September 2009 Archives

Online social networking advertising spending worldwide reached US$2 billion in 2008, and is expected to grow to $3.49 billion in 2013, according to eMarketer.

The spending increased with a growth of 46 percent in 2008. In the following years, although the rise is predicted to slow, it is still expected to maintain a double digit growth rate until 2013, when it is forecast to see a 9.6 percent annual increase, SFN's World Digital Media Trends 2009 reported.

Total newsprint consumption in the United States plummeted 27.1 percent year-over-year in August, exceeding the decline year-to-date low of 25.6 percent, according to data released by the Pulp and Paper Products Council (PPPC), Editor & Publisher reported today. Also, after improving in July, mill operating rates again fell in August.

At least one newspaper has felt a positive impact from the consequential price decrease. Gannett Chief Financial Officer Gracia Martore said in a statement that although Gannett's newspaper advertising revenue was down 32 percent from the year before in the second quarter, the significantly lower newsprint expense resulted in a substantial decline in its operating expenses.

The telecom market worldwide was worth US$1.18 trillion in 2006, and surged to $1.25 trillion in 2007, with more than half coming from mobile services, and more than 30 percent from developing countries, according to IDATE.

Numbers of fixed lines totalled 1.25 billion in 2006 and climbed to 1.26 billion in 2007, reaching 20 percent of the global population, SFN's World Digital Media Trends 2009 reported.

Terms of the sale were not released. Screaming Media was previously owned by MarketWatch, which purchased the company for US$103 million in 2003. MarketWatch was bought by Dow Jones in 2004 for $519 million. Both are now owned by News Corp.

The deal, valued at US$845 million, next requires the team to also file an insolvency petition with the court. Major League Baseball, of which the team is a member, must also agree to the transfer or the ball club loses its membership in the league and, in turn, its value to the new owners.

Attorney Bryan Krakauer, of SidleyAustin law firm, represented the Tribune Co. in the proceeding.

Several of the journalists receiving the grants from Reporters Without Borders are no longer reporting news from the country of their respective persecution - with some living in exile while others had been imprisoned, according to IFEX. The connection between the fiscal crisis of Western media and the dire need of the journalists in developing or war-torn countries, if any, was not made apparent by the organisation's grant announcement.

Advertising expenditure in North America rested at $117 billion in 1997, and is expected to rise to more than $180 billion in 2011, according to ZenithOptimedia.

The overall annual growth reached the double digits in late the 1990s, but experienced a recession in 2000-2001. In 2007-2008 and 2008-2009, the recession is expected to go down in the books again, but rebound back to low single digits after that, SFN's World Digital Media Trends 2009 reported.

The Chicago Newspapers Guild rejected the concessions with a vote of 83-22. Tyree has said his offer stands until Sept. 29, according to the Sun-Times.

The New-Journal Corp., parent company of Daytona Beach News-Journal, revealed on Tuesday that 39 positions had been cut from the newspaper, the Orlando Sentinel reported Wednesday. This includes the loss of 14 newsroom employees.

The online announcement cited declining advertising revenue as part of the economic downturn as the catalyst for the job cuts.

Google revealed its most recent online news venture with the unveiling of Fast Flip at a TechCrunch 50 event in San Francisco, The Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

Fast Flip allows online readers to browse articles in a way similar to browsing a newspaper or magazine in print form. The application supplies screen shots of new Web pages, showing just the article and masthead, and is designed to load instantly in an attempt to replicate the reading experience of traditional print media.

Independent News and Media has signed two long-term deals with UK newspapers, the Daily Telegraph and Daily Mirror, to print the papers at its plants in Northern Ireland, BBC News reported Tuesday.

The deal, worth £40 million, will mean Northern Ireland will become one of Europe's largest producers of daily newspapers.

On Monday the Atlanta Journal-Constitution raised its newsstand price to $1 for Monday to Saturday editions, The Associate Press reported.

The newspaper told readers in a front-page note that the 25 cent price hike was needed to offset advertising losses and retain the newspapers high quality content. The paper's Sunday price will remain at $2.

The Internet is the only segment reporting a gain in share from 2006 to 2007, according to World Advertising Trends 2008, published by the World Advertising Research Centre.

The biggest gains happened in the United Kingdom and Sweden, where the Internet share went up 4.4 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively, in one year, SFN's World Digital Media Trends 2009 reported.

Fairfax Media Australia today launched a new national journalism Web site, the National Times, the Brisbane Times reported Monday.

The nationaltimes.com.au will be a collaboration of Fairfax news, analysis and editorials, seeking to provide broad and live national and international coverage from the media company's most prominent journalists.

A problem with the delivery aircraft left the Isle of Man without its UK Sunday newspapers, Isle of Man Today reported Sunday.

The airplane was unable to offload its papers due to a technical failure preventing the shutdown of its engines and was forced to return to the UK newspapers in tow.

ABCs released its August figures for the United Kingdom. As we could expect, newspaper sales decreased while readers were going out on the beaches. However, quality press seemed to experience harder impact compared to the tabloids, the Guardian reported.

The Sun had its sales up slightly, 7,094 from July. It has only slipped 0.64 percent year-over-year. The News of the World, which is published on Sunday, also put on 16,786 at 3,120,991, a small increase but down 3.94 percent year-over-year.

Anthony O'Reilly, the majority stakeholder at Independent News & Media, has agreed to relinquish around half of his stake in the company in exchange for banks finding a way to rescue the struggling publisher, Reuters reported Sunday.

The firm's major banks are close to reaching a deal that would provide cash and new shares to IN&M bondholders who are owed US$200 million. The deal reportedly amounts to about half of the equity in the reconstructed company.

While the Sun-Times Media Group has received an offer for its purchase, before the sale may be finalised it must have the approval of the company's unions, which face significant contract concessions, the Chicago Tribune reported Thursday.

Union representatives are shocked at the cost reductions they are being asked to make, which is a prerequisite for the sale of the bankrupt U.S. publisher.

Toronto newspaper the National Post and associated publications the Financial Post and financialpost.com will now feature a column from international online financial commentary site breakingviews.com, Editor & Publisher reported Thursday.

The Canwest-owned paper said it is the only English-language Canadian newspaper to receive content from breakingviews.com.

The Daily Telegraph will revamp its Saturday Review this weekend as a standalone magazine, Press Gazette reported.

Saturday Review is formerly part of its tabloid weekend version. The new magazine format will be edited by Tom Horan. 

As the subway system in Guangzhou, China, grows for the 2010 Asian Games, this public transport progress has been paralleled by the growth of the free Guangzhou Metro Daily, China Daily reported Monday.

The free metro daily paper has seen advertising revenue increase by 30 percent during the first half of this year, and according to editor-in-chief Jiao Xiangyang, the newspaper expects even further growth during the second half of 2009 as the Asian Games approach.

Philadelphia Newspapers has filed a complaint against Review Publishing as part of its bankruptcy filing for unpaid debt of US$530,000 for printing services, The Bulletin reported Sunday.

A 2003 agreement has seen that Philadelphia Newspapers print and distribute Review Publishing papers the Philadelphia Weekly, South Philly Review, Southwest Philly Review, and Atlantic City Weekly. However, according to the claim, the company has not been paid since the agreement was renewed in May.

El Dia, the Spanish-language daily paper that served the Houston Hispanic community, was forced into closure last week, khou.com reported Sunday.

The Regina Leader-Post has informed staff that it will begin outsourcing some of its jobs overseas as owner Canwest attempts to cuts costs, CBC news reported on Thursday.

The newspaper revealed that it will move portions of its advertising jobs to India and the Philippines. The company did not announce how many employees would be affected by the outsourcing, however newsroom employees will not be affected.

Social media sites are gaining acceptance of brand advertisers in the Internet landscape. About one out of five online display ads in U.S. is viewed on a social networking site, according to a new report by comScore, Reuters reported.

It also pointed out the intense competition between social media sites and big online companies, including Yahoo! and AOL, which have long positioned themselves as the leading Web destinations for brand advertisers.