The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) is a diverse group of 130 alt-weekly news organizations that cover every major metropolitan area in North America. Members of AAN reach a print and online audience of more than 25 million young, educated, active and influential adults in the U.S. and Canada. There are a wide range of publications in AAN. What ties them together are a strong focus on local news, culture and the arts; an informal and sometimes profane style; an emphasis on point-of-view reporting and narrative journalism; a tolerance for individual freedoms and social differences; and an eagerness to report on issues and communities that many mainstream media outlets ignore.