The CBC reports that an afternoon thunderstorm yesterday "brought almost 500 lightning strikes to Calgary," and Fast Forward Weekly publisher Ian Chiclo says one of them hit his paper's office. "Publisher's computer fried, bits of wall land beside his chair," Chiclo wrote in an email to AAN News yesterday. Reached this morning, he tells us that the office is functioning again, but "limping," with only three computers having access to the internet and the paper's servers. "We think some of the wires are fried," he says.

Continue ReadingLightning Strikes Fast Forward Weekly Office

SF Weekly reports the city of San Francisco is reaching out to a handful of websites to potentially run public notice ads, including the website of the San Francisco Bay Guardian. But Guardian publisher Bruce Brugmann says the paper has no intention of participating. "We don't bid, or go in for these city contracts, and we don't intend to do it now," he tells the Weekly.

Continue ReadingBay Guardian Says it Won’t Run City’s Public Notice Ads on Website

The Weekly, competing with other large-circulation newspapers, won a total of 13 awards in the annual competition sponsored by the LA Press Club. Staff writer Christine Pelisek had a big night, winning first-place honors for Feature, Hard News and Investigative/Series (where she also received an Honorable Mention). Pelisek also finished second for Journalist of the Year. The Weekly placed first in three additional categories: Columnist, Entertainment News or Feature and Political Coverage. Syndicated "Advice Goddess" columnist Amy Alkon also took home a first-place win for Headline Writing in the large-circ category. Amongst the smaller papers, three AAN members were recognized for their work. OC Weekly won three first-place awards, for Design, Entertainment News or Feature and Entertainment Reviews/Criticism/Column. Pasadena Weekly won three awards, and the late LA CityBeat won one.

Continue ReadingL.A. Weekly Wins Big in Southern California Journalism Awards

Houston Chronicle columnist Rick Casey has been awarded the 2009 MOLLY National Journalism Prize for a series about immigration. The awards, presented annually by the Texas Observer, recognize great American journalism and honor the memory of former Observer editor Molly Ivins. "Molly would have been thrilled at the scores of worthy entries and taken a little amused pride that this year's winner is a columnist for the Houston Chronicle, the newspaper where she began reporting as a summer intern," Observer CEO and publisher Carlton Carl says.

Continue ReadingThe Texas Observer Names MOLLY Prize Winner

Eight fellows have been chosen from about 350 applicants to attend the Academy for Alternative Journalism summer residency program at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. The Academy, which begins next Monday and runs through August, trains young journalists in long-form feature writing with the aim of recruiting them into the alternative press.

Continue Reading2009 Academy for Alternative Journalism Fellows Named

The Voice Local Network will allow select publishers to monetize their content using Village Voice Media's locally based sales forces. VVM says the network is designed for web publishers that match both the content and the core demographics of its newspapers. "We've been working the streets, merchant to merchant, for years developing personal relationships in all of our cities," VVM president and chief operating officer Scott Tobias says. "Through these connections, we've developed a very high local CPM web business, and it's a natural evolution to help other publishers tap into our network of advertisers."

Continue ReadingVVM Launches Local Online Ad Network