AAN News
Three AAN Papers Honored in Greater Bay Area Journalism Awardsnew
In the 31st annual awards competition, sponsored by the San Francisco Peninsula Press Club, the Palo Alto Weekly, SF Weekly, and San Francisco Bay Guardian all took home awards in the Newspapers: Non-Dailies division. Palo Alto Weekly -- and its online home, PaloAltoOnline.com -- won a total of nine awards, including first-place finishes in Analysis, Entertainment Review, and Page Design. The paper also finished in a second-place tie with SF Weekly for General Excellence. Speaking of the Weekly, it took home a total of four awards, including firsts in Sports Story and Technology Story, where it shared first place with the Bay Guardian. The Guardian also took home four awards total, with that shared first in Technology Story, plus firsts in Columns-News/Political and News Story.
San Francisco Peninsula Press Club |
06-10-2008 8:13 am |
Honors & Achievements
Los Angeles CityBeat Undergoes Makeover on its Fifth Anniversarynew
The paper will unveil a new design, logo and lineup of columns and features when it hits stands this week, LA Observed reports. Changes include: Content from Wonkette, a biweekly Neal Pollack column on sports, the return of editor Rebecca Schoenkopf's Commie Girl column, and a weekly news-in-review column from recently departed editor Steve Lowery. The redesign was overseen by new art director Paul Takizawa (formerly of LA Weekly), and CityBeat is throwing a celebratory party this Friday.
LA Observed |
06-10-2008 7:47 am |
Industry News
Village Voice Staff Writer Michael Feingold's Play Opens in New York
Japanoir previews Friday, June 6th and Saturday, June 7th; opening Sunday, June 8th in the
(FULL STORY)
Village Voice Press Release |
06-10-2008 7:58 am |
Press Releases
Four New Member Papers Admitted into AAN
After a vigorous and sometimes philosophical discussion of media ownership and the changing media landscape, AAN members approved four of the 11 membership applications that were considered during the association's annual meeting on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia. City Pulse (Lansing, Mich.), Fast Forward (Calgary, Alberta), Hawaii Island Journal (Hilo, Hawaii) and Las Vegas CityLife (Las Vegas, Nev.) were each welcomed into the association. Members also voted to affirm the continuing membership of five papers whose ownership had changed in 2007.
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
06-09-2008 9:55 am |
Association News
AAN and Medill Announce AltWeekly Awards Winners
At the 13th annual AltWeekly Awards luncheon in Philadelphia on Saturday, no one paper left with the lion's share of first-place awards. L.A. Weekly led the large-circulation division with three first-place awards, including wins for Jeffrey Anderson for Investigative Reporting and Nikki Finke for both Media Reporting/Criticism and Blog. And among the smaller papers, The Texas Observer led with three top prizes for Nate Blakeslee's investigative reporting, Jake Bernstein's long-form news and a special section dedicated to the late Molly Ivins.
(FULL STORY)
AAN Staff |
06-07-2008 7:21 pm |
Honors & Achievements
Tags: Design & Production, Editorial
The Village Voice's Tom Robbins Wins New York Press Club Awardnew
Robbins won in the Continuing Coverage category for newspapers for his story that that questioned key testimony of a star witness against Lindley DeVecchio, a former FBI agent accused of helping the mob commit murder. The story, "Tall Tales of a Mafia Mistress," got Robbins subpoenaed by both the defense and prosecution in the case. Robbins and other winners will be honored at a formal dinner on June 16. A full list of winners can be found on the NY Press Club's site.
The Village Voice Press Release (PDF file) |
06-06-2008 9:43 am |
Honors & Achievements
Honolulu Weekly Names New Editornew
Ragnar Carlson, who formerly worked as a staff writer and later news editor at the paper from 2004 to 2005, replaces Mindy Pennybacker, an environmental journalist who took over the alternative newspaper's reins in January, Pacific Business News reports. Carlson is no relation to Honolulu Weekly Publisher Laurie Carlson.
Pacific Business News |
06-06-2008 8:55 am |
Industry News
Correction: Membership Committee Recommendations Included an Error
There was a significant error in the 2008 Membership Committee Recommendations posted to AAN.org last week. The Membership Committee did not recommend that the membership of Metro Pulse of Knoxville, Tenn., be affirmed. Metro Pulse was acquired by E.W. Scripps, a media company that owns the daily newspaper, business newspaper, Knoxville Magazine, and other publications in the Knoxville market. Per the AAN bylaws, ownership of member papers must reflect and advance the following values of the association:
The committee feels that Metro Pulse's new ownership situation is not in line with the bylaws and therefore does not recommend the paper for affirmation, and the committee's report has been amended as such.
- Competitive editorial and business environment, especially within local markets
- A multiplicity and diversity of media voices
- Independence from media conglomerates or other entities deemed detrimental to the interest of the alternative press and the maintenance of media diversity.
The committee feels that Metro Pulse's new ownership situation is not in line with the bylaws and therefore does not recommend the paper for affirmation, and the committee's report has been amended as such.
AAN |
06-05-2008 3:39 pm |
Association News
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Texas Observer Executive Editor Heads to ProPublicanew
ProPublica, "a non-profit newsroom producing journalism in the public interest" founded by former Wall Street Journal managing editor Paul Steiger last October, has hired Jake Bernstein as a reporter, according to a press release. Bernstein has been with the Observer since 2002, and before that, he worked at Miami New Times. In the same release, ProPublica announced another AAN-alum hire: Former San Francisco Bay Guardian and SF Weekly staff writer A.C. Thompson has also been hired as a reporter.
ProPublica Press Release (PDF file) |
06-05-2008 8:20 am |
Industry News
Washington City Paper's Dave Jamieson Wins Livingston Awardnew
Jamieson, a former City Paper staff writer, has just won the Livingston Award for his May 2007 investigative account and narrative about serial arsonist, "Letters From an Arsonist." The Livingston Awards are limited to journalists under the age of 35, are the largest all-media, general-reporting prizes in the country, and come with a $10,000 prize. "The story is a testament to what journalism can do and should do more often. In this era of cutbacks and imperatives to blog!blog!blog! Jamieson proved that journalism is still best served by expert reporting and expert writing," writes City Paper's Jason Cherkis. "If you want a textbook case of why this publication should still matter to District residents and its owners down south, this is it." See the full list of Livingston winners here.
Washington City Paper |
06-05-2008 8:06 am |
Honors & Achievements
Alt-Weekly Editors Talk About the State of the Industrynew
In this week's editor's note welcoming AAN folks to this year's Convention, Philadelphia Weekly editor Tim Whitaker looks at what's sure to be a much-discussed topic this weekend: the state of the alt-weekly business. "In the alt world, editorial staffs are small and getting smaller," he writes. "Not only must a winning online blueprint be conceived and executed with shrinking resources, but great attention must be paid to what is still, for the moment, the nest egg -- the weekly newspaper." He talks to alt-weekly editors from around the country, many of whom have recently seen their editorial staffs drastically cut -- some in half. But even though many staffs are being asked to do more with even less, the editors Whitaker talks to aren't all pessimistic about the future of the industry, and many of them have specific prescriptions. And as professional journalists, we're reminded, the situation could be far worse: We could be in the daily newspaper industry. "We write for intelligent readers," says Village Voice editor Tony Ortega. "Dailies cater to people who don't like to read. Look at the way they're written."
Philadelphia Weekly |
06-04-2008 9:08 am |
Industry News
L.A. Weekly Film Critic Tapped for Sydney Film Festival Jurynew
The Weekly's Scott Foundas will join Jury president Gillian Armstrong, Hong Kong producer Nansun Shi and Iranian director/writer/producer Majid Majidi, and Australian actress Essie Davis in determining the winner of the Sydney Film Prize for new directions in film at the 55th Sydney Film Festival, set to take place June 4-22.
Sydney Film Festival Press Release |
06-04-2008 8:51 am |
Honors & Achievements
Former Editor of Las Vegas CityLife Returns as Publishernew
Geoff Schumacher, a former editor of CityLife and parent company Stephens Media LLC's director of community publications, has been named CityLife's new publisher, effective May 21. The paper is applying for AAN membership this year.
Las Vegas CityLife |
06-03-2008 4:42 pm |
Industry News
Village Voice Sex Columnist Has New Booknew
Tristan Taormino's Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships, which "gives practical advice on how to create responsible, fulfilling, non-monogamous relationships," was released last month by Cleis Press. The "Pucker Up" columnist tells Adult Video News the book is for anyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, who is interested in open relationships. "Monogamy, marriage, and cheating are among the most talked-about issues in society today," Taormino says. "When I began this book, I was interested to find out how people in non-monogamous relationships make those relationships work-how they design their relationships, what issues they face, and what makes them tick." She is currently on the West Coast leg of her Astroglide-sponsored book tour -- check her site for complete tour dates.
Adult Video News |
06-03-2008 10:36 am |
Industry News
AAN Members Win 38 Pacific Northwest SPJ Awardsnew
The winners of the 2007 Society of Professional Journalists' Pacific Northwest Excellence in Journalism Awards were announced on Saturday night, and dozens of awards went to four alt-weeklies. Seattle Weekly led the way with 15 awards, including a total of eight first-place finishes in the Business, Education, Government, Investigative, Lifestyle, Science and Health, Special Section, and Sports categories. The Pacific Northwest Inlander took home 12 awards, including four first-place wins in the Consumer/Environmental Affairs, Humor, Page Design, and Social Issues categories. Eugene Weekly also won seven awards, and the Missoula Independent took home four.
Society of Professional Journalists Region 10 |
06-03-2008 8:55 am |
Honors & Achievements
