http://www.aan.org/ The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) is the trade organization for the alternative newspaper business. AAN is a diverse group of 125 non-daily free-circulation papers that are distributed in all of the major metropolitan areas of North America. en-us Copyright 2008 The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals and non-commercial organizations only. Newspapers, magazines, and other commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact editor@aan.org. editor@aan.org support@desert.net Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:21:50 EST Dispatch Gyrobase http://aan.org/images/icon_88x31.gif http://www.aan.org/ AAN is the trade organization for the alternative newspaper business. 88 31 http://aan.org/news/san_antonio_current_names_new_publisher/Aan/ViewArticle?oid=420901 Chris Keating, who was publisher of SF Weekly from 2004-2006, will relocate to San Antonio and take over as the Current's publisher effective Aug. 1, AAN News has learned. He replaces Chris Sexson, who took the publisher spot at the Current's Times-Shamrock sister publication Metro Times in mid-June. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST Industry News AAN News http://aan.org/alternative/Redirector?oid=420902 In the non-daily print division, both the Memphis Flyer and Miami New Times won four first-place awards in the annual contest which "recognizes outstanding journalism in 11 southeastern states." The Flyer placed first in disaster coverage, editorial writing, feature reporting, and political reporting. It also tacked on two third-place finishes. Miami New Times finished first in consumer reporting, courts and law reporting, criticism (a category swept by alt-weeklies), and non-deadline news. New Times added one third-place finish as well. In addition, New Times Broward-Palm Beach took home two awards, including a first-place win for sports reporting; while both Mountain XPress and North Carolina's Independent Weekly went home with a second-place award. Winners were announced Saturday in Atlanta. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST Honors & Achievements New Times Broward-Palm Beach http://aan.org/news/north_coast_journal__the_venue_project_add_roller_derby_to_live_webcasts/Aan/ViewArticle?oid=420932 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST Press Releases North Coast Journal Press Release http://aan.org/alternative/Redirector?oid=420958 Dave Segal, who resigned as The Stranger's music editor in 2006 after secretly allowing an employee from ad sales to write pseudonymously for the paper's Line Out blog and music section, has been hired as a music writer. "Whatever Segal's missteps as an editor, he remains an impeccable music writer -- passionate, knowledgeable, diverse in his tastes -- and so, after several rounds of musical chairs, we're bringing him back as a staff writer," writes current music editor Eric Grandy. "He'll have no managerial responsibilities -- to the point, he won't be hiring any freelancers -- but he'll get to do what he's best at, which is writing about music." Segal was most recently music editor at OC Weekly. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST Industry News The Stranger http://aan.org/alternative/Redirector?oid=420959 "Bob was a good man. Steady, confident, generous, and quick to smile beneath his salt and pepper 'stache," writes Chris Thompson in the East Bay Express. Thomas, who passed away July 12, ran the business side of the Express for six years in the 1990s. "Bob was the grownup who made sure the ads got sold, the circulation was working, the numbers got crunched; he took care of all the things our rumpus room needed," Thompson writes. "It wasn't fair that disease took his life so soon." Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST Industry News East Bay Express http://aan.org/alternative/Redirector?oid=420983 In a move that was widely expected, SF Weekly and Village Voice Media have announced they will appeal San Francisco Superior Court Judge Marla Miller's ruling in favor of the San Francisco Bay Guardian in the predatory-pricing case. Miller rejected arguments last week to overturn or modify the jury's March verdict. Calling the suit "economic terrorism," VVM CEO Jim Larkin claims "mom-and-pop advertisers in San Francisco will suffer from [Judge Miller's] handiwork, as will any aggressive new business in the city that attempts to challenge a larger, established competitor." Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST Industry News SF Weekly http://aan.org/alternative/Redirector?oid=421169 "Now I know how the line workers at a bottling plant must have felt when they heard about Laverne and Shirley!," Chris Packham of Kansas City's The Pitch writes in reaction to the sitcom "set in the office of a dishy alternative weekly publication and blog" that ABC is considering. "You totally know this thing will be like Sex and the City with nose rings and ironic T-shirts. TV is not always the worst -- for instance, it's awesome when it tells stories about Battlestars or Detective McNulty -- but this has the unmistakable whiff of horrible, usually depicted by cartoonists as wavy stink lines." Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST Industry News The Pitch http://aan.org/news/birmingham_weekly_publisher_talks_about_his_weekly_card_program/Aan/ViewArticle?oid=421203 This innovative program came to be after the young paper was having trouble selling restaurant ads for actual cash -- most establishments simply wanted to trade for food. Those meals are now sold via the Weekly Card, which is a sort of credit card for local businesses. Members pay the Weekly a flat fee of $24.95 when they sign up for a card, and then receive 40 percent off retail price at the participating businesses. Users can then add credit to the cards as they wish. Publisher Chuck Leishman recently talked to AAN News about the program's origins, its success, and his plans for other markets. Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST Ad & Business News AAN News http://aan.org/alternative/Redirector?oid=418215 Thomas, who passed away on July 12, was the first president of Pleasanton Weekly, owned by Palo Alto Weekly parent company Embarcadero Publishing. He was an original organizer of AAN West, and also worked for the East Bay Express. "For those who knew Bob, his accomplishments come as no surprise," says Embarcadero CFO Mike Naar. "Even so, they pale in comparison to the grace, good-naturedness and intelligent practicality he brought to work every day. His sense of humor, his incredible optimism, and his evenness defined the remarkable prince of a human being Bob was. We will all deeply miss him." Funeral services will be held Saturday, Aug. 9 at the Presbyterian Church in Burlingame, Calif. MORE: Read Thomas' obituary in the San Francisco Chronicle. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST Industry News Pleasanton Weekly http://aan.org/alternative/Redirector?oid=418246 The Voice's annual indie rock festival, which celebrated its 8th installment this weekend, may have to find a new location if the redevelopment of Coney Island breaks ground next year as some expect, the New York Times reports. "Siren isn't the most comfortable of rock festivals. The sound systems are mediocre and the pedestrian routes between the stages are irrational," the Times notes. "But Siren does place the tattooed-nerd fashion sense of indie rock in the diverting context of Coney Island's other freaks and sideshows." However, the redevelopment would eliminate these freaks and sideshows and the entire old amusement area, which could mean an end to Siren at Coney Island. "It's my first time here," Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew said as the band ended its set this weekend. "I don't want it to be the last." Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST Industry News The New York Times http://aan.org/alternative/Redirector?oid=418247 LEO's founder, who currently represents Kentucky's Third Congressional District in Congress, says that the recent sale of the paper to SouthComm Communications was "probably a good thing." He tells the 'Ville Voice that the former owners "had lost interest" over the past few years, and that "their business plan wasn't working," because it was based on owning a chain of alt-weeklies, and they only ended up with two. "[SouthComm] obviously cares about the paper, it's part of a business plan that they've already executed, to a certain extent, because they already own multiple papers," Yarmuth says. "Not all are alt-weeklies but they are in the region so they can do regional ad buys and so forth. I think it will be good for the paper." Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST Industry News The 'Ville Voice http://aan.org/news/las_vegas_weekly_editor_returns_after_stint_at_vegas__other_aan_paper/Aan/ViewArticle?oid=418275 Scott Dickensheets, who left the Weekly to become special projects editor at Las Vegas CityLife in February, is once again editor of the Weekly, according to a press release. "We're fortunate to have Scott back in the saddle," says Bruce Spotleson, group publisher for Weekly parent company Greenspun Media Group. "He's one of the most talented journalists in Nevada, and one of the best editors I've ever been associated with." Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST Press Releases Las Vegas Weekly Press Release http://aan.org/news/media_coalition_urges_senators_to_support_shield_law/Aan/ViewArticle?oid=418487 Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST Press Releases Shield Law Coalition Press Release http://aan.org/news/aan_board_member_gets_married_by_east_bay_express/Aan/ViewArticle?oid=418527 The Santa Barbara Independent's Robby Robbins, who is AAN's Classified Advertising Chair, was married on July 2 to longtime partner Bryan O'Quinn as part of the Express' Wedding Wednesdays promotion. The paper chose six couples to be married to celebrate same-sex couples' newfound right to legally marry in California. In attendance at the July 2 ceremony were a number of Independent staffers who drove up from Santa Barbara, as well as Gloria Mock, advertising director of North Carolina's Independent Weekly, where Robbins previously worked. "Bryan and I are so grateful to the East Bay Express, [publisher] Jody Colley, and all their partners/vendors for making this wonderful time more spectacular than we could ever have imagined," Robbins tells AAN News via email. For more photos click here, and for a video montage of all six weddings, click here. Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST Industry News AAN News http://aan.org/alternative/Redirector?oid=418572 Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:00:00 EST Web Publishing News Domain Name Journal