The Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN) is a 501c(6) organization, which represents nearly 100 alternative newsmedia organizations throughout North America. AAN member publications reach millions of educated and influential adults in print, on the web and on mobile devices.
AAN’s purpose is two-fold: to provide services and leadership that ensure the success of its members; and to strengthen alternative journalism through advocacy and education. AAN is focused on accelerating member success through a variety of initiatives, always with an eye towards excellent quality journalism.
There are a wide range of publications in AAN, but all share these attributes: an intense focus on local news, culture and the arts; an informal and sometimes profane style; an emphasis on point-of-view reporting and narrative journalism; a tolerance for individual freedoms and social differences; and an eagerness to report on issues and communities that many mainstream media outlets ignore. AAN members speak truth to power.
History
AAN was founded as the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies in Seattle, Wash., in 1978. It began with 30 newspapers, including the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Creative Loafing, Phoenix New Times, Willamette Week and the Chicago Reader.
In 2011, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies became the Association of Alternative Newsmedia to reflect its newly-adopted bylaws allowing digital-only members. While the name change was a practical move, philosophically, it meant an industry-wide acceptance of the evolution that had been occurring in local markets at member papers across the country for several years. And, like the whole media industry, AAN papers are engaged in a huge pivot, one in which they are seeking to remake the business model in a way that supports our brand of journalism.
Why join AAN?
The benefits of membership are many – AAN offers strategy and skill-building workshops, a content exchange system and group rates on liability coverage and circulation audits. There is great power in a united coalition with common goals, and AAN represents the interests of alternative publications through partnerships with companies that support our members’ missions and day-to-day operations. Most importantly, AAN members support one another by sharing ideas and solutions to problems many alternative media outlets face.
AAN’s member publications are instinctive experimenters – they’ve made their names as agile trendsetters, ready to jump on new ideas in business. They enjoy a reputation of independent, thoughtful voices within our communities. Our association and members’ combination ethos is edgy, forward-thinking, community and locally committed, but digitally savvy and business-minded.
Interested in finding out more about AAN membership? Please reach out – email Association Manager Todd Stauffer at todd@aan.org or call 601-286-2022.
