AAN News
Erik Wemple Says His New Job is 'an Enormous Opportunity'

After announcing yesterday that he was leaving Washington City Paper to edit a new local news website being launched by Allbritton Communications (the folks behind Politico), Wemple and Allbritton's Jim Brady made the media rounds to talk about the move. Here are some highlights:
- Wemple tells Politico he's excited about the potential of the new site: "I think the possibilities, the horizons, really open up if you look at the talent and the resources that are behind this."
- The site will try to incorporate work from Politico and Allbritton's two local TV operations, Wemple tells the Washington Post: "We're hoping to really carve some new ground as to how a TV and web operation can mutually reinforce themselves."
- Brady explains to Washington Business Journal why he hired Wemple: "When you read the City Paper, you get a sense they're really having fun. That's not happening in a ton of places in journalism these days."
- Wemple says he hopes to launch the site with between 15 and 20 reporters; DCist wonders if any will be current City Paper staffers.
AAN News |
02-24-2010 9:56 am |
Industry News
Georgia Straight Puts All Hands on Deck for Olympics
As the 2010 Winter Olympics enter their final week, Vancouver's alt-weekly continues to work round-the-clock to cover both the games themselves, as well as all the cultural and entertainment happenings coinciding with the international competition. Straight editor Charlie Smith tells AAN News that they opted not to produce any special print editions, and have had to actually tweak their print distribution strategies in light of the influx of people and numerous street closings. Online, though, he says the Straight has been going all out, with nearly all of the editorial staff covering some aspect of the games, including stories that have been picked up in Europe. The paper's running all Olympic coverage through a main Olympic portal, and it is also running a dedicated Olympics blog and featuring numerous Olympic photo galleries. Smith says the comprehensive coverage has translated to a "huge spike" in web traffic. "In the first week, traffic was up more than 100 percent," he says.
AAN News |
02-22-2010 2:27 pm |
Industry News
Huffington Post Rolls Out 'College' Sectionnew
The Washington Post |
02-22-2010 10:00 am |
Industry News
Tags: Electronic Publishing, Management
What Does Foursquare Mean for Newspapers?new
EditorsWeblog.org |
02-19-2010 1:59 pm |
Industry News
Discounted NewsU Webinar on Multimedia Tools This Thursday
AAN members can check out the latest cameras, mobile devices and apps to help you tell multimedia stories in Multimedia Tools: Your 2010 Shopping List. In this webinar from Poynter's NewsU, you'll learn about the latest gear as well as ways to get the most out of what you already have. The first 25 AAN members to register will pay just $10.95 when using the discount code (you can find it here).
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
02-16-2010 11:40 am |
Association News
San Francisco Bay Guardian Redesigns Websitenew
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
02-12-2010 12:33 pm |
Industry News
How the Long Island Press Took Advantage of Newsday's Paywallnew
While the economic downturn hurt the paper a bit, Press publisher Jed Morey tells CNN Money there were no mass layoffs -- and the paper was back in the black by the end of last year. Morey pegs the Press' success in part to the decision of Long Island's daily paper Newsday to go partly behind a paywall last year. The Press seized the opportunity and began running more general news on the web, to appeal to those who might not pay for Newsday online. Since then, Morey says traffic has gone up 600 percent. "It is not about a newspaper, it is not about the physical product or even the experience. It's about the quality of the journalism," he says. "If you stay true to that, we think that there is several different places you can go with that. The web being one of them."
CNN Money |
02-09-2010 2:21 pm |
Industry News
Alt-Weeklies Nab Dozens of New England Press Association Awardsnew
Three AAN members took home plenty of awards in this year's New England Newspaper and Press Association Better Newspaper Contest. Boston Phoenix staff writer Mike Miliard was named Weekly Journalist of the Year (judges said he was "obviously a very versatile and talented journalist") as part of the Phoenix's haul of 18 total awards, including 11 first-place wins. Worcester Mag took home nine awards, with five first-place finishes, while Burlington's Seven Days finished first in three categories and won seven total awards.
New England Newspaper and Press Association (PDF) |
02-09-2010 9:24 am |
Honors & Achievements
Citysearch Launches Facebook & Twitter Directory for Local Businessesnew
Online Media Daily |
02-09-2010 9:29 am |
Industry News
Deadline to Apply for AAN Membership Extended to Feb. 19
The application deadline for newspapers to apply for AAN membership has been extended two weeks to Feb. 19. You can download an application here, or contact AAN to have one mailed to you. Find out more about admission guidelines and membership requirements here.
AAN |
02-05-2010 3:36 pm |
Association News
Study: Video Ads Deter Online Newspaper Readersnew
Media Daily News |
02-05-2010 9:45 am |
Industry News
Videos, Presentations from Web Publishing Conference Now Available
Scores of alt-weekly staffers descended on San Francisco's Argonaut Hotel last week for AAN's 2010 Web Publishing Conference. Publishers, editors, ad sales managers and others came together for one-and-a-half days of virtually non-stop panels and presentations on how best to manage digital publishing now and in the future. If you weren't able to make it to the conference, or want to share what you learned at a particular session, you can check out videos from nine of the 12 sessions and PDF presentations of several sessions in the Resource Library.
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
02-04-2010 5:47 pm |
Association News
Verve Wireless: Mobile News Access Growing; Local News Most Popular
Mobile publishing company Verve Wireless today announced its end of year milestones, noting that 100 million mobile news pages were served in December 2009 -- a 160 percent increase year over year. The company says local news continues to be the most accessed mobile content, but that breaking world or national stories -- like the death of Michael Jackson, for example -- are driving the largest traffic spikes. Verve also notes that mobile video is a growing field, with viewership growing by 106 percent in the past three months.
(FULL STORY)
Verve Wireless Press Release |
02-04-2010 8:13 am |
Press Releases
This Thursday: Discounted NewsU Webinar for AAN Members
For the first of several opportunities in 2010, AAN members have the opportunity to participate in an online webinar that addresses the credibility of online news sites. The webinar, "News Site Credibility: Whom Do Readers Trust," is directed at editors, as well as anyone who manages user-generated content. The first 25 registrants that use the AAN-member only discount code will get a special rate of $15 (the seminar's "retail" cost is $27.95).
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
01-25-2010 3:16 pm |
Association News
Center for Independent Media President to Kick off Web Conference

David Bennahum will kick off AAN's 2010 Web Publishing Conference with a keynote address on the rise of new media amidst the collapse of the newspaper industry. Bennahum has been following new media since 1994, when he began writing for Wired magazine; additional reporting of his on the rise of the internet and its impact on our culture has been published in The New York Times, New York magazine, and The Economist. His Center for Independent Media, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, publishes six public-interest news sites around the country (many of which feature alt-weekly alums as reporters). Bennahum's talk will be Thursday, Jan. 28 at 9:15 am, kicking off a day and a half of intensive web publishing programming. For more details on the conference, click here.
AAN |
01-22-2010 1:30 pm |
Association News