AAN News

Memphis Flyer Cuts Salariesnew

Editor Bruce VanWyngarden reports that employees at Flyer parent company Contemporary Media, Inc. are taking four or eight percent pay cuts, and that the company is suspending its 401(k) matching program. "The cuts are intended to be temporary and will be reevaluated at the end of the second quarter," VanWyngarden writes.
The Memphis Flyer  |  02-06-2009  9:58 am  |  Industry News

The New LEO Debutsnew

When the Louisville Eccentric Observer's new creative director joined the paper last year, she said it "looked crappy" and the logo was "dated and silly." Those problems were erased today when LEO hit the streets with a fresh design, coated stock and a new logo that editor Stephen George calls "mature and refined yet still with some kink." George also says the paper expanded several sections, added new features, and wrapped it all within an improved navigation scheme. The radical makeover at LEO coincides with a redesigned website that launched late last year.
Louisville Eccentric Observer  |  02-05-2009  7:28 pm  |  Industry News

Newspaper Web Audience Grows, Revenues Declinenew

The Newspaper Association of America (NAA) says that unique monthly visitors reached a record of 67.3 million in 2008 -- up 12.1 percent over 60 million in 2007. But as Media Daily News reports, the big increases in traffic simply are not translating into increased online revenues. Fourth-quarter figures are not yet available from the NAA, but online revenues slumped 2.4 percent in the second quarter and 3 percent in the third.
Media Daily News  |  02-02-2009  9:51 am  |  Industry News

Creative Loafing (Tampa) Unveils New Website

Creative Loafing (Tampa) Press Release  |  02-02-2009  11:08 am  |  Press Releases

Ten AAN Members That Bucked the Trends and Grew in '08new

In the old days, when the media reported on problems in the newspaper industry, alternative newspapers weren't included. But alt-weeklies are immune no longer: In 2008, many AAN papers faced some of the same issues afflicting their mainstream brethren in the print media. However, you can still find alt-weeklies that had a pretty good year in 2008. That's just what AAN's editor Jon Whiten did, and he reports on 10 papers that increased revenue in a story published by Editor & Publisher.
Editor & Publisher  |  01-28-2009  1:42 pm  |  Industry News

Village Voice Media Social-Networking Site Draws Controversynew

"(VVM) ... is using a social-networking company it owns to erode the wall between editorial content and advertising by promoting its advertisers under the guise of community buzz," reports The Stranger. The Seattle alt-weekly made the claim after scouring the user-generated reviews on the Yelp-like LikeMe.net and purportedly discovering that a majority were thumbs-up recommendations written by VVM ad staff. But in a response posted on Seattle Weekly's website, VVM says its employees posted the reviews to "test drive" the new site, which had yet to be officially announced, and that the number of posts do not constitute a majority. VVM also notes that earlier reports that it owns a controlling interest in the new "local recommendation engine" are erroneous.
The Stranger | Seattle Weekly  |  01-22-2009  6:24 pm  |  Industry News

AAN Office Closed for MLK Day and Inauguration

AAN headquarters will be closed Monday and Tuesday in observance of the Federal holidays.
AAN  |  01-19-2009  8:16 am  |  Association News

Washington City Paper Capitalizes on Inauguration Fever

Washington's only alt-weekly is putting on a full-court press as the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama draws closer. The City Paper released a 120-page special inauguration issue this week that also featured "The Obama Reader," a 16-page insert from sister paper the Chicago Reader, which has been covering Obama since 1995. (The insert was also published in the Windy City.) Publisher Amy Austin says City Paper will be doing extensive online reporting over the next several days on its inauguration aggregation page. AAN members who want a web icon to link to the ongoing inaugural coverage should email Austin at aaustin (at) washingtoncitypaper.com. (FULL STORY)
AAN News  |  01-16-2009  12:08 pm  |  Industry News

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