AAN News June 08, 2000 Four Papers Admitted to AAN By Christine Iwan At the annual meeting in Phoenix this weekend, AAN members approved the membership applications of four papers: Ventura County Reporter, Urban View, Charleston City Paper and Tacoma Reporter. All four papers had been recommended by the Admissions Committee (see the Admissions Committee report below). Urban View, Oakland, California A strong favorite among many committee members. The new publication from the Bay Area is serious, professional, and definitely has its editorial heart in the right place. Yes, there's room for improvement and maturity, but Urban View offers a well-focused look at its local community without trying to be all things to all readers. J. Douglas Allen-Taylor's column is a standout addition that any AAN paper would be proud to run. Sample comments: "Strong newspaper, has a different voice and sounds like an urban-center paper. Tough articles and columns. Need to work out design issues but otherwise a keeper." "An extremely alternative newsweekly." "This is 'the little paper that could' . . . or might. Action-packed 28-page package, but nowhere near enough space to do Oakland justice. Great potential." Excerprt From the AAN Newsletter posted at http://www.aan.org/display_story.phtml?ARTICLE_ID=601 [Emphasis added to remarks about "Oakland Unwrapped" column]