AAN News
Former Alt-Weekly Editor Turns into Crime-Fighting Vigilantenew
Former Rocky Mountain Chronicle and Colorado Springs Independent editor Vanessa Martinez was eating lunch on Monday in Denver when a thief made off with her bag, which included cash, credit cards and her ID, which she needed to get into DNC events. After she called her credit card company and found out the guy was already on a spending spree nearby, she headed to the Virgin Megastore where he'd just bought some items. Before she got there, though, she ran into him on the street. "The poor guy couldn't have seen it coming," Westword's Joel Warner writes. "Biff! Bam! Kapow! Martinez punched him in the face, walloped him with his own shopping bag and tore at his shirt. He pulled out her stolen credit cards in surrender, but that didn't stop the fury." The pickpocket was taken into custody, and Martinez got her stuff back shortly after the scuffle. In other DNC-related news, check out this blog post, in which Westword writer Jason Sheehan's takes New York Post columnist Cindy Adams to task for her boneheaded comments about Denver.
Westword |
08-28-2008 12:05 pm |
Industry News
Alt-Weeklies Honored in Missouri Lifestyle Journalism Awardsnew
Two AAN members placed in the overall General Excellence categories: Louisiana's Independent Weekly finished second in the Class I division and OC Weekly finished third in the Class III division. In addition, both Riverfront Times (Special Sections and Arts and Entertainment) and Westword (Consumer Affairs and Food and Nutrition) were finalists in two story-topic categories. More than 1,100 entries were submitted to the annual contest administered by the Missouri School of Journalism, which calls it "the oldest and best-known feature writing and editing competition in American newspapering."
Missouri School of Journalism |
08-21-2008 8:12 am |
Honors & Achievements
Westword Cartoonist Unveils '56 Faces of the Democratic Convention'new
For the past 56 weeks, staff cartoonist Kenny Be has studied the 56 delegations headed to Denver for the Democratic National Convention, and shared his research results in a weekly cartoon called "Delegating Denver." With the convention just around the corner (Aug. 25-28), the cartoons are now collected in a single slideshow on Westword's site. Editor Patricia Calhoun says AAN-member papers are free to excerpt parts of the cartoon in print or link to it online, accompanied by their own commentary. In addition, the Sacramento News & Review has made available free of charge to AAN members a piece from Tom Hayden on what to expect from Denver, and the significance of it all for the future of the country. For more details on that piece, which is available today, email Cosmo Garvin at cosmog (at) newsreview.com
Westword |
08-14-2008 8:23 am |
Industry News
Westword Wins SPJ Sigma Delta Chi Awardnew
The Society of Professional Journalists has named Westword staff writer Alan Prendergast a 2007 Sigma Delta Chi Award winner in the feature writing category (under 100,000 circulation) for "The Caged Life," a story about life in solitary confinement. The awards will be presented July 11 during the annual banquet at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Society for Professional Journalists |
04-14-2008 1:41 pm |
Honors & Achievements
Three Alt-Weekly Writers Up for James Beard Awardsnew
AAN members are once again well-represented in the list of finalists for this year's James Beard Foundation Journalism Awards. Robb Walsh of the Houston Press and SF Weekly's Eliza Strickland are both nominated in the Newspaper Feature Writing About Restaurants and/or Chefs category, while Westword's Jason Sheehan is nominated in the Restaurant Reviews category. Winners will be announced June 8 at a reception in New York. The awards recognize and honor excellence and achievement in the culinary arts.
James Beard Foundation |
03-25-2008 8:34 am |
Honors & Achievements
Alt-Weekly Writers Win Education Reporting Awardsnew
In this year's installment of the Education Writers Association's journalism contest, Rob Jordan of the Miami New Times and April Jimenez of the Long Island Press both received first-place awards in the Feature, News Feature, or Issue Package category in different circulation divisions (Jordan in under 100,000; Jimenez in over 100,000). In addition, Westword's Luke Turf took home a special citation award in the same category for papers with a circulation under 100,000.
The Education Writers Association |
02-26-2008 2:34 pm |
Honors & Achievements
Patricia Calhoun Remembers Westword Co-Founder Sandy Widenernew
"Sandy was fresh from Texas, a tiny blonde in even tinier hot pants, with a big personality," the current Westword editor says of Widener, who she first met at Cornell in the '70s. Widener, who died with her husband and one of her daughters in a car accident late last month, went on to co-found the Denver alt-weekly with Calhoun and Rob Simon. "With each reminiscence," Calhoun says, "I keep wanting to reach for the phone to call Sandy, to utter a few words and be rewarded with a shriek. I'll get several numerals into the call before I suddenly remember that she's gone." There will be a service for Sandy, her husband John, and their daughter Chase in a few weeks in Denver, when daughter Katy, who was spared in the accident, is well enough to attend. In the meantime, a memorial site has been set up at johnsandychase.muchloved.com.
Westword |
01-03-2008 8:39 am |
Industry News
Tags: Westword, Patricia Calhoun
Westword Co-Founder Dies in Car Crashnew
Sandra Widener, who started the Denver alt-weekly in 1977 with Patricia Calhoun and Rob Simon, died on Saturday when the vehicle her family was in skidded out of control and a tractor trailer slammed into the driver's side, the Denver Post reports. She was 53 years old. Her husband, Democratic political consultant John Parr, and one of their two daughters also died in the crash. Their 17-year-old daughter is expected to leave the hospital today, according to the Rocky Mountain News. "Their house became a focal point for the neighborhood, and the world. Their friends included everybody," Calhoun tells the Post. "They always had students in from other countries. It was just a nonstop party." The News also reports that three drivers have been charged with driving too fast for conditions in the chain-reaction crash.
The Denver Post | Rocky Mountain News |
12-26-2007 8:16 am |
Industry News
Westword Food Writer's Debut Book Due Out Next Yearnew
Jason Sheehan's Whiskey Down: A Story of Love, Sex, Death and Kitchens will chronicle his days in kitchens across the country before he started writing about food rather than making it six years ago, the Rocky Mountain News reports. The manuscript was sold at auction to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an undisclosed amount. "I did really OK; I was very pleased," he says. "I'm one of those writers that hates all of my own stuff, but I really sort of like this book. I liked the chance of hanging out with the younger me again. Also, it's a fantastic book, and everybody should buy 10 or 12 copies."
The Rocky Mountain News |
11-28-2007 8:32 am |
Industry News
Westword Editor Inducted into Denver Press Club Hall of Famenew
"Patty Calhoun is the co-founder and editor of Westword and probably has a greater knowledge of metro Denver than any other living journalist," the Denver Post writes. She was inducted into the Hall with four others on Friday evening. Calhoun, who was a founding member of AAN and served as its president in 1999-2000, currently chairs the association's editorial committee.
The Denver Post |
09-24-2007 8:06 am |
Honors & Achievements
Westword Triumphs in Suit Over 'Ladies Night' Adnew
Earlier this year, Steve Horner filed a discrimination complaint against Denver's alt-weekly for running an ad for a ladies' night promotion at a local bar. Yesterday, a Denver county judge dismissed Horner's claim. "Now I know how black people in the early part of the last century felt about being cheated out of their civil rights," said Horner, perhaps overreaching. The Rocky Mountain News reports that as the trial ended, Westword editor Patricia Calhoun announced that she was running to the ladies room. Turning to Horner, she added, "You don't object, do you?"
Rocky Mountain News |
08-03-2007 4:13 pm |
Industry News
Man Sues Alt-Weekly for Running Ladies' Night Adsnew
Steve Horner has been agressively suing bars and clubs that offer women free admission or special drink deals for discrimination since the early '90s. Now he's apparently moving on to more substantial targets. "I've put my money to frying bigger fish," he tells Denver's Westword. He's filed a complaint against the alt-weekly for publishing "at least 30 discriminatory ads" featuring the dreaded ladies' night over a five month period, and is asking for $15,000 in damages (roughly $500 per ad).
Westword |
05-25-2007 9:41 am |
Legal News
Westword Editor's Life, Adapted for the Stagenew
This week, Denver's Curious Theatre Company put on their annual "Denver Stories" benefit show, and Act One featured the story of longtime Westword editor Patricia Calhoun. In Dee Covington's "The Showdown at Straight Creek, Or How the Westword Was Won," Martha Harmon Pardee "played a raucous Calhoun, getting Westword off the ground between saloon stops," the Denver Post reports. Calhoun, who served as AAN President in 1999-2000, currently chairs the association's Editorial Committee.
The Denver Post |
05-11-2007 8:57 am |
Industry News
Westword Takes Home Bert Greene Award for Food Journalismnew
Jason Sheehan's story on a semi-secret, unlicensed eatery catering to Denver's tight-knit community of Ghanaian immigrants has been named a 2007 Bert Greene Award winner by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. The awards, announced Saturday in Chicago, recognize excellence in food journalism. This marks the second year in a row Westword has won. Last year, Adam Cayton-Holland's "Word of Mouth" took top honors.
International Association of Culinary Professionals |
04-18-2007 12:02 pm |
Honors & Achievements
Westword Editor Heading to Denver Press Club Hall of Famenew
Patricia Calhoun will be inducted to the Hall of Fame at a Sept. 21 banquet, the Denver Post reports. Calhoun, who served as AAN President in 1999-2000, currently chair's the association's editorial committee.
The Denver Post (Fifth item) |
04-04-2007 9:10 am |
Honors & Achievements
