Dresses made entirely of pages from the Sacramento News & Review were recently on display when the alt-weekly celebrated its 21st birthday and new green headquarters, as part of a Design Challenge the paper had put together. This comes on the heels of a LA Fashion Week show in March, "Paper Dresses," that featured clothes made out of the L.A. Weekly.

Continue ReadingMore Fashion Designers Turn Alt-Weeklies into Dresses

Designer Robert Newman leaves the mainland for his latest profile of compelling alt-weekly cover designers. He says Maui Time's Chris Skiles creates "bright, bold, passionate, provocative, and engaging" covers on an average budget of about $20 per issue. "Normally for each cover I have about a day or two to figure out what I'm going to do and execute," Skiles says. "I usually can pull off my covers without using any budget, so I try to save up those unused budgets to hire illustrators from time to time. But even then, it's a bit of begging and bartering to make it happen."

Continue ReadingMaui Time Art Director Creates Cool Covers on a Tight Budget

Creative Loafing, Inc. has named Alex Kam its chief digital officer to oversee the digital operations of the company's six publication. Most recently, Kam was vice president of digital media for ALM/Incisive Media North America (publisher of The American Lawyer and other journals), and he has also served as general manager of new media for Major League Baseball. "It's not about building something and they will come. It's about understanding what users want and bringing them to you," Kam says in a note to employees. "Digital allows you to do this in many different ways ... but it's driven first and foremost by content." He will work out of D.C.

Continue ReadingCreative Loafing Names New Chief Digital Officer

The Society of Professional Journalists has named the finalists for the 60th annual Green Eyeshade Awards, a regional competition open to news organization in 11 southeastern states. Miami New Times has six finalists in six categories and the Memphis Flyer has six finalists in five categories, while the Jackson Free Press is a finalist in four categories and New Times Broward-Palm Beach is competing in three. Winners will be announced at a banquet this summer.

Continue ReadingFour AAN Members are Finalists in SPJ Green Eyeshade Awards

The Los Angeles Press Club has announced the finalists for its 52nd Annual Southern California Journalism Awards, and four AAN members and one alt-weekly affiliated columnist are in the running this year. LA Weekly has 23 finalists in 14 categories, including Journalist of the Year (Patrick Range McDonald and Christine Pelisek), Entertainment Journalist (Scott Foundas), Designer (Darrick Rainey) and Online Journalist (Dennis Romero). OC Weekly has five finalists in five categories, including Journalist of the Year (R. Scott Moxley) and Designer (Kelly Lewis). The Pasadena Weekly has seven finalists in six categories, and the Ventura County Reporter has one finalist. Meanwhile, Advice Goddess Amy Alkon is a finalist for five awards, including Journalist of the Year. Winners will be announced on June 27.

Continue ReadingSoCal Journalism Award Finalists Include a Handful of Alt-Weeklies

AAN has confirmed the guest speakers for its two lunches at this year's Toronto Convention. Ask a Mexican's Gustavo Arellano will reprise his role as host of the AltWeekly Awards banquet on Friday, July 16. And at the next day's Free Speech Lunch, attendees will hear from extraordinary rendition and torture victim Maher Arar, who was arrested by American immigration officials in 2002 and later deported to Syria. Despite being cleared of all ties to terrorism by Canadian officials, Arar remains on a U.S. terrorist watchlist, so you're not likely to see him speak in America any time soon.

Continue ReadingGustavo Arellano, Maher Arar Tapped as Lunch Speakers for Convention

New Times' Martin Cizmar has sold his book Chubster to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Publishers Marketplace describes it as an "appropriately snarky weight-loss and lifestyle guide for hipsters looking to shed pounds and stay cool," according to Grub Street New York. (Publishers Marketplace is available to subscribers only.) "Expect the core program to center around a regimen of street-cart tacos, Old Granddad, and cigarettes," Grub Street writes.

Continue ReadingPhoenix New Times Music Editor Gets Book Deal

The Society of Professional Journalists' Pacific Northwest Excellence in Journalism competition, unlike many others, features its own alt-weekly division, which pits publications from Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho and Montana against each other. This year, the Pacific Northwest Inlander led the pack with 13 total awards -- six of which were first-place finishes. Five of the Willamette Week's nine total awards were in first place, and Seattle Weekly won 13 total awards and three firsts. The Missoula Independent won five awards, with two first-place wins. The Eugene Weekly won five awards and the Portland Mercury won one.

Continue ReadingSix Alt-Weeklies Pick Up Regional SPJ Awards