June 12, 2008

SF Weekly Asks Judge to Overturn Verdict in Bay Guardian Case

Source: SF Weekly

The motions, which were filed earlier this week, ask Superior Court Judge Marla J. Miller to order a new trial if she won't reverse the verdict in the predatory-pricing case, the Weekly reports. The thrust of the Weekly's motion: That the Guardian didn't offer "any actual evidence of an illegal below-cost pricing conspiracy," that the verdict "violates the Weekly's First Amendment and due process rights," and lastly that "the trial was riddled with legal error that unfairly shifted the burden of proof onto the defense." If the judge denies the new motions, the Weekly says it and Village Voice Media intend "to take the case to the California Court of Appeals, which in turn would trigger a process expected to take up to eighteen months."

June 12, 2008

The Texas Observer Announces 'Molly Award' Finalists

Source: Editor & Publisher

June 12, 2008

Hawaii Island Journal Folds

Source: The Honolulu Advertiser | Pacific Business News

The Journal, which was voted into AAN on Saturday in Philadelphia, will close after its next edition is printed this weekend, according to the Honolulu Advertiser. The paper, which was founded in 1999, was owned by Pacific Catalyst Publishing LLC, which also owns AAN member Honolulu Weekly. "The Journal faced a direct challenge for more than a year from the new Big Island Weekly published by Stephens Media Group," the Advertiser reports. Editor Peter Serafin tells the Pacific Business News that publisher Laurie Carlson told him Monday about the paper's closure but gave no reason for the shutdown. "It came as a complete surprise," he says.

June 12, 2008

Study: Web Will Be Second-Largest Ad Medium in Five Years

Source: IDC

Web advertising "will continue to grow fast even as the current economic woes will lead to a contraction in ad spending overall, essentially accelerating the transfer of marketing budgets from the traditional media into the new," according to a new study by research group IDC. The group finds that overall internet advertising revenue will double from $25.5 billion in 2007 to $51.1 billion in 2012, making it the second-largest advertising medium, behind only direct mail. IDC predicts that video will be the fastest growing format for web advertising, but search will continue to be the format generating the most revenue.

June 12, 2008

City Pulse Publisher Says 'Thank You'

Source: AAN

Berl Schwartz thanks the AAN membership for admitting City Pulse on Saturday in a letter to the editor. "This was our fourth time to apply, and I am sure the membership committee was tired of looking at us, so allow me to thank you on behalf of its members as well," he writes. He also says he's printing a banner to hang in the paper's office that quotes from a membership committee report on City Pulse: "It's still not perfect."