AAN News Feed

Phoenix Media Announces Sale of Boston Radio Station to Clear Channel

Boston Phoenix — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:30:00 -0400

101.7 WFNX Boston is being sold to Clear Channel pending FCC approval.

AAN Names 2012 Next Generation Professional Fund Recipients

AAN — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:00:00 -0400

Five alt-weekly staffers have been selected to receive the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Next Generation Professional Fund:

Daniel Denvir, Philadelphia City Paper

Gus Garcia-Roberts, Miami New Times

Chuck Kerr, San Antonio Current

Kendra Clune, Willamette Week

Tyler Machado, Seven Days

The fund provides grants of up to $500 as well as free admission to the AAN Convention in Detroit.

The fund was launched by the AAN Board of Directors under the leadership of President Fran Zankowski to directly support the growth, education, and professional development of the next generation of journalists while connecting younger journalists with mentors.

The program was drafted by a working committee which included Jimmy Boegle (Tucson Weekly), Chuck Strouse (Miami New Times), Bradley Zeve (Monterey County Weekly), and Mark Zusman (Willamette Week).

During the convention, grantees will be invited to meet with long-time AAN members/leaders.

Colorado Springs Independent Buys Local Business Journal

Colorado Springs Independent — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:40:00 -0400

For Immediate Release
Monday, May 14, 2012

For More Information:
• Fran Zankowski, CEO
fran@csindy.com 
(719) 577-4545
• Ralph Routon, Executive Editor
routon@csindy.com
(719) 577-4545

Colorado Springs Business Journal Returns to Local Ownership June 1

The owners of the Colorado Springs Independent, the Pikes Peak region’s largest locally owned media company, will acquire the Colorado Springs Business Journal on June 1, 2012 from The Dolan Company, a national media conglomerate that owns more than 50 publications across the U.S.

The new owners also will apply to service Dolan’s contract publishing of three local military newspapers: the Fort Carson Mountaineer, Peterson (Air Force Base) Space Observer and Schriever (AFB) Sentinel. More than 68,000 local adults read these publications in print, and thousands more via their popular web portals. (see below)

“Local decision-makers with long-term commitments to — and understanding of — our vibrant community are the key to success,” says John Weiss, publisher of the Independent and majority owner of the purchasing group.

“During the next three to six months, to ensure a smooth transition from national to local control, the Independent’s Executive Editor Ralph Routon and CEO Fran Zankowski will divide their time between both organizations. For the time being, former City Councilor John Hazlehurst will also report and opine for both the CSBJ and the Indy."

“We’re looking forward to making the Business Journal a stronger, more essential presence,” says Routon, whose local newspaper roots date to 1977. “Business is the most powerful force shaping the Pikes Peak region. My mission is to ensure the Business Journal continues to provide timely, accurate and insightful reporting of critical interest to local decision-makers.”

“The current staff at CSBJ and the military papers is rock-solid,” said Zankowski, a longtime newspaper executive who has been at the Independent since 2005. “In the coming months and years we anticipate growing the current 20-person staff to publish even stronger print and online offerings.”

We are psyched,” added Weiss, who co-founded the Independent 19 years ago. The 1978 Colorado College graduate continued, “Six months from now the CSBJ will be even more of a must-read for everyone interested in understanding the entrepreneurial, civic and demographic forces impacting local business decisions.”

Michael Miner: 'The Bright Side to the Reader Sale--We Continue to Exist'

AAN — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:27:00 -0400

"Inside the [Chicago] Reader, the most painful piece of the Crain's story was the $3 million price tag," writes the Reader's Michael Miner of the reported sale to Chicago Sun-Times parent company Wrapports LLC.

Miner talked to investment banker Brad Bulkley, who was hired by Atalaya Capital Management to find suitors for the papers it acquired as a result of the Creative Loafing bankruptcy:

"You're worth more than $3 million, but time's are tough," Bulkley said, and asked me to look on the bright side ... "I will tell you this. The price we wound up getting is over four times where the prices started with several suitors." They bid each other up? "They did, and we worked them up. They assumed it to be a fire sale and it wasn't." Thanks to investments Atalaya made in the Reader, the suitors were bidding on a profitable weekly paper.

Earlier, Miner wrote of Michael Ferro, the venture capitalist who is chairman of Wrapports LLC:

For better or worse, Ferro regards himself as visionary: Marek quoted him as declaring in January, at an event held by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, "I'm very excited to meet all these different mayors in other cities because my plan is to acquire their publications in a lot of their cities today and keep newspapers alive in America."

Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn also weighed in:

The Reader employs very talented journalists who do important, thoughtful work -- explanatory and investigative. If this deal goes through, I hope the new owners recognize that these stories are as much a part of the Reader brand as its "arts, culture, restaurant and entertainment" coverage, and somehow preserve what's left of the paper's "alternative" style while incorporating it into the mainstream Wrapports family.

"There aren't many examples of companies owning dailies and alts in the same town," says Poynter's Andrew Beaujon (formerly of Washington City Paper, for which Atalaya is also seeking a buyer). "The Reader would bristle at being characterized as an entertainment paper. One of its primary roles, as at many alt-weeklies, is reporting on the city's media, including the Sun-Times."

California Newspaper Publishers Association Honors 8 Alt-Weeklies

California Newspaper Publishers Association — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:20:00 -0400

Monterey County Weekly took first place for General Excellence.

Crain's: Chicago Reader to Sell for $3 Million to Sun-Times Parent Co.

Crain's Chicago Business — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:58:00 -0400

The deal is expected to close next week, reports Crain's Chicago Business.

AAN Names 2012 Next Generation Student Fund Recipients

AAN — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:50:00 -0400

Five student journalists have been selected to receive the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Next Generation Student Fund:

Rachel Krause, University of Missouri

Terrence McCoy, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

J. David Mendez, Pima Community College

Alina Mogilyanskaya, Harvard University

Sallyann Price, Loyola University Chicago

The fund provides grants of up to $1,000 as well as free admission to the AAN Convention in Detroit.

The fund was launched by the AAN Board of Directors under the leadership of President Fran Zankowski to directly support the growth, education, and professional development of the next generation of journalists while connecting younger journalists with mentors.

The program was drafted by a working committee which included Jimmy Boegle (Tucson Weekly), Chuck Strouse (Miami New Times), Bradley Zeve (Monterey County Weekly), and Mark Zusman (Willamette Week).

During the convention, grantees will be invited to meet with long-time AAN members/leaders.

Recipients of the Next Generation Professional Fund will be named tomorrow.

AAN Names 2012 Diversity Scholarship Recipients

AAN — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:12:00 -0400

Twelve alt-weekly staffers and contributors have been selected to receive Diversity Scholarships to attend the Assocition of Alternative Newsmedia Annual Convention in Detroit next month.

The scholarships provide up to $500 towards travel and lodging, and the recipients will have their conference registration fee waived.

2012 AAN DIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS (Listed alphabetically by last name)

Ashley Beyer, Shepherd Express

Monique Davis, Jackson Free Press

Carla Dawkins, Isthmus

Nicole Diefenbach, Charleston City Paper

Louis Goggans, The Memphis Flyer

Kimberly Griffin, Jackson Free Press

Shelley Hiam, Austin Chronicle

Enrique Limón, San Diego CityBeat

Anne Marshall, LEO Weekly

Michelle Ward, Independent Weekly (NC)

Amber Williams, Des Moines Cityview

Laura Zielinski, The Athens NEWS

"We were thrilled by the quality of the applications we received," said AAN executive director Tiffany Shackelford. "These twelve individuals have great enthusiasm and will get the most out of everything the AAN convention has to offer. I can't wait to meet them in Detroit and I hope their exuberance rubs off on all of us."

The recipients of the AAN Next Generation Student Fund will be announced tomorrow, and the AAN Next Generation Professional fund recipients will be announced later this week.

Illinois Times Publisher Sharon Whalen Announces Departure

Illinois Times — Fri, 04 May 2012 17:30:00 -0400

Illinois Times publisher Sharon Whalen will step down this summer, she says in a Publisher's Note:

I began my newspaper career with Illinois Times in 1979, moved away to see the world in 1990 and returned in 2002 to become IT's publisher. The math says it's been 20 years in Springfield, although my head can hardly believe it. I couldn't be prouder of what we've accomplished; the paper looks great and reads better than ever before in its 36-year history. I've been blessed to work with smart, creative and passionate people and to share some of my time working on community projects with great people, for causes I believe in. But the time has come for me to start a new life chapter in a new town – Sarasota, Fla. Although I will continue to be involved with the paper, I'm stepping away from my current role later this summer. My friend and colleague Fletcher Farrar will once again become the paper's editor and publisher. We have begun the search for a fresh face to step in as advertising sales manager. He or she will be lucky to inherit a fine staff, a quality publication and the promise of the next 20 years to leave a mark on this town.

"I'm not leaving for any reason beyond the desire to change up my surroundings and establish myself in the community where I plan to retire," Whalen said in an email "I bought a house down there last year – now it's time to live in it!"

She added that the paper hopes to find a talented sales manager "ideally from within the AAN family of papers."

How Some Alt-Weeklies Are Innovating Their Way Out of a Crisis

Poynter — Fri, 04 May 2012 09:00:00 -0400

"We have a lot more to offer than a social media company that may not have a real expertise in content creation."

Three VVM Publications Pick Up Maggie Awards

Village Voice Media — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:20:00 -0400

Houston Press, L.A. Weekly, and Phoenix New Times each came out as winners in the Western Publishing Association's Maggie Awards.

Two Alt-Weekly Writers Are Livingston Award Finalists

AAN — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:03:00 -0400

Miami New Times staff writer Gus Garcia-Roberts and former Pacific Northwest Inlander reporter Nicholas Deshais are finalists for the prestigious Livingston Award:

Deshais was nominated on the strength of an Inlander cover story about (now former) Assistant City Attorney Rocky Treppiedi and his role in the Otto Zehm case. He is one of 41 finalists for the prize, which is given each year to three journalists under the age of 35 for local, national and international reporting across print, broadcast and online platforms ...

For Garcia-Roberts, whose quixotic campaign for local office recently ended in defeat, the Livingston nomination represented a "trifecta," writes Andy Van De Voorde:

The Livingston nod came on the heels of Garcia-Roberts being named a finalist in the IRE Awards and a winner in the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi Awards. Each contest recognized Garcia-Roberts for "Rotten to the Core," his investigative report on corruption within the State of Florida's McKay scholarship program.

The Livingston Award winners will be announced on June 6.

Long Island Press Wins 19 NY Press Association Awards

Long Island Press — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:22:00 -0400

The Long Island Press won 19 awards for its writing, design and multimedia at the 2011 New York Press Association Better Newspaper Contest during its annual convention in Saratoga Springs March 30 to 31. In all, the competition included 158 newspapers and more than 2,430 entries.

Awards for the Press' coverage spanned several categories and included accolades for topics ranging from politics, crime and the environment to sports, news, column and feature writing.

"Another top-notch piece," the judges wrote of "What a Mess," an article that won Best News Story for its in-depth look into the disastrous conditions and potential cover-up by top police, prosecutors and county officials regarding the Nassau County Police Crime Lab, by writer Shelly Feuer Domash and Christopher Twarowski, Senior Reporter-Editor—Investigations. "An important piece of investigative journalism."

Senior Editor Spencer Rumsey took home the prize for best Feature Story—the most competitive category in the NYPA contest—for "Soldiers of Misfortune," a colorful-yet-somber piece about the struggles facing veterans returning home from war.

The judges found that the Press "left no questions unanswered" when awarding the paper for Coverage of the Environment with "Gas Rush," a hard-hitting article chronicling controversial proposed hydraulic fracturing in Upstate New York, and "Heating Up," exploring the impact of global warming on LI.

Jim Mancari, a Press contributor, won best Sports Feature for his piece "Diamonds Aren’t Forever" which explored the difficult road for Long Islanders to play Major League Baseball.

Twarowski, Rumsey and News/Web Editor Timothy Bolger won best Coverage of Elections/Politics for their work on "The Blame Game" about Nassau's fiscal crisis and the Press' annual voters' guide.

Associate Publisher Beverly Fortune won Best Column for Fortune 52, a weekly feature highlighting unsung Long Island women making a difference.

"Fortune finds powerful stories and tells them in a compelling fashion," the judges wrote of the award-winning Fortune 52 column. "These can be extremely emotional stories but she does not allow them to get bogged down in the sadness. She finds what allows her subjects to get through the tough times and shares that with her readers."

Staff Writer Jaclyn Gallucci won second place in the Coverage of Crime/Police/Courts category for "Vanished," a chilling story about the murder of 26-year-old prostitute Jennifer Papain and subsequent court trail of her killer, and "Looking for Judy," a piece about a family who thought a missing woman might be among 10 bodies found along Ocean Parkway.

The Press staff won second for Spot News for breaking coverage of the New York State Marriage Equality Act legalizing gay and lesbian marriage. The staff also shared third place in the News Story contest for “On Thin Ice,” about a controversial proposal to publicly finance improvements to the Nassau Coliseum, home of the New York Islanders NHL team.

In addition, Rumsey and Gallucci won third place in the Coverage of Health, Health Care and Science for Rumsey's story, "On Life Support," about Suffolk County’s John J. Foley Skilled Nursing Facility, and Gallucci's article "Vaccine Machine," regarding the ongoing national debate into the cause of autism.

Twarowki, Staff Writer Rashed Mian and Director of New Media Michael Conforti won third place for Best Use of Multimedia for their mini-documentary of the Occupy Wall Street protests in Manhattan. The Press also won honorable mentions for coverage of local government and in the best website category.

On the design side, Art Director Jon Sasala won first place for Graphic Illustration, Best Use of Color and Best House Ad/Ad Campaign for the Press' annual Best of Long Island promotion.

The paper also won Best Ad Campaign Large Space, Best Large Space Ad and took home third place for Best Special Section Cover in a tie with the Queens Chronicle.

Jackson Free Press News Editor Wins EWA Scholarship

Jackson Free Press — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:12:00 -0400

Jackson Free Press news editor Elizabeth Waibel has been selected to receive a scholarship from the Education Writers Association (EWA) to attend its national seminar, scheduled for May 17-19 in Philadelphia.

The scholarship will cover all travel expenses, as well as the seminar's registration fee.

The EWA is a Washington, D.C.-based organization dedicated to improving the quality of education coverage.

Webinar: How to Mine State Budgets and Localize Stories for Your Community

AAN — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:00:00 -0400

Join Scott Pattison, Executive Director of the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), for a discussion the very tight fiscal situation in state governments and the consequences on programs, education and local governments.

Further budget cuts are expected, even though the recession has ended, and Scott will explain why. He'll also be happy to discuss with you the trends in state governments – such as moving away from funding arts, parks and where the money is going.

Session Title: How to Mine State Budgets and Localize Stories
Date: Thursday, May 10
Time: 3pm Eastern / 12pm Pacific
Presenter: Scott Pattison, NASBO
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER