Attorneys for Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio have filed a motion in U.S. District Court to prohibit anyone involved in a pending civil case against the sheriff's office from speaking to the media. The motion stems from critical articles by Phoenix New Times writer Robert Nelson, who called for an investigation after inmates savagely attacked a young drifter arrested in connection with the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl. The victim of the beating was exonerated of any involvement with the crime. The motion mentions Nelson more than a dozen times. "Reading the motion made me feel like Norah Jones at the Grammys," Nelson writes.
In an exclusive story, the San Francisco Bay Guardian's A.C. Thompson reveals new evidence that suggests Police Chief Earl Sanders hid crucial evidence in a high-profile murder case. Sanders, the city's first African-American police chief, and nine other cops were recently indicted on obstruction of justice charges for an alleged cover-up of police brutality. Despite this, Sanders "enjoys a storied reputation as a heroic, squeaky clean cop," Thompson writes. He reveals, however, that this cover-up may not have been Sanders' first.
"Although traditional media seems to be irrelevant to the lifestyles of the young, one segment of newsprint is connecting: the alternative weeklies," says Clay Felker, writing for The Deal.com, a publication for the M&A crowd. Felker, who invented the city magazine format and once owned and edited The Village Voice, says alt-weeklies that succeed have done so by appealing to a "smaller psychographic audience" than the city dailies. He also quotes an editor who says the Red Eyes of the world "will never work until the Tribune prints the word 'fuck' on the front page."
As a nation gears up for war, its tastes become more tawdry, Tricia Romano observes in The Village Voice. Bawdy striptease shows are springing up all over the city, providing eye-popping entertainment for the late-recession budget. Romano quotes historian Irving Zeidman: "Burlesque thrives on depression. Prettier girls are obtainable at burlesque wages, and the unemployed or indigent male reverts to simple and less expensive forms of entertainment." So it's plus ca change at the Va Va Voom and other New York City hot spots, where the new era of burlesque comes with a hip veneer of performance art chic.
In the radio industry, playlists are power, dictating which albums get noticed and which albums don't. They're especially critical to artists who get played on college radio, bands that typically lack the promotional support offered by major labels. But what if the charts don't really reflect what's being played? And what if the people in charge of the charts have a vested interest in seeing that some albums feel more love than others? As East Bay Express music editor Katy St. Clair reports, that's exactly what's been happening at industry bible College Music Journal -- and the result is rocking the radio underground.
The Weekly Planet brings in a new editor, bears down on its most experienced writers, and fires its three news staffers, Publisher Ben Eason announced in a letter published in late January. Eason refuted a St. Petersburg Times' claim that the paper had abandoned news coverage. "Even as we reduce the staff, we have strengthened the leadership of our paper and will have more writing from our most experienced journalists," he wrote. Eason's letter was followed by one from Susan Edwards, who resigned the editorship to return to cultural coverage. "I'm not here to put a good face on the loss of our news staff," Edwards wrote. "What I do want you to know is that there are still people here who believe in the power and responsibility of the alternative press."
