It's a tale of two cities, tale of two concerts, as one reporter covers the Dixie Chicks' first stateside concert since singer Natalie Maines, well, you know, while the other heads one county over to cover rightwing radio host Mike Gallagher's anti-Dixie Chicks show. "From the saber-rattling, baby-with-a-rattler antics of talk show host Mike Gallagher and his fellow Goebbeldygook-spouting rightwing radio rip-and-readers to the bait-and-tackle interrogations of Diane Sawyer, discussing and dismissing the Dixie Chicks has become an industry unto itself."
Publisher Al Johnson, a media sales veteran, launches Omaha Pulp this week, with the help of three former staffers from Omaha Reader -- editors Timothy Schaffert and Leslie Prisbell and Production Manager Justin Wolta. Johnson says he hopes to be profitable by August. John Heaston, publisher of the Omaha Weekly Reader, says he welcomes competition that will keep Omaha's media scene lively.
On April 26, 50,000-plus members of the National Rifle Association descended on Orlando for their annual meeting. They came to wave the flag, salute Charlton Heston, pat themselves on the back for getting George W. Bush elected, and check out tons of guns. Orlando Weekly Editor Bob Whitby spent three days embedded with the NRA and lived to tell the tale. A message from a woman speaker to the ladies: "I say if you are strong enough to carry a man's groceries and strong enough to carry a man's baby, you are strong enough to carry a man's gun."
Former LA Mayor Richard Riordan is looking for additional investors and has pushed the launch of his new weekly from June to September, the LA Times reports. Riordan now plans to put up only $1 million of his own money for the publication, leading some to question his commitment to the project, the Times reports. (Registration required)
The specialty coffee giant, which expects a record $4 billion in sales this year, has Seattle's Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia in the fold now and sees no end to its growth. Rick Anderson looks at the java giant's stranglehold on the world market for latte in a cardboard cup. Starbuck's goal: 25,000 shops by 2013. "At this rate, Starbucks likely will challenge ubiquitous McDonald's (currently 28,000 restaurants in 118 countries) for Most Annoying Expansion," he writes.
Washington City Paper leads the field with six nominations in the eighth annual awards contest, followed by the Dallas Observer with five. Among individual contestants, Thomas Francis of Cleveland Scene and Heather Swaim of OC Weekly are nominated twice. The order of finish in the contest will be announced June 6 at the AAN Convention.
