LA Weekly, Chicago Reader. Gambit Weekly, and Cincinnati CityBeat each took two firsts today in the eighth annual Alternative Newsweekly Awards. Among individual contestants, Thomas Francis of Cleveland Scene and Heather Swaim of OC Weekly led the field, each taking two awards, including one first-place prize.
New Times Executive Editor Mike Lacey calls Cleveland Free Times' recent attacks on New Times and Cleveland Scene "an explosion of bluster." Lacey accuses Free Times' Editor David Eden and Publisher Matt Fabyan of concocting "conspiracies wrapped in an ad hominem attack" and of publishing "organ discharge." He cites sales and profit figures that starkly contradict Free Times' assertion that it was winning the alternative newsweekly battle in Cleveland.
A local state attorney caught up in an acrimonious divorce proceeding is suing the Phoenix for Kristen Lombardi's January story about custody battles involving child abuse claims. Lombardi's article described allegations that the plaintiff had abused children from two different marriages. A critical question in the case may be whether the plaintiff is a "public figure." The Phoenix's lawyer told the Boston Globe, ''(Lombardi) is . . . very capable. We think her standards and the Phoenix's standards are high.''
The Board of Directors of Creative Loafing, Inc., announced that it will investigate two of its directors from Cox Newspapers, Inc., owner of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The question is whether the two directors used the confidential board meetings to learn enough about publishing alternative newsweeklies to launch "accessAtlanta" as a direct competitor to Creative Loafing (Atlanta).
The NBA's Western Conference is shooting the lights out with big white men from outside the United States. Conspiracy theorists may see a corporate push to "ace out the black man," Dan McGraw writes in The Village Voice. The real reason for all the foreign talent may be a lucrative overseas television market and new league rules that favor mid-range shooting and discourage one-on-one play, he says.
