AAN News

Arkansas Times Institutes Temporary Pay Cuts for Some Staffnew

Publisher Alan Leveritt said yesterday that about a third of the 41 people who work at the Times and the company's other publications will see temporary pay reductions of 4-7 percent starting next month. Lower paid employees were exempt from the cuts. The paper says it also recently laid off a receptionist and converted a full-time job on El Latino, its Spanish language weekly, to part-time.
Arkansas Times  |  04-01-2009  8:25 am  |  Industry News

Google to Host Webinar, Participate in AAN Convention

Google has agreed to sponsor the opening night cocktail reception at this year's convention, and will also be making presentations focusing on both its ad-server software Ad Manager, and its ad network AdSense. The Ad Manager presentation will be a follow-up to an exclusive webinar for AAN members led by senior ad serving consultant Mark Wolly. All AAN member publishers and senior managers will receive email invitations to the webinar, which is scheduled for April 23, and there is no limit to the number of people at each company who can participate. The 32nd Annual AAN Convention is scheduled for June 25-27 in Tucson. (FULL STORY)
AAN  |  03-31-2009  9:39 am  |  Association News

More on the Los Angeles CityBeat Closurenew

"I had a great morning today," CityBeat publisher Will Swaim told L.A. Weekly on Friday. "I came to work and hurled in the 'executive bathroom,' brushed my teeth and made the announcement." Swaim and senior editor Matt Fleischer both say there hadn't been any chatter about the paper closing in the last few weeks, and there wasn't any discussion of making CityBeat biweekly or online-only. MORE: The Los Angeles Times says the paper's closure "will -- at least temporarily -- silence more critical voices on arts and entertainment in Los Angeles."
L.A. Weekly | Los Angeles Times  |  03-30-2009  8:43 am  |  Industry News

LA Times Turns Metromix into 'Brand X'new

Brand X is a "new multimedia editorial product" being rolled out by the Los Angeles Times "aimed at younger, social-networking readers who are interested in culture, technology, entertainment, food, events, volunteering, style and the outdoors." It will take the place of Metromix in L.A. and will be headed up by former alt-weekly editors Deborah Vankin and Dean Kuipers.
Los Angeles Times  |  03-26-2009  11:29 am  |  Industry News  |  Comments (2)

City Pages' New Show is a 'Revolutionary Approach' to Talk Radionew

Local radio legend T.D. Mischke has begun his weekly web radio show (and print column) for the Twin Cities alt-weekly, and the Star Tribune says the experiment "is being observed by every publication struggling to adapt to a world in which paper and ink aren't enough to keep the lights on." Under the arrangement, Mischke is given a platform and he brings his own advertisers. That was a big sell to publisher Mark Bartel. "That and the fact that he's a known commodity made it a no-brainer," he says, adding that the cost for the webcasts would probably be a couple hundred dollars a month.
The Star Tribune  |  03-20-2009  1:00 pm  |  Industry News

More Business Owners Step Forward with Accusations Against Yelpnew

Following up on its story last month in which business owners said that sales reps from the popular user-generated review site promised to move or remove negative reviews in return for advertising, the East Bay Express talks to six more business owners who allege similar practices. Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman complained about the original article's use of anonymous sources (even though "Yelp is a review site based entirely on anonymous sources," as reporter Kathleen Richards notes) so this time the Express relied only on sources who were willing to go on the record. "Several said that the reps would offer to move negative reviews if they advertised; and in some cases positive reviews disappeared when they refused, or negative ones appeared," the Express reports. "In one case, a nightclub owner said Yelp offered positive reviews of his business in exchange for free drinks."
East Bay Express  |  03-19-2009  10:03 am  |  Industry News

Ruling Expected Soon in Creative Loafing Bankruptcy Casenew

After hearing more testimony yesterday on whether CEO Ben Eason should retain control the six-paper chain or if it should be turned over to its biggest creditor Atayla Capital Management, Judge Caryl Delano Delano said she will ask both sides to submit written closing arguments, which she will mull over for several days before making a ruling. MORE: Read dispatches from former CL employees Ken Edelstein and Alex Pickett.
Creative Loafing (Tampa)  |  03-18-2009  8:45 am  |  Industry News

Forecast: Digital Ad Spend Only Bright Spot for Local Medianew

BIA Advisory Services and the Kelsey Group predict that U.S. local ad revenues will continue to decline through 2013. The only segment that is expected to grow in the next four years is local interactive, which includes mobile, local search, online verticals and classifieds, voice search and email marketing. BIA and Kelsey are forecasting revenue growth in that sector from $14 billion in 2008 to $32.1 billion in 2013.
The Center for Media Research  |  03-17-2009  12:32 pm  |  Industry News

Nielsen: Ad Market Dropped 2.6 Percent in '08new

The overall ad market was off despite the summer Olympics and record amounts spent on political advertising, Nielsen reports. Local newspapers saw a 10.2 percent drop, and display internet ads were off by 6.4 percent.
Media Daily News  |  03-16-2009  9:25 am  |  Industry News

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