Pasadena police say they arrested a 26-year-old man on suspicion of grand theft yesterday. They think he's responsible for stealing 18 Pasadena Weekly news boxes over the past few months. The boxes, which are bolted to the ground, may have been stolen for their metal, cops say. MORE: In other thievery news, Las Vegas CityLife reports that a bill is being considered in Nevada that would make taking more than 10 copies of a free newspaper a misdemeanor.

Continue ReadingMan Who Allegedly Stole Pasadena Weekly News Boxes Arrested

As part of a larger redesign, the paper has decided to pull listings from the printed page entirely. "We simply don't have the resources -- in people-power or page count -- to continue" printing listings, editor Stephen George writes. He notes that Louisville's Gannett papers have replaced much of their cultural reporting and criticism with listings. "We've realized that instead of trying to compete, we should fill the gaps," he writes. "Our real value to you, we believe, is our judgment and expertise on matters of arts and culture." To that end, LEO is launching a blog that will hip readers to cultural events the paper finds worthwhile.

Continue ReadingLEO Weekly Eliminates Listings from Print Edition

Lawyers representing Baptist Hospital East in a malpractice lawsuit filed by the family of hip-hop artist Static/Major contend that the privacy law known as HIPAA protects the identity of a patient who shared a room with the musician the day he died. To buttress their claim, the hospital points to a LEO Weekly cover story about the incident as an example of why the roommate's identity should be shielded. "If this patient becomes a witness to this suit, he will be subjected to similar to scrutiny (sic), and potential embarrassment," the defendants argue in a recently filed court document.

Continue ReadingHospital Cites LEO Weekly Story as Reason to Shield Witness

Watson talks with WUNC-FM's Frank Stasio about her long tenure at the North Carolina alt-weekly and the current state of the business. "We were in existence for about 16 years before we made a profit," she says of the Indy, which was launched in 1983. Now, though, Watson says that the paper is financially healthy, all things considered. "When you can compare notes with [other alt-weeklies], we're doing pretty well," she says. She attributes the Indy's resilience in part to the local economy's relative health and also to the leanness of the organization. With only about 30 staffers, she says the paper "can kind of turn on a dime when we see we need to tighten our belt."

Continue ReadingPublisher Sioux Watson Discusses the Independent Weekly

The Globe's thesis is that "falling advertising revenue" is forcing weekly papers to "scale back dramatically." But Phoenix Media/Communications Group president Bradley Mindich says his publications don't fit that mold. "We are not cutting back," he tells reporter Johnny Diaz, who nevertheless intimates that the Boston Phoenix is using less color and sharing film reviews with its newly-acquired Spanish-language weekly to save money. "We actually have more color now" and cutting expenses is not the primary reason his papers are sharing content, Mindich tells AAN News. Weekly Dig publisher Jeff Lawrence says the story was mostly accurate but that it suffered from faulty framing: "Our business model is intentionally evolving -- not reacting to the economy," he tells AAN News.

Continue ReadingPublishers Take Issue With Boston Globe Report

Two freelancers "affiliated" with AAN members are among the 23 journalists selected to participate in the fifth National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Arts Journalism Institute in Theater and Musical Theater at the USC Annenberg School for Communication. LEO Weekly's Rebecca Haithcoat and Washington City Paper's Glen Weldon will participate in the 10-day program this August.

Continue ReadingTwo Alt-Weekly Writers Receive NEA Fellowships

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

Holly Mullen left on Wednesday after nearly two years at the alt-weekly, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. Neither Mullen nor publisher Jim Rizzi would disclose the reason for Mullen's departure, which she described as a "mutual decision to part ways." Rizzi says Mullen has been replaced by Jerre Wroble, who joined the paper as a copy editor in 2002 and has been managing editor since April 2005.

Continue ReadingSalt Lake City Weekly Editor Departs

Among the 43 attorneys that California Lawyer magazine gave California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year Awards to are the three lawyers who worked the Bay Guardian's predatory-pricing case against SF Weekly and Village Voice Media. Ralph Alldredge, Rich Hill and Craig Moody "deftly made the case" for the Guardian, California Lawyer says in a press release.

Continue ReadingSan Francisco Bay Guardian Lawyers Honored by Magazine

"It's a big deal for any business to survive for 25 years," editor Jimmy Boegle says. "But after looking at what the Weekly's accomplished over 2 1/2 decades, I can say this paper didn't just survive; as far as its content, it's thrived." To celebrate, the paper will release a 25th Anniversary issue on Feb. 26, launch a new website in March and host the 32nd Annual AAN Convention in June. "Seeing daily newspapers collapse all around us is unsettling," publisher Thomas P. Lee says. "But Tucson will have the Tucson Weekly to kick around for many years to come. We have our excellent staff, and our loyal readers, to thank for that."

Continue ReadingTucson Weekly Kicks Off Year-Long 25th Anniversary Celebration