In 2004, Jonathan Ames wrote and acted in a pilot for Showtime, yet it never aired. Until today. What's Not to Love? is based on Ames' 2000 memoir of the same name, which sprang from his "inflammatory, exquisitely worded, and often tastelessly brilliant columns for the New York Press," according to Showtime. The 30-minute show will debut tonight at 11:30 pm, and will be on Showtime On Demand until Jan. 15.

Continue ReadingFormer New York Press Columnist’s TV Pilot Finally Airs

AAN director of sales and marketing Roxanne Cooper and her assistant, Tiffany Kildale, resigned last week after accepting new positions with different employers. Cooper will be leaving AAN in February to take over as associate publisher of the Philadelphia City Paper, and Kildale departs next month to assume the position of meeting coordinator at the Chemical Producers & Distributors Association in Washington, D.C.

Continue ReadingTwo Veteran Staffers to Leave AAN

"While it is easy to blame mean and nasty CEOs for trimming budgets, the fact is that our journalism, advertising and our content needs to be and are being re-conceived," Creative Loafing CEO Ben Eason says in a memo to employees leaked to Poynter's Jim Romenesko. In the memo, Eason tells his employees that most of the post-merger integration -- including staffing decisions -- of the Chicago Reader and Washington City Paper into the CL family is complete. "I'm very pleased with how the new company has come together," he says. "We are positioned well to take advantage of the future."

Continue ReadingBen Eason Weighs in on the State of Creative Loafing

On Friday, a revised bill strengthening the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) passed the Senate by a voice vote, according to the Associated Press. The bill makes minor revisions to previously passed legislation to meet concerns of the House of Representatives, which could take it up this week before adjourning for the year. It creates an independent ombudsman to resolve citizen disputes and help agencies strengthen FOIA, creates tracking systems so the public can easily track the status of requests and lets requesters more easily recover legal costs when agencies improperly deny requests. The Sunshine in Government Initiative, of which AAN is a member, urges the House to take action and pass its version of the bill.

Continue ReadingSGI Applauds Senate Passage of FOIA Bill, Urges Speedy House Action

The paper lost electricity early on Monday, Dec. 10, just hours before the always-hectic press day. But this week's issue still came out, thanks to the hard work of Gazette employees ... and a generator. "We were first in line for a [generator] rental but weren't fully functional until nine hours later," associate publisher Jeffri-Lynn Dyer says. "We aren't returning it, though. With the next storm coming, we might need it next press day!" According to the latest forecast, a new storm is expected to bring two to four inches of snow heading into this weekend. The Gazette's rented generator is on standby in the paper's parking lot.

Continue ReadingOklahoma Gazette Loses Power, Publishes With Help of Generator