May 22, 2008

AAN Launches AltWeeklies.com 2.0

Source: AAN

After months of planning and preparation, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies today debuted the second iteration of AltWeeklies.com, the association's story-sharing and content-portal website. The new site incorporates many new types of content and organizes it all in a way that makes it much easier for users to find what they are looking for. Read here to learn more about the changes.

May 22, 2008

LEO Acquired by Ex-Nashville Scene Publisher's Company

Source: Louisville Eccentric Observer

The Louisville Eccentric Observer was acquired by SouthComm Communications, a company headed by former Scene publisher Chris Ferrell, according to LEO. The change was announced to staff this morning. Pam Brooks will stay on as publisher, but other LEO staffers were not so lucky. Brooks told a local blog that editor Cary Stemle, sales director Kelly Gream, and two other employees weren't offered positions with the new company. SouthComm, which was formed late last year, owns a custom publishing company based in Atlanta, as well as various Nashville websites and magazines.

May 22, 2008

L.A. Weekly and Phoenix New Times Win Maggie Awards

Source: Western Publications Association

The Maggie Awards, presented annually by the Western Publications Association, honor publishing excellence among magazines in the Western U.S. L.A. Weekly was selected as the best tabloid/consumer publication for its Sept. 7 issue, and also prevailed in two other categories: Best Fiction in the Trade & Consumer category for "One Hundred Percent," and Best News Story in the Consumer category, for "The End of Murder." Phoenix New Times won for Best Public Service Series or Article in the Trade & Consumer category for its investigations into Maricopa County's "assault" on the paper.

May 22, 2008

Isthmus Jazz Festival Features National and Regional Performers

Source: Isthmus Publishing Press Release

May 22, 2008

Index Newspapers & DesertNet Unveil New Content Management System

Source: Index Newspapers Press Release

The company that owns The Stranger and Portland Mercury announces the release today of Foundation, "a highly customizable, fully integrated content-management system for alt-weeklies." The new system, which was developed in partnership with DesertNet, includes dynamic calendars, city guides, user profiles, and extensive editorial tools. "With its customizable layouts and components, Foundation will reduce alt-weeklies' reliance on expensive web development," the Index Newspaper press release says.