AAN News

Monterey County Weekly Makes Editor & Publisher's 'Green Team'new

"Certainly, the Weekly has accomplished the showy side of going green," says the magazine, referring to the paper's installation of 162 solar panels on its roof earlier this year, "but the Weekly also strives to be green below its roof." Among the small-scale green programs E&P highlights: having a staffer repair bicycles for employees to use in commuting, buying organic produce from the "Vegetable Fairy," and using soy ink. Early last year, the Weekly began calculating its entire carbon footprint, including energy consumption from employee commutes and work routes, with a "Green Team" convening monthly to review the efforts. When the paper repeated its calculation this April, the footprint was 16 percent smaller. "For us this has been a several-pronged initiative," Weekly owner and CEO Bradley Zeve says. "One is around energy, one is around supplies and material, and a third is around our consciousness."
Editor & Publisher  |  12-05-2007  9:12 am  |  Industry News

Tina May Begins Tenure as Editor of Monterey County Weeklynew

"The focus of daily journalism, where I have spent my entire career, has changed dramatically, especially in the past few years," writes May, who comes to the Weekly from the Arizona Republic. "Many daily newspapers have become increasingly corporate and less focused on printing stories that right wrongs, question the establishment and tell readers what they really need to know. Newspapers like the Weekly fill that void and prove that readers do have an appetite for a good story." She replaces Eric Johnson, who left the paper earlier this year.
Monterey County Weekly  |  10-26-2007  10:46 am  |  Industry News

Chemical Co. Drops Suit Against Monterey County Weeklynew

The alt-weekly was being sued by Suterra for referencing one of its product's "inert" ingredients in print, but on Friday afternoon lawyers from the company notified the paper that the suit was being dismissed "without prejudice," the Santa Cruz Sentinel reports. Then over the weekend, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the ingredients be made public, and also ordered that the state immediately resume spraying the product, known as Checkmate LBAM-F. It is being used to eradicate the light brown apple moth.
Santa Cruz Sentinel | Monterey County Herald  |  10-22-2007  8:36 am  |  Legal News

Alt-Weekly in Legal Battle Over Synthetic Pheromone Ingredientsnew

Monterey County Weekly is being sued by the chemical company Suterra for referencing one of its product's "inert" ingredients, which the company claims are protected as trade secrets under federal law. The Weekly reported on health and environmental concerns related to two of the ingredients (first disclosed by the Santa Cruz Sentinel) in a story last week. On Tuesday, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge rejected the pesticide company's request for a temporary restraining order on the paper. The Weekly has counter-sued the company, asserting its First Amendment right to disseminate information in the public interest.
Monterey County Weekly  |  10-19-2007  10:02 am  |  Legal News

Monterey County Weekly Editor Steps Downnew

Eric Johnson says he'll be leaving next month. "I feel sad to have to leave this newspaper," he says. "For the past six years, I've been proud to work with a team that tries every week to create something that can make a difference in people's lives. ... I'll miss almost everything about it, but it's time to go."
Monterey County Weekly  |  07-20-2007  8:11 am  |  Industry News

Monterey County Weekly Goes Solar

The AAN member paper now has the first solar powered business in its home base of Seaside, Monterey Peninsula's largest city. The new 33,700-watt rooftop power plant will meet "virtually all the electrical needs" of the paper's 6,500-square-foot, 35-person office. Owner and CEO Bradley Zeve says he made the decision to install the 162 solar panels after years of waiting for better technology or lower prices. But Zeve tells Weekly reporter Kera Abraham that after a screening of An Inconvenient Truth last June, "I said, 'If not now, when? And if not me, who?'" The photovoltaic power plant cost about $250,000, but the paper will receive a $79,000 rebate from the state of California; the system should pay for itself in 12-15 years. "Concern for the environment has proven to be a good business decision," publisher Erik Cushman says. (FULL STORY)
Monterey County Weekly Press Release  |  05-04-2007  8:41 am  |  Press Releases

Monterey County Weekly Story Picked Up For AOL's 'Worst Week Ever' Poll

Mehdi Shahbazi, a gas-station owner who posts signs accusing big oil companies of price-gouging, has been the subject of three articles by Raul Vasquez in Monterey County Weekly (Nov. 3, Jan. 26, May 4). However, that publicity probably did not prepare him for having his face run alongside Jennifer Aniston's on the AOL News homepage on Friday (screenshot below). Visitors to the site were invited to read Vasquez's stories and vote on whether Shahbazi or Aniston was having the "worst week ever." Aniston won the vote, but Shahbazi can take comfort in the fact that AOL calls him "a hero" who "doesn't suck."

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06-02-2006  2:24 pm  |  Industry News

Monterey County Weekly Celebrates Its Sweet 16thnew

Nearly two decades ago, Bradley Zeve bought a failing Monterey County tourist paper called Coasting and gradually transformed it into what is now Monterey County Weekly, reports Ruth Hammond. Celebrating its 16th anniversary this year, the paper owes its longevity to Zeve's approach: Plan carefully, know your audience, and be prepared to weather disasters. The result is a paper that claims the second-highest household penetration -- around 30 percent -- among papers in the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. "By having a huge household penetration, we have a lot of influence," says Zeve.
Monterey County Weekly  |  10-05-2004  1:12 pm  |  Industry News

Coast Weekly Writer Covers Battle for Hearts and Minds in Iraq

Andrew Scutro wanted to see how well American troops communicated with Iraqis when he went to the suffering Middle East nation but confronted some communication barriers of his own. He would have loved to accompany an Iraqi handyman to his neighborhood but was warned that being seen with an American could endanger the man. Freelance writer Whitney Joiner interviews Scutro about the weeks he spent embedded with a civil affairs unit. (FULL STORY)
Whitney Joiner  |  01-29-2004  3:01 pm  |  Industry News

Coast Weekly Reporter Embedded in Iraq

A reporter known for his environmental coverage expressed concern in an article last March that alternative newsweeklies were criticizing mainstream press coverage of the war but hadn't sent their own reporters to Iraq. "If you want to go, go," Coast Weekly Editor Eric Johnson told his reporter, Andrew Scutro. Scutro left for Iraq on Dec. 15. (FULL STORY)
Ruth Hammond  |  12-18-2003  11:18 am  |  Industry News

Alternative Papers Rip Up Fronts to Cover Terrorist Nightmare

Across the country, alternative newsweeklies ditched their planned front pages as the awesome events of Tuesday unfolded. East Coast papers like The Village Voice and Washington City Paper are sharing stories and pictures with colleagues from Maine to California. (FULL STORY)
AAN Staff  |  09-12-2001  4:11 pm  |  Industry News

Eric and Erik Reunited at Coast Weekly

The founders of the Missoula Independent are back together again. Eric Johnson has been hired as editor of Coast Weekly in Monterey, Calif., and his cohort Erik Cushman was promoted from vice president and director of operations to publisher. Founder Bradley Zeve will concentrate on community relations and grassroots social projects. (FULL STORY)
John Ferri  |  07-06-2001  11:50 am  |  Industry News

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