Big Changes Afoot at Many AAN Papers
april 1, 2010 04:21 pm
Alt-weeklies all over the country are reporting big news today, with several trying out new revenue streams, some having been bought and others having done some buying themselves. Here's the rundown:
- The Southland Publishing group, which owns four AAN members, has been sold to MediaNews Group.
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has acquired Salt Lake City Weekly, "the popular alternative publication seen by many as a Mormonbashing, gay-loving and tattoo-promoting tabloid."
- Detroit's Metro Times has purchased the The Detroit News and will reinvent itself as a daily titled, appropriately, The Detroit Daily.
- The Monterey County Weekly has dropped its print edition and gone exclusively online and mobile, changing its motto from "To inspire independent thinking and conscious action, etc." to "Less content; (almost) no cost. What you want."
- The Chico News & Review is mining new revenue sources, including a large-scale yard sale, medical-marijuana dispensary, monthly topless carwashes and a weekend nightclub.
Other alt-weeklies have reported on remarkable news today, including
new medical methamphetamine dispensaries in Colorado,
the end of University of Texas' football program, a "bikini bookseller" featuring "sexy librarian role playing"
coming to Seattle,
the abolition of the University of Georgia's faculty,
Jersey Shore South,
a move to lease the New York State Capitol for use as a gambling casino, a "Vital Services Gaming Initiative"
in British Columbia, and a plan afoot in Arizona
to turn the state government over to the private Mythic Corporation. Yes, it's once again April Fool's Day -- send in any pranks we might have missed to
editor (at) aan.org.
