Two AAN members are finalists in this year's EPpy Awards, which "honor the best websites in the media world." Las Vegas Weekly is a finalist for best entertainment website with fewer than one million unique monthly visitors, while Baltimore City Paper is a finalist for best weekly newspaper-affiliated website, a category the Santa Barbara Independent won last year. Winners of the awards, which are sponsored by Editor & Publisher and Mediaweek magazines, will be announced on May 7.

Continue ReadingTwo Alt-Weeklies Are Up for 2009 EPpy Awards

The Hustle for Mayor event, which is scheduled for tomorrow night, will feature campaign-themed drink specials and a "no-holds-barred rhyme-off" between the candidates. "I've been to tons of election forums where the candidates outnumber the folks in the audience," says forum creator and host Wells Dunbar. "With The Hustle for Mayor, the Chronicle and I are really excited to promote and present a fun and informative forum, one that we think will attract younger voters who wouldn't ordinarily turn up."

Continue ReadingThe Austin Chronicle Set to Host its First-Ever Mayoral Debate

McGinnis, who is management information systems (MIS) director for PW parent company Review Publishing, says they started sketching out the new site at the end of 2007. The Weekly unveiled the redesign early last month. "From a design perspective, it was about making [the site] look more pleasing," he says. "From a traffic perspective it was about decreasing bounce rate and increasing time on site."

Continue ReadingKeith McGinnis Talks About Philadelphia Weekly’s Site Redesign

Industry executives and analysts tell the New York Times that many large papers will be reporting the sharpest drop ad revenue in generations as they begin to release first-quarter results this week. Small papers aren't faring quite as badly as large ones, according to the Times, and there is a hope among publishers that losses for the rest of 2009 will not be as steep as the first quarter's.

Continue ReadingFirst Quarter Newspaper Ad Revenue Could Fall as Much as 30 Percent