AAN News
Phoenix New Times Challenges Law Used in Investigationnew
The alt-weekly has filed a lawsuit in federal court claiming that the 8-year-old Arizona law used to investigate it for publishing Sheriff Joe Arpaio's home address on its website infringes on the First Amendment, the East Valley Tribune reports. The paper's attorneys want Judge Robert Broomfield to block prosecutors anywhere in the state from using the law. The County Attorney's office is crafting a response to the suit, according to the Tribune.
East Valley Tribune |
10-26-2007 9:12 am |
Industry News
Phoenix New Times Case Files Unsealednew
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge yesterday unsealed the grand jury records of the county's investigation of the alt-weekly, which was dropped last Friday. "Not a shred of evidence was ever presented to a single juror, and not a charge was filed," according to the Arizona Republic. The transcripts mirror the story laid out by New Times last week, but there was at least one new detail: After an Oct. 11 hearing, special prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik and New Times reporter Paul Rubin nearly came to blows during a recess. New Times also reports the documents show the county made payments of nearly $2 million to Wilenchik's firm for handling the case. In another story, Wilenchik tells the Republic that while he didn't personally order the arrest of Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin, he had no regrets about it. "They deserved to be arrested," he says. "I don't have a problem with their arrest."
The Arizona Republic | Phoenix New Times |
10-25-2007 8:40 am |
Industry News
Tags: Management, Phoenix New Times
Alt-Weeklies Protest Arizona Officials' Outrageous Abuse of Power
To show solidarity with Phoenix New Times, members of AAN are providing links on their websites that direct their readers to the many
places on the internet where the home address of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is listed. Last week, New Times disclosed that its executives, writers, and even its readers were the target of a sweeping grand jury probe relating to the paper's publishing the sheriff's home address online; this disclosure led to the paper's co-founders being arrested. One day later, all charges against New Times were dropped. "Our association and its members won't tolerate this
sort of attack on the right of a member paper to publish information that is
and ought to be public record," says Tim Redmond, AAN First Amendment Chair Tim Redmond and executive editor of the San
Francisco Bay Guardian.
(FULL STORY)
Association of Alternative Newsweeklies Press Release |
10-23-2007 11:10 am |
Press Releases
Society of Professional Journalists Condemns New Times Arrestsnew
Society of Professional Journalists Press Release |
10-23-2007 8:35 am |
Press Releases
State Bar Investigates New Times Case; Daily Paper Seeks Documentsnew
As we reported late on Friday, all charges against Phoenix New Times have been dropped. The paper and its executives faced charges for publishing Sheriff Joe Arpaio's home address on the internet and for disclosing grand jury information. Now the Arizona Republic is reporting that the State Bar Association has launched an internal investigation into Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and special prosecutor Dennis Wilenchik, in part for their actions in the New Times case. In addition, attorneys for Phoenix Newspapers, Inc., which publishes the Republic, have filed a motion to unseal all transcripts and court filings related to the case. Lastly, New Times reports that the disorderly conduct charge that reporter Ray Stern received last week for looking at public documents has not been dismissed.
Arizona Republic | Phoenix New Times |
10-22-2007 1:19 pm |
Industry News
All Charges in New Times Case Droppednew
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas announced this afternoon that he was dismissing the case against Village Voice Media executives Jim Larkin and Michael Lacey, who were arrested last night after publishing a story revealing that their Phoenix New Times was a target of a grand jury probe. Thomas said that the case had been grossly mishandled, according to the Arizona Republic.
"It has become clear to me the investigation has gone in a direction I would not have authorized," Thomas says. The grand jury had been convened to investigate charges that the New Times violated the law when it posted Sheriff Joe Arpaio's home address on its website in 2004.
Arizona Republic |
10-19-2007 7:32 pm |
Industry News
Village Voice Media Executives Arrested for Phoenix New Times Storynew
When New Times published a story yesterday revealing that it was the target of a grand jury probe, it acknowledged that it was exposing itself to potential criminal charges. It sure didn't take long for those charges to come to fruition. The co-authors of the piece, VVM executive editor Michael Lacey and chief executive Jim Larkin, were arrested last night at their homes in Phoenix on charges that the story revealed grand jury secrets, according to the New York Times. The East Valley Tribune reports that the arrests came at the request of the special prosecutor. "It is an extraordinary sequence of events," says Steve Suskin, legal counsel for VVM. "The arrests were not totally unexpected, but they represent an act of revenge and a vindictive response on the part of an out of control sheriff." In addition, New Times reporter Ray Stern was given a criminal citation on Thursday for disorderly conduct after an argument over taking photos of public records at the sheriff's office. "They're trying to muzzle us," editor Rick Barrs says. "This is retaliation against us. And it's not just retaliation against us, it's retaliation against the press." UPDATE: Lacey, upon being released from jail this morning, spoke with reporters. "The way that this operates is that they select someone to make an example out of, and they selected our organization," he says. "Hopefully, other media organizations will begin to speak up and speak out about what's going on here."
The New York Times |
10-19-2007 8:12 am |
Industry News
Phoenix New Times a Target of Grand Jury Probe
The alt-weekly revealed today that Maricopa County grand jury subpoenas are targeting its editors, reporters, and online readers. The inquiry stems from the paper's posting of Sheriff Joe Arpaio's home address on its site as part of a 2004 story on "America's Toughest Sheriff." By revealing the mere existence of this grand jury, New Times exposes itself to criminal penalties, but faced with what a judge deemed "highly inappropriate" behavior by prosecutors, the paper felt it had no choice but to go public. "We started this newspaper because we believed in the public's right to know," the paper's co-founders Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin explain. "Nothing has changed."
(FULL STORY)
Village Voice Media Press Release |
10-18-2007 3:09 pm |
Press Releases
Tags: Phoenix New Times
Phoenix New Times Sues County and Special Prosecutornew
Facing intensified threats of felony criminal prosecution for publishing the home address of Sheriff Joe Arpaio in 2004, New Times and reporters Paul Rubin and John Dougherty filed a complaint against Maricopa County and a special deputy county attorney in federal court earlier this month. It alleges that the Arizona law being used to threaten felony prosecution "is invalid and unconstitutional because it violates the guarantees of free speech and free press under the First Amendment" and seeks an injunction prohibiting authorities "from using investigative procedures and compulsion to investigate" or prosecute the paper and its writers and editors. "It is extraordinary and unprecedented for a newspaper to find itself subject to criminal legal attacks for the publication of newsworthy, true facts about such a publicity-seeking, controversial elected official as Joe Arpaio," New Times co-founder and Village Voice Media executive editor Michael Lacey says. "New Times has no choice but to vigorously defend its constitutional free-speech rights against those in the government who seek to abuse their power."
Phoenix New Times |
10-16-2007 8:34 am |
Industry News
ACLU Weighs In on Library's Possible Banishment of Alt-Weeklynew
As we reported last month, a Phoenix suburb is in the process of deciding whether to remove the Phoenix New Times from its public library. The Chandler Library Board met on Sept. 20 to hear complaints from a lone resident against the paper, and will make its decision Nov. 15. The Phoenix-based ACLU chapter has sent a letter to the board urging it not to remove the paper and the other materials under consideration from the library, according to the Arizona Republic. "It's premature to say, 'We'll sue you,' but we wanted to add our strong feelings on the issue," says legal director Daniel Pochoda. "The neighborhood public library is the one institution -- the historical bastion of free speech -- that should always stand firm against pressure to censor newspapers or books."
The Arizona Republic |
10-04-2007 8:32 am |
Industry News
One Complaint May Lead to Phoenix New Times' Removal from Librarynew
Larry Edwards has voiced his objections to the alt-weekly being available at a suburban Phoenix library branch shared by a high school, and now the Chandler Library Board will hear the details today, the Arizona Republic reports. Library manager Brenda Brown said Edwards "questioned the appropriateness of the alternative newspaper's advertisements and articles for teenagers." Brown tells New Times' Stephen Lemons that this is the first complaint against the paper she's heard in the three years she's worked at the library. "New Times is nearly ubiquitous in this part of the world," Lemons writes. "And if the Chandler book-barn bows to what one local gum-smacker has to say, it's gonna make Chandler look like a town full of first-class hayseeds." Also on the Library Board's indecency agenda: a children's book about a racing sperm, a fairy tale DVD narrated by Robin Williams, and George Carlin's audiobook When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? A decision from the Board isn't expected until November.
The Arizona Republic | Phoenix New Times |
09-20-2007 8:43 am |
Industry News
The Independent Weekly Wins Casey Medalnew
The North Carolina alt-weekly took home a first place prize in the nondaily category for Mosi Secret's story of one man's struggles to overcome addictions to find meaningful, legal work through a Durham jobs program. The paper will receive a Casey Medal and $1,000 at a ceremony this October. AAN members swept this category, with Seattle Weekly's Nina Shapiro finishing second, and Phoenix New Times' Sarah Fenske receiving an honorable mention.
Casey Journalism Center on Children and Families |
06-13-2007 11:03 am |
Honors & Achievements
ID-Theft Entrepreneur Investigated by Phoenix New Times Resignsnew
Last week, we reported that New Times had exposed the co-founder of LifeLock, a company that offers to protect people from identity theft, as a suspected identity thief. Today, Wired reports that Robert Maynard, Jr. has resigned from the company. Maynard now plans to launch a marketing company, according to Wired.
Wired |
06-11-2007 3:48 pm |
Industry News
Alt-Weekly Investigation Reveals ID-Theft Entrepreneur's Shady Pastnew
Last week, Phoenix New Times revealed that Robert J. Maynard, Jr., a founder of LifeLock, a company that offers to protect people from identity theft, is himself suspected of being an identity thief. Among New Times' findings: Another company Maynard owned, a credit-repair company called the National Credit Foundation, was investigated by state and federal authorities and was suspected of stealing money from its customers. Court records show that the company "withdrew funds from consumers' checking accounts without authorization." As Wired notes, Maynard denied wrongdoing, but the federal government issued a permanent injunction banning him from "advertising, promoting, offering for sale, selling, performing, or distributing any product or service relating to credit improvement services." In the meantime, one of LifeLock's competitors, Truston, seized the opportunity to offer a 50 percent discount to any current LifeLock customers.
Wired |
06-06-2007 8:31 am |
Industry News
Alt-Weeklies Clean Up at Arizona Press Club Awardsnew
Phoenix New Times and Tucson Weekly took home a total of 13 first-place awards, with New Times winning in eight categories and the Weekly placing first in five. New Times staff writers Sarah Fenske and Paul Rubin both triumphed in two categories, and the Weekly's Margaret Regan managed the same feat. Both AAN papers also received a number of second- and third-place prizes. Winners of the awards, which honor the best in Arizona print journalism, were announced last week at a Phoenix banquet.
Arizona Press Club |
05-17-2007 7:53 am |
Honors & Achievements
