As president of Plaza Mortgage, Martin Basroon was convicted for "conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud" and "interstate transportation of property taken by fraud" seven years ago, according to Gawker and court documents. His conviction and sentence were affirmed on appeal in 2002. Basroon was released from a federal prison in March 2005, and started working for the Press later that year. "He had a legal problem a number of years ago and that problem is behind him," Press president Peter Polimino tells Gawker. "That legal problem has nothing to do with his position at our company."

Continue ReadingNew York Press’ CFO Was Convicted of Fraud in 2000

Deborah Vankin will be the editor of LA Metromix, a self-described "local entertainment site aimed at 18-to-34-year-olds" set to launch in June, according to LA Observed. She was most recently a senior editor at Variety. In addition, frequent Weekly freelancer Alie Ward will oversee the new website's events coverage. The Tribune Co. already operates Metromix sites in other cities where it owns dailies, like Chicago and Baltimore.

Continue ReadingFormer LA Weekly Books & Restaurants Editor to Run Tribune’s New Entertainment Site

Last we heard from John Spragens, it was April 2006 and he was departing the Nashville Scene a jobless man. Now he's been named the communications director for Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN). Reached by AAN News, Spragens suggests a headline: "Alt-weekly writer sells soul, wears suits from time to time." On a more serious note, he thinks his "transition from the Scene to D.C. really says something about the paper's important role in Nashville. I've never seen an alt-weekly with such a respected voice in the community, and I learned a lot -- and had a great time -- working there."

Continue ReadingFormer Alt-Weekly Writer Named Congressman’s Communication Director

Managing editor Brian Johnson is due in court this morning for pre-trial motions in the criminal case against Jackson Mayor Frank Melton, according to the JFP. Johnson was issued the subpoena (PDF file) by Melton's attorneys, as was a reporter for the daily Clarion-Ledger. This is not the first time the JFP has been called to court by the embattled mayor they've relentlessly covered: Editor Donna Ladd was subpoenaed in a previous trial last year.

Continue ReadingJackson Free Press Editor Subpoenaed in Mayor’s Criminal Trial

In an overview of the Seattle blogosphere's best and brightest, the Post-Intelligencer says the Slog -- the "chatty little sister to The Stranger" -- is one of the city's most popular blogs. The key to the Slog's success? "The diversity of topics and seemingly incessant posting ... gets readers checking back," the P-I says, citing the blog's 725,000 page views in March and 3,000 RSS subscribers.

Continue ReadingThe Stranger’s Blog is Seattle’s ‘Big One’

As news spread of the literary icon's death, NUVO was busy getting together a package for alt-weeklies to run to celebrate the Indianapolis-born author's life. All three pieces were written by A&E editor David Hoppe, who knew Vonnegut well, and are available via AltWeeklies.com (where editors can also find pricing information):

Continue ReadingNUVO Offers Kurt Vonnegut Package for AAN Members

Ten young journalists have been chosen as this year's class from a national pool of over 200 applicants. Intended as a recruitment and training tool for minority journalists, AAJ has roots 25 years deep in a diversity program started at the Medill School of Journalism in Evanston, Ill. Now fully funded by AAN's Alternative Newsweekly Foundation, the eight-week summer fellowship offers a crash course in reporting and writing in a narrative style. Short bios and some photos of this year's class are included in our report.

Continue Reading2007 Academy for Alternative Journalism Fellows Named