AAN members were well-represented when the South Florida Chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists announced the winners of the 2007 Sunshine State Awards Saturday night. New Times Broward-Palm Beach took home three first-place awards, and Miami New Times had one first-place finish. Those two papers and Creative Loafing also accounted for 10 second- and third-place awards in the yearly contest.

Continue ReadingAlt-Weeklies Win 14 Awards from Florida Press Group

Career services coordinator Gina Boubion will attend this year's convention to talk to prospective students about mid-career programs at Columbia, and to connect with editors who are looking to hire both entry-level and more experienced journalists. "Every year more and more of our students come to Columbia to advance their investigative and narrative skills, and they've definitely gotten the message from us and their professors that the alt-weeklies are fertile ground for doing the kind of journalism they crave to do," Boubion says.

Continue ReadingColumbia J-School Makes Push to Connect With Alt-Weeklies

Stephen Buel, co-owner and editor of the newly independent Express, tells the San Francisco Chronicle that he will aim for a "better mix" of story lengths and more community and government meeting coverage, and will bring back calendar listings and staff-generated movie reviews. The paper will also be redesigned, in print and online. "Readers won't see the changes next week," Buel said. "But in six or so months, they can decide whether they like them or not."

Continue ReadingNew East Bay Express Owner On the Changes to Come