2006 ConventionDaily Saturday|6.17.06 Little Rock, Ark.

All in the (AAN) Family By Monica Leas he answer? New Orleans. The questions came from former Gambit Weekly editor TMichael Tisserand, who emceed an unusually sober Alt- Weekly Awards lunch Friday afternoon. “When I got the call to host this year’s awards, my first thought was, ‘Is AAN in so much financial trouble that they can no longer afford Dan Savage’s speaker fees?’” said Tisserand, fully clothed in the tux Gambit publisher Margo DuBos bought him when he started with the paper about eight years ago. “This is like a make-a-wish moment for me,” he said of the opportunity to crack jokes in front of a crowd while sporting his purple and pink polka-dotted bowtie. Tisserand’s more sincere comments came a little later when he thanked the association’s members for their support after Hurricane Katrina scattered some Gambit staffers across the globe and left others to piece life back together in New Or- leans. Tisserand enjoys his “I always believed AAN was a family, but only in that harbors- ‘make-a-wish moment’ longstanding-grudges-that-would-make-no-sense-to-an-outsider kind of way,” said Tisserand, who had sold his New Orleans home two days earlier have to take you in. Thank you.” and stopped in Little To show his gratitude, Tisserand offered Mardi Gras beads, Rock en route to his fried peach pies from Hubig’s, a six-pack of Abita Restoration new home in Evanston, Ale and “Make Levees not War” stickers to those who jumped in Ill. “When you helped re- quickest with answers to his brain-crunching trivia questions. move financial worries And although the luncheon ensued sans stripteases or sneak- for Gambit employees er shots this year, there were at least a couple tawdry moments during the profoundly — like the flash of a busty pink puppet who appeared topless on unsettling weeks right an award-winning cover for Las Vegas Weekly. after the flood, you “I know I’m going to have a bad dream about that one to- truly lived up to Rob- night,” Tisserand said. ert Frost’s definition of In the, ahem, flesh, Byron Beck of Willamette Week and Cary home — that when you Stemle of Louisville Eccentric Observer also bared their chests, have to go there, they sporting only suit coats and borrowed bowties. Their walk-on Willamette Week’s roles, an opportunity declined by several other editors, came with only a little arm-twisting from Tisserand. Byron Beck didn’t “Now he owes me big time,” Stemle said after recovering get the memo: No from his bare-chested exploit. “This is why I went into print — so male strippers at I wouldn’t have to do this.” this year’s lunch. For the List of Winners, See P. 3 Bill Clinton’s Arkansas By Max Brantley s a young general assignment reporter, one of my first “scoops” came in 1974. A young University of Arkansas Alaw professor was going to announce a bid for Congress against Republican John Paul Hammerschmidt. The law prof lost that race for Congress. But he won quite a few more. His success wasn’t surprising. I knew Bill Clinton was a competitor. I’d seen him play fierce softball and a mean game of charades when my future wife was his colleague on the law school faculty. I knew he had charisma. My mother, the lifelong Republican, became a Clintonite on her first meeting in 1980. I could also tell you that you always had to listen very carefully to Bill Clinton. The word “parse” wasn’t in heavy use in the early 1980s, when Bill Clinton was governor and I was city editor of the Arkansas Gazette. But after more than a few disagreements on whether our reporters had sufficiently captured the nuance of one of his pronouncements, we decided to tape everything he said. Like most Southern liberals, I was conflicted about Bill Clinton. In general elections, particularly, he was clearly preferable to the alternative. But his “third way” politics often disappointed idealists like me. By the time he was the Democratic nominee for president, I was editor of a new alternative weekly, the Arkansas Times. Being generally supportive of Bill Clinton amounted to an alternative media viewpoint in Little Rock. The dominant daily newspaper had little good to say about him -- then and still. This issue of the Arkansas Times -- from May 7, 1992 -- was There’s no doubt his campaign and our coverage -- one of our also the first after the Times switched to a weekly newspaper reporters wrote one of the early Clinton biographies -- helped from a monthly magazine. build the reader base we enjoy today. The Clinton presidency reaped a whirlwind for Arkansas. A It’s hard for me to separate the personal from the political. special counsel investigation introduced Arkies to the heat of Bill Clinton appointed my wife to a judgeship in 1986. As the TV camera, the imperfection of big-name journalists and president, he gave my daughter’s college singing group a the vicious partisanship of modern politics, not to mention White House tour and a late-night Oval Office bull session. some punishing legal bills and jail terms. It seemed so He gave the Arkansas Times his last interview as president, personal to us. We knew the president and first lady as Bill and a quick chat in an airplane hangar on his farewell fly-around. Hillary. Others making headlines included Webb and Bruce and Thanks to him, I was invited over the years to write pieces for Vince and Kaki. It was good reading, that’s for sure. newspapers around the world. Knowing Bill Clinton, I think he’d What do we have to show for it today, besides memories? probably forgive me if he ever came across the one I wrote for A huge presidential library, for one thing, its parking lot filled a newspaper in The Hague. Presuming he can read Dutch. with cars from all over. They bring people of all political stripes, drawn by a man who remains one of the world’s most Max Brantley is editor of the Arkansas Times. compelling personalities.

Keynote and Program Update 463!!! The second block of seminars will start 15 AAN thanks each and every one of minutes early, at 11:30 a.m., and end at 12:45 the 463 people who have shared p.m. Those attending the Keynote Lunch this year’s Convention with us. We should proceed directly to the Wally Allen hope you’ve all enjoyed it. See you Ballroom of the Statehouse Convention next year in Portland! Center to be seated by 1 p.m. President Clinton will speak first.

2 And The Winners Are ... Arts Criticism Cartoons

Small 3 or fewer newspapers First: “Playing with the Passion,” “At- First: “The HR Department” tachment Disorder” and “Going Down in Ed Harrington History in Flames” Second: “BEK” Steven G. Kellman, San Antonio Current Bruce Eric Kaplan Second: “Desires vs. Duties,” “De-Evolu- Third: “Image Control by Mr. Fish” Column - Political tion, Albee Style” and “Down, Home” Dwayne Booth Byron Woods, Independent Weekly Small Third: “Private Texas,” “Grand Theft 4 or more newspapers First: “Poli Psy” History” and “Feeling Negative” First: “Mild Abandon” Judith Levine, Seven Days Elaine Wolff, E.J. Pettinger San Antonio Current Second: Donna Ladd, Jackson Free Honorable Mention: “Drastic Roman- Second: “Tom the Dancing Bug” Press tic,” “Evil’s Puppets” and “Raven’s Son” Ruben Bolling Third: Andrew Wheat, The Texas Ob- Michael Bowen, Third: “This Modern World” Pacific Northwest server Inlander Tom Tomorrow Honorable Mention: “Politics and Other Mistakes” Large Column Al Diamon, Portland Phoenix First: “Blown Opportunity,” “Lost in the Stars” and “Pulling Punch Lines” Small Large Jim Ridley, Nashville Scene First: Miriam Axel-Lute, Metroland First: “Commie Girl” Second: “Africa Screams,” “Diary of a Second: Bruce George Wingate, Rebecca Schoenkopf, OC Weekly Mad White Woman” and “Chow Fun” Fairfield County Weekly Second: “Citizen Servatius” Kristian Lin, Fort Worth Weekly Third: Steve Schneider, Orlando Weekly Tara Servatius, Creative Loafing Third: “Objects of Scorn,” “Memory Honorable Mention (tie): Dusty (Charlotte) Pictures” and “Poise II Men” Rhodes, Illinois Times Third (tie): C.J. Janovy, The Pitch Jeffry Cudlin, Washington City Paper Honorable Mention (tie): Derek Third (tie): “Potter’s Field” Honorable Mention: “Gender Jennings, Independent Weekly Chris Potter, Pittsburgh City Paper Benders?,” “Dante, Dude” and “The Honorable Mention: Robin Meyers, Many, the One, and the Two” Large Oklahoma Gazette Jeffrey Gantz, Boston Phoenix First: “Ask a Mexican!” Gustavo Arellano, OC Weekly Cover Design Arts Feature Second: “Social Studies” Vincent Williams, Baltimore City Paper Small Third: “The Dubliner” Small First: Jeffrey Bland, Style Weekly First: “Panic Attack” Katie Haegele, Philadelphia Weekly Second: David Jayne, David Robert and David Lee Simmons, Honorable Mention: Patricia Calhoun, Gambit Weekly Sandra Hoover, Reno News & Review Second: “Diamonds and Rusty” Westword Third: Agnes Carrera, Michael Germana Paula Routly, Seven Days and Dan Santat, Pasadena Weekly Third: “Lush Be a Lady” Honorable Mention: Matt Ansoorian, Gillian Fassel, San Antonio Current Bill Kienzel, Tanner Goldbeck and Bran- Honorable Mention: “Lunatic Fringe” den Aroyan, Santa Barbara Independent Owen Holmes, Folio Weekly Large Large First: Benjamen Purvis, Las Vegas First: “Roboscalper” Weekly David Downs, East Bay Express Second: Tom Carlson, Riverfront Times Second (tie): “Big Cheese” Third: Derrick Rainey, SF Weekly Jimmy Magahern, Phoenix New Times Honorable Mention: Nathan Paolinelli Second (tie): “Unfinished Symphony” and Jeff Drew, Weekly Alibi Malcolm Gay, Riverfront Times Third: “Tough Love for the Arts” Ed Harrington’s “The HR Department” Roger Downey, Seattle Weekly took First Place in Cartoons that appear See AltWeekly Awards, P. 4 in 3 or fewer papers.

3 Large First: “XXXXXXXL,” Baltimore City Paper Second: “Rising and Shining,” Seattle Weekly Third: “Cool and Collected,” Miami New Times Honorable Mention (tie): “Extra Innings,” Miami New Times Honorable Mention (tie): “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Woes,” Drugs Reporting Washington City Paper

Small Feature Story First: “Searching for Justice” Brita Belli, Fairfield County Weekly Small Second: “Overprescribed Drugs” First: “Lord God!” Jill Kramer, Pacific Sun Leslie Newell Peacock, Arkansas Times “Snowman Robot” garnered Philadelphia Third: “Chemical Casualties” Second: “Hope Floats” Weekly’s Justin DeGarmo First Place in Joel Warner, Boulder Weekly Brandon Walters, Style Weekly Illustration, Large Papers. Third: “No Apologies” Large Casey Parks, Jackson Free Press Format Buster First: “Crackpot Crackdown” Jordan Smith, Austin Chronicle Large Small Second: “The Perfect Drug” First: “Baby Man” First: “It’s Our Water” Jessica Lyons, Sarah Fenske, Phoenix New Times Joe Watson, Phoenix New Times Monterey County Weekly Third: “Lost & Found” Second: “Death of a Salesman” Second: “BW’s City Council Starting Line-Up” Luke Turf, Westword Jason Cherkis, Washington City Paper Honorable Mention: “Little Court of Third: “Green to the Core” Nicholas Collias, Erin Ruiz and Leila Horrors” Judith Lewis, L.A. Weekly Ramella, Boise Weekly Third: “A Modest Proposal” Beth Hawkins, City Pages Honorable Mention: “A Man Named Sue” Orlando Weekly staff Will Harper, East Bay Express Honorable Mention: “Here It Comes” Editorial Layout John Borgmeyer, Nell Boeschenstein, Mike Uriss and Bill LeSueur, C-Ville Small Food Writing Weekly First: “No Place to Go,” The Coast Second: “Y,” The Coast Small Large Third: “Right Place, Right Time,” First: Ann M. Colford, Pacific Northwest First: “Unreal Presents Soulard Mardi Style Weekly Inlander Gras Bingo” Honorable Mention: “Inside Eden,” Second: Mackensy Lunsford, Mountain Riverfront Times staff Monterey County Weekly Xpress Second: “Worst Case Scenario” Third: Ella Lawrence, North Bay Kenny Be, Westword Bohemian Third: “Remembering Our Camelot” Honorable Mention: Ari LeVaux, Tommy Craggs, SF Weekly Missoula Independent Honorable Mention: “Fight Organized Crime” Large Enzo DiMatteo, NOW Magazine First: Bill Addison, Creative Loafing (Atlanta) Second: Jonathan Gold, L.A. Weekly Illustration Third: Dara Moskowitz, City Pages Honorable Mention: Charles Ferruzza, Small The Pitch First: “The Holiday Planner” Kate O’Connor, The Coast Second: “Biting Back” Glenda Chiu, Pasadena Weekly Third (tie): “Losing Choice” Chris Buzelli and Angela Moore, Santa Fe One of Jeffrey Bland’s cover designs for Reporter Style Weekly that earned him First Place Third (tie): “Risky Business” in the Small Papers Category. Jo Scott, Seven Days 4 Large Media Reporting/Criticism First: “Snowman Robot” Justin DeGarmo, Philadelphia Weekly Small Second: “Confessions of a Substitute First: Krestia DeGeorge, City Newspaper Teacher” Second: Todd Stauffer, Jackson Free James Yamasaki, Nashville Scene Press Third: “Bill Gates” Third: Fiona Morgan, Independent Tra Selhtrow, Seattle Weekly Weekly Honorable Mention: “Christmas Bush” Honorable Mention: Leigh de Armas, Tim Gough, Philadelphia Weekly Orlando Weekly Large Investigative Reporting Large First: “Attack of the Killer Weed” First: Nikki Finke, L.A. Weekly Wyatt Olson, New Times BPB Small Second: Sydney Schanberg, The Village Second: “For Sale” First: “A Death in McAllen” Voice Laura McPhee, NUVO Dave Mann, The Texas Observer Third (tie): Chad Garrison and Malcolm Third: “Cross to Bare” Second: “The Road to Meadville” series Gay, Riverfront Times Robert Nelson, Phoenix New Times Donna Ladd, Jackson Free Press Third (tie): Bob Norman, New Times Honorable Mention: “Hijacking at the Third: “All Shook Up” BPB Hospital” Cara DeGette, Colorado Springs Honorable Mention: Chris Potter, Pitts- Pablo Lastra, Fort Worth Weekly Independent burgh City Paper Honorable Mention: “Beat by the News Story - Short Form System” Music Criticism Susan Clark Armstrong, Folio Weekly Small Small First: Adam Lynch, Jackson Free Press Large First: “J Spot” Second: Rick Marshall, Metroland First: “PGE” series Jonanna Widner, Santa Fe Reporter Third: Bill Davis, Charleston City Paper Nigel Jaquiss, Willamette Week Second: John Brodeur, Metroland Honorable Mention: Andrew MacLeod, Second: “Worst Homocide” series Third: “Boys, Express Yourselves” Monday Magazine David S. Bernstein, Boston Phoenix Stephen George, LEO Weekly Third: “The Fall Guy” Honorable Mention: Frank De Blase, Large A.C. Thompson, San Francisco Bay City Newspaper First: Alan Prendergast, Westword Guardian Second: Kristen Hinman, Riverfront Honorable Mention: “Bomb Bait” Large Times Paul McMorrow, Boston’s Weekly Dig First: Sarah Godfrey, Washington City Third: Paul McMorrow, Boston’s Weekly Paper Dig Second: Kandia Crazy Horse, Creative Honorable Mention: Kia Gregory, Loafing (Charlotte) Philadelphia Weekly Third: Rob Harvilla, East Bay Express Honorable Mention: Chris Herrington, Photography The Memphis Flyer Small News Story - Long Form First: “Under the Bridge” Walter Coker, Folio Weekly Small Second: “A-Z Charleston Artists” First: “Torture in Maine’s Prison” Nancy Santos, Charleston City Paper Lance Tapley, Portland Phoenix Third: “My Cuba” Second: “St. Joseph’s Night Gone Blue” Jeff Clark, Ventura County Reporter Katy Reckdahl, Gambit Weekly Honorable Mention: “At the Third: “Guards Sound Alarm” Crossroads” Sue Sturgis, Independent Weekly Michael Brown, Illinois Times Honorable Mention: “Getting Plucked” Dave Mann, The Texas Observer See AltWeekly Awards, P. 6

“Under the Bridge” earned Folio Weekly’s Walter Coker First Place in Photography, Small Papers.

5 Large First: “Losing Hanna, Part 2” Jim Stawniak, Creative Loafing (Atlanta) Second: “We Have Been Blessed” Jeff Fusco, Philadelphia Weekly Third: “A Gentle Faith” Cameron Knight, Cincinnati Citybeat Honorable Mention: “Naked Ambition” Bootsy Holler, Seattle Weekly

Special Section The Coast’s Web site won First Place for Small Papers in the inaugural year of the Web Site category. Small First: “DISH,” Charleston City Paper Third: “Minnesota’s Greatest Hits,” City Third: Tucson Weekly Second: “7 Nights,” Seven Days Pages Honorable Mention: Jackson Free Third: “Best of Boise,” Boise Weekly Honorable Mention: “State of the Press Honorable Mention: “Back to School,” Children,” Oklahoma Gazette The Coast Large Web Site First: Seattle Weekly Large Second: The Village Voice First: “CP Choice,” Third: Philadelphia City Small Baltimore City Paper Honorable Mention: Paper First: The Coast Metro Times Second: “Best of L.A.,” L.A. Weekly Second: Seven Days Friday Around the Convention

Newsletter Staff Photos by Roxanne Jo Mitchell

EDITOR Jon Whiten WRITER Monica Leas PHOTOGRAPHER Roxanne Jo Mitchell CONTRIBUTORS Amy Gill, Joy Howard

Roxanne Jo Mitchell Photography roxannejomitchell.com

Dwayne Booth at the AltWeekly Awards Laura Dell leads the “Management Tools Lunch, where he picked up a Third Place for Editors Who Don’t Like to Manage” award for his cartoon, “Image Control by session. Mr. Fish.”

6 A Party With a Different View he view for Friday night’s cocktail gathering wasn’t quite as Texpansive as a sunset over the Arkansas River. But over 200 convention-goers soaked up impressive indoor imagery at the Arkansas Arts Center, where a traveling Picasso exhibit is showing this summer. Over appetizers, the group swapped stories of the day’s activities and questioned locals for restaurant advice before venturing out to Little Rock’s neighborhoods for dinner. Betsy Otwell, hostess - Monica Leas extraordinaire, builds a Mr. Picasso-Head. Photos by Roxanne Jo Mitchell

Stephen Buel of East Bay Express enjoys Cincinnati CityBeat’s some good conversation. Kristofer Sommer Clark: Alt-Weeklies ‘Vital to American Democracy’ By Monica Leas ore than 150 early-risers greeted retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark with rousing applause and intermittent “amens” MFriday morning as he discussed faulty motivations for the war in Iraq and an ongoing quest for America’s next big Roxanne Jo Mitchell idea. “We don’t have the right big idea,” he said. “What is it? American Idol? What is the big idea? It’s certainly not the war … That can’t be the big idea of American society.” The former Democratic presidential candidate spoke of cur- rent struggles across the nation’s business, health care, and education fields — and expressed dismay at the distracting focus on the war on terrorism. “If we keep that focus, we’re going down,” Clark said. “That’s not the most important thing.” Clark criticized the Bush administration’s “high degree of fore we’ve got to maintain our military commitment.” incompetence” in handling the war in Iraq and likened Bush’s Clark also reflected on his own military career and his post-September 11th response to the reaction of a college upbringing in Little Rock, when, he said, “we had an organizing student who suddenly realizes he forgot to write a term paper principle in America — and it didn’t stop rock and roll.” over Christmas vacation. He empowered alt-weeklies to search for a similar principle But the four-star general said that now that troops are today, by educating readers with critical reporting on big is- engaged, it is too early to jerk them back. sues. “What we’ve got to do is try to get a C-, D+ solution,” Clark “As alternative weeklies … you cover news in a way that’s said. vital to American democracy … and we need you out here in “It might work. It’s too early to say it can’t happen, there- America,” Clark said. 7 An Arty Party

The Fascinating Robert Newman of Fortune Design talks shop in front of Picasso with designer Donny George of C-Ville Weekly.

The Bus-ted Ride

ne mile-long bus ride from the Peabody to the Ray Alba (aka Dominic) and Joseph Bacha- OArkansas Arts Center may have taken nearly na of Database Publishing Consultants are a half-hour -- but for the handful of passengers on all smiles. board, the adventure was worth every minute. It’s not clear what caused a temperamental tour bus to stop and start throughout its mini-tour of duty Friday evening, but after a few stalls in intersections and a few coasts through red lights, a few passen- gers were more than eager to get off. “We said, ‘We’ll walk. We’re Canadian -- we like

the heat,’” said Kyle Shaw, whose colleagues from Photos by Roxanne Jo Mitchell The Coast weren’t permitted to make the last eight blocks on their own. A hospitable driver said their destination was too far for that. An end appeared near as a Subaru station wagon sped toward the stalled bus at one intersection. “I yelled, ‘Brace for impact!’” said publishing consultant Fran Zankowski, one of about a dozen passengers. But the brief game of chicken ended favorably, and the bus glided safely to the museum’s drive. The hot and bothered passengers took solace in their cocktails while plotting their ride home.

-Monica Leas

Michael Schwarz and Michael King of Austin Chronicle may be getting sucked into the vortex - or they might be standing in front of a painting.

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