AAN News
East Bay Express Publisher Talks Distribution Strategy
Jody Colley left her position as advertising director at the San Francisco Bay Guardian to become publisher of the East Bay Express when the paper was sold by Village Voice Media to local investors in May 2007. Since then, the Express has been working on a variety of distribution-related changes: Introducing graffiti-painted art racks, fighting newspaper theft by hiring a private eye, and trying to distribute a higher percentage of papers indoors. Express president Hal Brody has even patented a system that prevents people from taking more than a few papers out of a news box at a time. Colley recently talked to AAN News about these and other developments. For more from Jody Colley, check out her Q&A with newspaper consultant Terry Garrett on his blog.
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AAN News |
09-26-2008 4:20 pm |
Industry News
Birmingham Weekly Publisher Talks About His Weekly Card Program
This innovative program came to be after the young paper was having trouble selling restaurant ads for actual cash -- most establishments simply wanted to trade for food. Those meals are now sold via the Weekly Card, which is a sort of credit card for local businesses. Members pay the Weekly a flat fee of $24.95 when they sign up for a card, and then receive 40 percent off retail price at the participating businesses. Users can then add credit to the cards as they wish. Publisher Chuck Leishman recently talked to AAN News about the program's origins, its success, and his plans for other markets.
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AAN News |
07-23-2008 1:45 pm |
Industry News
Adding Online Video to the Sales Toolkit
In November, the Sacramento News & Review launched its Face to Face Video Ad project. The ads, which have also been rolled out at the company's paper in Chico and will soon hit its Reno paper, are serious, in-depth recorded interviews with vendors about their products and services. News & Review president and CEO Jeff von Kaenel says the idea was inspired by a vacation to India with his teenage daughter, who was shooting and editing video of the trip. "The video technology had gotten so easy to use," he says, it got him thinking about how the paper could take advantage of the technological leaps. So far, the initial reaction to the project has been promising, according to Susan Cooper, sales development manager at the Sacramento paper. In this Q&A with AAN News, she talks in more detail about the project.
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AAN News |
01-28-2008 8:47 am |
Industry News
East Bay Express Reaches Out to Graffiti Artists
Taking a cue from friends at the Sacramento News & Review, last month the Express launched "Urban Express-ions," a project that hopes to "pre-graffiti" distribution boxes by inviting local artists to adorn them with spray paint. The paper put out a call for artists, held a "painting day" in it's parking lot, and then displayed the results in a prominent Oakland gallery before putting the news boxes back on the street. "Instead of being blighted, we want these to be community art," says publisher Jody Colley, who spoke to AAN News with account manager Mary Younkin about the project. "We have new ownership at the Express and we really want to connect to the artist community more than we have in the past. This is kind of our first project doing that."
BONUS: Check out a video of the painting day below.
(FULL STORY)
BONUS: Check out a video of the painting day below.
(FULL STORY)
AAN News |
10-10-2007 12:11 pm |
Industry News
