The Connecticut alt-weekly this week introduced "High Concept," a new pot advice column that aims to "address questions of all the smokers out there" in an "entertaining but also useful and informative" way. "We're hoping there will be smart questions about neuroscience, memory studies, the law, high quality, pot culture, etc.," Advocate managing editor John Adamian says in an email.

Continue ReadingHartford Advocate Launches Pot Advice Column

The Denver alt-weekly received a "press vape" award for the best medical marijuana coverage of last year at the Colorado Cannabis Caregiver's Cup this weekend. Timothy Tipton, owner of the Rocky Mountain Caregivers Cooperative and organizer of the Cup, says Westword has excelled at covering "the medical marijuana community from a political standpoint, as well as making extra efforts to do reviews ... and provide service to the community."

Continue ReadingWestword Receives Award for its Medical Marijuana Coverage

AAN voters have spoken and the results are in. The winner of the 2010 Editorial Panel competition is Bradley Zeve, CEO of Monterey County Weekly. Zeve's proposal "Going Deep for a Baker's Dozen: 12 Quick Investigative Story Ideas," proposed a panel in which three experienced editors discuss how to continue producing hard-hiting investigative pieces even in this era of smaller newspaper staffs. The ultimate goal of the panel, according to the proposal, would be for the editors and attendees to generate 12 investigative pieces members can take home and implement, along with a 13th bonus project for AAN members to undertake together.

As the winner of the competition, Zeve is entitled to one free registration to the convention.

AAN also is offering a half-off registration to the second-place winner, Matt Kettmann, senior editor at Santa Barbara Independent, as well as the offer to transform his panel proposal, "Cultivating the Online Culture" into a roundtable discussion during Thursday's editorial roundtables.

Finally, third place winner Jeff Lawrence, publisher of Boston's Weekly Dig, has agreed to lead what is sure to be a lively roundtable discussion from his "Mister Publisher, Tear Down That Wall!" panel proposal that will explore whether, in this Web 2.0 world, the walls between departments, such as editorial and advertising, need to crumble a little more.

The editorial panel competition is a project of AAN's Editorial Committee to generate new ideas and programming for AAN.

Continue ReadingEditorial Panel Competition Winners Have Been Chosen

Sarah Johnson, who has been with the Omaha alt-weekly since December 2008, is leaving to become manager of the Greater Omaha Young Professionals, a group formed by the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce in 2004 to draw younger people into the city's business life. The 27-year-old was reportedly selected from a field of more than 170 applicants.

Continue ReadingThe Reader’s Operations Manager Leaves to Head Local Business Org.

Last weekend, the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) gave out their annual awards -- dubbed "Canada's only recognition for the best in investigative journalism across the country" -- and The Coast took home a first-place win in the Print Feature category. The award went to Matthieu Aikins' story "Unembedded in Afghanistan," and it was the second CAJ award that Aikins has won in two years. Coast editor Kyle Shaw tells AAN News that the paper's work was also a finalist in two other CAJ categories -- Open Newspaper and Award of Excellence for Student Work. Earlier in May, the Halifax alt-weekly took home four silver awards and one gold in the regional Atlantic Journalism Awards.

Continue ReadingThe Coast Picks Up National and Regional Journalism Awards

The judging process is finally complete and the 159 finalists of the 2010 AltWeekly Awards have been established. Nashville Scene led all papers with eleven awards. In the large-circulation division, Boston Phoenix will snag ten awards and L.A. Weekly will pick up nine prizes at the awards ceremony next month.

The final rankings of the winners will be revealed at the AltWeekly Awards luncheon on July 16 in Toronto during AAN's 33rd Annual Convention. Gustavo Arellano, staff writer for OC Weekly and author of the nationally syndicated weekly column '¡Ask A Mexican!', will host the ceremony.

To see the full list of finalists click here.

Continue Reading2010 AltWeekly Awards Finalists Announced

Gary Coleman, best known for his role on the TV sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, died on Friday at the age of 42. Many of his obituaries note that Coleman was an unlikely candidate for California governor in 2003, a piece of "political theater" the East Bay Express created. In a blog post, editor Stephen Buel explains the idea behind the idea. "We would point out the folly of replacing an imperfect but duly elected governor with an actor whose primary appeal appeared to be his fame. Of course, the actor we were wary of wasn't Gary, but Arnold," Buel writes. "But, of course, things didn't turn out like we planned. Far from provoking high-minded discussion about the perils of Hollywood populism, we helped propel the recall into altogether surreal territory. Although the world media lapped up the story, and Gary improvised his lines with sly humor, we soon realized there would be no larger point. Celebrity, it turned out, was the point."

Continue ReadingEast Bay Express Editor Remembers Gary Coleman Stunt