The Times Publishing Co., publisher of the St. Petersburg Times, has launched tbt*, a weekly paper apparently aimed at asterisk-loving young adults. According to the Times, tbt* delivers news in short chunks with colorful photos and no attempt at serious analysis, and bills itself as "zippy news for time-challenged adults." Features also include entertainment listings, shopping tips, and advice on computers and romance. Paul Tash, editor and chairman of Times Publishing, tells reporter Helen Huntley: "There's nothing else like it on the market." AAN-member Weekly Planet (Tampa) is distributed in the same area.

Continue ReadingFaux Alt Debuts in Tampa

It began innocently enough. Nashville Scene editor Bruce Dobie ran a generally positive review of Warren St. John's new book on football fans. St. John, in town for a book tour, read the review, but it was the caption under his photograph -- "Warren St. John uses race in the worst kind of way: to make himself look honorable" -- that caught his attention. The New York Times writer called Dobie to complain. He called again (and again and again). Finally, he wrote a piece for Slate in which he trashed Dobie, the paper and the reviewer. Dobie responds with an open letter to St. John: "You really are capable of offering only part of the truth, the part that burnishes your own image of yourself."

Continue ReadingScene Editor Clears Air Over St. John Flap

In the Sept. 8 issue of The New York Times, columnist Nicholas D. Kristof casts doubt upon President Bush's fulfillment of his Air National Guard duties in 1972. He produces a "compelling witness" named Bob Mintz, who served at the same Alabama base where Bush claims to have been. Mintz remembers actively searching for Bush to no avail. Kristof asks Mintz, "Why speak out now?" The honest answer is that Mintz first spoke out on the matter to The Memphis Flyer, an AAN-member paper, many months ago. Jackson Baker quoted Mintz in a groundbreaking story posted to The Flyer's Web site on Feb. 12 and updated four days later. Kenneth Neill, publisher of The Flyer, has written a letter to the editor of The New York Times to point that out.

Continue ReadingNew York Times Catches Up to Flyer After Seven Months

Chris Potter has been named Andy Newman's replacement as editor of Pittsburgh City Paper, reports Pittsburgh Business Times. "It was a huge surprise to me," says Potter, who has been the paper's managing editor since he and Newman came over from the now-defunct In Pittsburgh Newsweekly seven years ago. Potter will take over the position in November, after the City Paper's annual Best of Pittsburgh issue. "[Potter and I] have been conjoined for almost 10 years," Newman tells reporter Tim Schooley. "It's a very delicate procedure, but I think we'll both go on to lead productive lives."

Continue ReadingPotter to Succeed Newman as City Paper Editor

The Texas Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Dallas Observer in a lawsuit brought by two Denton County public officials, reports the Houston Chronicle. Judge Darlene Whitten and District Attorney Bruce Isaacks sued the paper for libel over a satire published in 1999. The piece, titled "Stop the Madness," was a parody of the actual arrest of a 13-year-old girl for reading a graphic Halloween story to her class. The Supreme Court backed its 8-0 ruling by saying that a reasonable reader of the entire article about a fictional 6-year-old girl's arrest would realize it was not true and was intended as satire.

Continue ReadingObserver Article is Protected Speech, Court Rules