AAN 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

Court Appoints Receiver to Investigate SF Weekly's Finances in Bay Guardian Casenew

The California Superior Court has appointed a receiver to investigate the finances of SF Weekly and its parent company, with an eye towards developing a plan to pay the San Francisco Bay Guardian the $22 million it is owed in the predatory-pricing lawsuit. "This is a very significant step forward in our collection efforts," Guardian editor and publisher Bruce Brugmann says. The Weekly has said all along it won't pay any damages until it has exhausted its appeals. As we noted earlier in the week, the California Court of Appeals has scheduled a June 11 hearing to hear the Weekly's case.
San Francisco Bay Guardian  |  05-28-2010  6:36 pm  |  Industry News

Gustavo Arellano, Maher Arar Tapped as Lunch Speakers for Convention

AAN has confirmed the guest speakers for its two lunches at this year's Toronto Convention. Ask a Mexican's Gustavo Arellano will reprise his role as host of the AltWeekly Awards banquet on Friday, July 16. And at the next day's Free Speech Lunch, attendees will hear from extraordinary rendition and torture victim Maher Arar, who was arrested by American immigration officials in 2002 and later deported to Syria. Despite being cleared of all ties to terrorism by Canadian officials, Arar remains on a U.S. terrorist watchlist, so you're not likely to see him speak in America any time soon.
AAN  |  05-26-2010  1:07 pm  |  Association News

Appeals Court Sets June Hearing for SF Weekly/Bay Guardian Legal Fightnew

The California Court of Appeals has scheduled a June 11 hearing on SF Weekly's appeal of the San Francisco Bay Guardian's $21 million judgment in the 2008 predatory-pricing case.
The Stranger  |  05-25-2010  9:17 am  |  Industry News

Asking More of Your Staff With No Budget for Additional Resources?

Sales teams are now required to sell print, web, phone and other products. Writers are stretched to capacity with added blogging and social media responsibilities. Designers must learn new skills to produce additional ads and content for web, mobile and now the tablet. How do you create and maintain an environment that continues to motivate your staffs when more is required of them each and every day?

Jan van der Hoop of HiringSmart will be in Toronto to help us tackle this issue -- one faced across all departments. With more than fifteen years of HR experience, Jan will walk convention attendees through a concrete process to understand the driving factors of performance, measure what truly matters and plan the necessary steps to help ensure your paper remains competitive through the contributions of your staff.

So join us in Toronto for this timely discussion on how to get the most out of your employees.
AAN  |  05-24-2010  10:23 am  |  Association News

The Trick to Selling? It's Not Selling, According to Convention Speaker

Does your sales team, or your overall sales approach, need a shot in the arm? Sales trainer Richard Farrell of Chicago-based Tangent Knowledge Systems will be at the Toronto Convention to offer a new tool that just might help you boost sales and land new clients. On Friday, July 16, he'll walk convention attendees through his unorthodox nonselling sales process, touching on things salespeople should be focused on, like understanding the customer's needs, and what they shouldn't be, like over-communicating their sales messages.
AAN  |  05-13-2010  5:17 pm  |  Association News

Local Online and Mobile Ad Spending and Trending: How Does Your Paper Stack Up?

You probably know how much online advertising revenue you're making with your website, but do you know whether you're doing better or worse than everybody else in online sales? Borrell Associates, a research and consulting firm that tracks local advertising and helps media companies develop executive strategies, is currently conducting a survey of AAN members and their online advertising revenues. Andrew Martin, a senior associate with Borrell, will present the results of this benchmarking survey at the upcoming Toronto Convention on Friday morning, July 16. If you need a copy of the survey or have any questions, please contact Debra Silvestrin at debra (at) aan.org. The deadline to return the survey is June 4.
AAN  |  05-12-2010  3:09 pm  |  Association News

Phoenix Media Lays Off 10, Including Some Top Employees

Phoenix Media/Communications Group, which owns the Boston, Portland and Providence Phoenix papers, has let ten employees go. The layoffs include CFO/COO Richard Gallagher; corporate controller Michael Notkin and assistant corporate controller Chris Crandall. The Weekly Dig broke the news of the changes yesterday when it published a staff memo sent by Phoenix Media president Bradley Mindich, which says Mindich will take over some of Gallagher's duties, while Mike Fuller will take on the interim CFO/COO role as they search for a replacement. "This is the sort of strategic reshuffle that prudent companies engage in to stay on top in demanding markets," Phoenix executive editor Peter Kadzis says in a statement released last night. His comments are echoed by Mindich, who tells AAN News in an email that Phoenix Media is focused on "performance across the board" and "ensuring we have the best of the best here to continue to execute our multi-platform strategy." MORE from the Boston Herald.
Boston's Weekly Dig | Boston Herald  |  05-07-2010  8:00 am  |  Industry News

Mark Your Calendars: AAN's 2010 Convention Hits Toronto This July

The 33rd annual AAN Convention is heading north to Toronto, where NOW Magazine will host a three-day gathering of enlightening programming, unforgettable parties and crucial networking with your AAN peers. The convention website, which launched today, has the details thus far on programming, registration deals, travel and accommodations, and more. (FULL STORY)
AAN  |  04-29-2010  5:16 pm  |  Association News

San Diego Reader Accuses Printer of Fraudnew

Just months after San Dieguito Printers filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against the Reader, publisher Jim Holman has filed a cross-complaint against the printer, alleging that it has been profiting off the Reader to the tune of $1 million per year, despite telling Holman its rates were the lowest possible it could charge while still making a minimal profit.
San Diego CityBeat  |  04-29-2010  2:39 pm  |  Industry News

Judge Won't Include SF Weekly Parent Co. in '08 Judgmentnew

California Superior Court Judge Marla J. Miller ruled on Tuesday that she has no authority to amend a 2008 predatory-pricing judgment since the case is already pending before the California Court of Appeal. The San Francisco Bay Guardian had asked the court to include Village Voice Media LLC and Village Voice Media Holdings LLC, as part of its efforts to collect the money it was awarded in the judgment against SF Weekly. The Weekly has refused to pay the $21 million it owes the Guardian, saying it will pay once it exhausts its options to appeal.
SF Weekly  |  04-15-2010  1:16 pm  |  Industry News

Politician, Style Weekly Settle $10 Million Libel Lawsuitnew

The lawyer for Democratic state delegate Joseph D. Morrissey says their $10.35 million libel lawsuit against Style Weekly set to go to trial yesterday has been resolved in their favor. The attorney says the settlement includes "a full, unreserved and unequivocal apology" from Style and "a significant cash settlement." Style publisher Lori Collier Waran says that the paper will "let the apology speak for itself," and that it is happy to have the suit -- "a distraction for our staff" -- over.
Richmond Times-Dispatch  |  04-13-2010  11:20 am  |  Industry News

Longtime Owner Sells Syracuse New Timesnew

Citing the need for new and younger leadership, Art Zimmer has sold the alt-weekly to local entrepreneur William Brod, who took over operations Wednesday morning. Zimmer, who is 71 years old, purchased the paper in 1984. In a letter to the staff, Zimmer says he's had "several opportunities to sell the paper (and for more money), but most included out of town people. I feel local ownership of media, especially like the New Times is very important." Brod says he doesn't expect any layoffs as a result of the ownership change; in fact, he says he plans to hire new staff soon to beef up New Times' web presence. "I think the New Times is in a unique and the most unique position to speak to the community in a way no other media organization can," Brod says. "We can be proactive, go to people, bring people together we can follow up and push politicians and heads of organization or in authority to do what they should do or said they were going to do."
CNYCentral.com  |  04-09-2010  11:25 am  |  Industry News

Judge Sets Hearing on Bay Guardian's Contempt Claim Against Banknew

A San Francisco Superior Court judge last week granted a motion by the San Francisco Bay Guardian to set a hearing to determine if Bank of Montreal, the lead bank for SF Weekly, should be held in contempt of court for telling the Weekly's advertisers that it has first right to that paper's money. The Guardian contends that the March ruling allowing the Guardian to take half of the Weekly's ad revenue means it has first right to any money from the Weekly, not the bank. The hearing is set for April 30.
San Francisco Bay Guardian  |  04-05-2010  5:13 pm  |  Industry News

Bay Guardian Editor: The SF Weekly Suit 'Wasn't Personal'new

San Francisco Bay Guardian executive editor Tim Redmond writes that while he thought Eli Sanders' recent story on the feud between the Guardian and SF Weekly in The Stranger was mostly right, he faults Sanders (and others) for casting the legal battle as a clash of egos. "The thing is, Bruce [Brugmann] and Mike [Lacey] haven't hated each other for decades," Redmond writes. "They weren't terribly close, but they got along fine -- and sometimes, they were political allies." He points to their unlikely alliance at the 1997 AAN Convention (three years after New Times purchased SF Weekly) to push a bylaws measure (and digs up a photo of the two arm-in-arm) as proof. "They were almost, sorta, kinda pals," he writes. "At least for a few minutes."
San Francisco Bay Guardian  |  03-30-2010  10:27 am  |  Industry News

Podcast