AlterNet recently posted an unprecedented collaborative project by 36 alternative newsweeklies across the country on the plight of married priests and the effect of that talent drain on the Catholic Church. Jeff von Kaenel, a past president of AAN and a member of the AlterNet board, conceived the project as a way to demonstrate the national reach of the alternative weekly industry. Don Hazen, executive director of AlterNet, says the project helps "the public understand that there is an industry out there that is independent of the traditional, corporate media; and ... that when you go from city to city, you have a newspaper that represents that."
Tele-Publishing International issues a news release explaining legal issues regarding MCI, the only national 900 number carrier, and how WorldCom's bankruptcy might affect the short-term and long-term future of voice personals. "MCI has assured Tele-Publishing that the 900 business is a high profit margin division for MCI and it is highly unlikely that it would be terminated during any reorganization," the TPI release states. Nevertheless, the company is exploring non-900 number options for voice personals.
Denver Westword's Eric Dexheimer details his experiences fighting the Hayman Fire, a monster that consumed 137,000 acres of Colorado forest. At times it was horrifying, writes Dexheimer. As for the rest of the time? Well, between the scrounging opportunities that could make a U.S. Army quartermaster blush, the spectacular grub, the huge amounts of money changing hands via a bureaucratic ballet, and the constant struggle between bawdy firefighter humor and the federal "sensitivity police," let's just say this wasn't your grandfather's forest fire.
Boulder, Colo., has one of the lowest childhood immunization rates in the state. Pamela White of Boulder Weekly looks at this resistance to the principle of "herd immunity" that drives vaccination campaigns and the effects of immunization on both individual families and society.
The Tennessean reports that Joe Sullivan, publisher of Knoxville, Tenn.'s, Metro Pulse, wrote a withering profile of GOP gubernatorial candidate Van Hilleary without disclosing that he had made a $2,500 contribution to Hilleary's primary opponent's campaign. The profile was also published in the Nashville Scene. Sullivan tells the Nashville daily he is a political activist and sees nothing inherently wrong with the two roles -- journalist and contributor. Nashville Scene Editor Bruce Dobie, however, says he wouldn't have run the article had he known about the contribution.
