Erin Sullivan (pictured), managing editor of Baltimore City Paper, is running for the membership chair position being vacated by Seven Days' Paula Routly, one of several spots on the AAN board that are up for grabs this year. Voting will take place on Saturday, June 17, during the annual meeting on the final day of the convention in Little Rock. AAN News put together this voting guide to help members get acquainted with the candidates.

Continue ReadingNine Candidates Running for Election to AAN Board of Directors

Alternative newspapers will continue to see modest growth in real-estate advertising over the next few years, but they will need to develop online business models to compete in the space over the long-term, says Borrell Associates Inc. in a report commissioned by AAN which was issued on Friday. The report includes a detailed analysis of current trends in real estate and rentals marketing, as well as recommendations for developing more targeted online products. Borrell's Peter Conti, Jr., will present the findings at this week's AAN convention in Little Rock.

Continue ReadingBorrell: Alt-Weeklies Must Develop Online Models to Grow Real Estate

L.A. Weekly and Jackson Free Press won the most awards, with six, while The Coast, Philadelphia Weekly, Riverfront Times, Seattle Weekly and Seven Days each picked up five. The order of finish will be announced at a luncheon on Friday, June 16, at the AAN convention in Little Rock.

Continue Reading2006 AltWeekly Award Finalists Announced

In the first installment of AAN's new interview series, Amy Austin (pictured), Dave Nuttycombe and Tim Carman of Washington City Paper describe how reader-created restaurant reviews have forged a new relationship between the newspaper's print and Web products. They also explain the meaning of sporks. To suggest a topic for a future interview, contact Amy Gill at amyg@aan.org.

Continue ReadingAchievements and Innovations: Washington City Paper’s ‘Nosh Mobs’

Ten aspiring journalists have been chosen to attend the seventh annual AAJ summer residency program at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. This year's class includes a former staff writer for Tampa's Weekly Planet and several other young writers who have experience freelancing for AAN papers. The ten fellows were selected from 420 applicants for the eight-week program, which is designed to train minority journalists in the fundamentals of long-form journalism.

Continue Reading2006 Academy for Alternative Journalism Fellows Named

It has been a week since Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee purged the alt-weekly from his official press notification list, but the governor (pictured) still has not provided a valid explanation for his decision. AAN sent a letter this morning on behalf of its member papers urging the governor to reverse his decision and put the Times back on the publicly financed list. The letter, signed by AAN President Kenneth Neill, reminds Huckabee that "as a public official," he is "legally forbidden from blackballing the paper based on its political content."

Continue ReadingAAN Asks Governor to Restore Arkansas Times to Press List