"Being pregnant doesn't change the fact that there are issues in Jackson that I can bring to light through this newspaper," writes 19-year-old Melishia Grayson in her introductory column for the Jackson Free Press. Grayson is one of four recipients of AAN's Diversity Internship grants for the Winter/Spring 2007 cycle. The other grant recipients this cycle are Amanda Miller at Washington City Paper, Tuyet Nguyen at Westword, and Lauren Parajon at the Oklahoma Gazette. Established in 2001, the AAN Diversity Internship program awards four annual grants of up to $2,500 to talented young journalists of color.

Continue ReadingAAN Diversity Intern Uses Stereotypes as Motivation

Briony Penn, who was an AltWeekly Award finalist in 2002 for her columns in the Victoria alt-weekly, will seek to represent the Saanich Gulf-Islands riding in Canada's next federal election, according to the Globe and Mail. If she wins the Liberal nomination at a March 31 meeting, she will run against incumbent Gary Lunn in an election expected to be this spring. The longtime Green Party activist's decision to run with the Liberals was unexpected, but Penn says getting elected and changing policy is her first priority. "We can't wait around for proportional representation," she says.

Continue ReadingMonday Magazine Columnist Announces Run for Canadian Parliament

Chalk this one up to poor planning: The law that went into effect last month in San Leandro, Calif., requiring freestanding newsracks to be replaced by multi-paper boxes is not unusual. Similar laws have popped up in cities across the country. But as the East Bay Express reports, the new boxes the city chose came with a prohibitively high price tag of more than $600 per distribution slot, which kept everyone but the big dailies from ponying up. There wasn't even enough demand to fill one six-publication rack, so most of downtown San Leandro is now paperless.

Continue ReadingOne City’s Newsrack Ordinance Drives All Papers Off the Street

The House of Representatives today passed a FOIA reform bill by a vote of 308-117, the AP reports. The White House voiced opposition to the legislation, saying it was "premature and counterproductive." The Sunshine in Government Initiative, a coalition of media groups that includes AAN and that has promoted FOIA reform since 2005, issued a statement applauding the House's action. The House also approved bills that would make contributions to presidential libraries public and overturn a 2001 presidential directive giving the president authority to shield his records from public view. Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee today held a hearing on a companion FOIA reform bill.

Continue ReadingFOIA Reform Passes House, As Do Two Other Open Government Bills