The 2009 award winners come from 57 different member papers, including one paper that will be receiving honors in its first year of eligibility. The final placement of the winners will be announced at the AltWeekly Awards luncheon to be held on Friday, June 26 during the 32nd annual AAN Convention in Tucson.
AAN News asked several publishers why they are sending multiple employees to the convention this year even though they have less money to spend. Their answers may surprise you.
AAN members are invited to participate in a webinar hosted by Enfocus' Alex Hamilton on Thursday, May 7 from 2 to 3:30 pm EDT. The 90-minute session will focus on workflow automation and will feature a question-and-answer session. For information about how to join the webinar, contact Ellen Meany or email the AAN office at web (at) aan.org.
AAN is once again offering free registrations this year for members who send several staffers to the convention. With every three paid registrations from one newspaper, that paper will get one registration for free. There's no limit to the offer, so the more people sent, the more money saved.
"It's clear that the old days of relying solely on display and classified advertising are over," AAN executive director Richard Karpel says. "So this year's convention will feature a great deal of programming on new products and revenue streams, and new business strategies." Seizing opportunities and getting through the recession will also be big topics this year in Tucson.
Thursday, April 16 will unofficially be alt-weekly day at the Columbia Journalism School, with a panel discussion on the state of the alt-weekly industry followed by an informal reception.
Lucy Dalglish, the executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), will be the First Amendment Lunch speaker at this year's AAN Convention. She will discuss what we can expect from the Obama administration in terms of open government and press freedom issues.
The Stranger's editorial director and syndicated sex columnist has been tapped to reprise his role as host of the AltWeekly Awards Luncheon at this year's AAN Convention.
Google has agreed to sponsor the opening night cocktail reception at this year's convention, and will also be making presentations focusing on both its ad-server software Ad Manager, and its ad network AdSense. The Ad Manager presentation will be a follow-up to an exclusive webinar for AAN members led by senior ad serving consultant Mark Wolly. All AAN member publishers and senior managers will receive email invitations to the webinar, which is scheduled for April 23, and there is no limit to the number of people at each company who can participate. The 32nd Annual AAN Convention is scheduled for June 25-27 in Tucson.
Eighty-six alt-weeklies submitted 1038 entries for consideration in the 2009 AltWeekly Awards contest. The entries were spread over 21 categories, and, as expected, the total number of entries was down from 2008, by about 25 percent. Finalists for this year's contest will be announced in mid-May, and winners will be crowned at the AltWeekly Awards luncheon, to be held on Friday, June 26 during the 32nd annual AAN Convention in Tucson.
