AAN Dallas Conference Guide
2023 TEXAAN SCHEDULE
The opening reception, vendor booths and both tracks take place in the Turtle Creek Ballroom, which is the separate conference center across from parking and past the pool from the hotel. We will also catch the buses on Thursday from the Turtle Creek Ballroom’s vendor foyer.
Turtle Creek is split into three rooms. Room A is Editorial/Design, Room B is Food/Breaks/Meetings, Room C is Revenue/Marketing.
The Annual Meeting on Friday is in Oak Lawn Terrace, which is in the main hotel on the lobby level.
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THURSDAY (7/20/23)
Editorial/Design Track (Room A)
Breakfast and Registration (8-8:50)
ChatGPT, Podcasts/Audio Stories, Transcriptions, Newsletters, FOIA.
Come meet our representatives from the Google News Initiative, get answers about programming for publishers and ask your questions!
Speaker: Ben Petrosky
Senior Manager, Public Policy (AI, News, Geo and Assistant), Google
Ben leads a team working on public policy issues in some of our marquee Knowledge & Information products, including News, Geo/Maps and Google Assistant. Before joining the public policy team, Ben was a product counsel for Nest Labs, Inc., where he advised teams on wide-ranging issues including Internet law, privacy, and intellectual property.
Speaker: Casey Pallenik
News Industry Relations Manager
Casey oversees Google’s partnerships with local news publishers in the US, working to develop programs and opportunities to meet their business, technology and innovation needs. Before joining Google in 2019, Casey worked in business and operational roles at a number of media organizations, including The Atlantic, National Journal, PBS NewsHour and National Geographic Channel.
Reporter Elisha Brown from States Newsroom, Editor-in-chief Galina Espinoza from Rewire and Managing editor Sayaka Matsuoka from Triad City Beat will lead a discussion on best practices when it comes to reporting on reproductive rights and talk about how red state trends are spreading across the country in the wake of the Roe v. Wade reversal.
Before you leave the hotel, realize (a.) there’s a restaurant in the hotel with a special AAN lunch menu and (b.) puppies are coming! Visit the PRConenct table to see and play with the puppies.
Texas Representative Julie Johnson has announced for the U.S. House of Representatives and, if she wins, would be the first openly-gay U.S. Representative from Texas.
From her website: “As a legislator, Julie Johnson has earned a reputation for going toe to toe with the crooked and powerful. Last session, she helped kill 76 of 77 anti-LGBTQ bills. She authored the historic Live Well Texas bill, which would have expanded Medicaid in Texas, gaining bipartisan support from 9 Republican Co-Sponsors, and as Vice-Chair of the Women’s Health Caucus fights on the front lines for reproductive rights.”
Come learn more about the Innovation in Focus series where the Reynolds Journalism Institute Innovation Team works with newsrooms and journalists to test new ideas, tech and storytelling methods. We will have a collaborative activity to help you work together on ideas for practical solutions for common challenges in your newsrooms and fun surprises!
Speaker: Emily Lytle
Emily Lytle is the Innovation in Focus Editor on RJI’s Innovation Team. She produces the monthly web series Innovation in Focus, which experiments with new ideas, tech and methods of storytelling for local and community-centered journalism.
Sponsored by:
Coffee Break and Sweets
Jimmy Boegle, Coachella Valley Independent/Reno News & Review, will lead a conversation to generate great ideas to steal.
Ryan Williamson of Rochester CITY Magazine will host a look at the best covers from AAN publications from the year.
Join us as the world renown Nasher Sculpture Center (2001 Flora Street) for a mind-expanding networking mixer throughout the museum and into the sculpture garden. Wine and beer; appetizers by Wolfgang Puck catering.
We’ll bus you from the hotel and back. For dinner, you can eat in the Arts District, return to Oak Lawn, or we’ll bus you to Dallas’ main music district, Deep Ellum.
Revenue/Marketing Track (Room C)
Breakfast and Registration (8-8:50)
A moderated round-table on sales, marketing, management and revenue led by Cassidy Frazier of Austin Chronicle.
Sponsor: Newspack
AAN Publishers talk about some out-of-the box news products they’ve launched in the past year.
Sponsor: RevContent
A discussion on membership, Give campaigns, ANF programs. Session features Ellen Meany (ANF), Mark Zusman (Willamette Week), and Duc Luu ( Knight Foundation). Todd Stauffer will moderate.
Sponsors: Knight Foundation and News Revenue Hub.
Before you leave the hotel, realize (a.) there’s a restaurant in the hotel with a special AAN lunch menu and (b.) puppies are coming! Visit the PRConenct table to see and play with the puppies.
Texas Representative Julie Johnson has announced for the U.S. House of Representatives and, if she wins, would be the first openly-gay U.S. Representative from Texas.
From her website: “As a legislator, Julie Johnson has earned a reputation for going toe to toe with the crooked and powerful. Last session, she helped kill 76 of 77 anti-LGBTQ bills. She authored the historic Live Well Texas bill, which would have expanded Medicaid in Texas, gaining bipartisan support from 9 Republican Co-Sponsors, and as Vice-Chair of the Women’s Health Caucus fights on the front lines for reproductive rights.”
Todd Stauffer hosts a number of our vendors as they do a “lightning round” pitch of their services. Featuring: January Spring, Public Good, RevContent and Evvnt.
Coffee Break and Sweets
Do you easily think of new ideas and solutions for others, yet get totally brain-blocked when it comes to your own dilemmas? Then don’t miss UNSTUCK – a conversational workshop focused on picking each other’s brains so we can get past obstacles in sales and marketing. Come prepared with a specific project or topic you’ve been stuck on and lean on your alt-media counterparts for guidance, tips, and off-the-wall ideas.
Business challenges, successes and climate for cannabis coverage and advertising in states with a variety of laws and landscapes.
Join us as the world renown Nasher Sculpture Center (2001 Flora Street) for a mind-expanding networking mixer throughout the museum and into the sculpture garden. Wine and beer; appetizers by Wolfgang Puck catering.
We’ll bus you from the hotel and back. For dinner, you can eat in the Arts District, return to Oak Lawn, or we’ll bus you to Dallas’ main music district, Deep Ellum.
FRIDAY (7/21/23)
Editorial/Design Track
(Room A)
Breakfast (8-9:00)
Kevin Goldberg of the Freedom Forum answers your legal questions.
Speaker: Kevin Goldberg
Kevin Goldberg is the First Amendment Specialist at the Freedom Forum where he works to educate the public about the substance and importance of the First Amendment. Prior to joining the Freedom Forum, he served as Vice President, Legal for the Digital Media Association, and was a partner in two law firms, where he focused on First Amendment, FOIA and Intellectual Property Issues, including serving as outside General Counsel to AAN for almost a decade. He is currently a member of the Alternative Newsweeklies Foundation Board of Directors.
In the aftermath of 2020, newsrooms around the country are grappling with how to tackle crime and policing in an anti-racist, people-focused way. This session will include a roundtable of seasoned reporters as well as a criminal justice educator to talk about the ways in which media should cover these topics. Austin Sanders, Austin Chronicle, Meg O’Connor, The Appeal and Leon Theodore, Texas Center for Justice & Equity will discuss. Sayaka Matsuoka of Triad City Beat will moderate.
Lunch provided in Oak Lawn Terrace for AAN members who are registered to participate for their publication.
You can eat off-site or enjoy items from the lunch menu prepared by the hotel for AAN.
Dr. Anita Varma leads the Solidarity Journalism Initiative at UT Austin, where she is also an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Media. Her research, teaching, and public engagement focus on how journalism can better represent marginalized communities. Dr. Varma will give a presentation and lead a discussion on the history of journalists being in solidarity with marginalized communities and how to implement aspects of solidarity journalism in reporting.
Ryan Williamson, Rochester CITY Magazine will lead a fast-paced, creative exercise session on headline writing and cover design.
Coffee Break and Sweets
A discussion led by the Center for Cooperative Media.
Let AI do the boring stuff so you can focus more on doing journalism and serving your community. This workshop will provide practical tips and use cases for how to use LLMs to save time (and hopefully some sanity) on back-office tasks and other monotonous, everyday shit that takes time away from reporting and producing the news.
Speaker: Joe Amditis
Joe is the assistant director of products and events at the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University and an adjunct professor in the School of Communication and Media. He is the producer and host of the WTF Just Happened Today podcast. Joe is also a veteran of the NJ Army National Guard. He was deployed to Iraq in 2008 and was activated to help with Hurricane Irene relief efforts in 2011. He earned a B.A. in political science and criminal justice from Rutgers in 2013 and an M.A. in engaged journalism from the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY in 2016. He was co-founder and director of operations of Muckgers, an award-winning, student-focused, investigative news outlet until 2014. Joe has also coordinated several collaborative reporting projects, including Democracy Day, a nationwide reporting collaborative involving 300+ newsrooms across the United States. Joe can be reached at amditisj@montclair.edu and on Twitter at @jsamditis.
Come to Dallas’ premiere drag queen venue to (a.) celebrate freedom and (b.) find out who won First Place in the 2023 AAN Awards.
Hosted by Cassie Nova (and featuring Jenna Sky and Layla Larue) the event will be catered by Big Al’s BBQ (with veggie options!) and finished off with special nitrogen-infused ice cream from Yelibelly Chocolates. Plus a full bar, and your first two drinks are on us!
Sponsor:
Host:
Revenue/Marketing Track
(Room C)
Breakfast (8-9:00)
Media kits should dynamic & informative, effectively communicating your paper’s brand and core value proposition. During this interactive session, panelists will share their insights, strategies and best practices. Anna Zusman, Willamette Week & Amber Nettles, Chicago Reader.
Sponsor: BlueLena
How do you get your news? What news do you pay for? Join the Google News Initiative’s Tina Xiao to hear about three trends in subscriptions, donations, and ad revenue, as well as Google tools to help grow your audiences and revenue.
How do you grow audiences and revenue? Tina answers this question for news organizations around the world for the Google News Initiative, where she leads online resources and trainings. Before Google, Tina was a strategy analyst at ABC News, growing digital, streaming, broadcast, and podcasts for ABCNews.com, FiveThirtyEight, and Good Morning America. Tina also co-founded Flashlight, a 501(c)3 nonprofit focused on a new funding model for journalism.
Sponsored by:
Lunch provided in Oak Lawn Terrace for AAN members who are registered to participate for their publication.
You can eat off-site or enjoy items from the lunch menu prepared by the hotel for AAN.
Come hear from the leaders of AAN, NAHP and NNPA about the Fund for Equity in Local News and it’s first major initiative — Transformation Tech. Hosted by FELN Executive Director Ashley Woods Branch.
This panel will delve into the rising trend of collaborative journalism such as the national “News Is Out” and “Word in Black” initiatives to explore the role of collaboration and its potential to shape the future of news and the opportunities for additional revenue. Session led by Leo Cusimano, Dallas Voice
Coffee Break and Sweets
A discussion led by the Center for Cooperative Media.
Let AI do the boring stuff so you can focus more on doing journalism and serving your community. This workshop will provide practical tips and use cases for how to use LLMs to save time (and hopefully some sanity) on back-office tasks and other monotonous, everyday shit that takes time away from reporting and producing the news.
Speaker: Joe Amditis
Joe is the assistant director of products and events at the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University and an adjunct professor in the School of Communication and Media. He is the producer and host of the WTF Just Happened Today podcast. Joe is also a veteran of the NJ Army National Guard. He was deployed to Iraq in 2008 and was activated to help with Hurricane Irene relief efforts in 2011. He earned a B.A. in political science and criminal justice from Rutgers in 2013 and an M.A. in engaged journalism from the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY in 2016. He was co-founder and director of operations of Muckgers, an award-winning, student-focused, investigative news outlet until 2014. Joe has also coordinated several collaborative reporting projects, including Democracy Day, a nationwide reporting collaborative involving 300+ newsrooms across the United States. Joe can be reached at amditisj@montclair.edu and on Twitter at @jsamditis.
Come to Dallas’ premiere drag queen venue to (a.) celebrate freedom and (b.) find out who won First Place in the 2023 AAN Awards.
Hosted by Cassie Nova (and featuring Jenna Sky and Layla Larue) the event will be catered by Big Al’s BBQ (with veggie options!) and finished off with special nitrogen-infused ice cream from Yelibelly Chocolates. Plus a full bar, and your first two drinks are on us!
Sponsor:
Host:
Catch the Shuttle Thursday Night
Things to do in Dallas
Make the most of your time in Dallas by immersing yourself in the lively art and music scene while savoring Southern cuisine.
Thursday’s event at the Nasher Sculpture Center in the vibrant Arts District is a perfect opportunity to explore the city on foot or by bus. The Arts District is home to world-class museums like the Dallas Museum of Art, the Perot Museum, and the Sixth Floor Museum.
Afterward, indulge in a diverse range of culinary delights from the food trucks at Klyde Warren Park, and be sure to witness the captivating fountain performance or take a and explore the lively Deep Ellum known for its vibrant street murals, quirky art galleries, live music, cocktail bars and delicious eats.
Dallas is full of fun activities after the conference is over! Check out the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Texas Rangers game. Enjoy a panoramic view from Reunion Tower or have a drink or two on Margarita Mile, a free self-guided tour of the best and brightest margaritas in town.
Restaurant Recommendations Near the Warwick Melrose-Dallas
Within Walking Distance
The Landmark at The Warwick Melrose | New American | (214) 224-3152 | $$
Mattito’s | Tex-Mex | (214) 526-8181 | $$
Enoteca Italia | Italian | (972) 685-2112 | $$
Steel Sushi | Asian | (214) 219-9908 | $$$
Snooze an AM Eatery | Breakfast | (469) 480-7250 | $$
Eatzi’s | European Market & Deli | (214) 526-1515 | $$
Parigi | Italian | (214) 521-0295 | $$$
Hunky’s | Hamburgers | (214) 941-3322 | $
Si Lom Asian Fusion | Asian Fusion | (214) 780-0983 | $$
3 Mile Radius
Neighborhood Services| American | (972) 803-5563 | $$$
Al Biernat’s | Steak and Seafood | (214) 219-2201 | $$$$
East Hampton Sandwich Co. | Sandwiches | (214) 443-7925 | $$
Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse | Steak and Texas Seafood | (214) 744-3287 | $$$
Loro | Asian Fusion | (214) 833-4983 | $$
Uchi | Japanese | (214) 855-5454 | $$$
Ocean Prime | Steak and Seafood | (214) 965-0440 | $$$
AAN ASSOCIATION GUIDANCE DOCUMENT
AAN exists to provide services and leadership that ensure the success of its members, and to strengthen alternative journalism through advocacy and education. Our association bylaws, found on our website, outline the fundamental rules for our governance.
This year, we’ve developed an Association Guidance Document which outlines how AAN functions in service of our bylaws: how we communicate, how we make decisions, how we manage conflict, how we hold accountable and more. We ask you to review this document by following the QR code pictured here.
AAN CODE OF CONDUCT
AAN’s board of directors and staff welcome you to the 2023 Annual Convention in Dallas! We’ve looked forward to this gathering in a spirit of curiosity, collaboration and respect, and discussing our vital work together—while having a lot of fun in the process.
AAN has developed a Code of Conduct, which you can view by scanning the QR code pictured here. Our goal, as always, is to ensure a safe and productive environment for all members, employees, volunteers, sponsors, speakers, and friends of AAN.
July 5, 2023
To whom it may concern,
We truly understand that you and some of your attendees at this year’s Association of Alternative Newspapers conference may have some concerns about legislation related to women’s healthcare. Below is some information on current legislation in Texas, as well as actions taken in Dallas.
Under Senate Bill 8, Texas law allows for medical care — including an exception to abortion — if the mother’s life is in danger. If a woman experiences a health emergency related to her pregnancy and would require a D&C procedure, it would not be unlawful. Also, if a meeting attendee is experiencing an ectopic pregnancy or miscarriage, they would not be in violation of Texas law. The language in the bill is broad, and thus medical providers are carefully navigating through this process to ensure that the care and procedure(s) they’re providing fall within the guidelines of the current law, all while keeping the patient’s health as their top priority.
In June 2022, Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot publicly stated that his office will not pursue prosecution. “I want women across Texas, and especially here in Dallas County, to rest assured that my office will not stand in the way of them seeking the health care they need,” Creuzot said. Additionally, our legal experts advise that the primary issue will be whether a local district attorney will pursue prosecution of perceived “violations” in this area.
Dallas joined several other Texas cities in support of reproductive healthcare rights. In August 2022, the Dallas City Council approved a reproductive rights resolution, which limits the use of government resources to investigate abortions and designates these investigations as lowest priority. This February, the Dallas City Council voted to commemorate Roe vs. Wade to reaffirm the city’s support of the historic ruling. Although these actions do not supersede Texas law, they demonstrate the spirit of the city in support of women’s rights.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions you may have.
Chad West
Council Member, District 1
If you meet with a medical challenge that you are concerned won’t be addressed adequately in Texas, our board has a plan to help you find appropriate care. We also have authorization from the board to provide emergency funds to help you leave the state and/or return home for proper medical care if warranted. Please contact Treasurer Kimberly Griffin (601-665-9243) or Secretary Brandi Rivera (909-499-6133) for assistance.