AAN News
AAN Announces New AltWeeklies.com Application for iPhone Users
AAN has developed a special application for iPhone users (iphone.altweeklies.com), which displays AltWeeklies.com headlines and links to AAN member papers' content. While the application was specifically developed for the iPhone, it works on other mobile devices as well.
(FULL STORY)
AAN Staff |
09-07-2007 12:59 pm |
Association News
AAN Issues White Paper on Online Event Listings
The paper was written by Todd Stauffer, publisher of AAN member Jackson Free Press, and includes “best practices” and other materials from his highly rated presentation on the same subject earlier this year at the AAN convention in Portland.
The paper also features additional material, including a survey of event-listings application vendors. A single copy of the report was mailed today to every AAN-member publisher.
AAN Staff |
09-06-2007 5:08 pm |
Association News
AAN Announces Conference Schedule for 2008
The annual convention will be held in Philadelphia on June 5-7, with the Philadelphia City Paper hosting the event. In an unusual arrangement, the association will host back-to-back conferences this winter in San Francisco, with a Web Publishing Conference on Jan. 30-Feb. 1, and AAN West on Feb. 1-2. And in addition to the Alternative Journalism Writing and Design Workshop to be held in Evanston, Ill. on Aug. 15-16, AAN will organize a Publishers Conference for the first time in 2008, date and location still TBD.
(FULL STORY)
AAN Staff |
09-05-2007 3:53 pm |
Association News
Redesign Begins at AltWeeklies.com
As part of a larger redesign and graphic overhaul of the site to be revealed later this year, we've made some initial changes to AltWeeklies.com:
In addition to cutting down on clutter in certain sections, these changes also mark the first step towards a modified folksonomy for organizing the information on the site.
- The "Movies" section is now "Movies+TV" and TV stories have been moved there from the "Culture" section.
- Food and Drink stories now have their own "Food+Drink" section.
- The "Politics" section has been resurrected.
- The "Opinion" section, on the other hand, has been eliminated, and its contents have all been shifted to other sections.
In addition to cutting down on clutter in certain sections, these changes also mark the first step towards a modified folksonomy for organizing the information on the site.
AAN Staff |
08-29-2007 4:31 pm |
Association News
Alt-Weeklies Investigate the Murder of Indy Journalist Brad Will
Twenty-four alt-weeklies will publish a story this week investigating the murder of independent video journalist Brad Will and the apparent cover-up by Mexican authorities. The story, commissioned by AAN, was reported by John Ross, a veteran journalist and author of eight books examining Mexican politics, and edited by the San Francisco Bay Guardian. While those who fired shots at Will are easily identified in the footage he took of his own death, as well as in contemporaneous photographs of the scene, they have not been brought to justice. Ross's story identifies the likely perpetrators as Mexican law enforcement officials associated with the Party of the Institutional Revolution, or PRI. "Who Killed Brad Will?" marks the sixth editorial project commissioned by AAN.
(FULL STORY)
Association of Alternative Newsweeklies Press Release |
08-08-2007 12:00 pm |
Association News
Tags: Editorial, Management
AAN Distributes White Paper on Public Affairs Advertising
Alternative newsweeklies have always struggled to attract their fair share of political, public affairs and nonprofit advertising. Earlier this year, AAN commissioned a study by Fenton Communications -- the Washington, D.C.-based communications firm that represents MoveOn.org, Save Darfur, Rock the Vote, People for the American Way, and a host of other progressive organizations -- to find out why. The results of their research were mailed today to AAN publishers. While Fenton doesn't sugarcoat the problems alt-weeklies face in the political advertising space, they do offer several ideas about how we can improve our position. In the coming months, AAN will work on a number of action items contained in the report.
AAN |
08-02-2007 6:11 pm |
Association News
AAN Releases 2007 Convention Survey Results [members only]
AAN Staff |
08-01-2007 12:44 pm |
Association News
Today is Early Registration Deadline for Medill Conferencenew
Friday, July 27 is the deadline for early registration and hotel rates for the Alternative Journalism Workshop for Writers and Designers to be held Aug. 10-11 in Evanston, Ill. Speakers include Poynter writing coach Chip Scanlan, journalist-author Alex Kotlowitz and Visual Editors' Robb Montgomery, and for the first time ever, the conference will include a separate program for design staff. Lunch and dinner on Saturday are included in the $75 AAN member early-registration rate.
AAN |
07-26-2007 7:20 pm |
Association News
AAN Adds 'Members Only' Content to Website
The little red "A" logo you see next to today's AAN News story on the Austin Chronicle means the full text of that story is available only to AAN members. Every so often, we'll use that designation to highlight features we've developed specifically for AAN members that you won't find anywhere else.
AAN Staff |
07-23-2007 11:54 am |
Association News
Medill Program Announcednew
Chip Scanlan, Alex Kotlowitz, Michael Tisserand and several members of the AAN Editorial Committee will head the writers' portion of the program at the annual conference, which will be held Aug. 10-11 on the Northwestern University campus in Evanston, Ill. A design track has been added this year as well; Robb Montgomery, Luke Hayman, Lesa Snider King and members of the Design and Production Committee will head that program. The registration fee is $75 for AAN members.
AAN Staff |
07-16-2007 12:47 pm |
Association News
Tags: Design & Production, Editorial
How to Use YouTube, Twitter, Slideshare and Street Boxesnew
Recent posts on AAN's web publishing best practices blog include tips on automatically feeding paper content to Twitter, finding 2.0 trends from top conferences on Slideshare.net, and setting up an easy RSS aggregator to troll for story ideas. Seven Days online editor Cathy Resmer makes her AAN-blogging debut, contributing a post on finding and using local content on YouTube, sharing stories found online that made their way into the paper. In addition, a detailed overview of NOW's recent Box Design Challenge is featured, along with tips on Managing Your Digital Professional Identity.
AAN Staff |
07-12-2007 2:18 pm |
Association News
Tags: Electronic Publishing
Save the Date: TrAANsformers Invade L.A. on Sept. 20
For the second year in a row, AAN will host a cocktail reception for film-industry clients in Los Angeles this fall. On the heels of the success of last year's "AANtourage," "TrAANsformers" will feature hors d'ouvres, an open bar and entertainment. In addition, party-goers will again have the opportunity to win high-end door prizes donated by AAN members. Each AAN member may send a maximum of two representatives, and pre-registration is required. For more information or to reserve a spot,
contact Roxanne Cooper at rcooper (at) aan.org or 202-289-8484.
(FULL STORY)
AAN Staff |
07-11-2007 10:57 am |
Association News
Farewell PortlAANd 2007, We Hardly Knew Yenew
Representing 90 AAN member papers and many non-members as well, 588 alties converged on Portland last weekend for a rousing 30th annual AAN Convention. There were senators, strip club tours, former US attorneys, marching bands, scores of informative sessions, and, of course, parties galore. If you missed it, or if you just want to relive your treasured memories, you can always head over to the first-ever official convention blog, which now features blog posts by convention attendees and AAN staff, as well as links to the many folks who wrote about the confab for their own papers or websites. If you've seen coverage we're missing, you can e-mail editor (at) aan.org.
PortlAANd 2007 |
06-22-2007 11:51 am |
Association News
Save the Date: Alternative Journalism Workshop Aug. 10 -11
Held at the Medill School of Journalism, AAN's reporter training focuses on alt-weekly-centric issues, including innovative ways to cover news and arts, as well as fresh looks at narrative storytelling. The annual workshop has expanded to include sessions for design and production staff, such as time-saving tricks for Creative Suite 3 and how to design ads for the web. Registration for members is $75 until July 27. Nonmembers can register for $150. The Hotel Orrington will provide accommodations for a special fee of $119 per night.
(FULL STORY)
AAN Staff |
06-21-2007 6:49 pm |
Association News
Tags: Design & Production, Editorial
Former US Attorney David Iglesias: 'Loyalty Has Limits'
At Saturday's First Amendment Luncheon, the former federal prosecutor for New Mexico who helped sparked the scandal presently engulfing U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the Bush Administration discussed loyalty, politics, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) with Santa Fe Reporter editor Julia Goldberg. "I'm still processing the damage that could be done to the rule of law [by the administration]," he said. Among other things, Iglesias also said that John Ashcroft's staff at the DOJ was older and more experienced than Gonzales', and that Gonzales led a shift in the department from "working for the people" to "working for the White House." We have three video clips available from the luncheon. Part one is embedded below; part two can be found here, and part three, here. MORE: Read bloggers' reactions to the Iglesias' speech at the convention blog.
PortlAANd 2007 |
06-20-2007 3:25 pm |
Association News
