AAN News

East Bay Express Launches Small Biz Publication

The Express' Small Business Monthly will launch in February 2010 and "will focus on local reporting of small business issues in our region," according to an email sent out by publisher Jody Colley. "In a broader purpose," she continues, "it will also serve to inform community members, investors, entrepreneurs and policy leaders on how integral our 'Main Street' independent businesses are to a healthy and sustainable local economy." The publication will be distributed as an insert in the Express each month. (FULL STORY)
AAN News  |  10-02-2009  1:06 pm  |  Industry News

New Owners Bring Changes to Nashville Scenenew

Nashville-based SouthComm purchased the Scene from Village Voice Media last month, and has swiftly been making changes. Former managing editor and longtime staffer Jim Ridley has taken over as editor, and the paper rolled out a glossy look this week. In addition, SouthComm has brought all editorial staffers of its Nashville properties (it owns The City Paper, NashvillePost.com and a handful of smaller print publications) under one roof, and done the same -- in a different building -- for business-side staff. Scene writer Bruce Barry says Nashville is "the alpha test" of SouthComm's publishing theory, which involves owning a unique blend of niche publications in a single market. Barry also points out that many SouthComm higher-ups are "very conservative" and wonders how that might affect the alt-weekly going forward.
Nashville Scene  |  09-18-2009  1:09 pm  |  Industry News

Survey: Impulse Offers Work Best for Mobile Adsnew

A new survey from Compete finds that nearly half of all smartphone owners are receptive to location-based offers at restaurants and offers to save and pursue at their leisure, and 45 percent would use mobile grocery coupons. "[It looks like] impulse purchases are a better hook for marketers than a considered purchase," Compete's Elaine Sanfilippo tells Marketing Daily. "Those offers that have that instant impact really resonate with people."
Reuters | Marketing Daily  |  09-11-2009  9:44 am  |  Industry News

Some Small and Mid-Sized Advertisers See Uptick in '09 Spendingnew

A new survey of 5,300 small and mid-sized advertisers from Round2 Communications agency finds that 33 percent expect to increase their ad spending compared to 2008. The survey also contains a touch of bad news for print, with 46.6 percent of respondents saying they expect print expenditures to decrease in 2009.
Media Daily News  |  09-09-2009  9:39 am  |  Industry News

Boise Weekly Working on Happy Hour iPhone Appnew

BW's iPhone app that will provide users details about local happy hours should be available next week, according to KTRV-TV. The app will include need-to-know information on each happy hour, including travel directions and details on drink specials. "If there's something in particular you want to go and do you can really narrow it down and not play the guessing game," the Weekly's Shea Sutton says.
KTRV-TV  |  09-02-2009  9:50 am  |  Industry News

Report: Marketers Will Pay More for Reader Data Than for Advertisingnew

The advertising broker and technology firm Pontiflex says in a recently released report that marketers will pay publishers an average price of $2.27 for each reader that fills out a form with their name, email address and other bits of personal information. "That hefty price suggests publishers should consider abandoning cheap ads sold for guaranteed prices and should instead try to use space on their web pages to convince readers to turn over their personal information," Forbes' Evan Hessel writes.
Forbes  |  08-26-2009  12:36 pm  |  Industry News

Movie Theater Chains Cut Print Show Times, Point Folks to Webnew

The two largest American theater chains have begun in recent months to reduce or eliminate movie time listings in newspapers, directing consumers to their websites or third-party sites instead. A representative from the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) says that by removing these paid ads, the theater chains are taking away something important to readers. "For a reader, some things that are ads are actually considered news," NAA vice president of advertising Mort Goldstrom says. "Ads for concerts and things at clubs, for restaurants and movies -- that's a reason people read."
The Associated Press via the San Francisco Chronicle  |  08-26-2009  8:31 am  |  Industry News

Two Alt-Weekly Leaders Talk About Their 'Local First' Effortsnew

Joe Grafton, the executive director of Somerville Local First, interviews East Bay Express publisher Jody Colley and Austin Chronicle editor Louis Black for a piece in Boston's Weekly Dig about the local movement across the country. Colley talks about the campaign she organized last year that encouraged alt-weekly readers across the country to do their holiday shopping locally, and Black discusses the "symbiotic" relationship the Chronicle has with the local business community. Grafton has posted fuller interview clips of both of them on his Shift Across America blog.
Boston's Weekly Dig  |  08-21-2009  2:21 pm  |  Industry News

Podcast