AAN 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
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
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
AAN Diversity Grants Recipients Announced
Random Lengths News was approved for a grant to fund Armando Segovia to assist the paper in its investigative news reporting of the paper's large immigrant community. Potential investigations include examining the impact on this community by the area's clean trucks program, as well as various aspects of the Mexican government's "war on the drug cartels." Segovia is a previous recipient of a multimedia fellowship at The Coloradoan, and also has interned at a variety of publications, including El Paso Times, El Conquistador and Al Día.
Oklahoma Gazette also received one of the two grants for this cycle for its proposal for Rachel Bradley to serve as the paper's marketing/PR intern. Bradley, an African American student at the University of Oklahoma, will help the paper with its 2010-2011 marketing plan, writes Marketing Director Jill Brown, which "includes some initiatives targeted toward increasing minority readership and community involvement. We are currently not very knowledgeable about these emerging markets, and feel that Rachel would be an asset to the team." Bradley has received a variety of awards for scholastic achievement, and also has worked as an event intern for The CE Group in San Antonio, Texas, and and as a teacher for the First Baptist Church Kaleidoscope After School program in Norman, Oklahoma.
AAN's Diversity Grant Program awards two $1,250 grants twice annually. The program was instituted by the association in 2001 to help alternative weeklies hire and train top-quality minority journalists. The grants are administered through AAN's Diversity Committee. (FULL STORY)
Oklahoma Gazette also received one of the two grants for this cycle for its proposal for Rachel Bradley to serve as the paper's marketing/PR intern. Bradley, an African American student at the University of Oklahoma, will help the paper with its 2010-2011 marketing plan, writes Marketing Director Jill Brown, which "includes some initiatives targeted toward increasing minority readership and community involvement. We are currently not very knowledgeable about these emerging markets, and feel that Rachel would be an asset to the team." Bradley has received a variety of awards for scholastic achievement, and also has worked as an event intern for The CE Group in San Antonio, Texas, and and as a teacher for the First Baptist Church Kaleidoscope After School program in Norman, Oklahoma.
AAN's Diversity Grant Program awards two $1,250 grants twice annually. The program was instituted by the association in 2001 to help alternative weeklies hire and train top-quality minority journalists. The grants are administered through AAN's Diversity Committee. (FULL STORY)
AAN |
06-07-2010 3:53 pm |
Association News
'Savage Love' iPhone App Released
Index Newspapers (parent company of The Stranger and Portland Mercury) and Night & Day Studios have released a Savage Love iPhone app, which provides "an interactive take on the love, sex, and relationship advice Dan Savage has been serving up for nearly 20 years," as the press release puts it. The app features a "Question of the Day" updated each afternoon, previous columns and podcasts, and exclusive text and video content. "We thought for sure that the app store would reject this but they approved in record time," Stranger publisher Tim Keck says. "I guess we've lost our touch." The app sells for $1.99, and is tagged in the iTune app store as having "Frequent/Intense Sexual Content or Nudity," "Frequent/Intense Profanity or Crude Humor," and "Frequent/Intense Mature/Suggestive Themes." In other words, everything you love about Savage Love to begin with.
(FULL STORY)
Index Newspapers Press Release |
06-04-2010 10:50 am |
Press Releases
Need Reporting Help? Get a Leg Up with Help from ProPublica
ProPublica director of communications Mike Webb will be on hand at the Toronto Convention to talk about how you can use their data and resources for your own investigative work.
The nonprofit news organization has rolled out a number of collaborative tools since its January 2008 launch, including a "reporting recipe" for how to investigate state boards that license nurses, pharmacists, mortgage brokers and other professionals. That specific tool was borne out of an investigation ProPublica did of California's nursing board that found broad breakdowns in the state's regulation of registered nurses.
Other resources the organization offers include the Stimulus Recovery Tracker and a "Reporting Matchmaker," the first of which hooked home loan modification applicants up with local journalists.
With newsrooms getting smaller, partnerships and collaboration are becoming hot topics in journalism. With a little guidance from Webb, you could well be on your way to a number of solid features that put local names and numbers on the big issues facing the nation.
The nonprofit news organization has rolled out a number of collaborative tools since its January 2008 launch, including a "reporting recipe" for how to investigate state boards that license nurses, pharmacists, mortgage brokers and other professionals. That specific tool was borne out of an investigation ProPublica did of California's nursing board that found broad breakdowns in the state's regulation of registered nurses.
Other resources the organization offers include the Stimulus Recovery Tracker and a "Reporting Matchmaker," the first of which hooked home loan modification applicants up with local journalists.
With newsrooms getting smaller, partnerships and collaboration are becoming hot topics in journalism. With a little guidance from Webb, you could well be on your way to a number of solid features that put local names and numbers on the big issues facing the nation.
AAN |
06-03-2010 12:19 pm |
Association News
Editorial Panel Competition Winners Have Been Chosen
AAN voters have spoken and the results are in. The winner of the 2010 Editorial Panel competition is Bradley Zeve, CEO of Monterey County Weekly. Zeve's proposal "Going Deep for a Baker's Dozen: 12 Quick Investigative Story Ideas," proposed a panel in which three experienced editors discuss how to continue producing hard-hiting investigative pieces even in this era of smaller newspaper staffs. The ultimate goal of the panel, according to the proposal, would be for the editors and attendees to generate 12 investigative pieces members can take home and implement, along with a 13th bonus project for AAN members to undertake together.
As the winner of the competition, Zeve is entitled to one free registration to the convention.
AAN also is offering a half-off registration to the second-place winner, Matt Kettmann, senior editor at Santa Barbara Independent, as well as the offer to transform his panel proposal, "Cultivating the Online Culture" into a roundtable discussion during Thursday's editorial roundtables.
Finally, third place winner Jeff Lawrence, publisher of Boston's Weekly Dig, has agreed to lead what is sure to be a lively roundtable discussion from his "Mister Publisher, Tear Down That Wall!" panel proposal that will explore whether, in this Web 2.0 world, the walls between departments, such as editorial and advertising, need to crumble a little more.
The editorial panel competition is a project of AAN's Editorial Committee to generate new ideas and programming for AAN.
As the winner of the competition, Zeve is entitled to one free registration to the convention.
AAN also is offering a half-off registration to the second-place winner, Matt Kettmann, senior editor at Santa Barbara Independent, as well as the offer to transform his panel proposal, "Cultivating the Online Culture" into a roundtable discussion during Thursday's editorial roundtables.
Finally, third place winner Jeff Lawrence, publisher of Boston's Weekly Dig, has agreed to lead what is sure to be a lively roundtable discussion from his "Mister Publisher, Tear Down That Wall!" panel proposal that will explore whether, in this Web 2.0 world, the walls between departments, such as editorial and advertising, need to crumble a little more.
The editorial panel competition is a project of AAN's Editorial Committee to generate new ideas and programming for AAN.
AAN |
06-02-2010 4:15 pm |
Association News
2010 AltWeekly Awards Finalists Announced
The judging process is finally complete and the 159 finalists of the 2010 AltWeekly Awards have been established. Nashville Scene led all papers with eleven awards. In the large-circulation division, Boston Phoenix will snag ten awards and L.A. Weekly will pick up nine prizes at the awards ceremony next month.
The final rankings of the winners will be revealed at the AltWeekly Awards luncheon on July 16 in Toronto during AAN's 33rd Annual Convention. Gustavo Arellano, staff writer for OC Weekly and author of the nationally syndicated weekly column '¡Ask A Mexican!', will host the ceremony.
To see the full list of finalists click here. (FULL STORY)
The final rankings of the winners will be revealed at the AltWeekly Awards luncheon on July 16 in Toronto during AAN's 33rd Annual Convention. Gustavo Arellano, staff writer for OC Weekly and author of the nationally syndicated weekly column '¡Ask A Mexican!', will host the ceremony.
To see the full list of finalists click here. (FULL STORY)
AAN |
06-01-2010 2:20 pm |
Association News
The Village Voice Releases iPhone Appnew
The Village Voice |
06-01-2010 2:07 pm |
Industry News
AltWeekly Awards Finalists to be Announced June 1
After several months of heavy reading and two rounds of evaluating nearly 1,100 entries, the judges of AAN's annual journalism and design competition have rendered decisions. The finalists for the 2010 AltWeekly Awards will be announced on Tuesday, June 1--with the final rankings to be revealed at the AltWeekly Awards banquet on July 16 during AAN's Annual Convention in Toronto.
Now in its 15th year, AAN's editorial awards contest expanded in 2010 to include three new online categories: Individual Blogger, Multimedia, and Music Blog. The awards luncheon in Toronto will be hosted by Gustavo Arellano, staff writer for OC Weekly and author of the nationally syndicated weekly column '¡Ask A Mexican!'.
Now in its 15th year, AAN's editorial awards contest expanded in 2010 to include three new online categories: Individual Blogger, Multimedia, and Music Blog. The awards luncheon in Toronto will be hosted by Gustavo Arellano, staff writer for OC Weekly and author of the nationally syndicated weekly column '¡Ask A Mexican!'.
AAN |
05-28-2010 3:48 pm |
Association News
David Carr to Speak in Toronto
AAN prodigal son David Carr has been confirmed to speak at the the 2010 Annual Convention in Toronto. The former Washington City Paper editor will take time away from his prolific twittering and columnizing for the New York Times to explain how the rise of user-generated content and social media has changed the way readers, er, consumers obtain information. In a Saturday morning session, Carr will impart his wisdom on how to rise above the clutter (hint: teach your pet to play a musical instrument) and stay on top of the news feed.
Never one to shy away from new technology, Carr wrote in January that the yet to be unveiled iPad would be "an opportunity to renew the romance between printed material and consumer." So come renew the romance with AAN in Toronto and join this discussion about what new media and crowdsourcing--along with some brand-new terms that Carr will invent on the spot--mean for the future of professionally generated content.
Never one to shy away from new technology, Carr wrote in January that the yet to be unveiled iPad would be "an opportunity to renew the romance between printed material and consumer." So come renew the romance with AAN in Toronto and join this discussion about what new media and crowdsourcing--along with some brand-new terms that Carr will invent on the spot--mean for the future of professionally generated content.
AAN |
05-28-2010 12:59 pm |
Association News
Creative Loafing Names New Chief Digital Officernew
Creative Loafing, Inc. has named Alex Kam its chief digital officer to oversee the digital operations of the company's six publication. Most recently, Kam was vice president of digital media for ALM/Incisive Media North America (publisher of The American Lawyer and other journals), and he has also served as general manager of new media for Major League Baseball. "It's not about building something and they will come. It's about understanding what users want and bringing them to you," Kam says in a note to employees. "Digital allows you to do this in many different ways ... but it's driven first and foremost by content." He will work out of D.C.
Chicago Reader |
05-27-2010 9:14 am |
Industry News
Four AAN Members are Finalists in SPJ Green Eyeshade Awardsnew
The Society of Professional Journalists has named the finalists for the 60th annual Green Eyeshade Awards, a regional competition open to news organization in 11 southeastern states. Miami New Times has six finalists in six categories and the Memphis Flyer has six finalists in five categories, while the Jackson Free Press is a finalist in four categories and New Times Broward-Palm Beach is competing in three. Winners will be announced at a banquet this summer.
Green Eyeshade Awards |
05-27-2010 9:07 am |
Honors & Achievements
SoCal Journalism Award Finalists Include a Handful of Alt-Weekliesnew
The Los Angeles Press Club has announced the finalists for its 52nd Annual Southern California Journalism Awards, and four AAN members and one alt-weekly affiliated columnist are in the running this year. LA Weekly has 23 finalists in 14 categories, including Journalist of the Year (Patrick Range McDonald and Christine Pelisek), Entertainment Journalist (Scott Foundas), Designer (Darrick Rainey) and Online Journalist (Dennis Romero). OC Weekly has five finalists in five categories, including Journalist of the Year (R. Scott Moxley) and Designer (Kelly Lewis). The Pasadena Weekly has seven finalists in six categories, and the Ventura County Reporter has one finalist. Meanwhile, Advice Goddess Amy Alkon is a finalist for five awards, including Journalist of the Year. Winners will be announced on June 27.
Los Angeles Press Club (PDF) |
05-27-2010 8:54 am |
Honors & Achievements
