This year's AAN West conference was organized a bit differently than years past: A committee of AAN members in Northern California did most of the heavy lifting, and they've put together a wonderful staff training program that includes business, design & production, editorial, and sales tracks. "The committee's focus was on staff training and providing an opportunity to network with others in the alt-weekly world," says the News & Review's Deborah Redmond, who chaired the committee that organized the event. The conference will be held Feb. 1-2 at the the First Unitarian Church in San Francisco. The early-bird registration rate is only $75 for AAN members and $150 for non-members (the rates increase by $25 after Dec. 7). Hotel options include the Cathedral Hill Hotel and the Kabuki Hotel (formerly the Miyako), which is also the site of the Web Publishing Conference that will immediately precede AAN West. (AAN members can also register now for the Web Publishing Conference, although the complete program won't be announced until next month.)

Continue ReadingRegistration for AAN West Conference Now Open

More than 50 media organizations, including AAN, applaud the House's passage of the Free Flow of Information Act of 2007 (H.R. 2102). The bill, passed yesterday by a veto-proof vote of 398-21, would ensure that reporters don't face federal prosecution for refusing to identify confidential sources except in special circumstances. The Senate version of the shield law was strongly passed earlier this month by the Senate Judiciary Committee, but has not been scheduled for a full Senate vote, according to the Washington Post. The Post also reports that President Bush threatened to veto the bill, saying the protections it would afford "could severely frustrate -- and in some cases completely eviscerate -- the federal government's ability to investigate acts of terrorism and other threats to national security."

Continue ReadingFederal Shield Law is Passed by House of Representatives