All Sessions
Please Note: Schedule is subject to change.
Thursday, July 10
10:30 am
to
2:30 pm
In today's highly competitive media market, it's more important than ever to continue to sharpen our sales skills to retain and win new business from businesses in our market. SMBs are being bombarded by media reps and those who win the business are at the top of their game in understanding customer needs and demonstrating value and return on investment. This workshop will cover all the fundamentals of the sales process from prospecting to closing and everything in between. Amie Stein, director of training and development for the
Local Media Association, and a veteran of the newspaper industry will lead this highly interactive session which will provide both sales executives and leaders with ways to further develop as sales professionals and successful sales teams.
Amie Stein is a 19-year veteran of the newspaper publishing industry. Amie is the director of training & development for
Local Media Association where she develops and implements custom sales and digital training programs for media executives across the country. Since joining LMA in April of 2013, she has trained individuals from over 70 media companies. She has served in leadership positions with multiple media organizations including E.W. Scripps, Lee Enterprises, Pulitzer and Journal Register Company. She began her career in local and automotive sales and quickly assumed management roles. Amie has served as local advertising manager, regional ad director and senior associate publisher. She has led the advertising operations in virtually every revenue category including local, real estate, automotive, major/national and recruitment with both large community groups and a major metro daily. Additionally, Amie has been instrumental in talent acquisition and developing strategy for major structural reorganizations. She earned a Bachelor's of Journalism with a degree in advertising from the University of Missouri and is a graduate of various community and regional leadership programs. She has been active in many community organizations including serving on the boards of non-profits such as the United Way, YMCA and many others. She currently resides in Memphis, Tenn., with her husband and two daughters.
Room: Capitol Ballroom 4
2 pm
to
5 pm
Room: Capitol Ballroom 1/2/3
2 pm
to
2:40 pm
What does it mean for your coverage on a daily basis to have been in the community for decades, how has the community changed, are you changing with it? Or remaining a truculent teenager?
Debbie Michaud is the Editor-in-Chief of Creative Loafing Atlanta. She interned at the Loaf while a student at the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. A few years after graduation, she joined Creative Loafing's staff as listings editor in 2006 and worked her way up to arts & entertainment editor, senior editor, and finally editor-in-chief in 2012. She has written for Esquire.com, Fodor’s Travel, theGuardian.com, Wallpaper*, and Art Papers, among other publications. She also happened to leave UGA with a degree in French and spent some time in Perigueux, France, as a high school English teacher.
Nick Miller is co-editor of the Sacramento News & Review. They let him into the building as a copy editor (and distribution driver) in 2004. Last year, he won a second-place AAN Award for his news reporting. His beats are city politics and the safety net. Follow his AAN Conference live Tweets at @NickMiller916.
Room: Davidson
A fast, highly interactive, trouble-shooting session on people management. We'll share practical tactics, based on a short list of fundamental principles for effective leadership. You'll leave the session armed with insights and ideas to expand energy - even among the weariest - and drive success.
Laura Dell strengthens organizations and leaders. Her long-standing consulting practice, focused on developing leaders and expanding capacity, is informed by a startlingly long and varied history serving a wide array of businesses, including several AAN members. Laura holds an M.A. in Organization Development, and her expertise has evolved through 35 years of leading in and consulting to workplaces. She is currently the C.O.O. of a mid-size not-for-profit in the Chicago area where she enjoys ample opportunity to practice what she preaches.
Room: Meeting Suite 5
2:40 pm
to
3 pm
Check out the list of companies that will be exhibiting at the AAN Convention and use this opportunity to visit their booths. Grab some refreshments and take a look at the newspaper display. All in the AAN Trade Show.
Room: Capitol Ballroom 1/2/3
3 pm
to
4:30 pm
Join us as industry veterans talk about the process, products, support and training you
will need when starting a digital agency. The panel will explore the options including
creating the agency in-house and outsourcing to leading industry growth facilitators.
They will also talk about important factors of consideration such as scaling, breadth of
knowledge, fulfillment and account management.
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Kelly Benish is the VP of Sales and Marketing for Search Influence. She has a history of sales and business development specialization in the SEO, IYP, and vertical industries. After graduating with honors from the University of North Carolina with a degree in English, Kelly worked in finance before finding her passion in sales and business development on the interwebs. Kelly enjoys training and building the business development team at Search Influence, and in her spare time, she writes for the Movers and Shakers column of Street Fight. Her primary goal at Search Influence is to develop and enhance new and existing relationships between major reseller platforms and channel partners.
Oliver Vidinovski is a strategic partner manager for Google based in New York City. He works across multiple channel verticals with key premier partners to leverage and implement Google advertising solutions across the SMB space. Prior to joining Google in May 2014, Oliver was the Head of Digital and Operations across Australia and New Zealand for Fairfax Media. In this role, Oliver spearheaded the concept of solution selling, partnering key international fulfillment companies and Google to drive SMB advertiser growth across the APAC region. Graduating from the University of Canberra (Australia) with a Bachelor of IT majoring in marketing, Oliver's background includes digital strategy development, product innovation, sales & marketing execution and delivery of large scale digital & social solutions within the media and e-commerce industries.
Vince Graziano is vice president of operations for Beyond Private Label. Vince has been working directly with small business owners helping them gain an online presence and grow their businesses for over 12 years. He also conducts numerous trainings and webinars on a weekly basis for the sales teams for our partners at Beyond Private Label and he has been a driving force in developing the internal team for Beyond Private Label.
Jeremy Kagan has been an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School teaching Digital Marketing for almost a decade. He also runs digital advertising startup Pricing Engine, which helps smaller advertisers with Search Marketing and Digital Advertising across Google, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Foursquare, and Reddit. Kagan was a Vice President in Sony Musicâs Global Digital Business running mobile accounts, and head of strategy for Publicis Modem, a leading digital ad agency. You can see him as an expert guest about digital marketing on Bloomberg TV, Fox Business News, and Forbes.
Room: Meeting Suite 6
3 pm
to
3:45 pm
Meet fellow creative types at the start of the convention. More info and topics to follow.
Jandos Rothstein missed his old desk at Washington City Paper so much he came back as Creative Director after seven years away designing much duller publications. He is also a professor of graphic design at George Mason University in Virginia and author of Designing Magazines from Allworth Press.
Room: Legislative Terrace
Meet fellow digital directors and web editors to talk about social media, analytics, CMS woes, and more.
Moderator:
Ben Kubany, Willamette Week
Room: Legislative Terrace
Chuck Strouse is editor of Miami New Times and New Times Broward Palm Beach. An honors graduate of Brown University with a master's in Spanish-language journalism, he has worked for the Los Angeles Times, Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, and the Miami Herald, where he was on a team that won a Pulitzer Prize. He has taken home numerous journalism prizes for his columns, including a bunch of AAN first places. He lectures at the University of Miami and speaks Spanish, Russian, and pig Latin.
Tyson Miller is founder and director of The Project for Improved Environmental Coverage (PIEC) – a nonprofit initiative dedicated to improving environmental news coverage in the mainstream media. He is a social entrepreneur and leader in the environmental movement who has been developing new organizations and initiatives for nearly 20 years. Over this timeframe, he has completed an award-winning documentary on environmental education and founded or cofounded five organizations and/or national initiatives including Green Press Initiative, PIEC, and Dream of a Nation. Tyson is currently the director of SEE Innovation and lives in Asheville, North Carolina with his wife and two boys.
Jessica Estepa is a storyteller and a self-described news junkie/social media butterfly based in Washington, D.C. She works as a reporter for E&E Publishing, covering fisheries, oceans, wildlife and other natural resources policy news on and off Capitol Hill. Previously, she wrote feature stories for and worked on the production side of Roll Call, a Capitol Hill newspaper. A native Nevadan, she attended the University of Nevada's Reynolds School and worked at a number of places in the Silver State, including the Reno Gazette-Journal, before departing for the East Coast. For fun (really), she volunteers with the Online News Association and 826DC, sits on the board and sings with the Capitol Hill Chorale, and drinks lots of bourbon.
Room: Davidson
Two alt-weekly ad veterans share real life examples of how you can rejuvenate your print and online classified sections.
Jill Weigel manages the classified section at the Boise Weekly publication. After 10 years of delivering papers, selling classifieds and watching page counts wax and wane her knowledge of the industry and the Boise community is legendary! She expends much of her time envisioning new ways to utilize the classifieds. Jill works at developing new strategies to keep the original mainstay of alt-weeklies, the classifieds, a viable and profitable section of the Boise Weekly.
Blair Barna has worked in the world of alt-weeklies for 20 years and is the advertising director of the Charleston City Paper in Charleston, S. C. He founded and co-owns the paper -- now in its sixteenth year -- with his two business partners, publisher Noel Mermer and editor Stephanie Barna. One of them is also his life partner -- he'll leave it up to you to guess which. Barna has two children, three cats, two dogs, and no time to himself. Prior to blazing trails in Chucktown, he worked for Creative Loafing in Savannah and Atlanta.
Room: Meeting Suite 5
4 pm
to
4:45 pm
Review and discussion of Foundation features as well as scheduling one-to-one sessions throughout the convention.
Room: Davidson
4 pm
to
4:40 pm
Room: Legislative Terrace
Who's selling what? Are your reps using the tools/technology out there to effectively sell your products and to refine their presentation skills in a engaging way (Prezi, Slideshare, Linkedin, Email marketing, Videos)? Come show off your stuff! In this interactive session, give us your best pitch and then pick up on something new when your AAN colleagues give you their hard sell. Don't forget to bring your sales materials (one-sheets, swag, etc.) to share.
Moderator:
Christine Oreskovich, The Coast
Room: Capitol Ballroom 4
5 pm
to
7 pm
First time attendees and those new to AAN are invited to share a libation and network with AAN veterans and board members at a local craft distillery. Shuttles to the distillery will be available from 4:45 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
7 pm
to
9 pm
AAN attendees,
Dollys, Jacks, Taylors and Willies -- all roads lead to
Robert's Western World!
You're invited to a welcome reception at Robert's Western World, where you'll learn what that sparkle and twang is all about. Located in the heart of honky tonk row on Lower Broad, we locals love Robert's for the excellent live music (they only play real country here, folks), the friendly staff, the packed dance floor, the boot-lined walls and the famous fried bologna sandwich, which perfectly complements an ice-cold beer. But don't just take our word for it -- join us from 7 to 9 p.m. for drinks, food, music by The Don Kelley Band and whatever other shenanigans you want to get into this evening (because, the Sheraton is walkable from Robert's).
Friday, July 11
8:30 am
to
5 pm
Light breakfast will be available at 8:30 a.m. Plenty of time to grab coffee and a bagel and get to the opening session by 9 a.m.
Room: Capitol Ballroom 1/2/3
9 am
to
9:45 am
Welcome: Sally Freeman, AAN President; Mike Smith, Nashville Scene; Chris Ferrell, SouthComm
Introduction: Tiffany Shackelford, AAN
Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics Penny Muse Abernathy will discuss how newspapers can build community online and identify new opportunities to generate revenue. Abernathy, a former executive at the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, focuses her expertise on developing 21st-century economic models that will improve the ability of journalists to produce news in the public interest.
Penny Muse Abernathy is a journalism professional with more than 30 years of experience as a reporter, editor and senior media business executive, who specializes in preserving quality journalism by helping the news business succeed economically in the digital media environment. Panny, a former executive at the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, is the Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics at UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication. She focuses her expertise on developing 21st-century economic models that will improve the ability of journalists to produce news in the public interest. As a senior executive, Penny was responsible for both creating and implementing strategies at some at some of the nation’s most prominent news organizations and publishing companies, including the Journal, The Times and the Harvard Business Review. She oversaw the successful launch of new multimedia enterprises, which helped increase both revenue and profit. She was also vice president and executive director of industry programs at the Paley Center for Media in New York City, which counts as its members some of the world’s leading media companies and executives. She was inducted into the North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame in 1998.
Room: Capitol Ballroom 4
9:45 am
to
10:15 am
Professor Abernathy will be be on hand to sign copies of her book,
Saving Community Journalism, The Path to Profitability in the Trade Show immediately after her talk. Then be sure to visit our exhibitors (see list on the right side of this page) and learn about their products and services.
Room: Capitol Ballroom 1/2/3
10:15 am
to
11 am
This isn't your father's alt-weekly any more. Dailies own alts in Chicago and in Baltimore. A former executive for an Ohio chemical manufacturer is the majority owner of several former Times Shamrock papers. And over the past few years, Nashville-based SouthComm has quietly become the second-largest chain of alt-weeklies in the U.S. What's their vision for the future of alt media?
Panelists:
Jennifer Marsh, Baltimore City Paper and Chris Ferrell, Southcomm
Sally Freeman is the publisher of
Boise Weekly. New to the publishing business in 2001, she never planned to be a newspaper publisher. In fact, it was the furthest thing from her mind. Having grown up all over the world with her family, she always saw herself becoming an international executive like her father. But the 15 years spent on the corporate highway with Atlantic Richfield, E F Hutton, Shearson Lehman, Prudential Bache Securities, American Airlines, Chancellor Media Corp. and National Airlines was not all a waste. She has taken everything she has learned and applied it to help
Boise Weekly prosper. She has her MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management and is a CPA.
Jennifer Marsh is the General Manager of Baltimore City Paper.
Room: Meeting Suite 5
Mobile device use is exploding. New interfaces, personalization and interaction within the content experience are at the forefront of growth now and in the years ahead. How can alternative media leverage mobile technologies to embrace, optimize and innovate in the space. We'll review current trends and research, then look forward into the future and think about how you should plan your mobile product strategies.
Blair Barna has worked in the world of alt-weeklies for 20 years and is the advertising director of the Charleston City Paper in Charleston, S. C. He founded and co-owns the paper -- now in its sixteenth year -- with his two business partners, publisher Noel Mermer and editor Stephanie Barna. One of them is also his life partner -- he'll leave it up to you to guess which. Barna has two children, three cats, two dogs, and no time to himself. Prior to blazing trails in Chucktown, he worked for Creative Loafing in Savannah and Atlanta.
Justin Ellis is an assistant editor at the Nieman Journalism Lab. He was previously a staff writer and columnist for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, where he covered areas like business, politics, culture and technology. In 2009 Ellis was part of the paper’s team to cover the inauguration of President Barack Obama. A former Knight Digital Media Center fellow and researcher at Investigative Reporters and Editors, Ellis is originally from Minnesota. Ask him about meats and cheeses.
Wouter Vermeulen is Director of Platform Sales & Product Marketing for Opera Mediaworks, where he is responsible for ad network focused platform sales and product innovation, solution development across AdMarvel's portfolio of software and services. In addition, Wouter manages all Opera Mediaworks' marketing, industry relations and partnerships. AdMarvel (an Opera Mediaworks service offering), makes mobile advertising work by enabling mobile developers, publishers and carriers to easily source, provision, manage and track advertising from virtually any ad network or direct sourced advertising inventory. Prior to Opera Mediaworks, Wouter was leading all mobile content and sales strategy for Cox Media Group (CMG), responsible for building out and managing CMG's mobile content platform and scaling national and local mobile sales efforts across the various CMG subsidiaries. Wouter has his MBA from European University Brussels. He is a frequent speaker and panelist at industry events in the areas of mobile advertising, content, messaging, mobile commerce, and monetization strategies.
Room: Capitol Ballroom 4
Hear from Melissa Bell, who co-founded the explanatory journalism site
Vox.com, and Laura Amico, founder and editor of
Homicide Watch, an innovative platform for data-driven coverage of violent crime. These sites each filled a niche that was missing from traditional news coverage. In this session, Bell and Amico will explain how news orgs can reach new audiences by breaking the conventional news story format.
Melissa Bell co-founded Vox.com in early 2014 and became the first person at Vox Media to hold both a technology and editorial title as Senior Product Manager and Executive Editor for Vox.com. Prior to Vox, Melissa oversaw digital platforms at the Washington Post. She was also a columnist for the Style section, writing on the culture of the internet. Before joining The Post, she helped launch Mint, a Wall Street Journal subsidiary in India, where she lived for four years. She hails from San Diego, California and makes a mean banana-and-cheese quesadilla.
Laura Amico is founder of the award-winning Homicide Watch enterprise and is a core member of digital journalism's Structured Journalism movement. An inaugural Nieman-Berkman fellow in journalism innovation at Harvard, she's now working with WBUR to launch a structured journalism beat covering education reform in Massachusetts. She is a 2011 MJ Bear Fellow with the Online News Association, a fellow at the 6th Annual Harry Frank Guggenheim Symposium on Crime in America, a Knight News Entrepreneur Boot Camp alum, and a New York Times Chairman’s award winner.
Room: Davidson
11 am
to
12:45 pm
Optional event, pre-registration required.
Freedom Sings,® a program of the First Amendment Center, is a critically acclaimed multimedia experience with an all-star cast of musicians. The presentation features music that has been banned or censored or has sounded a call for social change, and it invites audiences to experience the First Amendment in a new way. Freedom Sings was written by Ken Paulson, president and chief executive officer, First Amendment Center.
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Host:
Ken Paulson, College of Mass Communication at Middle Tennessee State University
Ken Paulson is president of the First Amendment Center and dean of the College of Mass Communication at Middle Tennessee State University. He is also the former editor-in-chief of USA Today and remains a columnist on USA Today’s board of contributors, writing about First Amendment issues. Throughout his career, Paulson has drawn on his background as both a journalist and lawyer, serving as the editor or managing editor of newspapers in five different states. He was on the team of journalists who founded USA Today in 1982 before moving on to manage newsrooms in Westchester County, N.Y., Green Bay, Wis., Bridgewater, N.J. and at Florida Today in Brevard County, Fla.
Paulson is also the founder of 1 for All, an unprecedented national campaign on behalf of the First Amendment, launched on July 1, 2010, with support from more than 1,100 news, arts and religious organizations.
He also is a former president of the American Society of News Editors, the nation’s largest organization of news-media leaders.
Paulson also was the host of the Emmy-honored television program "Speaking Freely," seen in more than 60 PBS markets nationwide over five seasons, and the author of "Freedom Sings," a multimedia stage show celebrating the First Amendment that continues to tour the nation¹s campuses.
He was an early advocate of making newspaper content available online, launching online newspapers in both Florida and New York in 1993.
For 12 years, Paulson was a regular guest lecturer at the American Press Institute, speaking to more than 5,000 journalists about First Amendment issues. He was honored with the API Lifetime Service Award. In 2010 and 2011, he served as chair of the PBS Editorial Standards Review Committee.
He is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law and the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He also has served as an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University Law School. In 2008, he received an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from American University and in 2012 an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Buena Vista University.
Room: Legislative Terrace
11:15 am
to
12:15 pm
Are your clients and prospects so consumed with their digital strategies it's hard to get a word in edgewise, much less present the power of your brand to bring new customers? Get in on the conversation with a platform and vendor agnostic primer that will quickly arm you and your reps to talk about digital services, even as you're still deciding if and which ones you want to offer, and tie that in with your current offerings. Any rep can have great free digital advice at their fingertips for any client in minutes. Get the appointment (damn near) every time. Send us one client you need to break through with and we'll include them in our conversation.
John Heaston became seriously afflicted with the alternative media compulsion in 1992, starting a free, student-run monthly from late nights in a hijacked journalism lab. He was publishing editor of Sound News & Arts, editor of The Reader (Omaha), editor/publisher/salesman of the Omaha Weekly and publisher/editor of The Reader since 2002, the bilingual community weekly El Perico since 2004 and
OmahaJobs.com since 2005. He just discovered that providing his advertising clients with digital services (websites, social media, SEO, video, content marketing, etc.) is like exchanging nickels for $5 bills mostly utilizing existing talent and relationships.
Chris Robino has more than 18 years of leadership experience building business and guiding leading organizations. An accomplished entrepreneur and corporate strategist, his vision and expertise in organizational performance have driven notable achievements in the corporate and technology sectors. His accomplishments have been featured in Business First, The Daily Reporter, and The Columbus Dispatch. Chris has built, run and sold 8 different businesses over the last 20 years. His latest venture
SearchRankings.Net, is a full services Search Engine Optimization and Marketing firm, that helps clients optimize web based initiatives for better search engine exposure.
Kris Kluver is the founder of Social Media Contractors. His understanding of social media management and content creation was born out of a need; Kris first became interested in social media when he began hiring help for social media to fill the growing needs of some of his other companies. Today, Kris is driven by a desire to constantly learn more about the evolving trends and philosophies of the 'how' and 'why,' and the true ROI of social media. Kris is a serial entrepreneur who started his first company at age 19 in Omaha, Nebraska. He has since been directly involved with the creation, operation, growth, and occasional sale of more than 20 successful businesses, and has advised on countless others. Kris sits on the board for the HALO Institute at Creighton University and is a member of the Nebraska Diplomats. He has a BA from the University of Wyoming.
David Walker currently manages SouthComm Digital, LLC as a standalone digital agency supporting
SouthComm Communications, a suite of Alternative news weeklies and niche publications. Prior to
SouthComm David held a similar role at Creative Loafing Media and has at his disposal relationships with
multiple digital ad networks, Ad Exchanges and technology partners. From interest based displays to
multiple retargeting tactics to video solutions SouthComm Digital supplies their markets ability to scale
in the digital space.
David understands the challenges and opportunities in the ALT world having been a long time employee
of Washington City Paper where he held the position of Advertising Director up until 2010. He led WCP
and then all 5 CL markets to achieve their digital sales objectives, including training and establishing best
practices in digital sales.
David lives in Washington DC with his wife and two young sons.
Room: Capitol Ballroom 4
11:15 am
to
12 pm
To stay ahead of the competition, it's vital that we constantly reinvent our businesses and ourselves, and the only way to accomplish this is by having an entrepreneurial mindset. Developing an entrepreneurial mindset is all about altering your perspective: No matter how long you've been in business, you're starting it anew today. In this session, Nashville Entrepreneur Center founder and CEO Michael Burcham will discuss key areas you can focus on to build your own entrepreneurial mindset.
Michael Burcham is Founder and CEO of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center. Michael has extensive experience in healthcare innovation, entrepreneurship, and startup venture coaching. He served as President of ParadigmHealth, a provider and integrator of care and disease management services for health plans and employers, from 2001-2007. He also founded and served as President of Theraphysics, a venture-backed specialty healthcare firm managing rehabilitation services, from 1992-2000. He is founder and Director of the Accelerator Summer Business Institute, a 4-week intensive immersion program designed to challenge undergraduate students to develop their own personal brands and business skills. At the Owen Graduate School of Management, Michael teaches healthcare innovation and strategy. He is passionate about helping the creative class transform their ideas into real businesses, and looks to the Entrepreneur Center as an opportunity to revolutionize Nashville’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and creative venture development on a large scale. Michael received his PhD in Healthcare Administration from the Medical University of South Carolina in 2003.
Room: Davidson
Everything you think you know about pageviews is wrong. A page view means that someone visited your site. And that’s about all it means. But how many visitors you had really doesn’t tell you much of anything about how successful your online content is and, in turn, how successful your online business model will be. The key is turning visitors into readers and readers into audience members. And that means starting from the end and identifying at metrics that matter, then working backward to make sure you are strategically acting to drive those metrics.
Jerod Morris is the Director of Content for Copyblogger Media. He manages the
daytoday operations of Copyblogger.com one of the world's most influential
marketing publications. He also hosts The Lede, Copyblogger’s weekly podcast
about content marketing, copywriting, conversion optimization, and much more.
Jerod was a featured presenter at Authority Intensive 2014 and speaks regularly
about strategy and leadership as it relates to the creation and distribution of
content on the open web. He has appeared on ESPN’s Outside the Lines and his
work has been featured or mentioned in publications ranging from Deadspin to The
Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
Kate O'Neill , founder and principal of KO Insights, is a speaker, author, and consultant focused on meaningfulness in business and in life. She consults with select clients, often adding much-needed context for strategic growth opportunities in data-rich and customer-centric environments. Kate has been featured in CNN Money, TIME, Forbes, USA Today, and other national media. She is the author of an upcoming book on meaningfulness in marketing. In 2009, Kate launched and grew [meta]marketer, a digital strategy and analytics firm, over a five-year period and significantly shaped the marketing analytics landscape. Prior to [meta]marketer, Kate’s experience included creating the first content management role at Netflix, leading cutting-edge online optimization work at Magazines.com, developing Toshiba America’s first intranet, building the first website at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and holding leadership positions in a variety of digital content and technology start-ups. Kate is a vocal and visible advocate for women in technology, entrepreneurship, and leadership — she was featured by Google in their global campaign for women in entrepreneurship — as well as for Nashville as a growing tech center.
Room: Meeting Suite 5
12 pm
to
1 pm
1 pm
to
1:45 pm
Introduction: Mark Zusman, Willamette Week
How will science and technology change journalism in the next 5-10 years? Come discuss with Gregg Pascal Zachary:
how software "robots" are writing stories about sports, business and crime -- without human help; how editors are assembling networks of drones, or small satellites, to cover natural disasters war and crises; how massive sensor networks provide new data flows for journalists to analyze and report on; how Google "glasses" and other tiny video cameras create enormous opportunities for makers of video documentaries -- and how public "records" will be transformed by ubiquitous recording of the activities of police and other government employees.
In a world where devices are transforming the way reporting is done, -- and automating many essential functions -- what role will human journalists play? How will these science-based technologies change the way citizens and experts contribute to journalism - and consume it. Finally, what do all the changes mean for creators and consumers of alternative journalism? What is the alt-take on the future?
Gregg Zachary is a professor of practice at the Cronkite School. His four books include "The Diversity Advantage: Multicultural Identity in the New World Economy" (2003) and "Endless Frontier: Vannevar Bush, Engineer of the American Century" (1997), which won the IEEE Literary Award and was described as "deeply informed" by the New York Times. From 1989 to 2002, Gregg was a senior writer for The Wall Street Journal. He was based first in San Francisco, where he covered Silicon Valley, and later in London, where he reported on globalization. From 2004 to 2006, Gregg was a senior editor at Time Inc.'s Business 2.0 magazine and from 2007 to 2008 he wrote the "Ping" column on innovation for The New York Times. He has taught journalism as a lecturer at Stanford University and at the University of California at Berkeley. He has received fellowships from the University of Michigan and the German Marshall Fund. His articles have appeared in many prominent magazines, including Foreign Policy, The New Republic, Wired, The Wilson Quarterly, Technology Review, Smart Money, Reason and Mother Jones. He has written and directed several television documentaries, including "Code Rush," about innovation in Silicon Valley, for PBS. He also is regularly interviewed on world affairs by the BBC, Voice of America, Marketplace and other radio outlets. Zachary currently writes the "Scientific Estate" column for Spectrum magazine and contributes perspectives on African politics to The Atlantic. Gregg also teaches courses on technology, policy and society as a professor of practice at ASU's Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes.
Room: Capitol Ballroom 4
AAN's lawyer, Kevin Goldberg will be available to discuss legal issues (but not give legal advice) free of charge; in the (unlikely) event that everyone is too shy to ask questions, Kevin has some issues at the ready to kick start the discussion.
Kevin Goldberg is an attorney with Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth. His expertise is in First Amendment, Freedom of Information Act, and intellectual property issues, particularly copyright and trademark matters encountered by content creators and users. Kevin has a B.A. from James Madison University and a J.D. George Washington University.
Room: Meeting Suite 6
Time to flip the tables and take a look at the media landscape from the ad buyers' perspective. What trends are they seeing? And is your publication offering what today's ad buyers want?
David Crawford has made print media his career. He is currently a regional account manager at SRDS, but prior to that, he enjoyed over ten years as a print media buyer and planner. The account roster he helped manage is a who's who of Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond, and JCPenney. He also worked on national campaigns for the likes of Coca Cola and Turtle Wax. He's worked day to day with the young media buyers and planners that we talk about on a daily basis (managing a staff of 15 with the average age of 24 during his agency days). He understands what it takes to get a planners attention and what information motivates them to look deeper within a market. His experiences buying and managing staffs of advertising decision makers have made David an asset to his media partners. He currently lives in suburban Atlanta with his wife Juli and two daughters, Lily and Miranda.
Tim Bingaman , President & CEO of Circulation Verification Council (CVC), believes that necessity is the mother of invention. Tim spent the 1980’s & early 1990’s working for Gannett, Ingersoll Publications, JRC, Thompson, and independently owned newspapers analyzing struggling community newspapers. He traveled the country working at papers in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Missouri. While studying the feasibility of a publication in California Tim realized that he did not have the kind of data he needed to make important decisions and the idea for CVC was born.
In 1992, Circulation Verification Council (CVC) was created with only 13 member publications to meet the data needs of advertisers and publishers who struggle evaluating community newspapers, shoppers, niche publications, and magazines across the country. CVC processes were designed to give an accurate picture of publication’s circulation and readership so that publishers and advertisers can make informed decisions.
CVC now audits over 4,000 editions nationwide with a combined circulation over 70,000,000. Tim travels the country 26 weeks a year to talk to publishers and advertising professionals about the benefits of working with audited publications.
Room: Davidson
2 pm
to
2:45 pm
Vendasta’s Co-founder & VP Marketing Jeff Tomlin will talk about strategies of building revenue with traditional sales approaches, vs. building market share. He’ll help you work through the thought process and connect the dots with other successful digital success stories, examine why traditional media sales need digital foundations today, and connect the products with the sales strategy to create a 10X improvement of digital revenue growth.
Introduction by Molly Willmott, The Memphis Flyer
Jeff Tomlin is Co-Founder and VP Marketing at VendAsta Technologies, a software development company providing white-label reputation and social presence management solutions serving over 250 media companies that serve local businesses. Prior to co-founding VendAsta at the beginning of 2008, Jeff was the Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at Point2 Technologies where he developed strategic relationships with companies like Google, Yahoo, the New York Times, CanWest, Classified Ventures and IAC Interactive Corp. He hates to say that he’s been doing this a long time, but he has vivid memories of marketing on Altavista, Hotbot and Excite...
Room: Capitol Ballroom 4
Learn simple steps you can take to improve your website's search engine visibility before you shell out for expensive SEO (search engine optimization) services. The truth is, most of the stuff SEO companies charge for aren't that useful for local content trying to attract more local readers. Understanding what makes your content valuable/desirable to advertisers, your SEO strategy becomes clearer. This session will cover how SEO should fit within your overall digital strategy, how to conduct a basic digital self-diagnostic test, and practical tips to help your target audience find you.
Introduction by Fran Zankowski, Colorado Springs Independent
Marc Shepard can't deal with the fact that he's been in the Alt Media business for over 18 years, so don't bring it up. He ran papers in Portland (ME) and Providence (RI) before landing at the Dig in Boston. All of his sports teams are better than yours, he still has the quaint belief that you won't go out of business if you don't spend more money than you make, and wishes the Boston Phoenix had listened to him on that. Hate him on twitter
@MockShepid.
Room: Meeting Suite 5
Washington City Paper Creative Director Jandos Rothstein shares insights into how AAN editors and designers can create a more captivating user experience throughout the entire book -- and not just on covers and feature spreads. He'll also discuss strategies for transitioning into a more visually rich publication, including web/print integration and touching on the financial benefits of the City Paper approach.
Jandos Rothstein missed his old desk at Washington City Paper so much he came back as Creative Director after seven years away designing much duller publications. He is also a professor of graphic design at George Mason University in Virginia and author of Designing Magazines from Allworth Press.
Room: Davidson
The Hightower Lowdown will soon publish an in-depth profile of how:
· Amazon’s predatory and perhaps illegal tactics negatively impacts main street retail shops and small manufacturers
· Amazon avoids paying its fair share of taxes
· Amazon mistreats thousands of its employees
· Amazon unfairly uses loopholes and lobbying to tilt the playing field in its favor
Our hope is that some alt-weeklies will be interested in running all or part of the national package in print and/or on web, and then localize the national stories for your particular market.
Panelists:
Jay Harris, American Prospect,
John Weiss, Colorado Springs Independent and Jim Hightower
John Weiss is Publisher of the Colorado Springs Independent and Co-Chair of Indy Give!
Room: Meeting Suite 6
2:45 pm
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3:15 pm
3:15 pm
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4 pm
Come battle it out and stretch your creative muscles in our Cover Design Cage Match! Open to designers or anyone who is curious about the brainstorming process. This will be a fast-paced, creative exercise session.
Elizabeth Jones is the art director of Nashville Scene. She's responsible for bringing a little Sparkle and TwAANg to the convention.
Todd Bates is the creative director at Creative Loafing (Tampa), where he occasionally wears the hat of photographer as well. His award-winning designs have graced the pages of CL, off and on, for nearly a decade. During an 8-year break from the alt-weekly world, he escaped the Florida heat for a career in book design in Seattle. His publishing clients included Simon & Schuster, Pixar, NASCAR, Lucasfilm, Marvel, Barnes & Noble and Chronicle Books. When he’s off the clock he can be found roadside-shooting his ever-growing series on vintage neon signs.
Room: Meeting Suite 7
How alts can collaborate with universities, non-profits, and other national partners on story projects.
Hanaa Rifaey is the founder of Press Forward, a boutique consulting shop specializing in nonprofit management, strategic planning, fundraising, and marketing. Previously, Hanaa served as the President and Publisher of The American Independent News Network. She has managed campaigns and programs in a variety of issue areas including civil rights, health care, and climate change. Hanaa received her undergraduate degree from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., and her master's degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She lives in D.C. with her husband and their dog, two cats, and tiny human.
Jo Ellen Green Kaiser is the executive director of The Media Consortium. Passionate about mission-driven independent media, Jo Ellen has worked for a succession of independent magazines, including stints as Managing Editor and Associate Publisher of Tikkun, Publisher of LiP: Informed Revolt, and Executive Director and Editor-in-Chief of Zeek. A leading figure in Jewish media, Jo Ellen is an expert on the Jewish social justice movement. She is the co-editor of Righteous Indignation: A Jewish Response to Justice (Jewish Lights) and co-led the Righteous Indignation Project. She has written about Jewish social justice for a number of publications, including The Jewish Daily Forward, Sojourners, Tikkun and Interfaithfamily.com.
Amy Kovac-Ashley is the assistant dean of Georgetown's Master's in Professional Studies Program in Journalism, where she focuses on curriculum and faculty development, industry connections and careers. She is also the adviser to the Georgetown student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Previously, she was a regional editor for Patch.com, where she helped launch the D.C./Baltimore region of sites, led the editorial Recruitment and Training Committee and created and team-taught a Capstone class at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism that focused on hyperlocal and niche journalism. Before that, she worked at The Washington Post, where she was the social media editor, the local community editor of LoudounExtra.com and a senior producer for local news and interactivity.
Room: Davidson
Join us as we talk through the trials and triumphs of adding an event portfolio to your print brand. We'll cover everything from why to do events, how to get started and how to make money doing it. We'll also cover the important stuff, like selling sponsorships and activating those sponsorships to make your clients happy.
Christy Bryan is a native Nashvillian and co-founder of Events Hatched, a Nashville based event production firm. Christy most recently held the position of National Sponsorship Director for SouthComm Inc. where she spent 7 years creating and developing events for the company. She was instrumental in converting events from purely a marketing tool to a significant revenue stream. Christy resides in Franklin TN with her husband, Andrew, and son, Jennings.
Jamie Breitbach is the Consumer Events Manager for SouthComm, Inc which produces approximately 50 B2B and B2C events per year on behalf of the Nashville Scene, Nfocus Magazine, Nashville Post and Nashville Medical News. Prior to joining SouthComm, Ms. Breitbach spent 3 years as Marketing Director and VP of Operations for RK Motors Charlotte, the nation's leading collector and classic car dealership, as well as 6 years as Marketing Project Manager at Barrett-Jackson Auction Company which held annual, multi-million dollar events in Scottsdale, AZ, Palm Beach, FL, Las Vegas, NV, and Orange County, CA. Before entering the classic cars world, she worked as a cast member at Disney MGM Studios while studying Disney's branding and leadership techniques.
Mike Smith has been a Nashville resident and enthusiast since 1994. Mike is currently the group publisher for Nashville Scene and Nfocus Magazine, two publications that play large roles in shaping the economic and social development of the city. His emphasis on branding and non-traditional marketing has opened doors and revenue steams for the Scene's parent company, SouthComm. Mike has led the company in local and national sponsorship sales and developed a consultative training program that has proven successful in the changing media landscape. Mike is also the co-founder of Nashville Fashion Week, a city-wide event that is in its 5th year. He launched the Fashion Forward Fund, a non-profit to support emerging designers in the Nashville market. He serves as president of the board for Nashville Cares and board VP of marketing for Tennessee Repertory Theatre, and is mentor at the Periscope program at the Arts & Business Council and Nashville Entrepreneur Center. He lives in East Nashville with his partner Kelly and in his spare time he dabbles in interior design, gardening, and drinking vodka.
Room: Capitol Ballroom 4
Who manages your social media internally? Is your overall strategy more focused on driving readership, growing fans, promoting specials, or making money on social? In this open forum, we'll find out how papers both large and small are spreading the social media workload and managing the inevitable tensions between the marketing and editorial sides. Come prepared to share!
Molly Willmott is director of new media for The Memphis Flyer. She is the Electronic Publishing Chair on the AAN Board of Directors.
Room: Meeting Suite 5
4:15 pm
to
5 pm
Federal News Radio web editor and It's All Journalism podcast producer Michael O'Connell offers tips and tricks on how to use audio to give your stories a voice.
Michael O'Connell is web editor at
Federal News Radio and producer of the
It's All Journalism podcast, a weekly podcast focusing on the changing state of media. Previously, he was a managing editor at the Connection Newspapers in Northern Virginia, where he oversaw four editions of the weekly community newspaper. In his 10 years at the Connection, he also worked as a community reporter, Fairfax County reporter, associate editor and community editor. He also spearheaded the Connection's online and social media strategy. Michael graduated from the Indiana University School of Journalism in 1983 with a journalism/English degree. In 2010, he entered American University's Interactive Journalism program on the way to earning an M.A.
Room: Meeting Suite 5
Newsroom staffing levels, freelance pay rates, page counts, social media burdens—this session is about the nitty gritty. In this editors-only session, attendees will discuss the results of the AAN Editorial Standards survey, which addresses various benchmarks, as well as queries about how editors deploy their resources. The survey will ultimately be available in the AAN Resource Library. The session will consist of a lively free-wheeling discussion about how editors are using their budgets and staffs, with the goal of generating new ideas and inspiration.
Jimmy Boegle is the founding editor and publisher of the
Coachella Valley Independent in Palm Springs, Calif. He's a former AAN diversity chair and currently serves on the editorial and membership committees. He is a veteran of the
Tucson Weekly,
Las Vegas CityLife, the
Reno News & Review and The Associated Press. He decided to make the move to Palm Springs because the weather in Tucson and Las Vegas simply was not warm enough for him.
Room: Davidson
Last year Willamette Week, Monterey County Weekly and the Colorado Springs Independent’s Give! campaigns raised more than $4 million for about 250 mostly small, community-based, progressive non-profits via donations from more than 20,000 local donors. These end-of-year, multi-media, guerrilla grassroots Give! campaigns encourage everyone to give to back to local non-profits, with a particular emphasis on catalyzing philanthropy from younger adults. In 2013, of the 5,200+ donors who participated in Colorado Springs' Give! Campaign, more than 40 percent were under 36 years of age. A community paper in Lexington Kentucky utilized the Give! model to raise $2 million last year, in just their second Give! campaign. Join us to learn more.
Moderator:
John Weiss, Colorado Springs Independent
Panelists:
Richard Meeker, Willamette Week,
Claire Swinford, Colorado Springs Independent, Carrie Simison-Bitz, Colorado Springs Independent, Chuck Creacy, Smiley Pete Publishing and Chris Eddie, Smiley Pete Publishing
John Weiss is Publisher of the Colorado Springs Independent and Co-Chair of Indy Give!
Richard Meeker has been publisher of Portland's Pulitzer Prize-winning Willamette Week since 1983. Along with co-owner Mark Zusman, his City of Roses Newspaper Company also owns and operates the Santa Fe Reporter and INDY Week.
Claire Swinford is the associate director of the Colorado Springs Independent's Give! Campaign and has been a part of developing the program since 2010.
Room: Capitol Ballroom 4
Jeanne Foster is associate publisher of
Gambit. A New Orleans native, Foster studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and began her publishing career as an intern at
Time Out New York. Foster has been an employee of
Gambit since 2001, serving in various capacities including advertising coordinator and assistant advertising director. Foster has served as project manager for many digital projects for
Gambit, including client-designed mobile sites and multiple redesigns of
Gambit's website, bestofneworleans.com. She also has headed development for online and print promotions and served as project manager for the company's special events, including the
Gambit Food Revue.
Leigh Anne Rehkopf is the Marketing & Promotions Director at Creative Loafing Atlanta. After graduating from New York University with a degree in music sociology and photography with dreams of becoming the photo editor at SPIN, life happened and she ended up in brand management and promotional marketing. After a brief stint selling air for Clear Channel radio, she landed this position at Creative Loafing in 2009. She's a native Atlantan, unlike 99% of Atlantans*, and enjoys playing tennis and dominating at bar trivia.
*Statistic not entirely accurate.
Robby Robbins is the multimedia sales manager at the
Santa Barbara Independent. With nearly 25 years in the newspaper industry, he brings his straightforward, no-nonsense, ever-changing approach to staff and product management. With time spent in the daily world and now at his second
Independent, he has pretty much tried it all and kept what works. Robby served on the AAN board of directors from 2002 to 2009.
Room: Meeting Suite 6
5:15 pm
to
5:45 pm
Overview and demo of Pricing Engine ordering and reporting systems, and hands on training and Q&A for pilot partners and those interested in learning more about adding SEM and Digital Ad Sales to their portfolio.
Jeremy Kagan has been an Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School teaching Digital Marketing for almost a decade. He also runs digital advertising startup Pricing Engine, which helps smaller advertisers with Search Marketing and Digital Advertising across Google, Yahoo, Bing, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Foursquare, and Reddit. Kagan was a Vice President in Sony Musicâs Global Digital Business running mobile accounts, and head of strategy for Publicis Modem, a leading digital ad agency. You can see him as an expert guest about digital marketing on Bloomberg TV, Fox Business News, and Forbes.
Room: Meeting Suite 5
6 pm
to
8 pm
Tonight's entertainment puts you in good company among the true legends of country music at the
County Music Hall of Fame® and Museum. Take the Demonbreun entrance for a cocktail reception hosted by two of Nashville's finest, the imitable
Doyle & Debbie. Enjoy drinks and light appetizers while Doyle and Debbie entertain you with their tribute to Music City, tongues firmly planted in cheeks. After the show, the Hall of Fame welcomes AAN attendees into The Bakersfield Sound exhibit, which celebrates the California country popularized by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. We'll also tour the new home of iconic letterpress shop,
Hatch Show Print, which moved from Lower Broad to the Hall of Fame in 2013. Dinner on your own. Word to the wise -- expect to see a lot of security in the downtown area, since the National Governors Association is in Nashville at the same time. Keep your stash hidden.
Saturday, July 12
9 am
to
3 pm
Light breakfast will be available at 9 a.m. Plenty of time to grab coffee and a bagel and get to the opening session by 9:30 a.m.
Room: Capitol Ballroom 1/2/3
9:30 am
to
10:15 am
Introduction: Amy Austin, Washington City Paper
The America of the near future will look nothing like the America of the recent past. Huge generation gaps have opened up in our political and social values, our economic well-being, our family structure, our racial and ethnic identity, our gender norms, and how we consume media. Pew Research Center Executive Vice President Paul Taylor will discuss how U.S. demographics will change in the next 50 years, and what it means for the future of media.
Paul Taylor is the executive vice president of special projects at the
Pew Research Center, where he oversees demographic, social and generational research. Paul is the author of The Next America, a new book examining generations and the country's changing demographics. From 1996 through 2003, he served as president and board chairman of the Alliance for Better Campaigns. Before that, he was a newspaper reporter for 25 years, the last 14 at The Washington Post, where he covered national politics and served as a foreign correspondent. From 1992-1995, he was the Post's bureau chief in South Africa and reported on the historic transformation from apartheid to democracy. He also covered four U.S. presidential campaigns. Paul is also the author of See How They Run (Knopf, 1990) and co-author of The Old News Versus the New News (Twentieth Century Fund, 1992). He twice served as the visiting Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University, in 1989 and 1995. He graduated in 1970 with a bachelor's in American Studies from Yale University. Paul has lectured at numerous colleges and frequently discusses Pew Research studies in print and broadcast media.
Room: Capitol Ballroom 4
10:15 am
to
10:45 am
Paul Taylor is the executive vice president of special projects at the Pew Research Center, where he oversees demographic, social and generational research. He will be on hand to sign copies of
The Next America, a new book examining generations and the country’s changing demographics. While you are in the Trade Show be sure to visit our exhibitors (see list on the right side of this page) and learn about their products and services.
Room: Capitol Ballroom 1/2/3
10:45 am
to
11:30 am
Fresh off her year as a Knight Fellow at Stanford, former alt-weekly editor Alexa Schirtzinger will present the results of her fellowship research on innovation in local news. Expect some interesting case studies, an innovation toolkit, handy tips for freshening up your online presence, and free candy.
Alexa Schirtzinger recently completed a John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University, focusing on alternative business models for local journalism, and was previously the editor of the Santa Fe Reporter.
Room: Capitol Ballroom 4
Introduction: Susan Harper, INDY Week
Facebook is on a mission to make it easier for journalists and newsrooms to find, share and embed newsworthy content and to connect people with stories and videos from news organizations. Jason White, who manages news partnerships for the social media giant, shares the latest collaborations, as well as tools every organization can use.
Jason White is a strategic partner manager for Facebook based in New York City. He works with news and publishing companies on their Facebook strategies, helping them leverage the world's largest social network to achieve business objectives. Prior to joining Facebook in June 2013, White was a senior news editor at NBC News Digital, where he helped lead coverage of major domestic stories. He also led the digital rollout and social media strategies for network documentaries such as Inside the Obama White House and Inside Congress. Previously, White worked on TV/Web integration for CNN and CNN.com. He was instrumental in launching CNN.com's first blog — the 360 Blog, for Anderson Cooper and his team — and in developing a commentary product for CNN.com. White has also worked as a producer for the PBS NewsHour and a reporter for Stateline.org.
Room: Davidson
Needs based?
Consultative?
Insight?
How does selling with Multimedia and packages change?
Kevin Hoppes is VP of Sales and Marketing for AdStrix, a company that provides an automated full service digital agency to media companies seeking to profitably become the leader in their local market. Kevin started his career in newspapers 30 years ago at The Pottsville Republican when he developed the INFO-CONNECT AudioText system which he sold worldwide to newspapers. He launched a number of new print and online products while there, developed several proprietary electronic telephony devices, a BBS, an ISP and launched their first Web site. In 1997 Kevin helped to launch AdQuest Classifieds which later became PowerOne Media, a national aggregator of newspaper classified advertising. He then served as Corporate Internet Director for Times Shamrock Communications which owned several alternative newspapers. Later he helped to launch RealMatch & The Job Network, which today is a leading innovator of online recruiting. He also is a musician and 2 time finalist in an international song writing contest which supports VH1’s Save The Music.
Michael Wagner is the Vice President of Euclid Media Group, a multimedia company that publishes the San Antonio Current, Orlando Weekly, Detroit Metro Times, Cleveland Scene, Do210, and Out in SA. Previously, Michael served as Regional Publisher for Time-Shamrock; Publisher of the Riverfront Times in St. Louis, and as the Director of Digital Sales at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Michael has 15+ years of media sales and management experience. As a teen, he was arrested four times and stole a record-breaking 250 hood ornaments in a single summer. Michael graduated Cum Laude from Columbia College and is proud father to his pug, Myrtle.
Blair Barna has worked in the world of alt-weeklies for 20 years and is the advertising director of the Charleston City Paper in Charleston, S. C. He founded and co-owns the paper -- now in its sixteenth year -- with his two business partners, publisher Noel Mermer and editor Stephanie Barna. One of them is also his life partner -- he'll leave it up to you to guess which. Barna has two children, three cats, two dogs, and no time to himself. Prior to blazing trails in Chucktown, he worked for Creative Loafing in Savannah and Atlanta.
Room: Meeting Suite 5
11:45 am
to
12:30 pm
Michael Crystal will moderate discussion of this year's updated and different benchmarking survey. (Closed session, open only to AAN members who completed the longer version of the annual survey.)
Michael Crystal is a financial consultant based in Seattle. He has over thirty years of financial and strategic management experience, much of that time spent in publishing. He was the CEO and publisher of Seattle Weekly for 20 years. He also served as the publisher of the Chicago Reader and COO of its parent company, a multi-city publishing business. He was instrumental in creating the first AAN Financial Standards survey and was responsible for it for many years. Michael's current practice focuses on the financial management and structure of early stage companies and non-profit organizations. He continues his interest in the transition of media to new formats, serving as a key figure in the operation of
Crosscut Public Media, a pioneer in the evolving area of non-profit, online, civic journalism.
Room: Meeting Suite 5
Alt journalism veterans discuss the art of storytelling and how to write stories that capture the attention of the audience.
Moderator:
Mark Zusman, Willamette Week
Andy Van De Voorde is the executive associate editor for Voice Media Group. He began with the company in 1983, working his way up as a calendar editor, music editor, staff writer and managing editor. For the past 15 years he has worked at the corporate level, recruiting and hiring writers and editors, overseeing various special projects, and racking up large bar tabs. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona.
Room: Davidson
The Media Deserts Project takes a new approach to visualizing changes to the media landscape. Its goal is to map the emerging media ecosystem using big data visualization to understand the dynamics of the shifting media landscape at the zip code level. Community publishers are a vital part of this changing landscape and can help bring a perspective that is currently lacking.
Dr. Michelle Ferrier is the associate dean for innovation, research/creative activity and graduate studies in the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University. She is the founder and publisher of LocallyGrownNews.com, a hyperlocal, niche online community for local food advocates and a New Media Women Entrepreneur grant recipient. Ferrier is also one of the 2012 inaugural fellows for the Arizona State University Scripps Howard Journalism Entrepreneurship Institute. Ferrier is vice president of Journalism That Matters and is active in research around the changing media ecosystem and curriculum change. Her current research agenda includes media entrepreneurship and the media deserts project that examines places where fresh news and information are lacking. She is the chief instigator behind "Create or Die", the media entrepreneurship startup events hosted by Journalism That Matters in June 2010 and June 2011.
Room: Capitol Ballroom 4
12:30 pm
to
1:30 pm
1:30 pm
to
2:15 pm
Design thinking provides the tools for creative, human-centered problem solving that allows you to collaborate across disciplines and tackle big challenges. Many news organizations use design thinking to understand the needs of the audience (empathize), frame problems as opportunities for creative solutions (define), generate a range of possible solutions (ideate), communicatie the core elements of solutions (prototype) and learning what works and what doesn't (test). See how design thinking can change your approach to work.
Room: Capitol Ballroom 4
Now everyone thinks they are a food critic. So how do we compare to folks who don't have to follow any journalistic codes when it comes to praising or trashing a restaurant or bar, or how paid posts and freebie meals affect the perception of what we do compared to amateur bloggers? How do we make ourselves more relevant in the increasingly crowded critical space?
Chris Chamberlain is a food, drink, wine, spirits, travel and personal
interest writer based in Nashville, Tennessee, where he has lived his
entire life except for four years in California where he studied liberal arts
at Stanford University and learned how to manipulate chopsticks. He is a
regular writer for the Nashville Scene and their “Bites” food blog as well as
Nashville Lifestyles magazine. He is also the Southern correspondent for
FoodRepublic.com, a national website dedicated to “Drinking, Eating, and
Living the Way a Man Should.” He has also contributed to the Nashville
City Paper, Her Nashville, Relish, Julep, Local Palate, The Bourbon
Review, 2001 Edgehill, the SFA’s Gravy newsletter and as a kitchen
gadget reviewer at www.geardiary.com. His travel guide and cookbook, The
Southern Foodie: 100 Places to Eat before You Die and The Recipes That
Made Them Famous was released in 2012 by Thomas Nelson Publishing,
and he is currently working on a sequel, The Southern Foodie’s Guide to
the Pig for release in fall of 2014. Another book on the history of beer and
breweries in Middle Tennessee for History Press out of Charleston will
come out later this year.
Dale Levitski became a household name through Top Chef, where he was a runner up on the third season of Bravo’s national cooking competition show, but his culinary accolades reach beyond his time on television. Over the course of 15 years, Levitski has received numerous honors and accolades for his cooking, including being tied to three different best new restaurant awards by Chicago Magazine. He has received four Jean Banchet Award nomination, including rising star chef, celebrity chef, and twice for best neighborhood restaurant. He has cooked twice at the James Beard House by invitation.
His first position as executive chef was to open the breakfast-focused Orange, followed by La Tache, which was named one of the “Best New Bistros in North America” by Food and Wine magazine.
Following his success on Top Chef, Levitski took over Lincoln Park’s Sprout restaurant, during which
time he was selected as a semifinalist for “Best Chef: Great Lakes Region” in 2011 by the James Beard
Foundation. With Sprout owner Mike Causevic, Levitski opened Frog n Snail, a Midwestern bistro, in his
own neighborhood.
With his announcement last October to take a hiatus from the Chicago culinary scene, Levitski spent
time as an ongoing guest chef at Montana’s The Resort at Paws Up. His experience in some of Chicago’s
best kitchens were where he honed skills for brunch, bistro and fine dining settings, and where his
inspiration for creative flavors will come into his new kitchen at Sinema in Nashville’s historic Melrose
theater building.
Max Goldberg is the co-owner of Strategic Hospitality, a Nashville based
hospitality group with 6 projects in its current portfolio and a handful of consulting
projects. The company, with more than 300 employees, has a focus on
restaurants, bars, and strategic consulting. Mr. Goldberg sits on the board of
The Sports Fund, the Grace Eaton Center, and serves as a sponsor and coach
of the Kipp Academy basketball team. He graduated from the University of
Denver in 2005 with a BSBA in business management and served as the student
body president during his senior year. In 2011 he was named as one of Forbes
Magazine’s 30 under 30.
Room: Meeting Suite 5
2 pm
to
4 pm
2:30 pm
to
3:30 pm
What does community mean? Digital community, especially social media, garners a lot of buzz. But in some places, especially in the alt world, community can also mean print or in-person events. We explore the contours of community and look for listening lessons that will confirm what feels right to do for growth in your market.
Hanaa Rifaey is the founder of Press Forward, a boutique consulting shop specializing in nonprofit management, strategic planning, fundraising, and marketing. Previously, Hanaa served as the President and Publisher of The American Independent News Network. She has managed campaigns and programs in a variety of issue areas including civil rights, health care, and climate change. Hanaa received her undergraduate degree from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., and her master's degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She lives in D.C. with her husband and their dog, two cats, and tiny human.
Ashley Toland Trice is the editor and publisher of Mobile, Ala.’s alt-weekly, Lagniappe, which she co-founded with fellow publisher Rob Holbert in July 2002. Lagniappe has steadily grown from a 5,000 circulation biweekly “bar rag” into a 25,000 weekly newspaper over the last 12 years. Bucking national trends, the paper decided to actually increase its print frequency (Gasp!) in April 2014, not only in response to Mobile’s rapid growth but also because the city’s lone (Newhouse-owned) daily reduced its print schedule to three times a week, which, let’s just say didn’t go over too well with our citizenry, who kicked, screamed and almost demanded we fill this void for them. It’s been interesting living in a real-life journalism experiment, but the jump to weekly has been almost frighteningly successful so far. Though we can confirm, as many wise men and women have said before us, with greater print frequency comes greater “office beer” expense.
Carolyn Powers works on outreach and special initiatives at Internews, an international non-profit dedicated to empowering local media around the world. Bouncing around between DC, San Francisco and New Orleans, she most recently helped build Internews’ first media project in the US (based in New Orleans). Outside of Internews, Carolyn has led an intensive storytelling course with college students in Kigali, Rwanda, served as a community organizer on the outskirts of Boston, and traveled a bit around the world, though has many more countries that she would like to check off that list.
Molly de Aguiar directs the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation’s Media grants, which strengthen and expand New Jersey's news and information ecosystem, support and experiment with collaboration and resource-sharing, and encourage deep community engagement. Prior to joining the Dodge staff in 2005, Molly spent 10 years working for arts and education nonprofits in Philadelphia and was active in independent media issues. She is a blogger, a list maker, a weekend baker, and an avid traveler with her family.
Room: Meeting Suite 5
3:45 pm
to
4:30 pm
How can alternative publications convert print brand status into digital market share? In this session, we'll introduce open source tools that turn multimedia storytelling, native advertising, online voting, and community-sourced event calendars into increased traffic, revenue, and ad prices. Learn how the design of user interfaces impacts the way content is shared and consumed in digital ecosystems and how that affects your bottom line.
Molly Willmott is director of new media for The Memphis Flyer. She is the Electronic Publishing Chair on the AAN Board of Directors.
Ryan DeRose is the founder and president of Vibethink, a full service creative agency located in Charlottesville, Virginia. Ryan capitalized on his experiences in education consulting, web development, and online marketing to create a new kind of business designed to solve problems specific to the digital age. His roles at the company include business strategy, creative direction, UX/UI design, and front-end development.
Giles Morris is the director of creative strategy and communications at Vibethink. Former editor-in-chief of AAN member paper C-VILLE Weekly, Giles spent a decade in daily and weekly newspapers as a freelancer, reporter, and editor. A finalist for this year’s AAN multimedia feature story award, Giles has spent the last five years thinking about how print media companies can best transition their business models to the digital marketplace.
Room: Meeting Suite 5
4 pm
to
4:30 pm
Jimmy Boegle is the founding editor and publisher of the
Coachella Valley Independent in Palm Springs, Calif. He's a former AAN diversity chair and currently serves on the editorial and membership committees. He is a veteran of the
Tucson Weekly,
Las Vegas CityLife, the
Reno News & Review and The Associated Press. He decided to make the move to Palm Springs because the weather in Tucson and Las Vegas simply was not warm enough for him.
Dan Gibson is the editor of the
Tucson Weekly. His work has appeared in the Phoenix New Times, in Phoenix Magazine, at Idolator.com, and elsewhere. He co-authored "Besides the Bible," a book currently available from Intervarsity Press. He also manages a currently-inactive amateur soccer team, Sparklemotion, and is the subject of a Facebook fan group with more than 40 members.
Room: Davidson
4:30 pm
to
5:30 pm
AAN's annual bash to celebrate the best in alternative journalism. Come toast the winners of the 2014 AAN Awards, which recognize the most awesome, ass-kicking pieces of journalism to appear in alt publications across the U.S. and Canada. First-place winners will be honored with complimentary booze, bling, and the undying respect of their peers.
Enrique Limón Much to the anguish of his mom's uterus, Enrique Limón was born feet first on a sunny SoCal day. He's been doing things his way ever since. After a stint in Tijuana’s ZETA weekly, Limón climbed over a barbed wire fence and ended up at San Diego CityBeat, where he worked as a columnist and features writer for over 4 years. His escape from immigration authorities led him to Santa Fe, N.M., where he currently "works" as deputy editor at the Santa Fe Reporter.
Room: Capitol Ballroom 4
6 pm
to
11:59 pm
All Dollys, Jacks, Taylors and Willies: this is your chance to visit the spots you missed: go have some hot chicken, dine at one of Nashville's finer restaurant, or find some good listenin' in Music City.