June 5, 2008

Correction: Membership Committee Recommendations Included an Error

Source: AAN.org

There was a significant error in the 2008 Membership Committee Recommendations posted to AAN.org last week. The Membership Committee did not recommend that the membership of Metro Pulse of Knoxville, Tenn., be affirmed. Metro Pulse was acquired by E.W. Scripps, a media company that owns the daily newspaper, business newspaper, Knoxville Magazine, and other publications in the Knoxville market. Per the AAN bylaws, ownership of member papers must reflect and advance the following values of the association:

• Competitive editorial and business environment, especially within local markets
• A multiplicity and diversity of media voices
• Independence from media conglomerates or other entities deemed detrimental to the interest of the alternative press and the maintenance of media diversity.

The committee feels that Metro Pulse's new ownership situation is not in line with the bylaws and therefore does not recommend the paper for affirmation, and the committee's report has been amended as such.

June 5, 2008

AAN Convention Begins Today in Philly

Source: AAN

Programming at the 31st Annual AAN Convention gets underway this afternoon at 2:30 pm. If you can't make it to the City of Brotherly Love to join us, be sure check the Convention Blog during the next few days for updates and coverage.

June 5, 2008

Boston Mayor Proposes New Rules & Fees for News Boxes

Source: The Boston Globe

Mayor Thomas M. Menino has proposed capping at 300 the number of boxes a publisher could place in the city and charging them $25 per box per year, plus a $300 annual fee to receive a certificate of compliance, the Boston Globe reports. The ordinance would have to be approved by the City Council, which yesterday sent it to a committee. "We only have so much room on the sidewalk for news boxes," says a spokeswoman for Menino. "We think 300 news boxes per publication is generous in order to cover the city." City records show that no publication has 300 boxes yet, though several are close, including Boston's Weekly Dig, which currently has 284. Boston Phoenix circulation director Jim Dorgan tells the Globe the new fees are significant -- AAN's quick calculation shows that a publisher with the max of 300 boxes would pay $7,800 a year. He also says that another aspect of the ordinance, which precludes a publisher from having two news boxes for the same publication within 150 feet of each other, is "very restrictive."

June 5, 2008

Texas Observer Executive Editor Heads to ProPublica

Source: ProPublica Press Release (PDF file)

ProPublica, "a non-profit newsroom producing journalism in the public interest" founded by former Wall Street Journal managing editor Paul Steiger last October, has hired Jake Bernstein as a reporter, according to a press release. Bernstein has been with the Observer since 2002, and before that, he worked at Miami New Times. In the same release, ProPublica announced another AAN-alum hire: Former San Francisco Bay Guardian and SF Weekly staff writer A.C. Thompson has also been hired as a reporter.

June 5, 2008

Washington City Paper's Dave Jamieson Wins Livingston Award

Source: Washington City Paper

Jamieson, a former City Paper staff writer, has just won the Livingston Award for his May 2007 investigative account and narrative about serial arsonist, "Letters From an Arsonist." The Livingston Awards are limited to journalists under the age of 35, are the largest all-media, general-reporting prizes in the country, and come with a $10,000 prize. "The story is a testament to what journalism can do and should do more often. In this era of cutbacks and imperatives to blog!blog!blog! Jamieson proved that journalism is still best served by expert reporting and expert writing," writes City Paper's Jason Cherkis. "If you want a textbook case of why this publication should still matter to District residents and its owners down south, this is it." See the full list of Livingston winners here.