AAN News
Leading Analyst Lowers 2008 Ad Spending Forecast Againnew
The New York Times |
07-09-2008 10:05 am |
Industry News
HotJobs Debuts 'Smart Ads' and Monster Partners with Newspapersnew
Online Media Daily |
06-24-2008 12:39 pm |
Industry News
Wrapping Up the 31st Annual AAN Convention
A total of 400 people descended on the Pennsylvania Convention Center and the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown two weeks ago for the 2008 AAN Convention. The three-day event featured the usual mix of presentations and panels, food and booze, and business talk and gossip between alt-weekly staffers and industry types from across North America. AAN committees and staff mostly took care of the first item, while host paper Philadelphia City Paper had the second one covered, and attendees proved themselves more than capable of handling the third on their own.
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
06-19-2008 1:01 pm |
Association News
Possible Strike Looms at The Village Voicenew
Veteran Voice staff writer Tom Robbins tells the New York Press that the paper's employees may strike if a contract dispute isn't resolved. Talks center on proposed cuts in health care coverage in the latest contract offer from Village Voice Media, which the union considers unacceptable. "Management is asking for givebacks on our health care policy and on our 401(k)," says Robbins, who serves as a shop steward with United Auto Workers Local 2110, which represents Voice staffers. "We are adamant that there won't be any givebacks here." He says the union has had two meetings with management, but vowed that there would be a walkout if no settlement is reached. "If we don't get it, all bets are off," Robbins warns. The Press says a call to a Voice spokesperson for comment has thus far gone unreturned. The strike is set for July 1 if a contract agreement isn't reached, according to Gawker.
New York Press |
06-17-2008 8:13 am |
Industry News
Publisher Talks About Why Hawaii Island Journal Called it Quitsnew
"I think our primary problem was simply finding solid sales reps," Laurie Carlson tells the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The Journal, which was accepted as a member of AAN last weekend, will print its last issue this weekend. Carlson also says it "wasn't a helpful thing" for the Journal that the Stephens Media Group, owner of the island's two daily papers, started its own alternative paper about a year ago. "They have much deeper pockets and they can run something that was heavily subsidized and we can't," she says. "It's a very sad thing."
Honolulu Star-Bulletin |
06-13-2008 10:36 am |
Industry News
| Comments (1)
SF Weekly Asks Judge to Overturn Verdict in Bay Guardian Casenew
The motions, which were filed earlier this week, ask Superior Court Judge Marla J. Miller to order a new trial if she won't reverse the verdict in the predatory-pricing case, the Weekly reports. The thrust of the Weekly's motion: That the Guardian didn't offer "any actual evidence of an illegal below-cost pricing conspiracy," that the verdict "violates the Weekly's First Amendment and due process rights," and lastly that "the trial was riddled with legal error that unfairly shifted the burden of proof onto the defense." If the judge denies the new motions, the Weekly says it and Village Voice Media intend "to take the case to the California Court of Appeals, which in turn would trigger a process expected to take up to eighteen months."
SF Weekly |
06-12-2008 2:31 pm |
Industry News
City Pulse Publisher Says 'Thank You'
Berl Schwartz thanks the AAN membership for admitting City Pulse on Saturday in a letter to the editor. "This was our fourth time to apply,
and I am sure the membership committee was tired of looking at us, so
allow me to thank you on behalf of its members as well," he writes. He also says he's printing a banner to hang in the paper's office that quotes from a membership committee report on City Pulse: "It's still not perfect."
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
06-12-2008 8:18 am |
Letters to the Editor
Study: Web Will Be Second-Largest Ad Medium in Five Yearsnew
Web advertising "will continue to grow fast even as the current economic woes will lead to a contraction in ad spending overall, essentially accelerating the transfer of marketing budgets from the traditional media into the new," according to a new study by research group IDC. The group finds that overall internet advertising revenue will double from $25.5 billion in 2007 to $51.1 billion in 2012, making it the second-largest advertising medium, behind only direct mail. IDC predicts that video will be the fastest growing format for web advertising, but search will continue to be the format generating the most revenue.
IDC |
06-12-2008 7:35 am |
Industry News
Report: Alt-Weekly Readership is Upnew
A new report issued by The Media Audit reveals that 43.8 million adults have read an alternative newsweekly or visited an alt-weekly website in the past 30 days. The study, which looked at 117 papers in 88 markets, reveals an average readership of 374,296 adults in 2007 compared to 362,938 in the previous year, a 3 percent increase. In addition, the average number of unique monthly web visitors in 2007 is up nearly 7 percent from 2006. "One of the benefits for alternative newsweeklies is the opportunity to reach outside the city where papers are not as readily available," says Bob Jordan, president of International Demographics. "There are a lot of people who come into the city from the suburbs for entertainment and these alternative newspaper websites are positioned as one of the best choices for restaurant, live music, and concert recommendations." RELATED: BizReport says "advertising in alternative newspapers could result in a gold mine for many advertisers."
The Center for Media Research | BizReport |
06-11-2008 9:28 am |
Industry News
SF Weekly Asks for Stay of Judgment in Bay Guardian Casenew
Weekly attorney Rod Kerr last week argued for a stay of the predatory-pricing trial's $15.6 million judgment until 10 days after Judge Marla Miller rules on post-trial motions, which could have delayed the enforcement until July 28, the Guardian reports. Kerr said that the current economic turmoil combined with the company's belief that the judgment amount would be substantially lowered during post-trial rulings made it hard for Village Voice Media to secure a bond for the full amount. The judge granted a stay, but only until June 18. She also said she'd allow "the defendants to return to court to ask for more time if they can provide evidence showing how it will result in a bond being issued," according to the Guardian. When reached by AAN News, a representative from VVM said the company had no comment on last week's development. Both sides will appear in court July 8 for post-trial motions, including one by VVM to throw out the verdict and order a new trial.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
06-11-2008 8:29 am |
Industry News
Total Advertising Spending Stalls in Q1new
Editor & Publisher |
06-11-2008 2:05 pm |
Industry News
Boulder Weekly Buys the Building That Houses its Officesnew
Boulder County Business Report |
06-06-2008 10:09 am |
Industry News
Correction: Membership Committee Recommendations Included an Error
There was a significant error in the 2008 Membership Committee Recommendations posted to AAN.org last week. The Membership Committee did not recommend that the membership of Metro Pulse of Knoxville, Tenn., be affirmed. Metro Pulse was acquired by E.W. Scripps, a media company that owns the daily newspaper, business newspaper, Knoxville Magazine, and other publications in the Knoxville market. Per the AAN bylaws, ownership of member papers must reflect and advance the following values of the association:
The committee feels that Metro Pulse's new ownership situation is not in line with the bylaws and therefore does not recommend the paper for affirmation, and the committee's report has been amended as such.
- Competitive editorial and business environment, especially within local markets
- A multiplicity and diversity of media voices
- Independence from media conglomerates or other entities deemed detrimental to the interest of the alternative press and the maintenance of media diversity.
The committee feels that Metro Pulse's new ownership situation is not in line with the bylaws and therefore does not recommend the paper for affirmation, and the committee's report has been amended as such.
AAN |
06-05-2008 3:39 pm |
Association News
| Comments (1)
Boston Mayor Proposes New Rules & Fees for News Boxesnew
Mayor Thomas M. Menino has proposed capping at 300 the number of boxes a publisher could place in the city and charging them $25 per box per year, plus a $300 annual fee to receive a certificate of compliance, the Boston Globe reports. The ordinance would have to be approved by the City Council, which yesterday sent it to a committee. "We only have so much room on the sidewalk for news boxes," says a spokeswoman for Menino. "We think 300 news boxes per publication is generous in order to cover the city." City records show that no publication has 300 boxes yet, though several are close, including Boston's Weekly Dig, which currently has 284. Boston Phoenix circulation director Jim Dorgan tells the Globe the new fees are significant -- AAN's quick calculation shows that a publisher with the max of 300 boxes would pay $7,800 a year. He also says that another aspect of the ordinance, which precludes a publisher from having two news boxes for the same publication within 150 feet of each other, is "very restrictive."
The Boston Globe |
06-05-2008 10:23 am |
Industry News
Alt-Weekly Editors Talk About the State of the Industrynew
In this week's editor's note welcoming AAN folks to this year's Convention, Philadelphia Weekly editor Tim Whitaker looks at what's sure to be a much-discussed topic this weekend: the state of the alt-weekly business. "In the alt world, editorial staffs are small and getting smaller," he writes. "Not only must a winning online blueprint be conceived and executed with shrinking resources, but great attention must be paid to what is still, for the moment, the nest egg -- the weekly newspaper." He talks to alt-weekly editors from around the country, many of whom have recently seen their editorial staffs drastically cut -- some in half. But even though many staffs are being asked to do more with even less, the editors Whitaker talks to aren't all pessimistic about the future of the industry, and many of them have specific prescriptions. And as professional journalists, we're reminded, the situation could be far worse: We could be in the daily newspaper industry. "We write for intelligent readers," says Village Voice editor Tony Ortega. "Dailies cater to people who don't like to read. Look at the way they're written."
Philadelphia Weekly |
06-04-2008 9:08 am |
Industry News
