AAN News
Jeffrey C. Billman and J. J. Marley: Slicing Pie-in-the-Sky
Tired of political rhetoric that went unchallenged, the Orlando Weekly team of Jeffrey C. Billman and J.J. Marley set about creating an annotated version of a speech by the mayor. Their format-busting work earned them an AltWeekly Award, even though Marley was rooting for a different issue to be entered. This is the 33rd in a "How I Got That Story" series highlighting the AltWeekly Awards' first-place winners.
(FULL STORY)
Marty Levine |
01-12-2006 2:23 pm |
Association News
An Informal Survey of Alt-Weekly Sponsored Events
Willamette Week's "Candidates Gone Wild!" (pictured) offers an interesting twist on the traditional newspaper-sponsored political debate. It also helps to promote the paper as a "source for uncensored, pull-no-punches coverage of politics and elective office," says editor Mark Zusman. His paper is just one of many in AAN that regularly host local events that raise their profile, define their brand and, perhaps, increase ad revenue and readership.
(FULL STORY)
Marty Levine |
07-20-2005 6:07 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Marketing
Gannett Creates Free-Paper Distribution Company in Greenville
TDN was launched last year by the local Gannett daily, The Greenville News, and now controls about 400 retail locations in the area. Many of those retailers had previously distributed now-defunct AAN member MetroBeat for free, but when TDN took over, MetroBeat was forced out, making way for Gannett's faux-alt Link, and several other free publications. Alt-weeklies across the country are increasingly facing similar exclusive rack programs operated by large companies like Trader and DistribuTech. Marty Levine reports on how some AAN papers are working around -- or making the most of -- the arrangement.
(FULL STORY)
Marty Levine |
04-22-2005 6:06 pm |
Industry News
Latino Coverage Is Crucial for Many Alt-Weeklies
According to the latest U.S. census, Latinos are now the country's largest
minority group. With this in mind, the question of how alt-weeklies serve
this important segment of the population becomes one of increased urgency. Marty Levine reports for AAN News on how papers from Miami, Fla., to Columbus, Ohio, to Orange County, Calif., are addressing the issue of Latino coverage in their area. It may surprise no one that, for each paper, the questions
-- as well as the answers -- are unique to the community they serve.
(FULL STORY)
Marty Levine |
06-15-2004 6:06 pm |
Industry News
Freelancers Help Determine Quality of AAN Papers
Alternative newsweeklies may fill more than half of their editorial space each week with contributions from freelancers. But how do editors go about finding the writers who are willing to work erratic hours for modest pay and yet are professional enough to deliver prose that not only comes in on time but sings? Writer Marty Levine collects the wisdom of several AAN editors who explain how they found their best freelancers, how they keep them content and what pitfalls to avoid.
(FULL STORY)
Marty Levine |
04-12-2004 10:39 am |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial
AAN Publishers Seek Best Way to Identify Readers
Potential advertisers in alternative newsweeklies want to know not only how many people their promotions will reach but what types of people. How old? How educated? How rich? To supply answers, publishers of AAN papers rely on firms that do market comparisons and readership surveys. But, sometimes, research techniques don't quite deliver what publishers are looking for.
(FULL STORY)
Marty Levine |
02-23-2004 3:35 pm |
Industry News
Alt-Weekly Video Game Coverage Still in Incipient Stages
With half of all Americans pulling on joysticks
and the game industry topping both music and
film in total receipts, video games might seem
ripe for regular review by AAN papers. But
an informal survey conducted by AAN News reveals
fewer than a dozen regular columns focused on
video games, and more editors and publishers with
reasons not to attempt it. "Games have yet to seep
into the cultural consciousness and become part of
the daily language as movies have," says Village
Voice "Joystick" columnist Nick Catucci. "But
that's changing."
(FULL STORY)
Marty Levine |
09-07-2003 4:03 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial
Applicants Brace for Admissions Committee's Report
The AAN Admissions Committee's often barbed recommendation report to the members will be released during the June 5-8 AAN Convention, giving thumbs up or down to the 12 papers applying for admission this year. Last year's report, which included such memorable digs as "this paper should be taken out back and shot," is still causing a stir a year later. Several members tell AAN News they plan to temper their written remarks this year.
(FULL STORY)
Marty Levine |
05-08-2003 2:24 pm |
Industry News
Impact Weekly Now Dayton City Paper
A name change and other moves for the Dayton, Ohio, alt-weekly are designed to attract new readers, recover the old and stabilize the bottom line, Publisher Kerry Farley tells AAN News. Among the changes are a renewed focus on suburban issues and a more conservative editorial voice designed to appeal to suburban movers and shakers, Farley says. "It's better to be in a room full of people making decisions than outside with a picket sign," he says.
(FULL STORY)
Marty Levine |
04-08-2003 1:32 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Dayton City Paper, Kerry Farley
Former Alt-Weekly Publishers Form Dragonfly
Ron Williams and Monte Paulsen, former publishers of Metro Times and Casco Bay Weekly, respectively, have gone New Age with their new venture, Dragonfly. The company they operate part time owns small magazines in Chicago, Los Angeles and Vancouver. "When many of us started alternative weeklies, we spent three or four nights a week out listening to music and drinking beer," Paulsen tells AAN News. "I loved this part of my life. I’m very rarely out that late anymore. I probably spend more of those hours in meditation, yoga."
(FULL STORY)
Marty Levine |
01-28-2003 5:36 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Monte Paulsen
CBW's Early Days Recalled
Casco Bay Weekly's
co-founders, Monte Paulsen and
Gary Santaniello, mourn the closure of
the alternative newsweekly they opened
in 1988. "It was glorious,"
Paulsen says of the early days in
Portland, Maine, when the staff delivered
the paper by themselves and the
photographer worked in the staff
bathroom. The paper closed Nov. 21,
unable to stem financial losses
and fight off competition from the Portland
Phoenix.
(FULL STORY)
Marty Levine |
11-26-2002 2:40 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Management, Casco Bay Weekly
