David Bennahum will kick off AAN's 2010 Web Publishing Conference with a keynote address on the rise of new media amidst the collapse of the newspaper industry. Bennahum has been following new media since 1994, when he began writing for Wired magazine; additional reporting of his on the rise of the internet and its impact on our culture has been published in The New York Times, New York magazine, and The Economist. His Center for Independent Media, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, publishes six public-interest news sites around the country (many of which feature alt-weekly alums as reporters). Bennahum's talk will be Thursday, Jan. 28 at 9:15 am, kicking off a day and a half of intensive web publishing programming. For more details on the conference, click here.
Leading journalism analyst Ken Doctor will help kick off AAN's Web Publishing conference with a big-picture talk on the future of news as we enter the first truly digital news decade. He will speak on the afternoon of Thursday, Jan. 28 at the San Francisco conference, which you can find out more about here and register for here (early registration discounts have been extended until this Friday). We recently caught up with Doctor via email to find out more about his upcoming book, and how he thinks alt-weeklies are positioned to emerge in the digital future.
With well over 150 registrants from 20 AAN member publications, the 2010 AAN West conference, slated for Jan. 29-30 in Berkeley, is already exceeding expectations. Seats are limited, so interested publications should register their attendees soon to guarantee admission to the conference. Detailing programming information and links for registration can be found at this link.
The deadline for early registration at this year's Web Publishing Conference is Monday, Jan. 11. To take advantage of savings of $50 per person, be sure to register (via this link) before Jan. 12 rolls around. Monday is also the deadline for the special AAN rate ($120 per room) at San Francisco's Argonaut Hotel, where the conference will be held. To find out more about the Web Publishing Conference, which is slated for Jan. 27-29, click here.
The application deadline for newspapers to apply for AAN membership is Feb. 5, 2010. You can download an application here, or contact AAN to have one mailed to you. After a rigorous vetting process, the Membership Committee will issue its recommendations prior to July's convention in Toronto, where all members will have the chance to vote on the applicants. You can find links to the Membership Committee's admission guidelines and the AAN bylaws on the Membership page of our site. If you have any additional questions about membership, please call 202-289-8484 or email Debra Silvestrin at debra (at) aan.org.
Although we're still nailing down some final details, much of the programming for this winter's Web Conference at San Francisco's Argonaut Hotel has been finalized. From Twitter to digital display ads to iPhone apps to email newsletters, the most important digital publishing topics for AAN members will be tackled in a mix of plenary sessions and workshops during the conference, which will take place Jan. 27-29.
As the news industry changes, AAN is considering changes as well, including possibly growing the association's membership. A new advisory committee tasked with exploring potential ways to do just that met for the first time last week via conference call; here's what they discussed.
On Friday, Jan. 29 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, the East Bay Express will host a tour of its office in Oakland before the AAN West conference gets rolling later that day, walking attendees through the paper's production process as a way to start a discussion about creating an accurate and efficient operation.
David Koon and Gerard Matthews of Arkansas Times, who took home a first place AltWeekly Award for media reporting, were interviewed by Las Vegas Weekly editor Scott Dickensheets.
AAN News has learned of two great resources for anyone who is writing about the United Nations Climate Change Conference or climate change right now. First, climate scientists from the American Geophysical Union will be providing round-the-clock support for journalists reporting on the conference through Dec. 18. In addition, NOW Magazine's editor and CEO Alice Klein, who is attending the conference, is available for interviews about what's happening in Copenhagen. To set up an interview, email jasonh (at) nowtoronto.com or call 416-364-1300 ext. 372.