After talking pop culture on MSNBC's Countdown from a remote location for four years, the Village Voice columnist got to meet Olbermann in the flesh last week when the TV news anchor was awarded the first annual Molly Ivins Award by AAN. "The patron saint of skeptical liberals turned out to be as appealing as he is on the tube," he says in his La Dolce Musto column.
At a midday reception in New York last Wednesday, Olbermann accepted the award from AAN president and Memphis Flyer publisher Ken Neill. Olbermann spoke of the crucial role that alt-weeklies played post-9/11 as "the way out of the maze" of suspended disbelief; of the continuing importance to think and question what those in power do and say; and of his foray into the realm of political reporting and commentary.
That's almost twice as many as last year, and the most since 2001, when 22 papers applied. This year's hopefuls are spread across 14 states and one Canadian province, and include many repeat applicants and several other papers with pre-existing connections to AAN. And in a new twist in the admissions process, AAN prepared a report that provides background information on the companies and individuals who hold ownership stakes in each paper.
"Being pregnant doesn't change the fact that there are issues in Jackson that I can bring to light through this newspaper," writes 19-year-old Melishia Grayson in her introductory column for the Jackson Free Press. Grayson is one of four recipients of AAN's Diversity Internship grants for the Winter/Spring 2007 cycle. The other grant recipients this cycle are Amanda Miller at Washington City Paper, Tuyet Nguyen at Westword, and Lauren Parajon at the Oklahoma Gazette. Established in 2001, the AAN Diversity Internship program awards four annual grants of up to $2,500 to talented young journalists of color.
The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies will honor Ivins' contribution to journalism by bestowing an annual First Amendment award to a North American journalist whose work best embodies the spirit of Ivins' legacy. "She got her basic training at one of our member newspapers, and when she left she continued to speak truth to power with wit and style. Her work speaks for itself, and speaks volumes about how much difference one courageous journalist can make," says Kenneth Neill, AAN President and publisher of The Memphis Flyer.
It's been almost three years since AAN launched AltWeeklies.com as a web portal for alt-weekly content and a story-sharing site for AAN member papers. As web journalism and the news industry evolve, AltWeeklies.com is taking steps to move forward as well.
AAN's executive director describes some of the changes and explains why they were made.
Shabiroon Jumaralli (pictured) and Jarrett Keohokalole, recipients of 2006 AAN Diversity Internship grants, contributed far more to their papers than their names and the cachet of diversity. For two months, Jumaralli served as sole staff photographer while Atlanta's Creative Loafing was filling the position. And Keohokalole proved a journalist of all trades at the Honolulu Weekly, where he distinguished himself in articles capturing the distinct flavor of island politics. Both interns applied their educations not just on the job but on the run, learning things, as Keohokalole put it, that you can't learn in a classroom.
A 15-year veteran of D.C.-based publications, Davolt (pictured) will be responsible for the content of AAN.org and AltWeeklies.com. He served as a writer and editor at the Washington Business Journal from 1999-2005, followed by a stint at Employee Benefit News. Davolt is eager to bring his diverse experience to bear on his new job. "Given the forces of darkness arrayed against the free press right now, this is an exciting time to support alternative newsweeklies," he says.
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