There is no way they are going to give us a pay increase to match that [health care cost increase]," Robbins says. There has been talk that a strike is possible if the contract isn't in place by the end of June, but editor Tony Ortega is hopeful a deal can be reached. "I've been told these things always go to midnight on June 30," he tells the Post. "We value their work and hope to make an amicable settlement."
Winners of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists' 2008 Column Writing Contest were announced Saturday night in New Orleans. The Village Voice's Lynn Yaeger took first in the Humor (circulation 100,000+) category; judges said she had a "very entertaining style that bounces right along." Edmund Newton, who writes the Tailpipe column for New Times Broward-Palm Beach, placed first in the Notes/Items (all circulations) category; judges said he takes readers on "a tasty ride through life's odder moments."
Village Voice Media announced today it is selling the Cleveland Scene to Times-Shamrock Communications. Terms of the purchase agreement are not being disclosed; the deal is expected to close on June 25. "We more than achieved our journalistic goals in Cleveland," VVM CEO Jim Larkin says of the paper the company bought in 1998. "This is a staff of remarkably talented and hard-working people. Unfortunately, after ten years, we weren't able to achieve our financial objectives." Times-Shamrock also owns AAN members Baltimore City Paper, Metro Times, the Orlando Weekly, and the San Antonio Current.
Veteran Voice staff writer Tom Robbins tells the New York Press that the paper's employees may strike if a contract dispute isn't resolved. Talks center on proposed cuts in health care coverage in the latest contract offer from Village Voice Media, which the union considers unacceptable. "Management is asking for givebacks on our health care policy and on our 401(k)," says Robbins, who serves as a shop steward with United Auto Workers Local 2110, which represents Voice staffers. "We are adamant that there won't be any givebacks here." He says the union has had two meetings with management, but vowed that there would be a walkout if no settlement is reached. "If we don't get it, all bets are off," Robbins warns. The Press says a call to a Voice spokesperson for comment has thus far gone unreturned. The strike is set for July 1 if a contract agreement isn't reached, according to Gawker.
The motions, which were filed earlier this week, ask Superior Court Judge Marla J. Miller to order a new trial if she won't reverse the verdict in the predatory-pricing case, the Weekly reports. The thrust of the Weekly's motion: That the Guardian didn't offer "any actual evidence of an illegal below-cost pricing conspiracy," that the verdict "violates the Weekly's First Amendment and due process rights," and lastly that "the trial was riddled with legal error that unfairly shifted the burden of proof onto the defense." If the judge denies the new motions, the Weekly says it and Village Voice Media intend "to take the case to the California Court of Appeals, which in turn would trigger a process expected to take up to eighteen months."
Weekly attorney Rod Kerr last week argued for a stay of the predatory-pricing trial's $15.6 million judgment until 10 days after Judge Marla Miller rules on post-trial motions, which could have delayed the enforcement until July 28, the Guardian reports. Kerr said that the current economic turmoil combined with the company's belief that the judgment amount would be substantially lowered during post-trial rulings made it hard for Village Voice Media to secure a bond for the full amount. The judge granted a stay, but only until June 18. She also said she'd allow "the defendants to return to court to ask for more time if they can provide evidence showing how it will result in a bond being issued," according to the Guardian. When reached by AAN News, a representative from VVM said the company had no comment on last week's development. Both sides will appear in court July 8 for post-trial motions, including one by VVM to throw out the verdict and order a new trial.
Robbins won in the Continuing Coverage category for newspapers for his story that that questioned key testimony of a star witness against Lindley DeVecchio, a former FBI agent accused of helping the mob commit murder. The story, "Tall Tales of a Mafia Mistress," got Robbins subpoenaed by both the defense and prosecution in the case. Robbins and other winners will be honored at a formal dinner on June 16. A full list of winners can be found on the NY Press Club's site.
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