Phoenix New Times

Infobox Newspaper
name = Phoenix New Times


caption =
type = Alternative weekly
format = Tabloid
foundation = 1970
ceased publication =
price =
owners = Village Voice Media
publisher = Kurtis Barton
editor = Rick Barrs
language =
circulation = 111,408 [cite web |url=http://aan.org/alternative/Aan/ViewCompany?oid=oid%3A72 |title=Phoenix New Times |accessdate=2007-02-20 |publisher=Association of Alternative Newsweeklies ]
headquarters = 1201 E. Jefferson
Phoenix, AZ 85034
USA
ISSN =
website = [http://phoenixnewtimes.com/ phoenixnewtimes.com]

The "Phoenix New Times" is a free, weekly Phoenix, Arizona newspaper, put out every Thursday. It is the founding publication of the New Times Media (now Village Voice Media), but "The Village Voice" is now the flagship publication of that company.

The paper was founded in 1970 by a group of students at Arizona State University, led by Michael Lacey and later, Jim Larkin as a counterculture response to the Kent State shootings in the spring of that year. Gary Brennan played a role in its creation.

Not only does the paper cover Phoenix and Arizona news issues, it also provides reviews of local restaurants, theater, art exhibits and Hollywood motion picture releases, and provides a listing of various concerts for all genres of music. It also features nationally syndicated relationship advice columnist Dan Savage. Every year, the New Times puts out a "Best of" issue, highlighting the best in restaurants, Nightclubs, shops, and the like in Phoenix.

In April 2008, Michael Lacey came under some criticism for using a racially charged word. While accepting the President's Award at an Arizona chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, Lacey used the "N" word to refer to an old friend. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Michael Lacey Causes Controversy While Accepting SPJ Award
url=http://aan.org/news/michael_lacey_causes_controversy_while_accepting_spj_award/Aan/ViewArticle?oid=207693 |work= |publisher= |date= |accessdate=2008-04-20 ] [cite news |first= Dennis |last= Welch |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Editor sorry for using “n-word” during speech |url=http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/113250 |work= |publisher=East Valley Tribune |date=2008-04-07 |accessdate=2008-04-20 ]

Arrest controversy

In October 2007, Maricopa County sheriff's deputies arrested Lacey and Larkin on charges of revealing secret grand jury information concerning the investigations of the "New Times"'s long-running feud with Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio. In July 2004, the New Times had published Arpaio's home address in the context of a story about his real estate dealings, which the County Attorney's office is investigating as a possible crime under Arizona state law. A special prosecutor served Village Voice Media with a subpoena ordering it to produce "all documents" related to the original real estate article, as well as "all Internet web site traffic information" to a number of articles that mentioned Arpaio. The prosecutor further ordered Village Voice Media to produce the IP addresses of all visitors to the Phoenix New Times website since January 1, 2004, as well as which websites those readers had been to prior to visiting. As an act of "civil disobedience," [Citation
url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/2007-10-18/news/breathtaking-abuse-of-the-constitution/1
title=Breathtaking Abuse of the Constitution
date=October 18, 2007
author= Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin
publisher=Phoenix New Times
accessdate=2007-10-20] Lacey and Larkin published the contents of the subpoena on or around October 18, which resulted in their arrests the same day. [ [http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1019newtimes1019.html# Sheriff's deputies arrest New Times owners.] ] On the following day, the county attorney dropped the case after declining to pursue charges against the two. [Citation
url=http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003661135
title=No Charges for Execs Arrested in 'Phoenix Times' Case
date=October 20, 2007
author= Associated Press
publisher=Editor & Publisher
accessdate=2007-10-20]

Prosecutors charge that the "New Times" had published Arpaio's personal home address, a crime in Arizona. The special prosecutor's subpoena included a demand for the names of all people who had read the Arpaio story on the newspaper's website. It was the revealing of the subpoena information by the "New Times" which led to the arrests. [cite news |first= David |last= Carr |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Media Executives Arrested in Phoenix |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/19/business/media/19cnd-arrest.html?bl&ex=1192939200&en=28947383a6d6c21c&ei=5087%0A |work= |publisher=The New York Times |date=2007-10-19 |accessdate=2007-10-20 ] Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has dropped the charges less than 24 hours after the two were arrested. [cite news |first= Robert |last= Anglen |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Amid uproar, county attorney drops charges against 'New Times' |url=http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1020newtimes1020.html |work= |publisher=The Arizona Republic |date=2007-10-20 |accessdate=2007-10-20 ]

In the weeks following the arrest, members of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies, which the Phoenix New Times are a part of, provided links on their websites to places where Arpaio's address could be found. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Action Taken in Solidarity with Phoenix New Times |url=http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18959063&BRD=1395&PAG=461&dept_id=216613&rfi=6 |work= |publisher=Ithaca Times |date=2007-10-26 |accessdate=2008-08-03 ] This was done to show solidarity with the the Phoenix New Times.

In February 2008 the paper filed a formal notice of claim, which is required by Arizona law in order to sue government officials. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Phoenix New Times Files Prelude to Lawsuit in Grand Jury Probe Fiasco |url=http://aan.org/news/phoenix_new_times_files_prelude_to_lawsuit_in_grand_jury_probe_fiasco/Aan/ViewArticle?oid=204813 |work= |publisher=Association of Alternative Weeklies |date=2008-02-21 |accessdate=2008-03-15 ] [cite news |first= Michael |last= Kiefer |authorlink= |coauthors= |title='New Times' executives intend to sue Maricopa County over arrest |url=http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0220newtimes0221.html |work= |publisher=The Arizona Republic |date=2008-02-21 |accessdate=2008-03-15 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/ "Phoenix New Times" official site]
* [http://www.newtimes.com/ New Times]
* [http://villagevoicemedia.com/profiles_phx.html Village Voice Media's subsidiary profile of the "Phoenix New Times"]