AAN News
Should AAN Allow Online-Only Publications to Become Members?
At a town hall meeting during AAN's Toronto Convention, members will discuss the possibility of allowing online-only publications to apply for AAN membership and give them a chance to prove they can pass the same rigorous screening that print publication applicants go through.
Such a change would require only a minor tweak in the organization’s bylaws, but it would nevertheless be a dramatic move for AAN.
READ MORE (FULL STORY)
Such a change would require only a minor tweak in the organization’s bylaws, but it would nevertheless be a dramatic move for AAN.
READ MORE (FULL STORY)
AAN |
06-18-2010 11:07 am |
Association News
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Book by Creative Loafing (Atlanta) Editor Goes International
BMF: The Rise and Fall of Big Meech and the Black Mafia Family, by Creative Loafing (Atlanta) editor Mara Shalhoup, has been picked up by British publishing company Milo Books for distribution in the U.K. The book -- which first appeared in the U.S. this past March -- is based on Shalhoup's three-part series exposing the links between hip-hop label BMF Entertainment and an international cocaine-trafficking network. The series won first place in the Website Content Feature category of the 2007 AltWeekly Awards.
theBookseller.com |
06-17-2010 2:11 pm |
Industry News
Tags: Editorial, Mara Shalhoup
Boston Phoenix Replaces Editor
Phoenix Media has announced that Carly Carioli (pictured) will be replacing Lance Gould as editor of the Boston Phoenix. Former Phoenix staffer (and 2010 AltWeekly Awards judge) Dan Kennedy reports that Carioli will oversee the print and web content of three AAN members: Boston Phoenix, Portland Phoenix, and Providence Phoenix. The change at Phoenix Media comes on the heels of the significant layoffs of top employees last month, which included CFO/COO Richard Gallagher and corporate controller Michael Notkin.
(FULL STORY)
Media Nation |
06-17-2010 6:53 am |
Industry News
Discounted NewsU Webinar on Tools for Mobile Journalists Tomorrow
AAN members will have the opportunity to participate in an online webinar about smart phone apps for journalists in Tools for Mobile Journalists. In this webinar from Poynter's NewsU, you'll learn about the latest tools, apps and sites to help you report and publish your content. The first 25 AAN members to register will pay just $12.95 when using the discount code (you can find it here).
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
06-16-2010 2:06 pm |
Association News
Tags: Editorial, Electronic Publishing
Former L.A. Weekly Editors Launch New Literary Journalnew
Former L.A. Weekly editors Laurie Ochoa and Joe Donnelly are set to release the first issue of Los Angeles based quarterly journal Slake in early July, according to LA Observed. The full color publication will feature narrative journalism, fiction and poetry by several former L.A. Weekly writers, including current food columnist (and Ochoa's husband) Jonathan Gold. In addition, there are plans for a yet to be launched website that "will be one of the first websites designed from scratch to take advantage of the display capabilities of the iPad."
Donnelly left the Weekly in 2008 after his position was eliminated and Ochoa parted ways with the paper last year after holding the editor in chief position for eight years.
Donnelly left the Weekly in 2008 after his position was eliminated and Ochoa parted ways with the paper last year after holding the editor in chief position for eight years.
LA Observed |
06-15-2010 4:22 pm |
Industry News
Toronto Convention: Innovating in Hard Times
Costs have been cut. Page count is down. Morale could be better. How do we do more than survive? This is the focus of the annual convention in Toronto. The shakeup of the past two years has, in many ways, given alt-weeklies the chance of a lifetime -- an opportunity for rebirth and reinvention. This July, in one of the most beautiful cities in North America, industry leaders, big-picture thinkers and plenty of your smart peers will be explaining how to create a blueprint for financial success. You'll learn how to focus and rededicate your company to thrive for the next decades and longer.
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
06-14-2010 2:27 pm |
Association News
Honolulu Weekly Takes it Easier on Ailing Dailiesnew
"Over the last couple of years, Honolulu Weekly has largely abandoned our old habit of taking potshots at the larger papers," editor Ragnar Carlson wrote last week. "We have simply felt that this was not the time to be nit-picking the Advertiser [which ceased publication on June 6], not with a dwindling staff of committed journalists struggling to keep it afloat." While noting that "there is a definite role for media criticism in this community," Carlson says the decision to not attack the daly is "one I feel good about."
Honolulu Weekly |
06-14-2010 11:01 am |
Industry News
Two Alt-Weeklies Pick Up a Dozen Florida SPJ Awardsnew
The Society of Professional Journalists announced the winners of its 2010 Sunshine State Awards earlier this month. Miami New Times won seven awards, including six first-place wins -- in the Light Feature Reporting, Religion Reporting, Medical/Health Care/Science Reporting, Serious Feature Reporting, Food/Beverage Writing and International Reporting categories. Creative Loafing won five awards, including a first-place finish in the Criticism category
Society of Professional Journalists, South Florida Chapter (PDF) |
06-14-2010 10:53 am |
Honors & Achievements
FBI Hassles Seattle Weekly Photographernew
A Weekly photographer who was shooting on the public sidewalk outside a FBI building was confronted with a security guard and four federal agents when he was taking pictures for the paper's cover story this week. "It became pretty stressful -- they weren't interfering with the shoot by blocking us, but they kept asking us questions and at a certain point I said 'Well, I feel pretty intimidated, I think we're done here,'" Steven Miller says.
Seattle Weekly |
06-11-2010 2:26 pm |
Industry News
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) Undergoes Head-to-Toe Redesignnew
This week the paper debuted its drastically redesigned print publication and also rolled out changes to its website. Editor-in-chief Mara Shalhoup says the process began about nine months ago, with questions like "What if we turned the paper into the type of publication that existed only in our imaginations?" and "What was to stop us from rethinking ... everything?" The print overhaul was led by newspaper designer/art director Ron Reason, who goes into detail about the process and the thinking behind a number of decisions in a blog post.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
06-11-2010 2:15 pm |
Industry News
What's Next in SEO?
By now, most publishers have come to terms with the basics of search engine optimization, but don't get too comfortable. Mike Volpe, from web marketing company HubSpot, will be in Toronto to explain the changes to the way in which search engines work. Volpe will give conventioneers tips on how to adapt and optimize your website in order to remain competitive in the future.
As an example, he says, SEO is becoming more time-sensitive and more personal. Google's new search index, Caffeine, just announced this week, will use more "real-time" results, which means that timely news and blog posts, as well as social media status updates, will become increasingly important to maintaining high search visibility. In addition, Volpe says search engines are beginning to use your physical location and search history more, and will eventually move into social search, which adds what your connections like and use to the mix. Many of these developments could bode well for alt-weeklies, which have strong content based around a locality and often have robust social communities. But that won't do you much good if you are falling on the second or third search pages. After Volpe's talk, you should be ready to make changes to your site that will prepare you for the future of SEO.
As an example, he says, SEO is becoming more time-sensitive and more personal. Google's new search index, Caffeine, just announced this week, will use more "real-time" results, which means that timely news and blog posts, as well as social media status updates, will become increasingly important to maintaining high search visibility. In addition, Volpe says search engines are beginning to use your physical location and search history more, and will eventually move into social search, which adds what your connections like and use to the mix. Many of these developments could bode well for alt-weeklies, which have strong content based around a locality and often have robust social communities. But that won't do you much good if you are falling on the second or third search pages. After Volpe's talk, you should be ready to make changes to your site that will prepare you for the future of SEO.
AAN |
06-10-2010 12:37 pm |
Association News
The Pitch Names New Editornew
Current Westword web editor Joe Tone has been named the next editor of The Pitch. He will take over for C.J. Janovy, who is moving on to a communications job at the University of Kansas Medical Center. "I'm just thrilled about getting to Kansas City and getting to work," says Tone, who has also served as the managing editor at Cleveland Scene. "The city is obviously brimming with great stories, and The Pitch newsroom is well armed to tell them. Filling those ass-kicking boots of C.J.'s is going to be no small feat, but I'm looking forward to trying."
The Pitch |
06-09-2010 11:26 am |
Industry News
Who is the Audience of the Alt-Weekly These Days?
When you have a president who not only admits he inhaled but confesses to having used cocaine, it’s time to redefine "alternative," according to Henry Scott. At the Toronto Convention, the newly named publisher of Creative Loafing (Atlanta) and chief marketing officer of all six Creative Loafing papers will discuss what the company is doing to redefine the traditional "alt-weekly" and make it meaningful to an audience that would rather be well employed and raise a family than drop out of society and rebel.
Scott -- a self-professed member of the Woodstock Generation -- says he had long ago quit reading alt-weeklies because he found them irrelevant. He says market research he did at previous jobs at the New York Times and Metro New York showed him that most young people agreed. So he and his Creative Loafing team have rethought their approach, using easily available market research and staff coaching. In Toronto, he'll talk about how they are doing and he'll detail both the research and business aspects of the strategy.
Scott -- a self-professed member of the Woodstock Generation -- says he had long ago quit reading alt-weeklies because he found them irrelevant. He says market research he did at previous jobs at the New York Times and Metro New York showed him that most young people agreed. So he and his Creative Loafing team have rethought their approach, using easily available market research and staff coaching. In Toronto, he'll talk about how they are doing and he'll detail both the research and business aspects of the strategy.
AAN |
06-08-2010 12:24 pm |
Association News
Creative Loafing (Sarasota) Names New Editornew
Creative Loafing (Sarasota) food writer and restaurant critic Brian Ries is taking over the top editor position at the paper, replacing Cooper Levey-Baker, who has left to edit the Florida Independent website. Ries says he will continue his food writing, which leads to an interesting conundrum: he will try to maintain his anonymity while performing a much more public role as the paper's editor. "Soon, there will be plenty of pictures online that restaurants could use to identify me, if they want to go to the bother," he writes. "In my experience, restaurants don't perform well when they know a critic is in the dining room, perhaps because the pressure gets to them. And I won't make it easy for them -- I'll continue to make reservations under another name, use an alias credit card, and shave my legs to match the summer dresses I plan on wearing as a disguise."
Creative Loafing (Sarasota) |
06-08-2010 9:04 am |
Industry News
SF Weekly Releases iPhone Appnew
"SF Weekly has always been your essential guide for where to go, where to eat, and what to do," the paper says, "and now we have, well, an app for that." The free app features easily searchable event and restaurant listings as well as editorial coverage of nightlife happenings and slideshows.
SF Weekly |
06-08-2010 8:42 am |
Industry News
