Search Engine Optimization is just one of the many sessions planned for AAN's Web Conference in San Francisco.
Shackelford comes to AAN with a solid grasp of online media, a history of raising money from journalism foundations, and a substantial amount of association management experience.
The Alternative Weekly Network (AWN) has re-launched its website awn.org and re-branded itself more closely reflecting its grass-roots-driven alt weekly-based origins.
Sarah Billingsley, an advertising executive whose experience at several alternative weeklies brought her to AWN two years ago as Ad Coordinator, has been named Communications Director for the Alternative Weekly Network. In addition to becoming an AWN Director where she now coordinates the 95-member advertising cooperative’s national sales efforts, Sarah assumes additional responsibilities associated with the long-time position held by John Morrison who left the company in March.
Erich Burnett has been named editor of the Cleveland Scene. Burnett is a Cleveland native whose background includes 12 years as an editor of Scene and corporate editor for Scene's previous parent companies, New Times and Village Voice Media. Burnett most recently served as senior editor for Village Voice Media. Burnett took over as editor on April 13. The Scene is part of Times-Shamrock Communications.
Editor Jon Whiten is leaving the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies; he will be replaced by current Editorial Awards and Advertising Director Jason Zaragoza. Whiten, who joined AAN in January 2006, is stepping down to focus on the local news website and arts & culture magazine he owns and operates in Jersey City, N.J. His last day on staff is March 31, but he will continue as a part-time contractor, overseeing AAN.org, for a month or two, as Zaragoza transitions from his current position into the editor role.
After nearly 14 years apart, the Alternative Weekly Network (AWN) and the Sacramento News & Review are once again sharing office space, as AWN has moved into the News & Review's new green building. "We are returning to where it all began," AWN executive director Mark Hanzlik says. Hanzlik adds that in addition to the physical move, the company is currently retooling the AWN website, and upgrading some of the operational processes of the cooperative.
Chris Keating, who was most recently publisher at the San Antonio Current, has been named the new publisher at Times Shamrock sister paper the Cleveland Scene. Replacing Keating in San Antonio will be Michael Wagner, a former publisher of the Riverfront Times. He will take the title of general manager.
"With the opening of its Washington bureau, Talking Points Memo is becoming an ever more powerful player in the online news arena," American Journalism Review reports, rightly noting that the bureau is housed in AAN's office suite in downtown D.C. We've been happily sharing space with TPM since Oct. 1.
On Nov. 20, AAN officially stopped accepting applications for the executive director position. Since then, the Executive Committee has narrowed a list of more than 75 candidates to a group of eight individuals. At the same time, the committee created a Hiring Committee to oversee the rest of the process; this newly formed committee's first task will be further winnowing the group of eight down to a smaller group of finalists, who will then be invited to AAN headquarters in Washington, D.C. for interviews.
