Mark Your Calendar Now for January 28-29.
If you’re struck by a paralytic case of pre-millennial paranoia, here’s something to look forward to in Y2K. Go coastal at the 2000 AAN West Conference, to be held in San Francisco on January 28 and 29 at the Cathedral Hill Hotel. AAN West is a must-go for all the special people on your staff.
We’re bringing in all kinds of experts-in-their field to help you deal with the issues back home:
* Craig Newmark from the Bay Area’s hugely popular craigslist.org will discuss community publishing on the Net;
* Webzine publisher Justin Hall (“Justin’s Links From the Underground”) will moderate a panel of webzine publishers;
* Sales wunderkind Bob Treadway will share his latest how-tos for display and classified sales reps;
* Lawyer Thomas Burke from Davis Wright Tremaine will tackle your worst website nightmares before they can tackle you;
* Forget Quark for Dummies. QuarkXpert David Blatner, author of “The QuarkXPress 4 Book” and ” Real World PhotoShop 5″ will turn D&P types into the print- and web-publishing genii they always wanted to be;
* Robert Hurwitt of the San Francisco Examiner will provide some basic do’s and don’ts for arts reviewers;
* Sandy Close, founder of Pacific News Service and one of the most popular AAN convention speakers of all time, will deliver this year’s special luncheon keynote.
Of course, plenty of AAN all-stars will be on hand to host seminars and share their best practices:
* Talk ethics with Washington City Paper’s David Carr, then steal some story ideas from your colleagues at “75 Story Ideas in 75 Minutes”;
* Jean Dibble and Bruce Brugmann of the San Francisco Bay Guardian, and consutlant Kathryn Thornton, will lead a session on staying independent in an increasingly competitive market. This seminar is especially geared for indie and small market papers;
* What makes a good journalistic profile? Award-winning profile writer Brendan Bernhard of the LA Weekly will share his thoughts on the subject;
* Willy Stern of the Nashville Scene and the Bay Guardian’s Tim Redmond will each show investigative reporters how to go for the jugular.
From Business to Classified and Display Advertising to Editorial to Design and Production, there is a seminar for everyone — not to mention the requisite social events like the opening night Eat With Your Own Kind dinner.
Look for your registration form in the mail this week, or register online at https://aan.org. But don’t wait around; registration forms and full payment are due in the AAN office by January 7.
