Save the Date: AAN’s Annual Convention, July 21–23rd in New Orleans

Make sure you save the date for AAN’s Annual Convention, July 21–23rd at the Ritz Carlton in New Orleans, hosted by Gambit.

This convention, AAN’s 34th, is going to be special:

  • Cost: The last few years have been difficult for alternative newspapers. And while the need for the kinds of information, networking, money-making ideas and inspiration that the convention offers has never been greater, the cost has often been an obstacle. This year, we’re removing that obstacle.

    Instead of the $300 to $350 per person we’ve charged in past years, this year we’re offering a ridiculous fee to AAN member publications on an early bird basis: $199 for first person, $199 for the second person from the same paper, $101 for the third person and nothing, that’s right, nothing for anybody else who wants to come. In essence, for $499 you can bring your entire staff to New Orleans, reward them for their hard work and fill their heads with great tools and information.

    In addition, we have negotiated an insane hotel room rate of $139 per room, single or double occupancy, at the Ritz Carlton, the most fabulous hotel in the Big Easy. (To receive the AAN group rate, click on the Group/Promo Codes link and enter CGPCGPA in the box marked Group Code.)

  • Programming: We’re building a conference that will provide you and your staff with real tools for selling in this challenging market, for making sense of the digital world and for understanding how the jobs of everyone who works in our industry must change.
  • Vendors: There are some extraordinary tools available to our papers and representatives of those companies will be available to meet with. From CMS Providers, to Group-On beaters, to phone and tablet apps to easy video providers, to social media tools to analytics experts we will assemble a great group of smart companies to share with you their ideas.
  • The Board of Directors, conference chair Margo Dubos, and the AAN staff look at 2011 as a year to rebuild, reignite passion about what we do and rejuvenate our conference. We want everyone to be a part of it.

    In coming weeks, we’ll be announcing more info about sessions and speakers. Please feel free to call or email with comments, questions or ideas.

    Laissez les bons temps rouler!

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