AAN News
Membership Committee Recommends Two Papers for Admission to AAN
This year the committee recommends two of the 12 applying papers for admission to the association: City Pulse from Lansing, Mich., and Hawaii Island Journal from Hilo, Hawaii. The committee also recommends that the five papers that have changed ownership recently be re-affirmed as members of the organization. Those papers are: Metro Pulse, The Other Paper, Cityview, East Bay Express, and Boston's Weekly Dig. The committee's complete report is available in the Resource Library, along with a document featuring ownership reports on each of the applying papers and the papers up for review. The reports will also be available in printed form during this year's Convention in Philadelphia. Each AAN member paper can vote for or against the acceptance of an applying paper at the association's annual meeting, which will be held on the last day of the Convention, Saturday, June 7.
(FULL STORY)
Erin Sullivan |
05-29-2008 9:34 am |
Association News
AAN Launches AltWeeklies.com 2.0
After months of planning and preparation, the Association of Alternative
Newsweeklies today debuted the second iteration of AltWeeklies.com, the
association's story-sharing and content-portal website. The new site
incorporates many new types of content and organizes it all in a way that
makes it much easier for users to find what they are looking for. Read here to learn more about the changes.
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
05-22-2008 5:15 pm |
Association News
LEO Acquired by Ex-Nashville Scene Publisher's Companynew
The Louisville Eccentric Observer was acquired by SouthComm Communications, a company headed by former Scene publisher Chris Ferrell, according to LEO. The change was announced to staff this morning. Pam Brooks will stay on as publisher, but other LEO staffers were not so lucky. Brooks told a local blog that editor Cary Stemle, sales director Kelly Gream, and two other employees weren't offered positions with the new company. SouthComm, which was formed late last year, owns a custom publishing company based in Atlanta, as well as various Nashville websites and magazines.
Louisville Eccentric Observer |
05-22-2008 4:21 pm |
Industry News
Isthmus Jazz Festival Features National and Regional Performers
Isthmus Publishing Press Release |
05-22-2008 1:35 pm |
Press Releases
NOW Magazine Confronts Drop in Print Readershipnew
Canada's Print Measurement Bureau recently released numbers showing a 14.2 percent drop in NOW's readership over the past two years, according to the Globe and Mail. The Canadian daily uses the readership drop as a springboard to examine the state of Toronto's alt-weeklies -- NOW and its competitor Eye Weekly, which is in the same ownership group as the daily Toronto Star. "Alt-weeklies are a particular case. Entirely reliant on advertising revenues, their revenue is not augmented by subscriptions or newsstand sales," the Globe and Mail reports. "At the same time, they're threatened by a panoply of other free offerings." NOW publisher Michael Hollett shrugs off the latest numbers, and says the paper's health is strong. "It's just one of many ways of counting," he says. "Our boxes are empty and business is good." Indeed, the Globe and Mail reports that NOW's ad revenue was up in 2007, and Hollett notes that the paper continues to innovate -- and gain readers -- online.
The Globe and Mail |
05-20-2008 11:47 am |
Industry News
East Bay Express to Conduct Same-Sex Weddings
The paper is holding two "Wedding Wednesdays" where it will conduct free group weddings for twelve same-sex couples, "in celebration of the long overdue right for homosexual partners to legally marry in the state of California," according to a press release. The ceremonies will be conducted by Express marketing director Terry Furry on June 25 and July 2, with help from a local wedding planning company. In addition to the ceremonies, the Express will provide the twelve couples with a catered reception, honeymoon prize packages, professional photos, a published wedding announcement, and local media publicity.
(FULL STORY)
East Bay Express Press Release |
05-20-2008 8:58 am |
Press Releases
AAN.org Introduces Comments
AAN this week is launching a comments feature on stories posted to this site. AAN members must be logged in to read and/or make comments.
AAN |
05-19-2008 4:22 pm |
Association News
| Comments (1)
Make the Most Out of Your Mornings in Philly
In case the seminars, parties and after-parties aren't enough to fill your days at the Convention, our sponsor GPTMC has created special guided morning experiences (from 7:30-9 am) just for convention attendees. On Friday, June 6, you have a choice of a trip that includes a visit to Philadelphia's Magic Garden (and a soft pretzel fresh out of the oven), or Punk Rock Boot Camp, a fun and effective fitness alternative. Saturday morning offers a running or walking loop on the Schuylkill River Trail, as well as a private tour of the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall -- including a trip to the rarely visited second floor of Congress Hall. All tours are limited to 25 participants. To register, please email Debra Silvestrin at debra (at) aan.org. Please visit the Special Events page on the Convention website for full descriptions. And if you're looking to explore on Sunday morning after the Convention is over, GPTMC has created a handy guide of potential self-guided tours, including "Brewadelphia," "Philly: A Green Kind of Town," and seven others that you can check out in this PDF.
AAN |
05-19-2008 2:07 pm |
Association News
Knoxville, Tenn., Embarks on Pilot News Box Programnew
"Following the lead in other cities, the [city's] administration has been working in voluntary cooperation with the News Sentinel [Metro Pulse's parent company] and other publications" to create Knoxville's first unified distribution center, replacing a string of existing news boxes, according to Metro Pulse. If the program goes well, the city is looking to expand it downtown. "Right now Knoxville has no ordinances or restrictions on placement of publication distribution boxes," Metro Pulse reports, but if the voluntary program doesn't work, the city has already examined legislation in other cities to emulate, if necessary.
Metro Pulse |
05-16-2008 2:08 pm |
Industry News
2008 Academy for Alternative Journalism Fellows Named
Ten fellows have been chosen from a field of about 330 hopefuls to attend the Academy for Alternative Journalism summer residency program at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, to be held June 22 to August 15. The academy trains young journalists in long-form feature writing with the aim of recruiting them into the alternative press. "This class has a lot of career-changers, including a flight attendant, a former truck driver and an elementary school teacher," says program director and Northwestern journalism professor Charles Whitaker. "It's one of the most diverse classes we've had in several years."
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
05-15-2008 1:15 pm |
Association News
AAN's Louisiana Contingent Piles Up the State Press Awardsnew
Both Gambit Weekly and The Independent Weekly went home last month with awards from The Louisiana Press Association. The Independent won a total of 38 awards in the editorial and ad/design competitions. These included first-place finishes on the editorial side in Community Service/Service to Readers
Website; Continuing Coverage of a Governmental Issue; Continuing Coverage of a Single News Event; Editorial Cartoon; Feature Story; Lifestyle Coverage; and News Coverage. On the ad/design side, the Independent won first in Ad Campaign; Black and White 1/2 Page or Under (Staff-generated); Black and White Over 1/2 Page (Staff-generated); In-Paper Promotion (Color); and Multiple Advertiser Page. Gambit Weekly took home a total of seven awards in the editorial competition, including a first-place finish in Regular Column.
Louisiana Press Association (PDF file) |
05-15-2008 8:59 am |
Honors & Achievements
Santa Barbara Independent Sales Manager to be Replaced by Two People
We're not sure how big they are, but after 15 years at the Santa Barbara Independent, Tom Morey has left two pairs of shoes to fill. According to a release from the paper, Jen Malkin and Robby Robbins will replace Morey by "dividing the awesome task of sales management." Robbins, who serves on the AAN Board as Classified Advertising Chair, "will concentrate on bringing sales in the door" while Malkin "lords over" production and marketing. And Morey isn't going anywhere: He will remain with the paper as part of the sales management team focusing on the local arts community.
(FULL STORY)
Santa Barbara Independent Press Release |
05-14-2008 10:25 am |
Press Releases
Philly 2008: Gourmet Food, Historic Surroundings and Great Music
Philadelphia City Paper today announced the details of the evening
festivities at this year's AAN Convention, and, as always, there will
be plenty to ingest, imbibe and experience as attendees catch up with their
AAN colleagues. From the opening night "Get on Board the Love Train" reception, featuring food from some of Philly's most well-regarded restaurants, to a closing night party across the street from where the U.S. Constitution was drafted, City Paper has our party needs covered. Other events include a restaurant and pub crawl through the hip environs of an historic neighborhood known as Northern Liberties, and a Saturday afterparty for about 75 attendees at The Roots Family Picnic. More afterparties are in the works -- be sure to check the Convention website for details.
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
05-08-2008 3:51 pm |
Association News
Isthmus Jazz Festival Schedule Announced
Isthmus Publishing Press Release |
05-08-2008 9:02 am |
Press Releases
Convention Early Registration and Hotel Deadlines Approaching
This Friday, May 9, is the deadline for early registration for the 31st Annual AAN Convention, June 5-7 in Philadelphia. Early rates are $295 per person for members, and $425 per person for non-members, and each will increase by $50 per person after this Friday's deadline. Registration is available via the Convention website. Next Friday, May 16, is the deadline to book a room at the special AAN rate of $169 single or double occupancy at the Marriott. Hotel rooms can also be booked online. Remember that the hotel could sell out before May 16, so book your room(s) as soon as possible. In addition, this Friday is the deadline for trade show exhibitors to receive a confirmed listing in the convention program. If you have any questions about your listing, or the trade show in general, please contact Debra Silvestrin at debra (at) aan.org or 202-289-8484.
AAN |
05-07-2008 2:25 pm |
Association News
