Category Archives: Blogroll

Political Ad Disguised as Movie Fare Delivers Revenue to 32 Alt Weeklies

Leave a reply

By Mark Hanzlik, Executive Director

It seemed like a gift because it had been so long since we had seen a network-wide political ad of any kind.   Even the big election year of 2008 had brought very little advertising to AWN and many of its member papers.   That changed the last week of September when AWN Prez and Editor/Publisher of Newcity delivered a 32-paper,  well-timed political gift in the form of a full page 4-color film placement for Obama’s America 2016.

The film was clearly being distributed as marketing tool for Mitt Romney, pushing the film’s agenda in only Battleground States.  AltWeeklies in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin became the immediate recipients of the film ads.   Though we’re not certain where the funds for the ads originated, the St. Louis-based agency Content180 complied with prepayment for the entire campaign prior to October 1.    A number of alt weeklies also provided value-added online coverage for the campaign in the month of October.

Print ad version below.

Obama_AW_Ad_9x10

Pacific Northwest Inlander On The Move

Leave a reply

By Mark Hanzlik, Executive Director

I read a post this morning in E&P reporting long-time AWN member Pacific Northwest Inlander will be relocating to their own new building in Spokane.  That’s more positive newspaper publishing news than we’re accustomed to hearing lately, good luck to McGregor’s and the Inlander staff.

WA-PacNorwestInlanderPublisher Ted McGregor shares some of his thoughts in the E&P post, supporting local as well as continuing to produce the kind of good journalism that has become rare these days.   The Pacific Northwest Inlander is often at the top of the list of free alternative weeklies in percentage of audience reached according to The Media Audit.

We  share an important anniversary with the Inlander.  They began publishing in the Pacific Northwest in 1993 and we left the Pacific Northwest at the same time to come to Sacramento and expand the CAL-AAN group into the national cooperative that we have today.   Like ships passing in the night.

Not the Right Mix For Gannett

Leave a reply

By Mark Hanzlik, Executive Director

Metromix weekly print publications have been quietly disappearing across the country for the past few years while their online counterparts continued to grow and attract market share.    On September 19, the Cincinnati Enquirer will shut down Metromix, marking possibly one of the last Metromix print publications in the Gannett publishing chain.  I said “possibly” because no one is really keeping track anymore.

Gannett began publishing entertainment weekly tabloids (distributed separately from their daily product) in 2003, Cincinnati’s weekly CiN Weekly which was the first one, may also have been the model for what later became a more widely published product called Metromix.   At one point, Gannett and Tribune Company were both launching these free weeklies and dailies at a rate that would make people think the newspaper industry was far from declining.  Gannett and Tribune Co. eventually forged an agreement for a joint effort with Metromix online.   Read more about the Cincinnati free weekly battle in a post this past week by CityBeat titled “R.I.P. Metromix” which was also posted on the AAN web site.

gannett

As for newspapers in general, it’s not been a good year already.  Hearing about free entertainment print publications being cashed in by their owners just adds more definition to the story.  But on the other hand, if the reader demand was great enough for these products in the first place and they weren’t simply daily newspaper “products” we might see some of them remain on the racks for few more years.

Boston Phoenix and STUFF Magazine to Combine Sept 21

Leave a reply

At the start of this month Phoenix Media/Communications Group announced they would be merging the 46-year-old alt weekly The Boston Phoenix with its style publication, STUFF into a new glossy magazine product called simply The Phoenix.   0801-Boston-Phoenix-May-4-2012-cover The initial announcement and news was covered on August 1 in several locations including Boston Business Journal. Since that time additional information has been made available as to the launch date and information pertinent to advertising.

The new publication will debut on September 21 with a new weekly circulation of 107,000 and 350,000 weekly readership.    Everett Finkelstein, VP Integrated Media for Phoenix Media Group (also AWN Executive Board Member) provided some of the details of the transition including the news that format of the other two altmedia Phoenix properties in Providence, RI and Portland, ME would remain unchanged for now.

The Boston Phoenix is a charter member of AWN.

Willamette Week Completes Trifecta in North Carolina

Leave a reply

It was no surprise to hear of Willamette Week owners purchase of the North Carolina AltMedia stalwart  Independent Weekly yesterday.  Publisher Richard Meeker has a long-time connection to the Research Triangle Market, his brother Charles was former Mayor of Raleigh.  Read more about the transaction from perspective from long-time Indy owner Steve Schewel in a press release from August 22.

INdyCity of Roses Newspaper Company, which owns Willamette Week and Santa Fe Reporter officially concludes the sale on October 1.     All three papers owned by City of Roses are charter members of AWN.