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AAN Opens Door to Non-Print Publications, Fills Eleven Board Seats

By Jason Zaragoza
july 20, 2010  01:31 am
AAN members voted on several key matters during the association's annual meeting on Saturday, July 17. Eleven seats on the Board of Directors were filled, three publications were admitted into the association, and a bylaws amendment allowing online-only publications to apply for membership was passed by an overwhelming majority.

Two Executive Committee seats were filled: Ellen Meany (Isthmus) was re-elected as Treasurer and Sally Freeman (Boise Weekly) was elected as Secretary. In addition, Matt Walsh (City Newspaper) was elected as Design and Production Chair, Jimmy Boegle (Tucson Weekly) was voted in as Diversity Chair, Jeff Lawrence (Boston's Weekly Dig) was approved as Marketing Chair, and Margaret Downing (Houston Press) was elected as Membership Chair.

Amy Austin (Washington City Paper), Carly Carioli (Boston Phoenix), Michael Hollett (NOW Magazine) and Christine Oreskovich (The Coast) were each elected to At-Large seats. Oreskovich and Hollett will each serve two-year terms. Austin and Carioli are filling the seats vacated by Downing and Freeman, and will serve out the remaining year of their terms.

Rounding out the board, Margo Dubos (Gambit) was elected to Convention Chair, which means New Orleans will be the site of AAN's 2011 Annual Convention next summer.

The board is also losing four members. At-Large member Jody Colley (East Bay Express), Marketing Chair Jim Rizzi (Salt Lake City Weekly), Membership Chair Erin Sullivan (Orlando Weekly), and Secretary Sioux Watson (Independent Weekly) each stepped down and were thanked for their years of service to the association.

AAN is also welcoming three new publications as members. After receiving the endorsement of the Membership Committee, JH Weekly (Jackson Hole, WY), Lagniappe (Mobile, AL) and Yes! Weekly (Greensboro, NC) each received the votes necessary to join the association.

Finally, in a momentous bylaws change, AAN opened its doors to allow non-print publications to apply for membership. Applying publications will still have to meet existing membership criteria and undergo the same rigorous screening process that print publications go through. No publications were under consideration this year, however the stage is set for online-only publications to join AAN as soon as next year, when the next crop of applicants is reviewed and voted on in New Orleans.
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