Shaping the Future of the Newspaper Blog: July 2009 Archives

HuffPo: The downside of an open, unpaid model's effect on content

Posted by Simon Day on July 31, 2009 at 10:52 AM

Unpaid contributors, when used too much, can have a negative effect on quality, Gawker reported yesterday, citing the Huffington Post as an example.

Ariana Huffington doesn't pay most of her contributing writers; therefore, those writing for the popular online publication "must make the work pay elsewhere, and this is where HuffPo gets itself into trouble," Gawker's Ryan Tate writes.

Philippine newspapers see readership growth in affluent demographics

Posted by Simon Day on July 31, 2009 at 10:03 AM

The Philippine newspaper industry is healthy and growing, as a recent study by market research firm Synovate revealed a continued readership growth in the upscale market, BusinessWorld online reported Friday.

Synovate's global executive director, Steve Garton, announced yesterday that readership in A and B classes was up 64 percent from March to May. This comes on top of a 59 percent increase from November 2008 to January of this year.

Zimbabwe lifts restrictions on national newspaper group

Posted by Simon Day on July 31, 2009 at 9:35 AM

Zimbabwe's governmental coalition on Thursday granted an operating license to a national newspaper group forced into closure by the state five years ago. The Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe were given the right to resume publication after nearly two years of investigation by a special committee of the Information Ministry, Reuters reported Thursday.

The "unity government," formed by President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, has been under pressure to relinquish media and political restraints in order to secure foreign aid as the Zimbabwe economy degenerates into further chaos.

Bankruptcy Court accepts Star Tribune's reorganisation plan

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 31, 2009 at 9:19 AM

A bankruptcy court judge has accepted the Minneapolis Star Tribune's reorganisation plan, which could enable the paper to be independent of chapter 11 bankruptcy protection within the next few months, the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal reported.

The plan remains to be approved by creditors who will vote on whether or not to accept the proposed reorganisation that would give more than 95 percent of the company's stake to an investment group.

Boston's Bay State Banner back in print

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 31, 2009 at 8:18 AM

The Bay State Banner, Boston's only African American-owned newspaper, will resume printing after almost a month's hiatus due to large decreases in advertising revenue, the Boston Herald reported.

Financial support for the publication has been made possible by a $200,000 loan from the city, which the Banner's publisher Mel Miller accepted from mayor Thomas M. Menino, while pledging to maintain the paper's independence despite the government's aid.

34 Journal Sentinel staffers take buyouts

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 31, 2009 at 8:04 AM

An announcement yesterday by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel confirmed the acceptance of buyout offers by 29 full-time and five part-time staffers, Editor & Publisher reported.

Though no names have been released, several employees who opted for the buyout offer are suspected to be longtime staff members of the newspaper. Reports include veteran columnists, reporters and critics of the paper in the list of staff that will be leaving the paper.

The deadline to accept the buyout was Monday night, with layoffs to follow if not enough employees accept the deal. The buyouts mark a third attempt by the paper to reduce staff and costs. Greg Pearson of the newsroom employees union has reported that executives for the Journal Sentinel expect to have to cut "substantially more" positions.

NY newspaper to charge for online content again

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 30, 2009 at 4:38 AM

Schenectady, New York's Daily Gazette will once again charge for online content that has been offered for free since 2007, The Associated Press reported.

Beginning August 3, the electronic edition of the paper and other online content will be uniquely available to home delivery subscribers or those who pay a US$2.95 monthly subscription fee. Selected blogs and featured breaking news will be posted on a free site.

Judy Patrick, the Gazette's managing editor, said the decision was made due to disappointing online advertising revenue and expressed the paper's intention to keep the integrity of the paper's content as well as reward paying readers by once again charging to use the site.

Doctor: Microsoft-Yahoo! deal does little to help newspapers

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 30, 2009 at 4:18 AM

A deal struck between Microsoft and Yahoo offers few advantages to newspapers in the Yahoo Newspaper Consortium, Ken Doctor wrote in a piece for iStockAnalyst.

Mike Silver, the Consortium's executive director, told Doctor "we would expect that with Yahoo now focused on display advertising, the response (to newspaper company needs) should be stronger."

Trinity Mirror reports ad revenue losses slowing, shares up

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 30, 2009 at 4:02 AM

The Trinity Mirror has reported decreases in operating profit due to declining advertising revenue; however, those ad revenue losses are slowing, The Financial Times reported.

The newspaper publisher's adjusted operating profits fell from £80.5 million to £49.1 million over the course of about six and a half months. Revenue dropped from £460.8 million to £383 million and the Mirror attributes £65.6 million of that fall to lost ad revenue. However, the numbers beat market expectations for the first half of the year.

Tri-lingual newspaper launched in Willmar

Posted by Simon Day on July 30, 2009 at 3:59 AM

A local entrepreneur of in the Minnesota town of Willmar has launched a trilingual newspaper publishing in English, Spanish and Somali, the Post-Bulletin reported Wednesday. Marian Sanchez is the founder and president of La Gran America, and was encouraged to start her own paper after working on the now defunct Spanish version of Sauk Centre Herald, called El Heraldo.

The newspaper has opened a small operation with a circulation of 1,000 within the Willmar area, and Sanchez personally delivers the paper to other rural cities including as Alexandria, Spicer and Pelican Rapids.

Torstar Corp. registers second quarter loss

Posted by Simon Day on July 30, 2009 at 3:58 AM

Torstar Corp. posted another quarterly loss as cost cuts were unable to recompense the ongoing economic struggles at the company's newspaper and digital operations, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The Toronto based media company reported a loss of C$4.4 million, or six cents a share, for the second economic quarter. For the same period in 2008 the company registered a $36 million profit or 46 Canadian cents per share.

Texas weekly prints final issue

Posted by Simon Day on July 30, 2009 at 3:56 AM

Texas weekly newspaper, the Northwest Tarrant County Times-Record, which served Saginaw and Lake Worth areas, printed its last issue on Wednesday, as the ad market and local competition left the paper starved for revenue, the Star-Telegram reported Wednesday.

Art Jones, who has published the paper with his wife Joan since 2001, listed the arrival new local newspaper The Eagle and two coupon mailing firms as the the catalyst for the Times-Record's closure.

Armenian newspaper launches in South Ossetia

Posted by Simon Day on July 29, 2009 at 1:07 PM

An Armenian newspaper has been launched in the disputed South Ossetia region, in order to serve the 23,000 person Armenian community in the region, Asbarez.com reported Tuesday.

The Erebuni Armenian National Cultural Company started the newspaper, which is now already two issues deep. The publication will address Armenian history and current public figures as well as daily news reporting on issues that affect the area's Armenian community.

Newspaper group to launch citizen journalism programme

Posted by Simon Day on July 29, 2009 at 8:02 AM

Independent Newspapers Inc., based in Eastern Michigan, will begin a citizen journalism programme for residents of Macomb County, Editor & Publisher reported Wednesday.

The Press has begun to receive regular contributions from citizens. At present, the group is fielding e-mails from interested citizens with the opportunity available to work on one of the Independent's publications including The Macomb Daily, and weeklies The Voice, The Armada Times, and the Advisor & Source Newspapers.

First free daily launched in Mississippi

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 29, 2009 at 5:10 AM

The Starkville Dispatch, launched earlier this month, is the first free daily to serve the southern U.S. state of Mississippi, Newspaper Innovation reported.

The daily is an affiliate of the paid-for Dispatch title which already circulates in other areas of the "Golden Triangle" including Mississippi and western Alabama.

NUJ cancels Birmingham strikes

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 29, 2009 at 4:58 AM

Strikes planned to take place at the UK's Trinity Mirror newspapers in Birmingham on Thursday have been called off by the National Union of Journalists, Press Gazette reported.

The proposed strike was met with strong opposition from Trinity Mirror upper staff members, with managing director Georgina Harvey calling the decision to strike "reckless and negligent." However, the reason for the strike's cancellation is due not to its negative reception but rather to a confirmation on the part of the publisher that no posts would be job cuts at the Birmingham-based papers.

Times Publishing Co. to sell GOVERNING title

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 29, 2009 at 4:08 AM

Times Publishing Co. announced in a press release an offer to sell GOVERNING and all associated properties, including a monthly magazine, Web site, and event-based products.

GOVERNING's magazine has a circulation of 80,000 subscribers along with its companion Web site "which is visited by an equally large and influential audience." The publication also sponsors the Public Officials of the Year Awards.

Times Publishing has recently sold its CQ Press books as well as its Congressional Quarterly.

Start-up offers newspapers ad revenue sharing options

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 28, 2009 at 5:40 PM

Attributor, a start-up that offers ad revenue sharing services to newspapers and blogs, "wants to bring the ad networks into the mix, to allow them to be the revenue distributor that looks not only at the site that offered up the news story but also the news outlet that created the story," ZDNet Senior Editor Sam Diaz commented in his blog.

Diaz applauds the start-up's business model, saying the proactive approach to generating revenue from news aggregation is sorely lacking amongst newspaper executives who, according to Diaz, "knew only one way to respond: cry foul" when they saw their old business models being challenged.

ABC plans to offer unique audit for community papers

Posted by Simon Day on July 28, 2009 at 1:28 PM

The Audit Bureau of Circulations has given preliminary approval to community newspaper orientated auditing service, Editor & Publisher reported Tuesday.

The ABC Community Newspaper Audit proposal was accepted at its July meeting in Chicago last week and could be available to U.S. and Canadian publishers with newspapers with less than a paid circulation of 25,000 by January next year, dependent on ABC board approval.

New York Times Co. leads publisher stock growth

Posted by Simon Day on July 28, 2009 at 1:07 PM

The New York Times Co. value increased the most since February of this year on the back of speculation of profit increase, leading a group of newspaper publishers with similar results, Boston.com reported Tuesday.

According to Edward Atorino, a New York-based analyst at Benchmark Co., the Times Co. will earn nine cents a share next year as profits rebound after a 2009 loss. The company surpassed all expectations when it posted significant second quarter profits after significant cost cuts at both The New York Times and the Boston Globe.

Bilingual newspaper expands coverage

Posted by Simon Day on July 28, 2009 at 12:52 PM

U.S. regional bilingual newspaper, La Costa Latina, beginning Saturday will extend its coverage area and will now be available from Mobile to Panama City, PNJ.com reported Tuesday.

The free newspaper is published in Spanish and English and will be the first such free paper in the Mobile area. The newspaper's circulation is expected to now reach 10,000 copies.

BBC to team up with four major UK newspapers

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 28, 2009 at 11:55 AM

The UK's public broadcasting station, the BBC, will team up with four major national newspapers in order to provide video content for their online editions c21media.net reported.

The videos will be embedded in the sites of the participating papers; The Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, Guardian, and Independent. Video content will appear along with the papers' own unique content on politics, business, science and technology.

Survey: Virgin Media makes the most use of Twitter

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 28, 2009 at 9:52 AM

A recent survey conducted by top10-broadband.co.uk found that Virgin Media is the top ISP to use Twitter "most effectively," TechWatch.co.uk reported.

Among the top ISPs on the list following Virgin were BT, Vodaphone, TalkTalk and Be. The companies' use of Twitter seems mainly for customer service purposes, which the employ to "defend themselves" on the site against users Tweets complaining about their broadband service.

Apple aims to release tablet computer before Christmas

Posted by Simon Day on July 27, 2009 at 12:47 PM

Apple hopes to release a full-featured, tablet-sized computer that would compete in the e-reader category before the Christmas season, according a Financial Times report on Monday.

The device is rumoured to feature a touch screen that would be up to 10 inches diagonally. It would likely boast a similar Internet service as the iPod touch supporting access to the Internet and Apple's online services. The tablet computer would probably not have mobile phone capabilities, but has been described as "a colour, flat-panel TV to the old-fashioned, black and white TV of the Kindle," a publishing executive told the FT.

Aussie papers may pull ads to protest Google real estate site

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 27, 2009 at 10:39 AM

Two major Australian newspapers have threatened to pull their advertisements on Google as a form of protest against the recently launched Google Maps Real Estate service, an aggregator of real estate listings found on other sites, The Inquisitr reported.

Australia's News Ltd. and the Fairfax group, which own prominent real estate sites, are on the defense against the new site, which they see as a competitor to their respective Realestate.com.au and Domain.

Indian newspaper group asks for 'anti-media' ad law to change

Posted by Simon Day on July 27, 2009 at 10:33 AM

The Tripura Newspaper Society, a representative body for newspaper owners and publishers in the North East Indian state, has called for the state's Left Front government to change advertising laws the group describes as "anti-media," The Hindu reported Sunday.

At a seminar on Saturday night, newspapers editors and intellectuals urged the government to resolve the media crisis resultant from the advertising policy launched earlier in the year.

Edmonton Sun 'taking a little bit off the top'

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 27, 2009 at 4:58 AM

The Edmonton Sun announced to readers that it would be "taking a bit off the top" of their print edition, reducing the paper's size by an inch, the Edmonton Sun reported.

The paper justified the change in its announcement, pointing out that the reduced size would save 5.8 million pounds of paper, and called the modification "great for the environment and, in today's tough economy, a necessary reduction in newspaper production expenses."

Publisher and CEO of the Sun Gordon Norrie said that while the format of the paper would be changing, the content would remain the same and continue to be delivered "in the same informative and engaging manner."

Cox Enterprises to sell North Carolina newspapers

Posted by Simon Day on July 27, 2009 at 4:40 AM

Cox Enterprises has continued its plan to relinquish the company's North Carolina, Colorado and Texas newspapers with the reported sale of three North Carolina dailies and 10 Eastern North Carolina weekly papers to Cooke Communications LLC, the Wall Street Journal reported last week.

Cooke, a privately held family company, said that "virtually all" staff at the newspapers will be retained.

Global mobile online users reach 920 million in 2008

Posted by Erina Lin on July 24, 2009 at 1:45 PM

Global wireless online access users though mobile phones increased from 70 million to 920 million in 2008, according to iResearch. The growth rate was more than 100 percent in 2003 and 2004, but dropped to double digits in the years following, SFN's Winning Mobile Strategies reported.

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NY Times Co. returns to profitability in 2Q

Posted by Simon Day on July 24, 2009 at 1:24 PM

The New York Times Co. turned a profit in the second quarter, registering "better-than-expected" profits despite a further fall in advertising revenue, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Second quarter profits came in at $39.1 million, or 27 cents a share, compared with 2008 profits of $21.1 million, or 15 cents a share, for the same period.

MailOnline tops list of UK news sites for June

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 24, 2009 at 6:13 AM

The MailOnline received 29.3 million unique visitors in the month of June, making the site the biggest in British news sites for the month, according to ABCe metrics, the MailOnline announced on its Web site.

The increase in visitors shows a surge of 19 percent from the previous month and 83 percent in year-on-year data. The site also reports 1.7 million visits a day, a record for British online news sites.

Advantage, Tribune Media partner to expand local ad division

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 24, 2009 at 6:09 AM

Advantage Newspaper Consultants and Tribune Media Services have formed a joint agreement granting Tribune's local advertising contracts to ANC, which will take over sales representation, customer service, invoicing and billing, according to a press release posted on PRWeb.com.

Advantage President Timothy O. Dellinger said the partnership is "about building relationships and working together to ensure that newspapers continue to have a strong, professional partner in local TV magazine and online ad sales services during a time of economic uncertainty."

Trinity Mirror's managing director challenges NUJ's strike plans

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 24, 2009 at 5:44 AM

Georgina Harvey, the managing director of the UK's Trinity Mirror has criticised the National Union of Journalist's plans to hold a one-day strike, calling it a "reckless and negligent decision," Press Gazette reported.

The NUJ's strike plans concern several regional editions of the paper in the Midlands region. The strike will protest the paper's announced closure of nine titles and the cutting of 120 positions.

Harvey suggested the decision to strike was not made by the majority of unionised journalists, saying that "it is highly frustrating that the majority of our journalists should be held to ransom like this when only 27 percent of our entire editorial workforce across the Midlands businesses voted for this action."

Wales looks into newspaper-run TV and radio

Posted by Simon Day on July 24, 2009 at 5:40 AM

A Wales Labour Party Assembly Member (AM) has proposed the issuing of grants to start "super local" television and radio channels run by newspapers, the BBC reported Friday.

Huw Lewis said that it would not take a "huge amount of money" from the government to see Wales become a base for journalistic excellence.

Visits to some major U.S. newspaper sites down in June

Posted by Simon Day on July 24, 2009 at 5:19 AM

Unique visitors to U.S. newspaper Web sites for the month of June were down on year-to-year evaluations at a number of papers, according to data from Nielsen Online, Editor & Publisher reported.

Declines in Web site visitors were reported at NYTimes.com, The Boston Globe, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the New York Post.

Opportunity for micro-transactions surges in gaming industry

Posted by Simon Day on July 23, 2009 at 3:05 PM

Mochi Media launched Mochi Coins Tuesday, to take advantage of the growing opportunity for micro-transactions, Cnet reported Monday. This follows the recent release of a comScore study showing that the online gaming audience grew 22 percent in the United States since last year, reaching 87 million in May.

According to the study, the development of sophistication and interactivity of Flash games has closed the gap with traditional console games, the game sales of which have dropped 31 percent from June last year.

Report links social media to revenue increases, some skeptical

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 23, 2009 at 8:38 AM

A recent ENGAGEMENTdb report conducted by Wetpaint and the Altimeter group has found companies that use social media to interact with clients saw an 18 percent increase in revenue from last year, Seattlepi.com reported.

The report cited Starbucks, Dell and eBay as examples of businesses who used social media cites such as Facebook and Twitter to connect with clients, finding that these leaders in online networking benefitted from increased sales as a result.

Apple 'can't make enough' iPhones fast enough

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 23, 2009 at 8:01 AM

At a third quarter earnings conference Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer announced the company has sold 5.2 million iPhones during the quarter, paidContent.org reported.

Oppenheimer said the interest in iPhones was overwhelming Apple's supply, commenting that "we can't make enough iPhone 3GS's to meet demand." The iPhone 3GS, which is Apple's latest model of the phone, includes new features such as video-recording and an internal compass.

S. Korean media bill passes after physical confrontation

Posted by Simon Day on July 23, 2009 at 7:54 AM

Legislators in South Korea physically scuffled in parliament on Wednesday as the ruling conservative party pushed through heavily delayed bills that relinquished curbs on media ownership, AFP reported Wednesday. The vote left a number of people injured.

The vote followed months of failed negotiations between the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP). The laws loosen restrictions on owning print and TV, and will allow media businesses to purchase up to 10 percent of a satellite TV channel and up to 30 percent of a cable channel.

New Yahoo! homepage customisable, incorporates social media

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 23, 2009 at 7:37 AM

Yahoo! has launched a new home page which offers users the opportunity to personalise the page by incorporating links to favourite sites such as Facebook or Twitter, the Los Angeles Examiner reported.

The new site includes a side bar, in which content can be manipulated by the user, who may chose which links to sites they wish to appear in the space.

The site has already been launched in the United States and will be functional in the United Kingdom, France and India later in the week.

Ann Arbor News prints last daily edition

Posted by Simon Day on July 23, 2009 at 7:20 AM

The Ann Arbor News printed its last daily edition on Thursday as it moved to predominantly online, supported by a twice-weekly print edition on Thursday and Sunday, The Associated Press reported Thursday. The new Web site will be launched Friday.

"The devastating transformation of the newspaper industry and the severe economic impact on The News forced the painful decision to close our newspaper," Publisher Laurel Champion wrote on her front-page column. "But I hope you will remember us for many, many reasons."

McClatchy doubles year-on-year 2Q profits

Posted by Simon Day on July 22, 2009 at 10:53 AM

U.S. newspaper publisher McClatchy Co. has announced that its second-quarter net profits are more than double that of the same period for 2008, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

On the back of much lower expenses McClatchy registered a second quarter net income of US$42.2 million, or 50 cents a share. This is more than twice the $19.7 million profit for the 2nd quarter of 2008. The announcement reveals that while print advertising is still struggling, its steady decline appears to have stopped.

AT&T sales team to take on Yahoo Display Ads

Posted by Simon Day on July 22, 2009 at 10:41 AM

AT&T and Yahoo announced on Tuesday that the two companies have formed a partnership for the sale of Yahoo's display inventory beginning later this summer, paidContent.org reported.

Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz celebrated the addition of AT&T's 5,000-person sales force, stating it it would bring the company's local, U.S. ad sales team to 13,000.

Barclays lent £40 million to Daily Telegraph

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 22, 2009 at 10:33 AM

Last year, Sir Frederick and Sir David Barclay lent £40 million to the UK Daily Telegraph's parent company, Telegraph Media Group, which they own, in order to offset £33 million in losses, Press Gazette reported.

The loan is the third the brothers have lent. They have previously offered financial support to the Telegraph on two previous occasions since buying it in 2004 from Hollinger International. While the exact reason for the loan has not been divulged, Telegraph Media Group has posted a £15.7 million pre-tax loss for 2008 period.

San Francisco Chronicle launches 2-page weather section

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 22, 2009 at 10:31 AM

Hearst Corp.'s San Francisco Chronicle has launched a two-page weather section in partnership with online weather service Weather underground, according to a press release.

The new section will be part of the Chronicle's "high-definition" newspaper, and will rely on the Weather Underground to "develop a new weather service that takes advantage of the presses' reproduction quality and color capabilities."

SoCal newspapers to print ad supplement

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 22, 2009 at 7:48 AM

Orange County's Times and Register will publish a weekly ad supplement in their paper starting Friday August 28, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The supplement, called the OCSaver/Local Values, will also be included in 25 of the Register's regional editions as well as Hoy Fin de Semana, the Times' Spanish-language title. The supplement will also be sent in the mail to certain neighborhoods, making the ads accessible to non-subscribers of the papers.

Maui News union employees agree to 10% pay cut

Posted by Simon Day on July 22, 2009 at 7:12 AM

On Monday employees at the Maui News agreed to a new three-year contract with the newspapers owner the Maui Publishing Co. The new contract includes a 10 percent pay cut as well as health and pension concessions, Bizjournal.com reported Tuesday.

The newspaper's three unions, The Hawaii Newspaper Guild, The Honolulu Typographical Union and the Graphic Communications Conference / International Brotherhood of Teamsters, that represent 99 employees said they understood the difficult position of the newspaper in the current industry and economic climates.

Application development: The next frontier?

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 21, 2009 at 11:59 AM

A recent post on paidContent calls into question the potentially unexplored territory of application development by news organisations.

Citing an idea that the article's author, Rafat Ali, had for an application that finds public transportation stops, he writes: "why didn't the New York Times in NY or our parent Guardian in UK think of this very simple but incredibly useful app?"

Boston Newspaper Guild accepts pay concessions

Posted by Simon Day on July 21, 2009 at 11:53 AM

The Boston Newspaper Guild last night overwhelmingly voted to accept a new contract that includes US$10 million worth of wage and benefit reductions that will help keep the Boston Globe alive and facilitate its sale, Boston.com reported Tuesday.

The newspaper's largest union voted 366 to 179 to ratify the contract, Robert Powers, a spokesman for the Boston Globe, told Bloomberg. The new arrangement includes a 5.9 percent salary cut, more unpaid days off and no health coverage for retirees older than 65.

Google weighs in on European Publishers Council declaration

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 21, 2009 at 11:46 AM

In a post on the company's public policy blog, Google's senior business product manager Josh Cohen issued a response to the European Publishers Council, The Los Angeles Times reported. The council signed the Hamburg Declaration, which demands "new intellectual property rights protection to safeguard the future of journalism."

The meeting took place last month in Berlin, and was attended by news group chief executives from both the EPC and the World Association of Newspapers, who called for "online copyright to be respected, to allow innovation to thrive and consumers to be better served."

ESPN to inflitrate local sport markets

Posted by Simon Day on July 21, 2009 at 11:02 AM

ESPN yesterday revealed an online plan to target local markets in Los Angeles, New York and Dallas, highlighting the local sport markets where flailing newspapers have left coverage gaps, the Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday.

The strategy is developed on a pilot programme trialed in Chicago that generated a significant online following within four months. The programme includes local versions of the figurehead show SportsCenter, and developments of locally established ESPN radio stations.

Communist Party drops print edition

Posted by Simon Day on July 21, 2009 at 11:01 AM

The United States Communist Party has announced the closure of the print edition of its weekly newspaper, the People's Weekly World, Ballot Access News reported Monday. The newspaper's online publication will continue.

The move follows the majority of U.S. nationally organised political parties going to an online-only version of their national newsletters or newspapers. This leaves only the Libertarian Party, which prints the Libertarian Party News, and the Socialist Workers Party, with the weekly Militant, providing physical copies of their publications.

Twitter creating $48 million in media exposure per month

Posted by Simon Day on July 20, 2009 at 1:14 PM

News-monitoring service VMS has reported that Twitter generated $48 million worth of media coverage over the last 30 days, AdAge reported Monday.

In the past month Twitter received 2.73 billion impressions on the site. Of the online exposure generated by Twitter, 57 percent of the publicity was gathered by TV, 37 percent by newspapers and 5 percent by magazines.

Newspapers helping local businesses with free advertising

Posted by Simon Day on July 20, 2009 at 12:30 PM

A group of Wisconsin newspapers is offering US$250,000 worth of advertising for free, Editor & Publisher reported Monday. The programme, called "Thrive," is aimed at helping local business push through the economic downturn.

Michael Beck, general manager and executive editor of the Wausau (Wisconsin) Daily Herald, one of the participating papers, wrote, "Our position as the leading information provider puts us in a unique place -- and gives us the responsibility -- to help turn things around, and that's what we're trying to do."

Research shows readers consult newspaper inserts

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 20, 2009 at 11:38 AM

A study done by MORI Research has found that 70 percent of newspaper readers consult newspaper inserts, taking advantage of the offered coupons or information related to "purchasing decisions" Editor & Publisher reported.

Of the 3,000 participants in the study, 60 percent claimed to have clipped a coupon from a newspaper and half of the respondants said they had made a purchase because of an ad they saw in their newspaper.

Report: Entertainment industry leads in mobile spending

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 20, 2009 at 11:27 AM

A metrics report by Millennial Media has found the entertainment industry leads in mobile spending, coming in first before telecommunications, Web portals and dating sites Media Post reported.

The report shows that the entertainment sector reaches almost three quarters of mobile users through advertisements, totaling roughly 44 million Americans.

Tech writer's tweets suggest targeted advertising for Twitter

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 20, 2009 at 11:13 AM

New York Times technology reporter Saul Hansell has been trying out a system of monitoring Tweets and generating appropriate advertisements on Twitter, suggesting this may be a viable method for Twitter to turn a profit, Gawker.com reported.

Twitter's CEOs have announced the formulation of a business plan to make the site profitable, though details regarding such projects have yet to be divulged. While ad targeting is not a confirmed element of the new business plan, Gawker's Ryan Tate seemed confident in the benefits of targeting users' interests, saying the advertising trend as a concept is "sound," referring to Google's use of user data as a "cash cow."

The success of the plan, Tate pointed out, hinges on whether Twitter "can find a way to show the text ads unobstrusively."

Grant awarded to university's newspaper digitisation project

Posted by Simon Day on July 20, 2009 at 11:11 AM

The University of Oregon was awarded a $364,000 grant to make state newspapers from 1860 to 1922 digitally available, The Associated Press reported on Monday.

The donation from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress will allow the Oregon Digital Newspaper project to provide greatly increased access to the initial reaction to influential historic events. Digital searches will allow researchers to cut down on time spent reading micro-film.

Google: YouTube to be profitable soon

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on July 17, 2009 at 2:43 PM

Google executives expect video sharing site YouTube, owned by the search giant, to turn a profit in not too long, the company's chief financial officer told analysts in a conference call, Dow Jones reported Friday.

"We're really pleased both in terms of its revenue growth, which is really material to YouTube and, in the not long, too long distance future, we actually see a very profitable and good business for us," said Patrick Pichette, according to a Dow Jones article, posted by The Australian.

Google's 2Q sales growth slows, a sign for tech firms' economic recovery

Posted by Simon Day on July 17, 2009 at 11:41 AM

Google Inc.'s second quarter sales were slower, the search giant reported, at just a 2.9 percent increase from a year earlier, a decline of 6.2 percent from the first economic quarter, Bloomberg reported Friday. The company's ad prices were down and its share price had fallen almost 2.5 percent.

This slowdown is an indicator that the technology industry's economic recovery will likely be slower than analysts expected, according to Bloomberg.

Venezuelan newspapers lack funds to import paper

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 17, 2009 at 9:00 AM

More than 50 Venezuelan newspapers are facing a possible halt in production due to lacking funds needed to import paper, The Canadian Press reported.

The National Union of Press Workers are accusing the government of failing to provide funds in dollars required to pay debts to newsprint importers, saying the delay is resulting in newspapers that are "on the brink of ceasing operations due to the lack of paper."

Cox Enterprises sells Waco Tribune-Herald

Posted by Simon Day on July 17, 2009 at 8:54 AM

Cox Enterprises is set to sell the Waco Tribune-Herald to Waco businessman Clifton Robinson and his son, Gordon, for undisclosed price, The Associated Press reported on Thursday.

The official purchaser is Robinson Media Co. LLC, where Clifton Robison is chairman and Gordon is president.

Newsquest reports 36.9% year-on-year ad revenue decline

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 17, 2009 at 8:52 AM

Regional newspaper publisher Newsquest has posted a 36.9 percent year-on-year drop in ad revenue for the months of April, May, and June Press Gazette reported.

Gracia Martore, chief financial officer for Gannett, Newsquest's parent company, seemed neither surprised nor disheartened by the figures saying, "we continue to position the company for the eventual rebound in the economy and the evolving media landscape as we navigate through this unprecedented economic storm."

Newsquest saw drops in advertising mostly in classified, car and recruitment areas. Newsquest publishes 17 titles in Britain, making it the second largest regional newspaper publisher.

Journalists withold bylines to protest 'disrespectful' layoffs

Posted by Simon Day on July 17, 2009 at 8:48 AM

Writers and photographers at the St. Paul Pioneer Press withheld their bylines from Friday's paper, a sign of protest against how the layoff of nine staff members was conducted on June 30, MPR news reported Friday.

The single day "byline strike" is a historically symbolic action by the members of the Minnesota Newspaper Guild against the recent staff cuts. The union's contract allows journalistic discretion over the use of his or her name.

Study: Traditional media still scoops blogs

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 16, 2009 at 11:19 AM

A Cornell University study has found that, despite growing trends of blogger and Twitter news gatherers, traditional media sources still break news before their more modern counterparts, SearchEngineWatch.com reported.

The study showed that "old media" reported stories an average of 2.5 hours before blogs and that "information mostly propagates from news to blogs" reporting that only 3.5 percent of stories originated from blogs to be later covered by mainstream media sources.

Search engine partners up with Twitter

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 16, 2009 at 10:08 AM

Microsoft's search engine Bing has teamed up with Twitter to launch BingTweets, allowing visitors to the site to conduct searches while simultaneously receiving a constantly-updated stream of Tweets, TechCrunch.com reported.

Bing targets users' interests by dedicating space on their page to popular searches, which will now include common Twitter topics as well.

BingTweets, which was created in partnership with Federated Media, is not the first attempt to integrate Tweets into search engine sites. Federated Media also launched ExecTweets with Microsoft.

New York newspapers reduce publishing schedule

Posted by Simon Day on July 16, 2009 at 9:40 AM

Two newspapers in upstate New York have eliminated one day each from their daily production schedules, Editor & Publisher reported Wednesdy.

The Tonawanda News and The Journal-Register of Medina, have dropped one day from their publishing schedules.

Australian TV network buys more of Consolidated Media Holdings

Posted by Simon Day on July 16, 2009 at 9:29 AM

Australian television network Channel Seven has extended its share in rival media group Consolidated Media Holdings, to 19.91 percent, news.com.au reported Thursday. The stake is the largest possible before a takeover bid must start.

Chairman Kerry Stokes said the company spent $29.48 million purchasing a further 11 million shares, growing its share in the company from just 5 percent.

Cox Newspapers to sell Daily Sentinel

Posted by Simon Day on July 16, 2009 at 9:00 AM

The Cox Newspapers-owned Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction, Colorado, is being sold to a subsidiary of a Kansas-based company, Forbes.com reported on Thursday.

Cox newspapers is selling the Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction to Kansas-based Grand Junction Media Inc.

Bing makes strides in competitive search market

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 16, 2009 at 8:32 AM

Bing, Microsoft's new search engine, has made strides in its first month of operation, gaining on both Google and Yahoo!, CNN Money reported.

While Google's market share remained the same this month, and Yahoo! saw slight decreases of 0.5 percent, Bing gained 0.4 percentage points. The increase in figures is Microsoft's first boost in market share since January.

AP reaches out-of-court settlement with AHN Media

Posted by Simon Day on July 15, 2009 at 4:36 PM

The Associated Press announced on Monday that its lawsuit with AHN media had been settled, AFP reported Tuesday. AHN had been accused of copyright infringement for misappropriating AP articles.

"AP is pleased to have successfully resolved the litigation through a principled settlement," Laura Malone, AP associate general counsel for intellectual property governance, said in a statement.

MPs recommend loosening merger laws for Scottish newspapers

Posted by Simon Day on July 15, 2009 at 1:02 PM

A parliamentary investigation has concluded that Scottish newspapers should be given an opportunity to consolidate in order to secure the future of the industry, MediaWeek reported Tuesday.

The report said the Scottish newspaper industry had been forced into drastic restructuring by the financial climate and technological developments, "often at great cost to its dedicated and knowledgeable staff."

Gannett reports unexpected 2Q profits

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 15, 2009 at 10:32 AM

Gannett Co., Inc. has posted second quarter profits that have startled many industry analysts, Bloomberg reported today. While the company saw its earnings drop to 46 cents per share, the figures are better than analysts expected, as many predicted a decrease in share value to approximately 38 cents.

The better-than-expected earnings are credited to a series of cutbacks made by the publisher, including enforced furloughs, reductions in the price of newsprint, various salary cuts and the closing down of its Tucson Citizen title.

Portland Herald owner appeals government for assistance

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 15, 2009 at 10:17 AM

Richard Connor, who recently acquired several Maine dailies, is asking for local government assistance, saying he would like to be offered "some kind of help from the city or incentive to stay here," Editor & Publisher reported.

Connor categorised his request as a typical expectation for any business interested in establishing operations in Portland. The Portland Herald would like to benefit from a tax break on the fees involved in leasing new office and parking space in Portland. The city's manager and economic development director are reported to have met with representatives of the newspaper, but no plans for government aid have been announced.

New York Times Co. sells classical radio station

Posted by Simon Day on July 15, 2009 at 10:10 AM

The New York Times Co. has announced its intention to sell its New York City classical music radio station WQXR, Reuters reported Tuesday. The reported two-part sale is for US$45 million and will allow the publisher to reduce its debt load.

The sale will not affect the stations' broadcasts of classical music; however, according to a Times Co. statement on Tuesday, the FM station will change from 96.3 to 105.9.

Clarity Media launches mobile site with new software

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 15, 2009 at 10:07 AM

Clarity Media's newspaper site, Examiner.com, will be published using software developed by Southern Californian company Verve Wireless, socalTech.com reported.

Verve Wireless' publishing software is designed to help newspaper publishers deliver their content to mobile media, such as phones. The software will enable the Examiner "highlight content produced by the firm's U.S. coverage," according to Examiner.

Times of India Online world's most visited newspaper Web site

Posted by Simon Day on July 14, 2009 at 12:00 PM

According to most recent comScore statistics, The Times Of India Online is the most visited newspaper Web site in the world, Asia Media reported Sunday.

The report from the research firm shows timesofindia.com has 159 million page views for May, ahead of the sun.co.uk, with 142 million; nytimes.com, at 124 million page views; the dailymail.co.uk with 73 million visitors for May; and the washingtonpost.com at 61 million.

Freedom Communications to charge for online content

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 14, 2009 at 8:59 AM

Freedom Communications, which publishes more than 100 U.S. newspapers, will charge non-subscribers for access to online content, StlToday.com reported.

Publisher Tyler Patton said the move towards paid content "will allow greater value to our many loyal print-edition subscribers by not giving away the news to non-subscribers." The changes will be effective Wednesday, with subscribers having free access and weekend subscribers paying US$3.56 per month for access to online content. Full access to online-only content will cost $3.95 a month, while daily subscriptions are priced at 75 cents.

Newspaper project awarded US$100 million grant

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 14, 2009 at 8:48 AM

The Ford Foundation has given a US$100 million grant to West Virginia University's rural newspaper project, the Charleston Daily Mail reported.

The project's goal is to help rural newspapers across West Virginia transition into the technological trends that have come to define the industry.

Valley Morning Star to charge for online content

Posted by Simon Day on July 14, 2009 at 8:30 AM

The Valley Morning Star, a daily newspaper in southern Texas, has announced it begin charging for online content, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Revealed on the newspaper's Web site Monday, it was announced that non-subscribers and weekend subscribers will have to pay 75 cents per day to access online content. Full subscribers to the print edition will continue to receive free access to the Web site.

Prison newspaper thrives despite industry trends

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 14, 2009 at 8:27 AM

The revival of San Quentin prison's newspaper after twenty years of absence has been warmly received by inmates the Dispatch Online reported.

James McGrath Morris, author of Jailhouse Journalism pointed out the decreasing amount of journalism in prisons, calling San Quentin "a flower coming up in a barren garden."

London Evening Standard to be relisted as a regional

Posted by Simon Day on July 13, 2009 at 10:38 AM

The London Evening Standard will no longer be part of the monthly national newspaper audit after choosing to reclassify as a regional newspaper with respect to the classification of circulation statistics, according to a Media Guardian report on Friday.

The Audit Bureau of Circulations has confirmed that the newspaper made a last minute decision to remove itself from the national listings, just before newspaper sales figures for June were released.

Iowa City Press Citizen to outsource printing within state

Posted by Simon Day on July 13, 2009 at 10:32 AM

The Iowa City Press Citizen will outsource its printing to Color Web Printers in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and will be distributed by Gazette Communications, The Gazette reported Wednesday

"This arrangement is a positive one for both organisations - and the Corridor in general," said Dan Brown, who was named general manager of the Press-Citizen on Wednesday. "It is a working relationship and investment in another prominent Corridor business and allows the Press-Citizen to focus on what it does best - serve the news and information needs of our community and provide effective advertising solutions for local businesses."

European publishers ask for superior copyright protection

Posted by Simon Day on July 13, 2009 at 10:28 AM

A group of Europe's top newspaper and magazine publishers on Thursday made a communal plea to the European Commission to strengthen copyright protection of their original content, The New York Times reported Friday.

The letter to Viviane Reding, the European media and telecommunications commissioner, appealed for help in preventing the secondary dissemination of works by online news aggregators. The publishers labelled this as the barrier to the successful generation of online revenue.

Studying Hulu's success

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 13, 2009 at 9:52 AM

In a recent New York Times technology article, Saul Hansell analyses the unlikely success of online video site Hulu. Hansell attributes the site's healthy growth and survival amidst the global economic crisis to the fact that the site takes advantage of a gap in the market that is not covered by YouTube or any other video site, as it offers network television series on the Web, as opposed to user-generated content.

Hulu is also interesting to networks because it offers a secondary portal to their content, aside from their main site.

Industry professionals speculate about Twitter's profitability

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 13, 2009 at 8:48 AM

Much buzz has been made regarding the possibility of microblogging site Twitter eventually making a profit, but several industry professionals seem to think the outlook is bleak for the popular site.

"The microblogging site may never be able to turn a profit," Brennon Slattery wrote on his PC World blog, where he reported that at a Sun Valley, Idaho media conference hosted by Allen & Co., the hot topic was whether Twitter could generate earnings from its content. Participants in the conference seemed to believe a subscription model was the only viable source of revenue for the site.

Global edition of French paper cuts costs, leaves readers in stitches

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 10, 2009 at 10:25 AM

French business paper La Tribune has launched an online edition that will be available in six languages by the end of the year, AFP reported.

However, in an effort to cut back on spending, the online content is translated not by professionals, but using automatic software, which has resulted in confusing, and often comical, translations of headlines and stories. "The Chinese car in ambush" and "Internet Explorer: mistrust!" are two examples of awkwardly translated headlines taken from La Tribune's Web site.

Hastily shut daily could face legal recourse

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 10, 2009 at 10:20 AM

The closure of Claremont New Hampshire's The Eagle Times will be investigated by state authorities, The Associated Press reported. In an e-mail sent Thursday, the publisher announced to employees that Friday's edition would be the paper's last.

Officials will be taking steps to establish whether the closure is an infraction of a New Hampshire state law that stipulates employers must give employees a 60-day notice before shutting their business, according to the article, posted by Editor & Publisher.

Sunday Times sees increased sales

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 10, 2009 at 10:17 AM

The Sunday Times' circulation has grown by 5 percent in year on year data, MediaGuardian reported.

The increase in readership is speculated to be due to the fact that the paper began offering free delivery offered to certain readers effective since last July.

Analysts: Gannett to see 32% loss in Q2 ad revenue

Posted by Simon Day on July 10, 2009 at 10:02 AM

Gannett Co. is not likely to make any financial improvements in the next quarter, according to J.P. Morgan analysts Alexia Quadrani and Monica DiCenso, reported Editor & Publisher reported Thursday.

Quadrani and DiCenso predict another "weak quarter" for Gannett, which is set to release its financial statistics July 15. J.P. Morgan expects the publishing firm's advertising revenue to have fallen by 32 percent through the second economic quarter, with "severe revenue declines," anticipated for its flagship, national paper USA Today.

Mitsubishi releases Digital NewsPro System CTP

Posted by Simon Day on July 10, 2009 at 9:54 AM

Mitsubishi Imaging on Friday announced the release of the Digital NewsPro System, a computer-to-plate (CTP) solution designed specifically for short run newspapers, pennysavers and book printing, Mitsubishi Imaging announced in a press release.

The new system combines the industry standard Silver DigiPlate technology with a Katana platesetter, plate bender and lock-ups, specifically designed to serve newspaper printing.

Courier-Journal cuts 44 jobs

Posted by Simon Day on July 10, 2009 at 9:08 AM

The Louisville-based Courier-Journal has been forced to eliminate 44 jobs, amounting to 7 percent of its work force, as part of publisher Gannett Co., Inc.'s wide staff reduction across its local newspaper division, Forbes reported Thursday.

The newspaper's president and publisher, Arnold Garson, spoke on the decision on the papers Website, saying there "were no easy decisions left to be made," as the company grapples with the financial and advertising downturns.

Report: Newspaper cost structure crippling the industry

Posted by Simon Day on July 9, 2009 at 11:47 AM

According to Moody's Investors Service, the nature of the newspaper industry's cost structure is causing the field's current woes and will require transformation in order to reduce fixed costs by outsourcing printing, Fitz & Jen reported .

The current cost structure leaves revenue generation sectors well under funded with content creation and advertising sales receiving just 14 percent and 16 percent of the cash operating costs respectively. On the other hand, 70 percent of costs are devoted to print distribution and corporate expenditure. Moody's blames this imbalance for the industry's lack of flexibility.

Smaller U.S. papers seeing growth

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 9, 2009 at 9:19 AM

While the Inland Press Association reports an overall 77.6 percent profit drop for the newspaper industry, papers with a circulation of below 15,000 remain above water, boasting a gross revenue growth of 2.5 percent for the five-year period ending in 2008, the Inland Press Association reported Tuesday.

Frank Reed, of Marketing Pilgrim, posits that the growth in ad-related revenue could be due to "the lack of online hyperlocal content thus allowing the paper to still be relevant." Less business expenses, overhead and debt could also be part of smaller papers' success.

Star-Tribune launches Kindle edition, other publishers wary

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 9, 2009 at 7:43 AM

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has launched a black-and-white edition of its paper that can be read on a Kindle e-reader, Media Week reported.

The Kindle edition will cost either $10 per month or 75 cents per day, a 25 cent increase from the usual newsstand price.

Denver Post to raise newsstand price

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 9, 2009 at 7:36 AM

Starting next week, the Denver Post will charge more for the Monday through Sunday editions of the paper, The Associated Press reported.

The newsstand price of the paper will increase from 50 cents to 75 cents, with no alteration being made to subscription fees. The Post's senior vice president of circulation, Bill Reynolds, described the new price as a necessary decision given the cost of doing business and the current economic climate.

The US$1.50 newsstand price for the Post's Sunday edition will rest unchanged.

Birmingham Eccentric held together by community

Posted by Simon Day on July 9, 2009 at 6:37 AM

In Michigan, The Birmingham Eccentric has been kept afloat by the dedication of its staff and the concern of resident celebrities, The Detroit News reported Wednesday. The Eccentric was one of five Gannet Co.-owned, Detroit community papers that was told its entire operation would be closed; however, the paper kept printing as its staff and the local community refused to see their local news and the city's oldest business disappear, Marney Rich Keenan reported in her column for the News.

Matt Friedman, co-owner of the PR firm Tanner Friedman Strategic Communications in Farmington Hills, was one of the first to express concern over the effect of Gannett's planned closure of the local newspapers, blogging: "If you think having to read your national and regional news online instead of getting a paper at your doorstep represents a big change, think about living in one of the five communities where your longtime hometown connection to your news is disappearing. ...Who will cover (regularly) your school board, high school sports games, local elections?"

FujiFilm releases high speed thermal plate for newspapers

Posted by Simon Day on July 9, 2009 at 6:33 AM

FujiFilm Europe on Tuesday announced the commercial availability of its new high-speed thermal plate for newspaper applications, the Brillia LH-NN2, A.D. Communications reported Tuesday. The plate was first revealed at the Ifra conference in 2008.

The plate provides for newspaper production with 830 nm laser diode equipped plate-setters and offers high-sensitivity for extended laser life, wide exposure latitude for stability and repeatability and long developer life for economy and minimal environmental impact.

Black Boston newspaper closes, at least temporarily

Posted by Simon Day on July 8, 2009 at 1:00 PM

Boston African-American newspaper, The Bay State Banner, has had to suspended publication after 44 years and cut 12 employees, according to an Associated Press article on Tuesday.

Publisher and editor Melvin Miller sighted the financial climate and the ongoing decline in advertising revenue as the precursor for the weekly newspapers at least temporary closure.

Printed Blog most recent print industry failure

Posted by Simon Day on July 8, 2009 at 12:51 PM

The Printed Blog, a collection of blogs transferred to print, is the latest and most unique casualty of the print industry's recent slump, the AFP reported on Tuesday.

The hyper local, free of charge newspaper was first published in San Francisco and Chicago in January. It was closed on Wednesday as it had run out of money and was unable to find any investor, founder Robert Karp said.

New York to invest in the local media industry

Posted by Simon Day on July 8, 2009 at 12:44 PM

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday revealed plans to significantly expand the city's media base over the next 10 years, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The program is set to include a research lab, digital-media apprenticeships, a technology-equipment bond program and is aimed at creating 8,000 new media jobs in New York.

"There are lots of great cities out there," he said at a press conference at the local headquarters of IAC. "We've got to make sure people understand there's a reason to grow, locate, stay in New York City."

Newspaper education trust shuts after 15 years

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 8, 2009 at 9:44 AM

The UK's newspaper industry's education trust has announced its closure due to a failure to "attract funds" the East London Advertiser reported.

The trust organized programs for students up to high school age to design and create content for front pages of newspapers through workshops given at schools.

Salon pays bloggers with ad revenue

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 8, 2009 at 9:26 AM

Salon Media Group will pay bloggers for their Open Salon site with money generated from Google AdSense ads BizJournals.com reported.

From now on, bloggers can count on revenue from as many as three ads appearing on their page. Advertisements for Salon Media will also appear on bloggers' pages.

In a press release from the company Open Salon's director Kerry Lauerman said the decision reflects the company's attitude towards its members saying, "Our philosophy from the get-go here has always been that we're publishing partners with our members...we've always understood that if we profit, they need to profit, as well."

Canada's Globe & Mail employees vote for pay freeze

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 8, 2009 at 9:05 AM

Canada's Globe & Mail employees voted in favour of a labour contract that includes a two-year pay freeze Reuters reported.

Under the new contracts, workers will receive a 2 percent raise in the third year of their employment followed by 2.5 percent increases in the fourth and fifth year of the contract.

The agreement struck between the newspaper and the worker's union will retain the benefit pension plan, while requiring employees to take part in a "defined contribution retirement plan". The pay cuts and modified contracts follow an announcement by the Globe in January that it would eliminate 80 jobs.

Google expands real estate listings in Australia and New Zealand

Posted by Simon Day on July 7, 2009 at 2:01 PM

Google is expanding its real estate listings beginning Monday with Australia and New Zealand, PaidContent.org reported on Monday. Australasian users will now be able to search for property listings using the Google Maps application.

Property availability in Australia is being provided by two listing services. A third however declined to offer its properties for availability on Google, telling the Melbourne Age that: "We are quite confident that we provide a better service than Google is offering."

Macy's halves its print advertising spending since 2005

Posted by Simon Day on July 7, 2009 at 1:54 PM

Macy's Inc. has halved the its print advertising spending since 2005, according to analysis by newspaper industry blog Newsosaur, The Portland Business Journal reported on Monday.

The Cincinnati base department store chain and the now amalgamated May Department Stores Co. spent a total of $1.2 billion on newspaper advertising in 2005. In 2008 Macy's, with around 800 stores according to paidContent.org, spent just $582.2 million on newspaper ads, Alan Mutter blogged, referencing data from TNS Media Intelligence.

Macy's still had the largest print advertising expenditure for retailers across the U.S. last year and was the second largest total newspaper advertiser after Verizon with $682 million, according to the TNS data.

South African Broadcasting Corporation fears blackouts as staff strike

Posted by Simon Day on July 7, 2009 at 12:32 PM

The South African Broadcasting Corp. company faced potential blackouts at its three television channels last night as more than two thirds of its staff prepare to strike over wage rates, The Citizen reported on Sunday.

The planned action by the Communication Workers' Union included lunchtime pickets, go slows and a refusal to do overtime. This will be followed by a march on the Broadcasting Corp.'s regional headquarters in Johannesburg on July 10 and then a stay-away.

Deadline for Globe bids postponed

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 7, 2009 at 6:15 AM

The original deadline for bids on the Boston Globe has been extended by the paper's parent company The New York Times Co. the Boston Globe reported.

While reports say the deadline has been extended, no new deadline for interested buyers has been confirmed. Spokesmen for the Times Co. and Goldman Sachs, who was hired to manage the sale of the paper, would not comment on the postponment of the dealine.

The Times Co. is selling the Globe after a series of budget and staff cuts in order to make up for debt amassed by the paper.

Trinity Mirror announces lay offs

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 7, 2009 at 6:02 AM

The Trinity Mirror is set to cut 66 jobs, of which 25 journalists, from its Newcastle and Middlesbrough Press Gazette reported.

The closure of two regional papers may also be included in the cutbacks announced this week. Managing director Georgina Harvey said the Mirror would be "seeking volunteers from within affected groups in order to minimise any necessity for compulsory redundancies."

Last year the paper cut 28 editorial positions and the coming cuts are estimated to represent a 10 percent reduction in staff.

Chronicle débuts new printing press

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 7, 2009 at 5:43 AM

The San Francisco Chronicle will begin printing with a full colour press intended to enhance the quality of graphics, photographs, and advertisements SFGate.com reported.

The paper will print colour graphics on each page and adopt a more magazine-like format. Other changes include a shorter and narrower edition that will be more manageable and less likely to crease or wrinkle.

Report: Global ad spending to see improvements in 2010

Posted by Simon Day on July 6, 2009 at 12:46 PM

The global advertising slump is predicted to plateau and even report small growth in 2010, according to media agency ZenithOptimedia, Reuters reported Monday.

Zenith has also revised its prediction for 2009, slightly reducing the initially expected decline of 6.9 percent.

San Francisco Chronicle closes printing press

Posted by Simon Day on July 6, 2009 at 12:41 PM

The San Francisco Chronicle has shut its printing press after over 100 years of in-house production and will outsource its printing to Transcontinental Inc. in Fremont, the newspaper reported on its website.

In November 2006 the paper revealed its plan to outsource the printing of the paper to Transcontinental Northern California. The contract will see the company print The Chronicle for 15 years.

Australian job advertising declines through June

Posted by Simon Day on July 6, 2009 at 12:36 PM

Total Australian job advertising in major daily newspapers and online fell 6.7 percent in June compared to May, The Australian reported Monday. According the ANZ Advertisements Series job advertising came in at a weekly average of 127,346 for June.

Annually, this represents a 51.4 percent year-to-year decline and is the 14th consecutive month that the number of job advertisements has fallen. May had induced false hope in the labor market with just a 0.2 percent decline.

Austrian free daily expands

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 6, 2009 at 5:45 AM

Austrian free daily Heute has taken over a new office space which will house its staff for both online and printed editions of the title, Newspaper Innovation reported.

Following a first quarter sales increase of 30 percent despite the recession, the paper also plans to expand its staff. Heute has a circulation of 330,000 copies and reaches 30 percent of Austrians.

Reports say the paper is considering an increased circulation and the eventual launch of a Sunday edition.

EveryBlock programme offers new tools for local reporting

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 6, 2009 at 5:31 AM

The release of EveryBlock's computer code was a "much anticipated" event for journalists who report on local and regional news, Regina McCombs at Poynter Online reported.

Thanks to a US$1.1 million grant from Knight News Challenge, the team behind EveryBlock, led by Adrian Holovaty, were able to create a site that organises and displays public data and records according to their location. The result is a break-down of crime statistics, trends in the housing market, and other local news corresponding to the neighbourhoods they relate.

New York Times Co. sets deadline for potential Globe buyers

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 6, 2009 at 4:59 AM

The Boston Globe's parent company, The New York Times Co., has set a Wednesday deadline for bids to purchase the paper, Editor & Publisher reported.

A letter obtained by The New York Times from Goldman Sachs to potential buyers of the Globe detailed the urgency with which the Times Co. is seeking interested parties. In these early stages, bids from potential buyers would be considered "non binding" initial bids that would help the company decide which interested parties would continue on to a second round of bidding.

Reported potential bidders include the co-owner of the Boston Celtics Stephen Pagliuca, Jack Conners of Partners HealthCare, and former Globe executive Stephen Taylor.

'The Rocky Mountain Independent' to launch on Monday

Posted by Simon Day on July 3, 2009 at 11:55 AM

Former staff members of the failed Denver newspaper, the Rocky Mountain News, will launch a daily, Denver orientated Web publication on Monday, the Associated Press reported on Friday. 'The Rocky Mountain Independent' will receive input from a dozen equity owners, about a dozen freelancers and collaborative blogs.

Steve Foster, co-editor at the Web site, said that the owners have invested enough to get the publication through three months of publishing before it would have to begin to finance its own existence.

The site is already seeking advertisers.

The Rocky Mountain Independent is also receiving contributions from founders of the failed online venture, InDenverTimes. The Web site was pulled after subscription targets were not reached.

Two Irish free dailies to merge

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 3, 2009 at 11:53 AM

Two of Ireland's free dailies, Metro and Herald AM, have announced they will merge, Newspaper Innovation reported.

The result of the merger will be the Metro Herald, which will be owned by Associated Newspapers, The Irish Times and Independent News and Media, after Metro International sells its shares in the paper.

The circulation of the new paper is expected to be the same as the combined circulation of the two independent papers, totalling approximately 70,000.

Trinity Mirror to close nine local newspapers in the Midlands

Posted by Simon Day on July 3, 2009 at 11:43 AM

U.K newspaper group, The Trinity Mirror, has revealed the proposed closure of nine local newspapers in the Midlands area, a move that will see 120 jobs lost, The Financial Times reported on Thursday.

The Trinity Mirror has already closed 27 titles, sold four regional newspapers and cut 1,200 staff over the past 12 months.

Independant News & Media relinquishes 7.4% stake in Indian publisher

Posted by Simon Day on July 3, 2009 at 9:48 AM

Independent News & Media (INM) has sold 7.4 percent of its stake in Indian publishing company, Jagran Prakashan (JPL), in order to pay down debt while the company continues to rearrange its €200 million debt load, Media Guardian reported Thursday. The-Irish based media group has reduced its 20.8 percent share in JPL to 13.5 percent.

The company hopes to raise €22 million from the sale, which will be then used to "pay down debt and enhance the liquidity of the company during the ongoing standstill period." The first €15 million will go to refund the working credit facility granted by the company's banks, as part of the standstill arrangement, in May.

Washington offers tax break to newspapers

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 3, 2009 at 6:09 AM

A law passed this week in Washington state will grant a 40 percent tax break to newspapers Editor & Publisher reported.

House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, who sponsored the law, said the measure was the government's "way of saying to the newspapers that we do believe you're incredibly important to our state and our democracy."

The tax cut will cost the state an estimated $1.3 million in what is generally considered a symbolic gesture to help aid the newspaper industry. "It's not a bailout, because it's not enough money" Kessler said, echoing Gov. Chris Gregoire's statement that, "I don't want government to be part of the reason that this industry can't make it."

Johnston Press bars employees from using Facebook

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 3, 2009 at 5:52 AM

Johnston Press has blocked the use of Facebook for employees of its titles Holdthefrontpage.com reported.

Despite the fact that Johnston Press' own papers have Facebook pages, the company has decided that employees wanting to use the site would have to ask permission from a manager before doing so.

A memo sent to employees said the reason for this decision was due to the fact that "50pc of Johnston Press' outward internet traffic is to the social networking site, Facebook."

Guardian.co.uk continues popularity reign online

Posted by Simon Day on July 2, 2009 at 1:56 PM

Guardian.co.uk continued to draw the most visitors among online UK newspapers through the month of May, with 27.2 million visitors for the month, MediaWeek reported on Wednesday.

Telegraph.co.uk saw a dramatic boost, with 25.2 million unique visitors to the Web site, stimulated by its exposure of the MP misconduct.

Nieman Journalism Lab examines the 'default option'

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 2, 2009 at 1:49 PM

In a Nieman Journalism Lab article, Martin Langeveld recently addressed the changing business model of newspapers, and the role that a "restructuring event," or bankruptcy, plays in the transition from the old model to a new one.

Langeveld cites characteristics of a successful business plan for the modern newspaper, such as reduced printing and delivery schedules, and posits that such downsizing and cuts cannot "carry the company's legacy debt load," and thus require chapter 11 to allow for the necessary reorganisation of the paper.

South Africa's oldest newspaper closes printing press

Posted by Simon Day on July 2, 2009 at 1:40 PM

South Africa's oldest independent newspaper, the Grocott's Mail, has shut down its print shop and press after 140 years of operation out of Grahamstown, Dispatch Daily Online reported on Wednesday.

The Mail's general manager Louise Vale said the closure of the historic presses was "a very tough decision."

Judge argues for expanded copyright protection

Posted by Emily Dilling on July 2, 2009 at 5:06 AM

Federal appellate judge Richard Posner has advocated expanded copyright protection to ensure the future of journalism the Daily Online Examiner reported.

Posner's proposed modifications to copyright law would make news aggregation more difficult for sites such as Google that link to news stories without the consent of the owner of the content.

St. Paul Pioneer Press cuts 11 staffers

Posted by Simon Day on July 2, 2009 at 5:02 AM

The St. Paul Pioneer Press has cut 11 staff members, nine from the newsroom, according to union officials and reported by The Associated Press.

Editor Thom Fladung said the layoffs were a result of the ongoing economic downturn and the extensive industry changes.

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