Rob Jiranek has previously served as partner and Group Publisher of Portico Publishing, publishers of C-Ville Weekly in Charlottesville, VA, and the Columbia Free Times.
A new day, a new daily deal site; Groupon, LivingSocial, BuyWithMe, Woot -- and probably 15 more since the start of this sentence.
The Oklahoma Gazette won sixteen awards at the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalists annual awards banquet this weekend, taking top honors in eight categories.
Last week, Gazette editor Rob Collins alerted AAN News to the striking similarities between Newsweek's Dec. 15 cover and one published by the alt-weekly on Feb. 5, 2004. The Gazette's image, which was designed by art director Chris Street and shot by photographer Shannon Cornman, was one of three Gazette entries that won a 2005 AltWeekly Award. "Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery? Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand words," Collins says.
In the fifteenth installment of this year's "How I Got That Story" series, Village Voice music editor Rob Harvilla talks to Ling Ma about his winning columns, which included a memorable Venn diagram-based breakdown of a breakout hip-hop hit. While Harvilla doesn't take himself too seriously (he says his career choice is "pretty frivolous"), you can tell he is serious about music by reading his work. In this Q&A, he discusses the rock critic's lexicon, how blogs and the web have impacted music criticism, and the distinct absence of rock-critic groupies. "It's a great job and I love it, but I don't think women are generally attracted to rock critics on the basis of them being rock critics," Harvilla says. "It's usually in spite of that fact."
The Voice has finalists in three categories in the annual awards handed out by the Society for Professional Journalists' New York City chapter: Tom Robbins in beat reporting, Rob Harvilla in arts reporting, and Chloe A. Hillard in minority focus, which includes "coverage of a particular minority community, or of an issue with particular impact on such a community, that has import to the community at large." Winners will be announced May 15.
Fran Zankowski (pictured), CEO of the Colorado Springs Independent, will fill the position vacated by Rob Jiranek until an election is held at the June 2007 annual meeting. Zankowski is a veteran of the AAN Board of Directors who also served on the Admissions Committee for eight years. Jiranek resigned last week after announcing that he had accepted a position as vice-president of sales and strategic planning with the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
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.
