Knapp was hired as a lifestyle writer for the Boston Phoenix in 1988, and invented an alter ego, Alice K., who attracted a cult following in Boston. "As a writer Caroline had a signature style," the Phoenix writes in an article for Wednesday's paper. "Her grace sometimes masked the broad stretch of her range. As a reporter, she was dogged and inventive." Knapp was the author of two New York Times best-selling memoirs: "Drinking: A Love Story" and ''Pack of Two: The Intricate Bond Between People and Dogs.'' She died Monday of lung cancer. (Photo by Mark Morelli)

Continue ReadingCaroline Knapp, Former Phoenix Columnist, Dead at 42

The paper is already drawing heat for its Web site link to videos of reporter Daniel Pearl's gruesome murder in Pakistan. Now Publisher Stephen Mindich has told reporters he intends to publish photos of the slaying this week, if the grainy photos will reproduce, the Hartford Courant reports. "It has to be seen," Mindich told the Courant. "This is not a movie. It's not Hollywood. This is a human being [that] went through this thing. While I understand the pain felt by the Pearl family, the pain is as great for all of us in a different way. I think this brings the pain to everybody."

Continue ReadingBoston Phoenix Controversy Intensifies Over Pearl Photos

The San Francisco Bay Guardian expects to move into its own $4.7 million building sometime this month – where they will "never have to worry about an eviction … never have to worry about a bad landlord," says Executive Editor Tim Redmond. A 1950s era law banning SBA loans to media companies was repealed in 1994. Milwaukee’s Shepherd Express took advantage of the program in 1995. Now the Bay Guardian has swung a deal for a 30,000-square-foot building with a rooftop view of the Bay Bridge thanks to an SBA loan guarantee package.

Continue ReadingBay Guardian Buys Its Own Building

"This is the the single most gruesome, horrible, despicable, and horrifying thing I've ever seen,'' Boston Phoenix Publisher Stephen Mindich says in an editorial accompanying his paper's link to the unedited video showing Pearl's decapitation. In an interview with the Boston Globe, Mindich decried the fact that the tape had not been more widely viewed and discussed.

Continue ReadingBoston Phoenix Links to Video Footage of Daniel Pearl’s Murder

In one of the most memorable events ever at an AAN convention, Dan Savage electrified the seventh annual Alternative Newsweekly Awards affair with a high-voltage performance that included nearly naked waiters and publishers shedding trousers. One attendee called it "the best hour of comedy I've ever seen." Savage's fatwah: every first-place winner had to drink a shot and shed an article of clothing. Two-thirds of the way in, he admitted, "I can't believe you are all playing along. The power of one pushy fag in AAN -- it's amazing."

Continue ReadingDan Savage Sets Awards Lunch on Fire