Richard Meeker, publisher of Willamette Week, says the alt-weekly made pre-tax profits of $365,000 on revenues of $6 million in the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2002, and expects to do equally well in the current fiscal year. In his "annual report" to readers, Meeker says the economy "stinks" but his paper has been able to hold its own because newsprint prices have dropped and " local papers like ours have been hurt less than big dailies by the economy's downturn." Meeker also estimates the profits and revenues of The Oregonian, the Portland Tribune, and his alt-weekly rival, The Portland Mercury. "Journalism isn't the Merc's focus; its real appeal is attitude and bargain-basement ad rates," Meeker says.
Three AAN papers were awarded first-place in under 200,000 circulation division of the 2002 Association of Food Journalists competition: Robb Walsh of Houston Press for food news reporting; Marty Jones of Westword for food columns and Bonnie Boots, former food editor for the Weekly Planet (Tampa), for restaurant criticism. Willamette Week takes three awards from the foodie group, a second for restaurant criticism for Roger Porter and a second and third for special sections edited by Arts & Culture Editor Caryn Brooks.
Four writers at AAN newspapers have won awards in the 2001 National Awards for Education Reporting from the Education Writers Association. They are: Nigel Jaquiss, Willamette Week, first prize in investigative reporting for "The Poisoning of Whitaker"; Margaret Downing, Houston Press, first prize in opinion writing for "But Who's Counting"; Emily Bliss, New Times Broward-Palm Beach, second prize in feature writing for " A Scout for Life"; Mike Mosedale, City Pages (Minneapolis/St. Paul), special citation for "Take Till It Hurts."
The path between journalism and politics is well worn, and now two pols with alt-press connections have taken over City Halls. R.T. Rybak, erstwhile publisher of the defunct Twin Cities Reader, was elected mayor of Minneapolis, and Charles Meeker, brother of Willamette Week publisher Richard Meeker and a former Independent Weekly shareholder, seized the reins in Raleigh, N.C. Not since former Pacific Sun reporter Barbara Boxer was elected to the U.S. Senate have AANies made such political hay.
Across the country, alternative newsweeklies ditched their planned front pages as the awesome events of Tuesday unfolded. East Coast papers like The Village Voice and Washington City Paper are sharing stories and pictures with colleagues from Maine to California.
The folks at Willamette Week have agreed to sell the paper to Mark "Bingo" Barnes, and his wife Sally Gay Barnes, according to a report in today's Boise Weekly. Bingo, director of creative services for the Greenspun Media Group’s newspaper division (which includes the non-AAN alternative Las Vegas Weekly), is a familiar face to those who have attended the last few AAN conventions.
