PAPERBOY: Slow-Jamming The Alt-Weeklies

BY DAVE ALLEN Like time, news waits for no man. Keeping up with the funny papers has always been an all-day job, even in the pre-Internets era. These days, however, it’s a two-man job. That’s right, these days you need someone to do your reading for you, or risk falling hopelessly behind and, as a result, increasing your chances of dying lonely and somewhat bitter. That’s why every week PAPERBOY does your alt-weekly reading for you. We pore over those time-consuming cover stories and give you the takeaway, suss out the cover art, warn you off the ink-wasters and steer […]

WHAT HE SAID: Cracking The Nutcracker

EDITOR’S NOTE: Footage from Wednesday’s press conference at the National Press Club wherein conservative muckraker Andre Breitbart, James O’Keefe and Hannah Giles attempt to expose ACORN’s ‘lies’ about what happened in the Philadelphia office. Blogger Mike Stark let’s the air out of their balloon with the three simple questions any responsible reporter should have asked by now — and that includes you, Stu Bykofsky. MEDIA MATTERS: Following the release of what Fox News itself called “heavily edited tape” of conservative James O’Keefe’s visit to a Philadelphia ACORN office, Fox News ran captions stating, “Exposing ACORN: New Video Shows Unlawful Actions.” […]

HOT DOCUMENT: Letter From Obama

Jonathan —  I’m coming to Philadelphia tomorrow, Saturday, October 11th. I’ll be visiting four different neighborhoods and talking to folks about what we can do together to change this country. See the details below and RSVP for the event in your neighborhood. Hope to see you there, Barack P.S. — Here’s the invitation for the event: This Saturday, October 11th, please join Barack Obama for rallies in Philadelphia, where he will talk about his vision for creating the kind of change we need. Change We Need Rallies with Barack Obama Saturday, October 11th Progress Plaza 1501 N. Broad Street Mayfair […]

THAT’S COMCASTIC!: Spectacor Sports Baron Ed Snider Is Funding The Movement To Save The War

So in looking into this so-called Freedom’s Watch, we came across this donor’s list on The Politico, which had a name on it that caught our eye: “The donors include Sembler; Anthony Gioia, a Buffalo businessman who was Bush’s ambassador to Malta; Kevin Moley, who was Bush’s ambassador to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva; Howard Leach, a former Republican National Committee finance chairman who was Bush’s ambassador to France; Dr. John Templeton of Pennsylvania, chairman and president of the John Templeton Foundation; Ed Snider, chairman of Comcast Spectacor, the huge Philadelphia sports and entertainment firm; Sheldon […]

Church Lady Refuses To Do What Jesus Would Do

LOVE BY STU BYKOFSKY OF THE DAILY NEWS Just before tourist season began, the American Family Association of Pennsylvania, in Franklin, tucked into the northwest corner of the state (aka, God’s country) warned people to steer clear of Philly. It was not a formal boycott, says AFAP President Diane Gramley, a pleasant, God-fearing woman. She wanted to spawn what I call a Boycott Lite because the city went “overboard,” she says, to lure gay tourists (aka Sodomites), through advertising to gays, such as the 2004 Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s “Get your history straight and your nightlife gay” TV commercial […]

(THE LAST) STOP THE PRESSES: GUILD Ratifies Contract, Drafts, Passes And Affixes F.U. Resolution Before Sending It Back To THE COMPANY

SGT. BYKO’S FINAL REPORT: After the questions subsided and a motion was approved to start the vote, another motion was presented, and approved after some debate. That motion ?instructs the Local 10 Executive Board to discuss – and pass — a resolution saying the following: ?1- Because of their tight-fisted, slash-and-burn, anti-labor tactics, we have NO CONFIDENCE in the new owners? actual desire to publish great newspapers ?2- Because of the new owners? recent record of poor business decisions, which includes hiring executives while promising layoffs of union workers, we have NO FAITH in their desire to treat employees with […]

DON’T STOP THE PRESSES: Guild And Company Reach Agreement, There Will Be No Strike, Repeat THE STRIKE HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO LACK OF INTEREST ALL AROUND, Back To Same As It Ever Was

JUST IN FROM ATTYTOOD: The Newspaper Guild and the owners of the Daily News and Inquirer reached a tentative contract agreement minutes ago, averting a newspaper strike here in Philly…assuming the contract is ratified by union members (never a slam dunk). I know nothing of the details, although I imagine Steve Volk will figure it out soon. The upshot is you still have Attytood to kick around — aren’t you glad? GUILD PDF: NO STRIKE PREVIOUSLY: A Strike Would Be ‘Mutual Suicide’ SGT BYKO REPORTS: The Guild and the PN reached a tentative agreement on all issues at 10:15 p.m. […]

Stop The Presses: It’s Official, Philebrity Is Megaphone Of THE MAN, Phawker Is Soapbox Of THE PEOPLE

Breaking: Tierney Speaks To PN Rank & File, Makes Stunning Use Of Bold Italics December 7, 2006 To: PN Employees From: Brian Tierney An Open Letter to Employees: At the very beginning of negotiations with our unions, I said that I would treat our discussions with confidentiality and respect, and not negotiate in public. However, with all the rhetoric going around, I feel we must separate some facts from fiction. Let me highlight a few examples. We are not proposing to take away anyone’s pension benefit. The Pension Fund is federally guaranteed. We are only proposing to no longer make […]

Stop The Presses: MEXICAN STANDOFF After Talks Breakdown Over Pension Fund Deal-Breaker, From The Look Of Things Christmas May Have To Be Cancelled

SGT. BYKO REPORTS: Today, the Company refused to move on its plan to freeze the pension fund. It wouldn’t budge on its desire to take full control of our fund away from the joint board of trustees. The Company wants all that power as it, and it alone, seeks a multi-employer plan in which to place the frozen fund. The Guild negotiating team told the Company it would go into a multi-employer pension fund, but it would not relinquish its place in the decision making process. Under the Guild plan, the pension trustees — composed of an equal number of […]

STOP THE PRESSES: 457 Articles About THE STRIKE Add Up To A LOT Of Dead Trees And Not Much News

Taken as mash-up, the incompleteness of this moment, repeated over and over again, is actually quite hypnotic and we find it helps to pass the time until some actual news happens, here you try… Papers, Union Continue Contract Talks Houston Chronicle — United States – 7 hours ago WASHINGTON POST By JOANN LOVIGLIO AP Writer. — 2006 AP. PHILADELPHIA — The largest union at Philadelphia’s two biggest newspapers resumed contract … Philly Papers, Union Talks to Continue Forbes, NY — 19 hours ago By DEBORAH YAO 12.03.06, 1:58 AM ET. The largest union at Philadelphia’s two biggest newspapers reported some progress […]

STOP THE PRESSES: Let The Measuring of The Circumference Of Each Side’s Sack Commence

THIS JUST IN FROM SGT. BYKO: CWA BOARD APPROVES GUILD STRIKE AS BARGAINING CONTINUES The Communications Workers of America executive board has authorized International President Larry Cohen to call a strike at The Inquirer and Daily News if the local bargaining committee believes talks have broken down and there is no alternative. Local President Henry J. Holcomb was informed of the our parent union?s decision by James J. Short, CWA district vice president for Pennsylvania (District 13), and Linda K. Foley, the Guild’s international president. Holcomb received the news at a meeting in Short’s Center City office with Foley participating […]

Stop The Presses: HANDICAPPING THE HANDICAPPED or So Fucked I Can’t Believe It

IF THEY SETTLE: The ownership will have expended all goodwill and local-boys-make-good political capital earned from buying the Inky/DN out of Knight-Ridder indentured servitude and now leads a dispirited and mutinous newsroom aboard a creaking wooden ship into the darkening seas of print journalism’s final voyage, hoping against hope that the scout team sent to Online Island returns with news of a place to dock, potable water and low-hanging fruit that can sustain the captain and crew into the sunset of senescence. IF THEY STRIKE: Guild puts out online paper and really gets the hang of this Web content thing […]

STOP THE PRESSES: And Fire Up The Internets, There’s A New Paper In Town And You Can’t Read It On The Can

From Sgt. Byko’s Lips To Our Ears: Guild And The Company are in FINAL bargaining meeting, could last an hour, could last 48 hours, but if THE STRIKE comes: Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News staffers to launch competing online paper if workers strike By Associated Press Wednesday, November 29, 2006 – Updated: 08:14 AM EST PHILADELPHIA – The largest union at Philadelphia’s two biggest daily newspapers is planning to launch\ an online newspaper to compete with the company Web site if workers go on strike after midnight on Thursday. Employees from The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News would contribute local […]