The California Court of Appeal heard oral arguments Friday in the SF Weekly/San Francisco Bay Guardian predatory-pricing case. The Weekly is asking the court to throw out the multi-million damage award the jury gave the Guardian in the case. A ruling is due from the appeals court within 90 days, and both sides have reportedly said they will ask the California Supreme Court to review the case if they lose at this level. The San Francisco Chronicle covered the hearing, as did both the Guardian and the Weekly.

Continue ReadingCourt Hears SF Weekly’s Appeal in Bay Guardian Case

New York City is facing a new class action lawsuit over the NYPD's use of quotas to get officers to issues summonses and stop-and-frisk people, and the suit reportedly cites some of the quotations which appeared in the Village Voice's NYPD Tapes series. The series, which features secret tapes made by a former cop, shows that precinct supervisors order their officers to hit quotas for tickets and stop-and-frisks, and threaten them with disciplinary action if they don't comply.

Continue ReadingClass Action Suit Against NYPD Cites Village Voice’s Work

This week the Voice pays homage to the classic Al Jaffee fold-in back covers for MAD magazine -- but on the front cover. Designer Robert Newman guesses that it is "probably the first time" a fold-in has been on the front of a publication. The cover, put together by art director John Dixon and illustrator Jason Edmiston, poses the question "What's the scariest ride at Coney Island?" and once properly folded in, readers get to learn the answer.

Continue ReadingThe Village Voice Does a Fold-In Cover

New Times, which got its start in 1970 as a reaction to the Kent State shootings, hosted a party over the weekend to celebrate 40 years in existence. Native Arizonan and former alt-weekly writer and NPR editor Bill Wyman takes the anniversary occasion to look back and take stock of what New Times has built; it was the first paper started by Michael Lacey, who now oversees the Village Voice Media chain with business partner Jim Larkin. After saying he has "no reason to suck up" to Lacey and Larkin, Wyman concludes: "Aren't they everything we supposedly value about the press in the U.S.? They are idiosyncratic and uncorruptible, uncompromising and fearless; unlike a lot of places that adopt the motto, Lacey and Larkin really do print the news and raise hell. And as this troubled time for a troubled industry continues, they just may end up being the last men standing."

Continue ReadingPhoenix New Times Celebrates 40th Anniversary