AAN News
Study: Younger Online News Consumers Are Not Newspaper Readersnew
Center for Media Research |
03-20-2008 8:49 am |
Industry News
State of the News Media: Mixed Forecast for Alt-Weekliesnew
The annual report issued by the Project for Excellence in Journalism finds the alt-weekly industry still struggling with an aging readership, stalled circulation, and increased competition, especially online. However, the report notes that the overall reader migration from print to web might eventually benefit alt-weeklies, since online is "a platform well suited for a sector that specializes in niche, intensely local content." Also noted: small and mid-market papers are seeing the most growth in revenue; and alt-weekly readers are "perfect" media users, with "a tendency to be avid consumers of other media, more so than the public overall."
The Project for Excellence in Journalism |
03-18-2008 11:50 am |
Industry News
How to Overcome the Stigma of In-Text Adsnew
MediaPost's Kory Kredit recently did an informal survey to gauge internet users' and publishers' attitudes about in-text advertising, and reports, not surprisingly, that "it didn't take long to discover that there was a predominantly negative stigma." According to Kredit, the primary reason was "the invasiveness of in-text ad technology. More specifically, they 'hate' the fact that the ad automatically launches on a mouse-over (when their cursor moves over a highlighted word)." Kredit suggests two simple solutions to work towards reversing the negative attitude: change from mouse-over activation to click activation and provide contextually relevant content in the in-text window.
MediaPost's Online Publishing Insider |
03-13-2008 10:29 am |
Industry News
AAN Hires New Director of Sales and Marketing
Rick Mundy has joined the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies as director of sales and marketing. He has a more than a decade of experience in newspapers, in sales, marketing, and publishing at various community newspapers, and also as federation manager at the Newspaper Association of America. Mundy's immediate focus will be on revitalizing the AAN CAN classified program. His first day on staff was March 4.
(FULL STORY)
AAN |
03-12-2008 8:56 am |
Association News
More on the Bay Guardian/VVM Verdict
"There's more to the Bay Guardian-VVM fight than ill will and purple prose," writes Boston Phoenix media reporter Adam Reilly. "The two sides have predictably divergent takes on the merits of the outcome. But they agree that its legal ramifications go far beyond the Bay Area and the alt-weekly universe." Guardian publisher and editor Bruce Brugmann tells the Phoenix that the suit sets an example for small businesses everywhere. "Everyone can use our suit as a model and template for any big chain that's coming in and trying to predatory-price them," he says. But SF Weekly attorney Jim Wagstaffe thinks that if the judge grants the Guardian's request for an injunction for the Weekly to stop all below-cost sales as the case winds its way through the courts, "the result here could dramatically harm consumers. If every one of [a publication's] ad sales is scrutinized to make sure it's not, quote-unquote, too low, then what'll happen is, publications will raise their prices to avoid getting sued." The Guardian notes that interest will accrue on the judgment at a rate of 10 percent a year. "That means the Weekly and VVM will be paying $4,000 a day in interest for as long as they seek to dispute and appeal the jury decision," the Guardian reports.
Boston Phoenix | San Francisco Bay Guardian |
03-12-2008 8:35 am |
Industry News
IAB Makes Headway In Online Video Industry Standardsnew
Late last year, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) put together a Digital Video Committee to try to "establish industry standards so agencies could compare apples to apples on a network by network basis," MediaPost reports. The committee presented findings from its first white paper last month in New York, and made the initial steps of defining some key terms and creating two working groups to further study ad format standards and core metrics. MediaPost reports that 120 companies are involved with the committee.
MediaPost |
03-11-2008 11:08 am |
Industry News
Traditional Media Lag Far Behind Web Companies in Data Collectionnew
The New York Times had the research firm comScore conduct an analysis of the amount of consumer data that is transmitted to internet companies, and finds magazine and newspaper publishers comparatively collect very little, making them "increasingly at a disadvantage when they compete for ad dollars" online. "Some advertising executives say media companies will have little choice but to outsource their ad sales to companies like Microsoft and Yahoo to benefit from their data," the Times reports.
The New York Times |
03-10-2008 12:32 pm |
Industry News
Reaction Pours in to Verdict in Bay Guardian/VVM Trial
A number of stories and blog posts have come out since a jury ruled in favor of the Bay Guardian in its predatory pricing suit against SF Weekly and Village Voice Media yesterday. Here are some:
- The Associated Press via the San Jose Mercury News: "SF Weekly Ordered to Pay Rival $15M for Predatory Pricing Ads"
- East Bay Express: "Guardian Wins $15 Million, Express Not Affected"
- Editor & Publisher: "Bay Guardian Awarded $15.6 Million In Lawsuit"
- The Georgia Straight: "SF Guardian Wins 'David and Goliath' Suit Over Village Voice Media's SF Weekly"
- San Francisco Chronicle: "Bay Guardian Wins Suit with SF Weekly"
- SF Weekly: "Ka-Ching!"
- SF Weekly: "Who You Callin' Guilty?"
AAN |
03-06-2008 9:47 am |
Industry News
Oklahoma Gazette Picks Up Dozens of State Awards
The Gazette won a total of 38 awards during the last two weekends, including a sweep of the Best Reporting Portfolio category in the annual Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) awards. The paper took home a total of 24 honors in the SPJ contest, including a second-place finish overall in the Best Newspaper competition and eight first-place finishes -- in the Best Reporting Portfolio, Feature Writing, In-Depth Enterprise Reporting/Team, In-Depth Enterprise Reporting by an Individual, Health Reporting, Feature Headlines, Feature Page Layout, and Best Use of Graphic Illustration categories. The Gazette also took home 14 awards at this year's Oklahoma City ADDY Awards, including Gold ADDYs in the Publication Design (Magazine or Book) Series and Newspaper Self-Promotion Single categories.
(FULL STORY)
Oklahoma Gazette Press Release |
03-06-2008 8:34 am |
Press Releases
Jury Rules in Favor of Bay Guardian in Suit Against VVM
The jurors handed down their decision in the Guardian's predatory pricing suit against SF Weekly and Village Voice Media today, awarding the Guardian more than $6.39 million in damages. Under California law, part of that verdict is subject to treble damages, bringing the total award to $15.6 million. The Weekly has indicated that it will appeal the decision. Read VVM's statement on the verdict here. The Guardian has a story on the verdict here.
SF Weekly | San Francisco Bay Guardian |
03-05-2008 5:30 pm |
Industry News
Jury Still Deliberating in Bay Guardian/VVM Trial
The 12 jurors will reconvene to consider the case this morning. For more, check the most recent blog posts from the SF Weekly and the Bay Guardian.
SF Weekly | San Francisco Bay Guardian |
03-04-2008 8:28 am |
Industry News
Bay Guardian/VVM Trial Goes to the Jurynew
The jury began deliberations on Friday and will resume this morning. Both the SF Weekly and the San Francisco Bay Guardian need nine of the 12 jurors to take their side in order to win the case. "Much like two candidates in the final days before an election, attacks from both sides are getting increasingly personal as a verdict nears," the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The daily says the trial has brought to light financial data that call into question whether the city can support two alt-weeklies at "a time when newspapers are consolidating to stay alive." Local blogger Randy Shaw agrees.
"Maybe the San Francisco market can't support two alternative weeklies," he says. "It's likely, after the outcome of this court case, there might only be one left standing." For the most recent coverage, check out the trial blogs from the Guardian and the Weekly.
San Francisco Chronicle | SF Bay Guardian | SF Weekly |
03-03-2008 8:26 am |
Industry News
Closing Arguments in Bay Guardian/VVM Trial Set for Thursday
The last three witnesses took the stand yesterday in the Guardian's predatory pricing trial against SF Weekly and Village Voice Media. Guardian publisher and editor Bruce Brugmann and associate publisher Jean Dibble were brought back to the stand, this time by the Weekly's attorneys; they were followed by Bay Area publisher Bill Johnson, whose papers include AAN members the Palo Alto Weekly and Pacific Sun. The trial takes a day off today, and closing arguments begin Thursday morning. For more details, read the latest from the Weekly and the Bay Guardian.
SF Weekly | San Francisco Bay Guardian |
02-27-2008 9:05 am |
Industry News
On the Web, Signs of a Click Recessionnew
The Wall Street Journal |
02-27-2008 11:25 am |
Industry News
AAN West Post-Conference Survey Results Available
This year's AAN West conference went very well, according to the results of a post-conference survey. A total of 273 people attended the meeting, which was held last month in San Francisco, and 98 percent of the survey respondents agreed that the conference was an overall success. A summary of the survey results has been posted in the Resource Library.
AAN |
02-26-2008 12:51 pm |
Association News
