About AAN
The Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN) is a diverse group of 125 alternative news organizations covering every major metropolitan area and other less-populated regions of North America. AAN member publications reach more than 25 million active, educated and influential adults in print, on the web and on mobile devices.
AAN was founded in Seattle, Wash., in 1978. It began with 30 newspapers, including San Francisco Bay Guardian, Creative Loafing, Phoenix New Times, Willamette Week and the Chicago Reader. To meet the association's rigorous membership standards, weekly newspapers must demonstrate that they produce high-quality journalism that offers a valuable alternative to the mainstream media in their area. As a result, only 30 percent of the papers that apply for membership are admitted to the organization. The 125 publications that now make up the association publish in 42 states and the District of Columbia in the United States, and in four Canadian provinces.
There are a wide range of publications in AAN. What ties them together are a strong 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.
The Alternative Newsweekly Foundation was created in 2003 to support diversity by promoting the recruitment, training, and hiring of minorities at alternative newsweeklies. The Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, which provides a means for AAN members and others to make tax-deductible charitable contributions that help fund diversity-related programs such as the Diversity Internship Grants and the former Academy for Alternative Journalism.
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To participate in the survey, members submit financial data in confidence to an independent consultant, who compiles the results and issues a customized report providing industry averages in all revenue, expense and salary categories. Averages are provided for several different revenue categories (e.g., less than $2 million, $2-3 million, etc.) so participating papers can compare their operations with papers of like size.
AAN was founded in Seattle, Wash., in 1978. It began with 30 newspapers, including San Francisco Bay Guardian, Creative Loafing, Phoenix New Times, Willamette Week and the Chicago Reader. To meet the association's rigorous membership standards, weekly newspapers must demonstrate that they produce high-quality journalism that offers a valuable alternative to the mainstream media in their area. As a result, only 30 percent of the papers that apply for membership are admitted to the organization. The 125 publications that now make up the association publish in 42 states and the District of Columbia in the United States, and in four Canadian provinces.
There are a wide range of publications in AAN. What ties them together are a strong 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 Foundation
AAN believes that staff diversity is good business, good citizenship, and an invaluable element of good community journalism. But as an industry, the alternative press has found it difficult to attract and retain minority writers and editors.The Alternative Newsweekly Foundation was created in 2003 to support diversity by promoting the recruitment, training, and hiring of minorities at alternative newsweeklies. The Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, which provides a means for AAN members and others to make tax-deductible charitable contributions that help fund diversity-related programs such as the Diversity Internship Grants and the former Academy for Alternative Journalism.
Click here for more information.
Financial Standards Survey
Many publishers find this annual benchmarking study to be the most valuable program that AAN offers.To participate in the survey, members submit financial data in confidence to an independent consultant, who compiles the results and issues a customized report providing industry averages in all revenue, expense and salary categories. Averages are provided for several different revenue categories (e.g., less than $2 million, $2-3 million, etc.) so participating papers can compare their operations with papers of like size.
