Encyclopedia > Association of Alternative Newsweeklies
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The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) is the trade association of alternative weekly newspapers in North America. AAN provides services to a large number of generally liberal or progressive weekly newspapers across the United States and in Canada. According to its self-description, AAN "is a diverse group of 127 non-daily free-circulation papers that are distributed in all of the major metropolitan areas of North America. Each paper has a distinct, local identity that sets it apart from the mainstream press in its market." Recent cover of Portland, Oregons Willamette Week An alternative weekly is a type of weekly newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting local people and culture. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...
AAN also operates AltWeeklies.com --a Web portal that highlights an updated list of the best news stories, features, arts criticsm and political commentary from its member newspapers.
To be clear, the alternative press as defined here has little to do with what many might describe as "alternative." The term is mostly a catchall phrase used by the mainstream media, but these publications are not what some call the "dissident" press in America (see sidebar).
In fact, scanning the realm of what a usually called alternative weeklies across the country, it sometimes seems there are few things that hold them together as a genre beyond their tabloid format (an almost universal trait) and their advertising-driven revenue model (they are usually given away free).
Alternative weeklies were not spared from the large-scale consolidation that hit the media in general in the 1990s.
Alternative weeklies are still relatively strong, especially considering the troubles many print outlets have had in recent years, but the competition has grown.
AAN internal surveys and anecdotal evidence suggest that the growth came primarily in three areas: Local retail, real estate classifieds and national advertising.
If the older alternative weeklies pass away, what replaces them as advertising vehicles will not, by any means, be duplicating what they are trying to do in terms of the politics, culture and values of the cities in which they appear.
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