"Perhaps figuring that pop-up ads have desensitized the public to intrusions on their reading space, more and more newspapers across the nation are opting to move advertising to the front page, above the fold, in the form of annoying post-it notes," Evan Brown writes in the Advocate. The Advocate's parent-paper the Hartford Courant is already running the ads, and, according to Advocate publisher Joshua Mamis, the alt-weekly is looking at ways to "creatively" use them.

Continue ReadingNew Haven Advocate ‘Considering’ Running Front-Page Ad Stickers

Started as City Squeeze by Russ Smith and Alan Hirsch in 1977, the alt-weekly has "evolved from monthly to bi-weekly to weekly, switched back and forth between free distribution and paid distribution before finally settling on free distribution as it is today," according to a press release. A special 30th anniversary issue will hit the streets of Baltimore Aug. 1.

Continue ReadingBaltimore City Paper Celebrates 30 Years

The little red "A" logo you see next to today's AAN News story on the Austin Chronicle means the full text of that story is available only to AAN members. Every so often, we'll use that designation to highlight features we've developed specifically for AAN members that you won't find anywhere else.

Continue ReadingAAN Adds ‘Members Only’ Content to Website
Read more about the article The Austin Chronicle Takes the Street-Team Concept to the Next Level

Austin Chronicle promotions manager Sadie Caplan (pictured) talks to AAN News about the Chrontourage program, which pairs traditional street-team marketing tactics with an added incentive for potential advertisers. "Its kind of a win-win situation," Caplan says. "The advertisers feel like we add something special to their event, and [attendees] see that the Chronicle is there and think it must be a cool event to be at."

Continue ReadingThe Austin Chronicle Takes the Street-Team Concept to the Next Level

"Senator Kyl agrees that FOIA needs to be modernized, though the bill in its current form has a series of unintended consequences that need to be repaired," the senator's press secretary Ryan Patmintra explains to the New York Times. As we've reported previously, Sen. Kyl (R-AZ) is the one person standing in the way of the passage of the OPEN Government Act of 2007, which would reform the way government agencies respond to FOIA requests. Last month, Cox News Service reported that the bill was in a "legislative black hole" due to Kyl's hold. "Don't expect a huge uproar if the bill doesn't make it. With an election coming, data secrecy isn't the sexiest issue," writes the Times' David Carr. "But many of those 'Holy cow' newspaper articles you read have their roots in the banal bureaucracy of government information." AAN encourages you to help get these important FOIA reforms passed -- to learn how, click here.

Continue ReadingMore on FOIA Reform Bill & Senator Jon Kyl’s Hold