The editor tells MediaBistro he's most proud of bringing "a newsier focus to the front of the book" and the addition of a metro column by Tom Robbins. Though the early '07 storyline painted the Voice as a newspaper rife with inner turmoil and conflict, Ortega says that wasn't what he saw when he arrived. "I didn't find tumult so much as a group of people wanting to end the distractions and simply put out a newspaper," he says. "Those first few weeks were busy, but almost right away we were focused on the things that matter, like developing good stories." He also says that he -- like others at the AAN Convention last month -- remains "cautiously optimistic" about the future of the alt-weekly. "The dailies, after all, are being told by consultants to go free, increase local coverage, and write with some attitude -- all things we're already doing," he says.

Continue ReadingFour Months In, Tony Ortega Discusses the State of The Village Voice

Ask and ye shall receive: In last week's paper, LEO ran a short notice inviting employees of Louisville-based health-care giant Humana "to share interoffice memos" the company had prepped on Michael Moore's latest documentary. Several employees came through, and LEO has published three documents this week, all of which repeatedly cite Humana's acknowledgment of America's health care problem, claim that the Congressional testimony of an ex-employee featured in the film is false, and refer all media inquiries to the company's press office.

Continue ReadingLouisville Eccentric Observer Obtains Humana Memos on ‘Sicko’

In the East Bay Press Club's 2006 Excellence in Print Journalism Contest, the Express finished first in nine categories: sports feature, business feature, technology feature, general news, columnist, long feature, lifestyle feature, criticism or reviewing, and profile. According to a press release, the awards are "somewhat unique in that all print media organizations are judged against each other -- there are no separate categories for circulation or for magazines." Winners were announced Friday evening at a banquet in Oakland.

Continue ReadingEast Bay Express Wins 17 Regional Journalism Awards

That's what the Washington Post is calling the reaction to City Paper's cover story about the "online 'closed social network' catering to preppy bons vivants" known as Late Night Shots. According to The Hill, the story "had [Late Night Shots] looking very elitist, a little racist and fairly misogynistic. What's more, reporter Angela Valdez named names." Since the story came out last week, City Paper's website has been "on fire" with "threats of lawsuits, attacks on Valdez and a rousing debate on social strata," the Hill reports. Editor Erik Wemple says he knew the story would get some play, but didn't think it would cause such a stir. Writers over at Wonkette remain less-than-impressed by the controversy, and by Late Night Shots in general: "When they quit crying that the mean free alt-weekly made fun of them and get back to coming up with comical terms for date rape and revealing their intense fear of black people without stock portfolios, maybe we'll once again give them the attention they so intensely desire."

Continue ReadingWashington City Paper Story Sets Off ‘Clique Warfare’

When the Advocate staff learned that the New Haven Police Department was holding a bumper sticker contest to advertise its gun hotline, they kicked around dozens of ideas, riffing on common bumper stickers. Ultimately, the paper decided to submit two: "My child is an Honor Student ... who hasn't learned how to fire a gun," and "I'd rather NOT be shooting a gun." The latter beat out 24 other slogans in votes cast by around 200 cops, the Hartford Courant reports. Advocate staff writer Chris Arnott wrote the text and production manager Matthew Ford did the design, according to the New Haven Independent. "This is a genuine thing," Arnott said at a press conference unveiling the stickers. "Not a snarky Advocate thing."

Continue ReadingNew Haven Advocate Wins Anti-Gun Bumper Sticker Contest