Former arts editor John Threlfall says he has been named the editor-in-chief of the Victoria, British Columbia, alt-weekly. After a lengthy stint as acting editor -- "a charming period of time I like to think of as 11 months of chaotic madness," he says -- Threlfall becomes the tenth editor in the paper's history. Amanda Farrell will replace him as Monday's new arts editor.

Continue ReadingMonday Magazine Names New Editors



The Detroit alt-weekly appeared in The Tonight Show's famous "Headlines" segment this week -- not for an egregious typo or funny double entendre, but for hot primate-on-primate action. The Carl Oxley illustration on the cover of the paper's summer guide featured a variety of monkeys enjoying summertime in their own ways -- grilling, picnicking, sunbathing, and, yes, having sex behind a bush. If only Leno or his staff had done a little more research, perhaps this alt-weekly cover copulation wouldn't have been so shocking. Instead, the show found it funny because, as Leno says, "I guess it's a thing for kids."

Continue ReadingMetro Times Gets Awkward Shout-out from Jay Leno

Publisher Mike Crystal tells Crain's that as part of its redesign plans, the paper will distribute just one edition to both the city and suburbs starting this week. The suburban edition -- a smaller version of the paper called the Reader's Guide to Arts & Entertainment -- was launched in 1996. Crystal says the decision is part of the switch to a tabloid format (scheduled for the first week of October), and it likely would have happened with or without the paper's recent ownership change. The Reader's new circulation total of 135,000 will be the same as the combined circulation was for the two editions, but the paper is calling it a 15 percent increase in circulation for the main product and is raising ad rates six to seven percent, Crain's reports.

Continue ReadingChicago Reader Ends Suburban Edition