"Zeal can only take a publication so far in this business before the numbers start to intervene," Weekly editor Rachael Daigle writes. "Last week, the numbers officially intervened, and Idaho Arts Quarterly was quietly laid to rest to live on only in Boise Weekly's archives." The publication was eight years old. "I want to thank all of the people who worked with us to create the latest incarnation of IAQ, particularly the contributing writers and artists," IAQ editor Katy Dang says. "I am extremely proud of what we accomplished."

Continue ReadingBoise Weekly Folds Quarterly Arts Publication

A Superior Court commissioner has ruled the San Francisco Bay Guardian is entitled to half the advertising revenue of the SF Weekly to help collect $21 million in damages after a 2008 jury verdict of illegal price-cutting. Guardian attorney Jay Adkisson says the ad revenue would be "a very significant" amount -- potentially as much as $200,000 a month. Meanwhile, the Weekly's parent company, Village Voice Media Holdings (VVMH), will ask a state appeals court to overturn the ruling. VVMH executive associate editor Andy Van De Voorde says the Weekly will stay in business regardless. The Weekly is also currently in the midst of a separate appeal of the verdict. MORE from Westword.

Continue ReadingCourt: Bay Guardian Gets Half of SF Weekly’s Ad Revenue

"Both sides appear to agree in court that the case boils down to a fight over whether a pivotal section of California law should protect businesses or consumers," the East Bay Express' Robert Gammon writes in his in-depth update of the legal fight between the San Francisco Bay Guardian and SF Weekly. "If the Weekly wins, it could effectively eviscerate a section of California's Unfair Business Practices law, and thus make it nearly impossible for small, independently owned companies to fight off well-heeled competitors who try to drive them out of business. But if the Guardian wins, it could end up hurting consumers, because corporations may be fearful of offering steep discounts on their products because they will be sued for 'unfair business practices.'"

Continue ReadingInterpretation of One California Law is Key in SFBG/SF Weekly Case

SF Weekly's debut of a new four-color glossy cover this week makes it the sixth Village Voice Media Holdings (VVMH) print publication to adopt the sleek, magazine-style format, and the company plans on rolling out glossy covers at all of its publications within the next eighteen to 24 months, according to a release. "The glossy is the next step in our evolution," president and chief operating officer Scott Tobias says in a statement.

Continue ReadingVVMH Plans to Roll Out Glossy Covers for All its Publications

After nearly 14 years apart, the Alternative Weekly Network (AWN) and the Sacramento News & Review are once again sharing office space, as AWN has moved into the News & Review's new green building. "We are returning to where it all began," AWN executive director Mark Hanzlik says. Hanzlik adds that in addition to the physical move, the company is currently retooling the AWN website, and upgrading some of the operational processes of the cooperative.

Continue ReadingAWN Joins Sacramento News & Review in New Green Building

Starting with this week's issue, SF Weekly is becoming the latest alt-weekly to go with a high-quality glossy cover. "We feel that this attractive new format will increase the visibility of our cover stories and award-winning journalism," publisher Josh Fromson and editor Tom Walsh say in a release. "The upgrade also shows that SF Weekly continues to invest in its print product."

Continue ReadingSF Weekly Goes Glossy

The International Association of Culinary Professionals has announced the finalists for this year's Bert Greene Awards, which honor "one of the most sophisticated and dynamic genres in contemporary journalism" -- food writing. This year, both the Houston Press and SF Weekly are finalists in the brand-new Blog category, and the Village Voice's Sarah Digregorio is a finalist in the Culinary Writing without Recipes category for her February 2009 piece on foie gras. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Portland on April 22.

Continue ReadingThree Alt-Weeklies Among Bert Greene Award Finalists

A Sensitive Liberal's Guide to Life: How To Banter With Your Barista, Hug Mindfully, And Relate To Friends Who Choose Kids Over Dogs is being published this week by Gotham Books. The book is a collection of the Weekly's "Ask an Uptight Seattleite" columns, where the aforementioned Uptight Seattleite, as Gotham's press materials put it, "delights his loyal readers each week with snide insight on everything from fashion ('Can I pull off a Rasta beret?') to ear-bud etiquette."

Continue ReadingBook from Seattle Weekly’s ‘Uptight Seattleite’ Out This Week

Glenny Brock tells Media of Birmingham that the decision to leave the Weekly was "mutually agreed upon" after conversations with publisher Chuck Leishman. Her last day at the paper will be March 11, and she says that special projects editor Jesse Chambers has been tapped to take over as editor. "I will always consider the Weekly my proving ground and the first great love of my professional life. I've done a lot of good work there and perhaps some great work," Brock says. "Now, after overseeing the completion of more than 460 issues of the paper and dozens of supplemental publications, it's time to do something else."

Continue ReadingBirmingham Weekly Editor Leaving After 10 Years at the Paper