"Newspapers, especially corporate-owned dailies, have become more feminine, and that is quite obvious in the pages of the local Gannett daily," Shane Goodman wrote in his Cityview editor's note last week. "As reporters spend more time writing about the hot colors of throw pillows and less time investigating crime at city hall, it creates opportunities for papers like this one." His comments have drawn a rebuke from the Des Moines Register's Rekha Basu, who says that "the lack of logic, research or intellectual honesty" in Goodman's note "are appalling." She adds: "But even more so are the sexist stereotypes that pour off a few short paragraphs of the city's so-called alternative paper."

Continue ReadingCityview Editor/Publisher Takes Heat for Saying Newspapers Have Become ‘More Feminine’

AAN members can check out the latest cameras, mobile devices and apps to help you tell multimedia stories in Multimedia Tools: Your 2010 Shopping List. In this webinar from Poynter's NewsU, you'll learn about the latest gear as well as ways to get the most out of what you already have. The first 25 AAN members to register will pay just $10.95 when using the discount code (you can find it here).

Continue ReadingDiscounted NewsU Webinar on Multimedia Tools This Thursday

That's Robert Newman's take, as he profiles yet another alt-weekly for the Society of Publication Designers' "Grids" blog. "The Reporter has an editorial budget for an entire issue that is less than what most national magazines pay for a spot illustration," Newman writes, praising cover designer Angela Moore's ability to create "engaging, timely covers, designed to drive circulation and appeal to the Reporter's readership." She says that despite her small budget, artists like to work for the Reporter because she trusts their instincts. "I'm always being told by illustrators how rare it is to work with someone who doesn't over direct, and I think that's why so many work for us even with our small budget," Moore says.

Continue ReadingSanta Fe Reporter is One of the Country’s ‘Best Venues for Illustration’

In a short blog post on the new Nation Investigative Fund website, Joe Conason says Paul Knight's 2009 story on problems with the Toyota Prius is just the latest example of alt-weeklies -- "those hippie outposts of the old print media" -- "provid[ing] an important outlet for investigative stories that are far ahead of their mainstream competitors." While Conason is certainly right about alts often getting a head start on big stories like the Prius problems, he is wrong about one thing: The story in question originated in the Houston Press, where Knight is a staff reporter. It was reprinted in the OC Weekly and a few other VVM papers.

Continue ReadingConason: Alt-Weeklies Often ‘Far Ahead’ on Investigative Stories

A San Francisco judge today heard arguments on whether SF Weekly should be forced to give half of its advertising revenue to the San Francisco Bay Guardian as part of the Guardian's continuing efforts to collect on the 2008 judgment in the predatory pricing suit between the two papers. The judge issued a "late tentative ruling" that suggested he will do just that, and he said he will give the final ruling soon. Meanwhile, the Guardian has asked a judge to add Village Voice Media, LLC and Village Voice Media Holdings, LLC to the companies that make up the Weekly's parent company in the judgment. (When the Guardian's suit was initially filed, the Weekly was still owned by pre-merger New Times.) A hearing on that matter has been set for March 12. The Weekly has said it is waiting to make any payments to the Guardian until it exhausts its appeals. MORE: Seattle Weekly wonders why The Stranger is sending a reporter to San Francisco to cover this, when Stranger editor Dan Savage's sex column runs in many papers that SF Weekly's parent company owns.

Continue ReadingBay Guardian/SF Weekly Case Back in Court Today

The Observer recently unveiled a redesign that was overseen by Austin-based Em Dash. "The challenge was to create a template that could be produced by one part-time art director with a $450 art budget per issue," Robert Newman writes. "The result: a sharp, smart, right on, low-budget, high-impact design, perfect for the magazine's mix of muckraking reporting and liberal politics." The Observer has also launched a redesigned website.

Continue ReadingTexas Observer Undergoes Redesign

Brian Stauffer has received the Society of Illustrators' highest honor for a cover he conceived for Phoenix New Times. The winning illustration will be printed in a hard-bound book later this year. "I can't really describe how surreal this experience is for me, given that I started out in this business 18 years ago assigning illustrations to the industry legends I now consider close friends," Stauffer writes on his blog.

Continue ReadingLongtime VVM Illustrator Takes Top Prize