AAN News
It's Musical Chairs at SoCal Alt-Weekliesnew
Former L.A. Weekly news editor Alan Mittelstaedt joined Los Angeles CityBeat yesterday as news editor, replacing Dean Kuipers, who moved to the Los Angeles Times. A little further down the coast, Rich Kane, who left OC Weekly in 2005 and ended up as editor of Inland Empire Weekly (a paper started by ex-OC Weekly staffer Jeremy Zachary that was later acquired by LA CityBeat-parent Southland Publishing), returns to the Weekly Aug. 2 as its new managing editor. Replacing Kane at Inland Empire is Charles Mindenhall, a former L.A. Weekly staffer.
LA Observed | OC Weekly |
07-20-2007 9:13 am |
Industry News
Sherrif's Dept. Banned From Mafia Database After OC Weekly Revelations
The Law Enforcement Intelligence Unit has cut off the Orange County Sheriff's Department because of Sheriff Michael S. Carona's association with various businessmen, including a Las Vegas strip club owner with reputed mob ties now serving time for racketeering, the Los Angeles Times reports. The sheriff's mob ties were first reported last year in two OC Weekly stories by R. Scott Moxley.
(FULL STORY)
OC Weekly Press Release |
07-19-2007 10:47 am |
Press Releases
Swaim: Minor Clarification on The Nation's LA Weekly Piece
In a letter to AAN News, ex-OC Weekly editor Will Swaim maintains that The Nation's "[Jon] Wiener did a fine job" conveying the paper's "loss ... of independence" under Village Voice Media, but claims that Wiener got at least one thing wrong. "[The article reports that] I told Jon Wiener that OC Weekly's film coverage was run out of Denver. I didn't say that," writes Swaim, now the publisher of Long Beach alt-weekly The District. MORE: In a letter to The Nation published on the OC Weekly blog, Gustavo Arellano says that "many of the overarching conclusions" reached by Wiener in the piece "are ludicrous."
(FULL STORY)
AAN News |
07-10-2007 8:36 am |
Letters to the Editor
Is it 'The End of an Era' at LA Weekly and OC Weekly?new
That's what Jon Wiener argues in the Nation. Wiener claims the papers' new owners at Village Voice Media no longer cover "the forces trying to make LA a more egalitarian and less polarized city," and he laments what he calls LA Weekly's "editorial shift to the right" and a move towards "hyperlocalism" and "investigative hit pieces that target local bigwigs." UPDATE: On his blog, Matt Welch begs to differ.
The Nation |
06-28-2007 1:56 pm |
Industry News
¡Ask a Mexican! Author Talks Books, Mexicansnew
Gustavo Arellano tells the New York Times that his dream is to host an hour-long radio program about The Simpsons. The Times also reports that OC Weekly writer's second book, which will be part memoir and part Orange County history, is forthcoming. (His first was a collection of ¡Ask a Mexican! columns.) For the two-book deal, he received an advance in "the mid-six figures," which he used to buy a decidedly un-Mexican automobile, a 1974 Cadillac convertible. "The Mexican thing would be to buy a humongous truck," he says.
The New York Times |
06-26-2007 12:25 pm |
Industry News
Alt-Weeklies Clean Up at Southern California Journalism Awardsnew
Los Angeles CityBeat's Michael Collins won Print Journalist of the Year, while L.A. Weekly took two similar honors: Nikke Finke was named Entertainment Journalist of the Year and John Curry was named Designer of the Year. The Weekly's Jonathan Gold added to his growing trophy rack with a first-place win in the Entertainment Reviews/Criticism/Column category for his "Counter Intelligence" food reviews, while his colleague Libby Molyneaux won first in the Headline category. CityBeat's Anthony Miller placed first in the Entertainment Feature category, OC Weekly's Scott Moxley took home first in the Investigative Series category for "The New Crips," and Advice Goddess Amy Alkon won a first-place award for Headlines. L.A. Weekly also won a first-place award for Special Section, with "Who We Are: LA People 2006." OC Weekly's Gustavo Arellano received the
President's Award. Winners were announced this weekend.
LA Press Club |
06-19-2007 8:47 am |
Honors & Achievements
Phone Card Company Swipes ¡Ask a Mexican! Logonew
Total Call International's La Mejor Mexico long-distance phone card features a character whose face is clearly taken from the syndicated column's logo, created by artist Mark Dancey. "No one had asked me or Village Voice Media (the cabrones who own the copyright to the ¡Ask a Mexican! column and logo, as well as my second-born son) for permission to use the image," writes ¡Ask a Mexican! author Gustavo Arellano. A Total Call representative tells Arellano that a designer found the logo while looking for stock art through a Google search, and that the company will recall the 10,000 phone cards that haven't yet been sold.
OC Weekly |
06-01-2007 8:08 am |
Industry News
Alt-Weeklies Well-Represented in Missouri Lifestyle Journalism Awardsnew
OC Weekly placed second in the General Excellence category in the annual awards sponsored by The Missouri School of Journalism. "The Weekly contains all the usual alternative elements -- the reviews, the listings, the personals ads," the judges said. "What makes it stand out and makes it a winner, though, are the deeply reported and powerfully written centerpiece stories. These have both substance and panache." In addition, LA Weekly had two finalists; and the Boston Phoenix, East Bay Express and Seattle Weekly each had one. The winners were announced today.
Missouri School of Journalism |
05-22-2007 12:54 pm |
Honors & Achievements
Why Aren't More Latinos Working at Alt-Weeklies?new
"Latino journalists unfortunately fall quickly to the lure of the supposed glory of a daily byline," reasons OC Weekly reporter and ¡Ask a Mexican! columnist Gustavo Arellano. He tells the Rocky Mountain Chronicle that many Latinos stay away from alt-weeklies' low pay and often controversial positions and opt for "the security of a daily." Even so, he says there are "very, very few Latino journalists in mainstream media." In the sprawling Q&A with Vanessa Martinez, Arellano also touches on his forthcoming ¡Ask a Mexican! book, right-wing talk radio, and getting kicked off MySpace.
Rocky Mountain Chronicle |
04-30-2007 1:02 pm |
Industry News
Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You: ¡Ask a Mexican!new
That's right: OC Weekly writer Gustavo Arellano's popular syndicated (and AltWeekly Award winning) column has spawned a book, aptly titled ¡Ask a Mexican!. Arellano says the hardcover book, a collection of some of his best columns, is due out May 1. In a review, Publishers Weekly says Arellano "wittily defuses bigotry and mocks stereotypes," adding: "The author's relentless irony and reclamation of derogatory terms is not for the faint of heart, but this approach is a welcome reprieve from common tiptoeing around the fraught subjects of race relations and immigration."
Publishers Weekly (Seventh item) |
03-28-2007 9:40 am |
Industry News
OC Weekly Editor Leaves for Sacramento News & Reviewnew
Executive editor Matt Coker notified the Weekly's staff yesterday that he's heading to the state capitol to be editor of the News & Review, LA Observed reports. He replaces Nancy Brands Ward, who left the Sacramento alt-weekly earlier this month. Despite the timing of his resignation, Coker says it's unrelated to the recent comings and goings at OC Weekly. "I want to make it clear that my departure has nothing to do with Ted [Kissell]'s arrival nor the shenanigans involving others who have left the Weekly," Coker says in his e-mail to staff. "The timing just happened to work out that way."
LA Observed |
03-23-2007 9:13 am |
Industry News
New OC Weekly Editor to Staff: 'Keep Up the Good Work'new
That's the first thing he'd say to them, Ted Kissell tells Fishbowl LA. "I was impressed in general with the paper," he says. "I know a lot of people who have respect for Will Swaim and what he accomplished there ... I'm happy to be going there and picking up where he left off." Kissell takes the helm as editor April 2.
Fishbowl LA |
03-21-2007 1:09 pm |
Industry News
OC Weekly Names New Editor
Ted B. Kissell will take over as editor-in-chief of the Santa Ana alt-weekly on April 2, Village Voice Media announced today. Kissell, previously a staff writer at Miami New Times and an associate editor at New Times Broward-Palm Beach, was most recently senior editor at the daily Ventura County Star. Kissell won't be the only new face in the OC Weekly office: VVM says Jose Santos will start his tenure as art director on April 2, Dave Segal's first day as music editor is March 26, and Luke Y. Thompson, the paper's "newest staff writer," started last week.
(FULL STORY)
Village Voice Media Press Release |
03-20-2007 7:36 pm |
Press Releases
More Details on OC Weekly Founder's New Paper Emergenew
Will Swaim tells the Los Angeles Times that Republican lawyers are bankrolling the new Long Beach weekly. They provided enough seed money to allow the paper to operate for nine months without turning a profit. The District, which is set to launch in April, will have an initial press run of 30,000, with a "television version" of the paper planned for this summer. Swaim, who says he "stopped taking antidepressants and decided to leave" OC Weekly this winter, has plenty of former Weekly staffers in place at The District. He tells the Times they'll all be working from home so the paper can cut the cost of office space.
Los Angeles Times |
03-19-2007 9:43 am |
Industry News
OC Weekly's Founding Editor to Launch New Papernew
Will Swaim, who resigned in January over "philosophical differences" with the alt-weekly's new owners, is starting The District, a weekly paper covering Long Beach, Orange County Business Journal reports. Swaim has heavily recruited ex-OC Weekly staffers to work at The District, including the Weekly's former art director, sales director and sales manager. Former staff writers Steve Lowery, Dave Wielenga and Theo Douglas have also migrated to The District, which launches April 11, according to the Long Beach Press-Telegram. Meanwhile, LA Observed reports ex-staff writer Ellen Griley is also on board. For Swaim, the new location was a no-brainer. "Long Beach is the largest North American city without an independent newsweekly," he says.
Orange County Business Journal (Reg. req.) |
03-13-2007 8:15 am |
Industry News
| Comments (1)
