Shaping the Future of the Newspaper Blog: April 2010 Archives

Tabloid to launch for South Africa's Gauteng townships

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 30, 2010 at 5:14 PM

A new tabloid newspaper, Kasi Times, will launch May 28 to serve readers in the Gauteng townships, Nonhlanhla Nxumalo, managing director of Star Hero Communications and Events, told Bizcommunity.com.

The newspaper's goal will be to address the issues and challenges young people in the area face, and also provide them with options. The initial print run will be 30,000 copies.

FT ad revenue up in Q1

Posted by Erina Lin on April 30, 2010 at 4:46 PM

Pearson, the owner of the Financial Times, announced its Q1 revenues are up 7 percent to £1.08 billion on "volatile" but growing ad revenue at its newspaper business, Media Guardian reported.

The newspaper division, FT Publishing, has seen strong growth in print and online subscriptions and its "return to growth in advertising revenues contribute[d] to a good first quarter."

Newsweek.com opts for cloud computing to cut costs

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 30, 2010 at 2:33 PM

The Washington Post Company owned-Newsweek.com is joining the increasing number of news publishers experimenting with cloud computing. The weekly magazine is outsourcing its Web site hosting duties to Amazon, MediaWeek reported.

Having incurred US$29.3 million operating losses in 2009, the move of shifting its hosting operations to an external host is aimed at cutting loses in its magazine division, thereby hoping to save approximately $500,000 annually.

Associated Press posts losses but innovates to keep afloat

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 30, 2010 at 12:58 PM

The Associated Press announced Thursday that it suffered serious losses in revenue and profit in 2009, but it also underscored the fact that it won't take the declines lying down. During its annual meeting the news agency announced the expansion of its AP Gateway initiative through the launch of their News Registry and a niche Web site for college football fans.

The bleak financial records included a nearly 10 percent drop in revenue, now down to US$676.1 million, and a 65 percent fall in net income, bringing it to $8.8 million. Much of this was the result of offering lower rates to its member newspapers, who were also suffering from reduced revenue as a result of the media crisis.

For more on this story visit our sister publication, editorsweblog.org.

Huffington Post introduces 'HuffPo Badges' to boost reader interaction

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 29, 2010 at 5:09 PM

Aiming to make the Huffington Post more interactive and more social network friendly, the news site yesterday introduced "HuffPo Badges" to encourage interaction among readers, mediabistro.com reported today.

So what do the badges do?

Mediabistro's Alex Alvarez explains: "Basically, they function like a cross between Gawker's tiered, 'starred commenter' system and Foursquare badges. HuffPost badges are awarded based on user activity and interactivity, so, for example, those who regularly comment on the site or share stories across social networks like Twitter can receive a 'Superuser' badge. Readers who go through flagging inappropriate comments to feel some modicum of power as they sit in their sad little cubicles all day can earn 'Moderator' badges."

Vivendi interested in discount at Lagardere Canal stake

Posted by Erina Lin on April 29, 2010 at 4:57 PM

Vivendi SA is seeking to purchase Lagardere SCA's 20-percent stake in pay-TV operator Canal Plus France, though at a discount, Chief Executive Officer Jean- Bernard Levy said in an interview with Le Figaro, Bloomberg reported.

The newspaper said Vivendi's objective is to fully own its French units "if at a reasonable price." However, "It's not a priority," according to Levy, "the company is also tempted to acquire Vodafone Group PLC's 44-percent holding in operator SFR," according to Le Figaro.

Metro Brazil launches fourth edition

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 29, 2010 at 4:29 PM

Metro Brazil is rolling out a new edition in Campinas, a city with about two million people, Newspaper Innovation reported today.

The country's fourth edition will have an initial print run of 30,000 copies. Brazil's total Metro circulation is now 240,000 daily copies, with editions also serving São Paulo, Santos and the ABC region, according to a press release from the Stockholm-based publisher, Metro International SA.

Social Media Club France recommends more multimedia interaction

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 29, 2010 at 2:22 PM

The Social Media Club France recently blogged about how the diversification of mobile devices which give readers access to the internet has obviously changed the way users access information. As a result, Social Media Club France recommends that journalists adopt a method of presenting news that is not only interactive but also adaptable to the non-linear diffusion of media.

Prior to the proliferation of smart phones and tablet PCs news was released in a fairly straightforward manner starting either with print or online and slowly working it's way outward. As previously mentioned, though this has changed journalists have not effectively adapted their methods of distribution to capitalize on the way users are consuming data.

For more on this story visit our sister publication, editorsweblog.org.

SFN report: Total daily time on Facebook exceeded 3 billion minutes in Feb. 2009

Posted by Erina Lin on April 28, 2010 at 5:21 PM

The total daily minutes spent on Facebook reached more than three billion in February 2009, up from 1.1 billion from one year ago, according to data provided by the social networking site. About 15 million users update their statuses on a daily basis, almost quadruple the number one year ago, SFN's World Digital Media Trends 2009 reported.

Also in February 2009, more than 3.5 million users became "fans" of something each day, more than 850 million photos were posted that month and more than 24 million pieces of content were shared.

LA Times adds e-commerce links, revises comment policy

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 28, 2010 at 3:14 PM

The Tribune Company-owned Los Angeles Times will soon begin adding e-commerce links to selected stories and blog posts, as "both a reader service and a revenue opportunity for the company," editor Russ Stanton told staffers in a memo yesterday, LAObserved reported.

The e-commerce links will be highlighted in green with a double underline and no blue editorial link will be replaced with an e-commerce link. Each article or a post that includes an e-commerce green link will have a disclaimer at its foot stating: "Clicking on Green Links will take you to a third-party e-commerce site. These sites are not operated by the Los Angeles Times. The Times Editorial staff is not involved in any way with Green Links or with these third-party sites," Stanton stated in the memo, posted on LAObserved. "These post-publication links to sites such as Amazon and TicketNetwork will serve as both a reader service and a revenue opportunity for the company."

Scripps sells Snoopy

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 28, 2010 at 2:37 PM

U.S. media company E.W. Scripps is selling its United Media Licensing business, and with it the rights to Peanuts cartoons, including characters Snoopy and Charlie Brown, to branding company Iconix for US$175 million, NPR reported yesterday.

Iconix now owns 80 percent of the licensing rights, while the heirs of Charles Schulz, who wrote Peanuts and died in 2000, are partnering with Iconix and will have a 20 percent stake. UM-licensed products bring in about $2 billion in retail sales yearly, most of which comes from products associated with Peanuts. About two-thirds of sales come from outside the United States.

The iPhone v.4 and media shield laws: Why Jason Chen might be better off in Iceland

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 28, 2010 at 2:05 PM

Popular tech blog Gizmodo's leak of the new iPhone prototype has garnered the attention of more than just interested Apple fanatics. Last Friday, Gizmodo editor Jason Chen arrived home around 9:45 to find police in his home, removing 4 computers and 2 servers with a search warrant signed by the judge of the Superior Court of San Mateo as their defense. In response, Gawker Chief Operating Officer and legal counsel Gaby Derbyshire claims this search was illegal under a California shield law created especially to protect journalists, and that the police must return Chen's belongings.

What has since erupted across the web and likely in legal courts soon is a debate over the legality of Gizmodo's iPhone scoop, the application of the untested shield law, and, most fundamentally, whether bloggers are considered journalists in the eyes of the law.

For more on this story visit our sister publication, editorsweblog.org.

Study: Original content sites most effective, ad networks least effective

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 27, 2010 at 5:24 PM

Advertising on quality, original content sites is more effective than ads elsewhere on the Web, a new report released today by the Online Publishers Association has found.

According to the report, "Improving Ad Performance Online," ads on OPA sites were consistently more effective than portals, ad networks and the Web in terms of raising awareness, creating message association, generating brand favourability and driving purchase intent.

The Sun to publish 3D issue for World Cup

Posted by Erina Lin on April 27, 2010 at 2:49 PM

The Sun plans to launch a special 3D edition on June 5, in order to commemorate the World Cup games, Huliq reported.

The special issue of the UK tabloid daily will print its editorial, ads and a World Cup Fixtures Wall Chart in 3D. Readers will receive 3D glasses.

South Africa's Cape Times will relaunch

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 27, 2010 at 1:51 PM

South Africa's Cape Times plans to redesign and relaunch just before the World Cup takes place in June, GrubStreet.co.za reported.

"We're hoping to achieve a livelier product, taking into account media trends around the world and more partnership with online," Chris Whitfield, editor-in-chief of the Cape Times, told GrubStreet.

Boston newspaper to implement metered paywall

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 27, 2010 at 1:18 PM

A Boston area publication, The Telegram & Gazette, recently announced it will begin implementing a "metered model" paywall over the summer. Jacqueline Reis from the Telegram and Gazette staff announced on the Web site that the new model will not charge print subscribers for access to online content.

The new model will still give readers free access to the majority of content offered on the site, with the exception of the content produced by the Telegram and Gazette's staff. The newspaper's publisher, Bruce Gaultney described the new method as a way to "recognise the value of local news" that would "bring new revenue to support news operations."

For more on this story visit our sister publication, editorsweblog.org.

SFN report: Women 55 and older fastest-growing Facebook demographic

Posted by Erina Lin on April 26, 2010 at 9:55 PM

Facebook's unique visitors worldwide jumped from about 20 million in January 2007, to 101 million one year later, up 305 percent, according to Morgan Stanley Research. The total minutes spent on the site accounted for five billion minutes in January 2007, but surged 363 percent to about 20 billion minutes one year later, which made it number four globally, only behind Yahoo!, Live and YouTube, SFN's World Digital Media Trends 2009 reported.

According to Facebook's statistics in March 2008, there were 250,000 new registrations per day since January 2007. Among the 67 million active users, more than half of them use it on a daily basis.

U.S. newspaper circulation drops 8.7 percent

Posted by Michelle Ong on April 26, 2010 at 8:25 PM

Figures released Monday by the Audit Bureau of Circulations show a circulation decline of U.S. newspapers, with average weekday sales falling 8.7 percent in the six month period ending March 31, reports The Associated Press.

However, the rate of decline slowed down from the previous six-month period. From April through September of last year, the average weekday circulation dropped 10.6 percent. Sunday circulation fell 6.5 percent, compared to 7.5 percent last year.

Facebook API makes more information public

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 26, 2010 at 3:36 PM

Facebook's new Graph API, released last Friday, allows users to see public events people have said they will attend or have attended - even if that person is not a "friend" of the user viewing the information, MediaGuardian reported today. The new API was just one new feature unveiled last week during F8, Facebook's developers conference.

According to Facebook, however, the API simply "attempts to simplify the way developers read and write data to Facebook. It presents a simple, consistent view of the Facebook social graph, uniformly representing objects in the graph (e.g., people, photos, events, and fan pages) and the connections between them (e.g., friend relationships, shared content, and photo tags)... All of the objects in the Facebook social graph are connected to each other via relationships. Bret Taylor is a fan of the Coca-Cola page, and Bret Taylor and Arjun Banker are friends. We call those relationships connections in our API."

Nottingham Evening Post drops 'Evening' from name

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 26, 2010 at 2:48 PM

UK daily Nottingham Evening Post has dropped "Evening" from its masthead and is now called the Nottingham Post, as it has been published overnight since last year, Holdthefrontpage.co.uk reported. The title change is accompanied by a redesign and typographical changes as well.

Also in its masthead, the Northcliffe newspaper has changed "Nottingham City of Legends" to "The City of Legends," printed below the the newspaper's name in the masthead. So far, the redesign "has been well received by readers," editor Malcolm Pheby told HoldtheFrontPage.

WSJ launches New York City metro section today - but why?

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 26, 2010 at 1:47 PM

As the Wall Street Journal plans to launch its new 10-page metro edition today, with the admitted purpose of competing directly with The New York Times, analysts everywhere are asking why.

The Journal's metro launch will cost it US$30 million over the next two years, and the paper is not particularly prized by locals for its New York city coverage. But this move comes as an obvious extension of what has been an ongoing battle against The Times since Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. bought Dow Jones, the WSJ's parent company, in 2007.

For more on this story visit our sister publication, editorsweblog.org.

Photo: Huffington Post

Wired: iPad growing in mobile

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 23, 2010 at 5:08 PM

The iPad currently makes up 26 percent of Wired.com's traffic from mobile devices, the technology site reported less than three weeks after the device's launch.

Although mobile accounts for just between 2.3 percent and 3.5 percent of overall traffic, the high number of iPad users suggests most are those who already used the iPhone and iPod Touch, as those users are declining the same amount the iPad user numbers are rising.

U.S. newspaper Web sites draw record traffic in Q1

Posted by Erina Lin on April 23, 2010 at 4:00 PM

U.S. newspaper companies drew record traffic to their Web sites in the first quarter - on average 74.4 million monthly unique visitors, which represents more than one-third of all online users, according to the latest figures provided by Nielsen Online for the Newspaper Association of America, Editor and Publisher reported.

The numbers were up from 72 million unique visitors per month during the previous quarter. The data also showed online newspaper visitors contributed more than 3.2 billion page views, or more than 2.3 billion minutes browsing, in the first quarter of 2010, according to the AFP article posted on Google News.

Free Scotland business magazine to launch in June

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 23, 2010 at 3:16 PM

A free, quarterly business magazine called BQ Scotland is set to launch in Scotland on June 11, AllmediaScotland reported. This new full-colour magazine will provide business news, commentary from leading business people and profiles of Scotland's most inspirational entrepreneurs.

Having successfully entered the market with separate BQ editions for Yorkshire and the North-East of England in the last two years, the Tyne and Weir-based Room501 publisher will now aim to reach affluent influential businessmen and women, such as directors, owners, managers, entrepreneurs and opinion formers across Edinburgh, Glasgow and the central belt.

Do newspaper Web sites need Google?

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 23, 2010 at 3:09 PM

Google's position as a top news site traffic driver has put editors between a rock and a hard place -- should they take the leap to remove their content from Google and risk losing readers? Or should they allow the company to financially benefit from content it did not generate?

Writing for paidContent, media and internet consultant Arnon Mishkin offered news publishers a reality check: "Google is much less important than you think."

For more on this story visit our sister publication, editorsweblog.org.

SFN report: Mobile ad spending to exceed $5 billion in Western Europe and Asia Pacific in '12

Posted by Erina Lin on April 22, 2010 at 5:15 PM

Mobile advertising spending in Western Europe made up $1.07 billion in 2007, according to eMarketer, and is expected to reach $5.55 billion in 2012.

Mobile message advertising contributed the majority in 2007, and is forecast to increase from $1.05 billion to $4.35 billion in 2012, SFN's World Digital Media Trends 2009 reported.

ABC to audit newspapers' mobile content

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 22, 2010 at 1:26 PM

The interactive unit of the Audit Bureau of Circulations will now audit newspapers' mobile content, a press release from the firm announced.

The new audit will provide publishers and advertisers with independently verified mobile usage data generated from apps, e-readers, and mobile browsers through the Verve publishing platform, as a result of its partnership with Verve Wireless.

Old, new and social media forge profitable alliances

Posted by Michelle Ong on April 22, 2010 at 10:54 AM

Sharing content in order to draw more readers (and, hopefully, multiply profits) seems to be the latest trend amongst news providers.

Earlier this week, SFN reported that top news organisations such as The Atlantic, Wired and Slate were collaborating to launch Climate Desk, a project dedicated to exploring climate change issues. Two other major partnerships are also in the works.

Pigeat: AFP should partner with government

Posted by Alisa Zykova on April 22, 2010 at 7:34 AM

Henri Pigeat, former president of Agence France Presse and current president of CFPJ (Centre de Formation et de Perfectionnement des Journalistes) revealed in a video interview with daily French paper Le Figaro that the AFP would be needing between €130 and €150 million for the next five years. The figures consist of estimations and Pigeat noted that there was no concrete business plan yet.

Financial backing might incorporate stockholders' equity as well as funding from within AFP. Pigeat said the sum was "reasonable" and would be necessary to promote technological evolution. He added that today's news agencies functioned on a variety of interactive multimedia platforms with hypertext, which subsequently indicated that there must be both an IT-based and an editorial transformation.

Zinio e-magazine app among top 10 on iPad

Posted by Alisa Zykova on April 22, 2010 at 5:17 AM

Worldwide Corporation Zinio, provider of digital publishing services, announced its content is among the top 10 downloads on Apple's iPad tablet, gipp.ru reported yesterday. The free Zinio Magazine Newsstand & Reader application offers international versions of 2400 magazine titles like Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire and Harper's Bazaar.

"New digital technologies and reading devices permits manufacturers to become more imaginative and to create new publishing possibilities, making magazines more dynamic," said Ruslan Hromin, vice-president of Zinio's Russian division.

Media General reports Q1 loss narrowed

Posted by Erina Lin on April 21, 2010 at 4:25 PM

Media General Inc. announced Wednesday that its Q1 loss narrowed year-over-year on reduced expenses and the growth on its TV business, The Associated Press reported.

The loss for Q1 was US$16.7 million, or 75 cents per share, better than that of $21.3 million, or 96 cents per share, in the same quarter one year ago.

Philly papers look for new owner; scheduled for auction Tuesday

Posted by Tom Barton on April 21, 2010 at 1:05 PM

Philadelphia's two main daily newspapers are looking for a new owner as part of a plan to settle US$318 million in debt.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Wednesday that an auction is set for next week for Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, the parent company of the Inquirer, which also owns the Philadelphia Daily News and Philly.com

eBay founder launches paid news site in Hawaii

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 21, 2010 at 12:31 PM

The founder of virtual marketplace eBay is stepping into the news business, aiming to launch a news site that will do what other news publishers are struggling with: getting people to pay for news, The Associated Press reported today.

Honolulu-based billionaire Pierre Omidyar will launch a news site called "Honolulu Civil Beat," which will be home to community news in Hawaii. Users will be required to pay to discuss issues, ideas and exchange information about matters affecting their communities. Civilbeat.com goes live today with an official launch scheduled for May 4, and plans to charge US$19.99 for monthly membership.

Privacy watchdogs ask Google for more privacy controls

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 21, 2010 at 12:22 PM

Senior government officials from 10 countries are asking Google to increase privacy controls. In a letter to CEO Eric Schmidt, officials are asking the online giant to protect users as it introduces a growing number of products, the Guardian reported yesterday.

People around the world are "being forgotten," the letter states. "It is unacceptable to roll out a product that unilaterally renders personal information public, with the intention of repairing problems later as they arise," such as the situation that arose when Google Buzz was launched. "We call on you ... to incorporate fundamental privacy principles directly into the design of your new services."

Journal Communications earnings up in Q1

Posted by Erina Lin on April 20, 2010 at 4:53 PM

Journal Communications Inc. announced Tuesday its profit in the first quarter increased to US$5.3 million due to reduced expenses and growth in its broadcasting section, The Associated Press reported.

The U.S. publisher's flagship title, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, is still facing revenue declines, down 5.3 percent to $37.5 million, but losses in advertising have eased, Editor & Publisher reported.

News organisations collaborate on climate change project

Posted by Michelle Ong on April 20, 2010 at 12:37 PM

Top news organisations will collaborate to publish a series of articles on how American businesses are responding to liabilities, risks and opportunities surrounding climate change, Foliomag reports. The Atlantic, Mother Jones and Wired, along with Slate, Grist, the Center for Investigative Reporting and PBS current-affairs program "Need to Know" have teamed up to launch Climate Desk, a project dedicated to exploring climate change issues.

This collaboration represents an important step towards resolving the difficulty of covering expansive topics under dwindling resources. Climate Desk hopes to reach a combined online audience of more than 25 million monthly unique visitors, 1.5 million print readers and an expected TV audience of 1.5 viewers.

Reuters.co.uk to relaunch more ad-friendly design

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 20, 2010 at 12:14 PM

Following the revamp of Reuters' U.S. Web site in December last year with a cleaner, more advertiser friendly look, the news wire is set to restructure its free, open UK news site along similar lines, paidContent reported.

Reuters.co.uk is significantly dependent on advertising revenue, unlike many of its services that target business professionals with premium pricing. The redesigned advertiser friendly UK site plans to launch this week, and it is likely certain content elements will become paid, MediaWeek reported.

World's press rallies to journalists in exile on World Press Freedom Day

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 20, 2010 at 11:40 AM

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) is calling on publications world-wide to commemorate World Press Freedom Day, 3 May, by honouring journalists who are forced to flee their countries just for doing their jobs.

WAN-IFRA, which represents 18,000 newspapers, 15,000 online sites and more than 3,000 companies world-wide, is dedicating its 2010 World Press Freedom Day campaign to "Journalists in Exile", and has produced editorials, advertisements, political cartoons, interviews and other materials for publication in newspapers and other media on or around 3 May.

Newspapers wishing to view, download and publish the materials, free of charge, can find them at http://www.worldpressfreedomday.org.

Call for survey participants for Future & Change Study

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 20, 2010 at 11:30 AM

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), the University of Central Lancashire and the Norwegian School of Management are preparing their second annual World Newspaper Future & Change Study, and are calling on newspaper company executives to take a survey about their company's business strategy and ability to change with the demands of the market.

The global study aims to better understand and quantify newspaper companies' responses to challenges facing the industry. The inaugural survey in 2009 found that a majority of respondents were in growth mode, creating new print and digital products and new businesses, such as training and events, despite the financial downturn.

'HuffPost Hill' to be a political afternoon daily for mobile

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 19, 2010 at 2:58 PM

The Huffington Post today launched an afternoon free e-mail newsletter, "HuffPost Hill," focused on politics in Washington D.C, MediaBistro reported. The newsletter will be "the equivalent of an afternoon newspaper when you're on your way home, except now you're reading it on a handheld," Arianna Huffington told the Washington Post.

The new feature introduced today encapsulates today's and tomorrow events in a conversational writing style with catchy headlines, but it won't have much in the way of graphics or photos, FishBowlDC on MediaBistro reported. The content will target to those interested in worldly politics with news on unusually-themed fundraisers, embassy parties, free parties and Hill birthday celebrations. Nora McAlvanah, former editor of NJ's Wake-Up Call and Last Call, helped create this feature.

Moody's: U.S. newspaper outlook 'stable'

Posted by Tom Barton on April 19, 2010 at 2:24 PM

U.S. newspapers continue to receive better financial news.

Moody's Investor Services on Friday announced industry earnings are improving, prompting the firm to change its outlook for the U.S. newspaper industry from "negative" to "stable." Moody's said the change reflects expectations that advertising revenue will recover over the next 12 to 18 months, but still expects ad sales to decline 5 to 10 percent this year. Ad revenue should be closer to flat at the end of the year and around a 3 to 2 percent decline in 2011, according to the announcement.

France: Le Monde to deal with debt through recapitalization

Posted by Alisa Zykova on April 19, 2010 at 11:15 AM

Prominent French outlet Le Monde needs €125 million to get out of its debt condition, according to Electron Libre. The group must return €70 million in redeemable bonds, insure €30 million of its working capital and cover its €25 deficit. Le Nouvel Observateur suggested that Le Monde might "disappear" unless a solution is found by June 2010.

Le Monde will be finalising its plan for recapitalization in the upcoming weeks before passing it through the shareholders, AFP reported April 9. The daily's supervisory board said that a major Spanish publishing firm, Grupo Prisa, would be embarking on a capital venture with Monde Imprimerie to bring about "modernization." According to 20 Minutes, the group's board of Journalists, which currently owns the majority of Le Monde, may lose control of the capital.

O'Brien now INM's biggest stakeholder

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 19, 2010 at 11:03 AM

Irish telecoms billionaire Denis O'Brien is having a busy month.

On Friday, he spent €19.4 million to increase his stake in Independent News & Media, and is now the Dublin-based media group's largest shareholder, The Australian reported today. Often labeled a "troublesome" shareholder, O'Brien now holds an 18.7 percent stake, overtaking Sir Anthony O'Reilly, whose family has a 14.7 percent share. O'Brien is also suing the Daily Mail for libel, arguing he was defamed by a January article, The Sunday Times reported yesterday.

Photo: TimesOnline.co.uk

SFN report: Online video biggest audience gainer in U.S.

Posted by Erina Lin on April 19, 2010 at 11:00 AM

The unique audience for online search in the United States grew from less than 100 million in February 2003 to more than 140 million in February 2009, up 50 percent, according to the Nielsen Company. Member communities and e-mail also increased from about 60 million uniques to more than 100 million, with 87 percent and 76 percent six-year growth rates, respectively, SFN's World Digital Media Trends 2009 reported.

The biggest gainer, however, is online video, which had an audience of less than 30 million unique users in February 2003. It surpassed email in November 2007, and had more than 100 million viewers in February 2009, up 339 percent within the six years.

Chicago Tribune cleared of Blagojevich extortion allegation

Posted by Michelle Ong on April 17, 2010 at 8:24 AM

In the latest dramatic episode in the trial of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, a document released by the Federal government clears the Chicago Tribune from an alleged extortion attempt from the former U.S. governor's staff. The 91-page proffer, prepared by the office of the United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, was unsealed upon the request of the Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times and The Associated Press, the Sun Times notes.

The document lays out the plan the federal prosecutors will use against Blagojevich in the upcoming June corruption trial. In it unfolds the elaborate web of double-crossing orchestrated by John Harris, Blagojevich's chief of staff. According to Fitzgerald's report, Blagojevich believed that "the Tribune's negative coverage of him was fueling certain adversaries of his in the State legislature and...feeding the possibility of his impeachment."

Image: ABCNews.com

Google profit up but stock prices down

Posted by Erina Lin on April 16, 2010 at 2:19 PM

Google Inc announced a 23 percent revenue increase in 1Q on a rebound in online advertising. However, its stock price fell 5 percent to US$565.50 on Thursday, after a 5 percent growth since Monday. It looks like there's still a long way for the company to go before it sees its stock prices return to pre-recession levels, The Associated Press reported in an article posted by the Washington Post.

"They've had a strong last few days ... and some investors expected Google to beat by a wider margin and price-per-click to come in a bit higher than 7 percent growth," Edward Jones analyst Andrew Miedler said.

Photo: AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

Gannett profit beats estimates

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 16, 2010 at 10:51 AM

U.S. newspaper publisher Gannett Co., Inc. today posted a first quarter profit that beat estimates, Reuters reported. The publisher posted a net income of US$119.3 million, up from $77.7 million at the same time last year. Share prices were also up on the news, to 49 cents a share, compared to 34 cents a share last year.

"The good news matters," MarketWatch's Jon Friedman wrote. "Sometimes, improved profit figures simply result from executives ruthlessly cutting expenses to the bone - and then crowing when, miracle of miracles, the numbers come out in their favour. As for genuine growth, it's anybody's guess whether the entity could achieve something tangible without the machete-like chopping."

Economist's Conversation Cloud taps reader habits, enables discussion

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 16, 2010 at 8:58 AM

To identify the most popular discussions on The Economist's Web site, the newspaper launched "The Conversation Cloud" feature yesterday, BtoBonline reported.

This new feature aggregates comments posted on articles, blogs and debates on the Web site along with readers' opinions on different subjects, to transform the site into a global social hub for intelligent debate and discussions. This tool allows users to easily find the most debated topics by displaying a word cloud containing keywords related to the most widely discussed subjects on the site. There, users can click on the comments displayed and then be directed to click-through links to read the full article, NewMediaAge reported.

London's City A.M. launches fund management section

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 15, 2010 at 7:25 AM

City A.M., the free morning daily for London's business community, has launched a new fund management section every Wednesday for the next three months, MarketingWeek reported Tuesday. This new section is sponsored by UK fund manager Artemis as a part of a recent deal with the newspaper.

The new fund management section is a part of the newspaper's investment section offering a forum for news and analysis of companies, capital market and commodities, along with 'London's Top 250,' a daily chart put together, based on market capitalisation and reports from activity in the London and New York markets, according to MarketingWeek.

CNN.com goes vertical

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 15, 2010 at 7:14 AM

CNN.com is aiming to transform its online popularity into that of a major portal with many content verticals by enhancing its entertainment and technology areas, minonline reported today.

The new entertainment channel will be led by magazine expert Kate Caperton, the former editor of OK! Magazine. The new technology section will be made larger, featuring regular columns from staffers, as well as from Pete Cashmore, founder of Mashable, and guest commentators from big names like Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist.

Russia: Aeroflot to provide on-board calls and Web access

Posted by Alisa Zykova on April 15, 2010 at 6:47 AM

Russian airline Aeroflot penned a deal with network provider Megafon that would allow base stations to be installed on board, hence permitting passengers to use their mobile phones and to access the Web, Vesti.ru reported today.

The agreement outlined that in 2010 four airline models would have the service, the first of which is Airbus A-320. Later on, Airbus A-330, which fits 302 passengers, would also provide the service.

U.S. newspapers predicted to do better than expected in Q1

Posted by Alisa Zykova on April 15, 2010 at 5:53 AM

JP Morgan analysts said U.S. newspapers likely did better than expected during the first fiscal quarter of 2010, MediaBistro reported yesterday. Less drastic revenue drops, the comeback of national funding and a jump in auto classified ads may all account for the phenomenon.

Publisher Gannett Co., Inc. may see a 7.2 percent decline in ad revenue during Q1 and a 5.6 percent downward shift in 2010. The New York Times Co. may experience a 5.5 decrease throughout the year and a 8 percent fall for Q1, according to Editor & Publisher.

Dell announces mobile deal with Telefonica

Posted by Alisa Zykova on April 15, 2010 at 5:04 AM

Tech giant Dell announced a partnership with Spanish telecommunications provider Telefonica, Market Watch reported Wednesday. The venture may have been prompted by today's strong demand for mobile devices with access to the Internet, Austin Businness Journal acceded.

"The new digital ecosystem, under construction, creates huge opportunities and advantages for all industries that transform and adapt to the digital world, and not only in terms of productivity, but also in terms of new lines of initiative, new applications and new business opportunities. And we are very excited to work with Dell to develop these solutions," said Telefonica Director of Innovation Vivek Dev.

NY Times and WSJ: An old fashioned newspaper war

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 14, 2010 at 6:47 PM

The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times are now locked in a good old fashioned newspaper war, one likely to cost both U.S. dailies modern day millions.

Yesterday, The Times gave its online business section a facelift to better compete with the WSJ's main offering, business news. Last week, word came out that both newspapers were offering discounts for ad prices, and prior to that the WSJ announced it would launch a New York edition in late April. The WSJ is also cutting its subscription prices by up to 80 percent in some cases as it aims to challenge The Times. Last month, the WSJ even used part of Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr.'s face to illustrate a supposed facial feature on feminine men.

Image: VF.com

BBC may sell magazine business

Posted by Michelle Ong on April 14, 2010 at 6:35 PM

The BBC is considering selling BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm, The Times reports.

According to a Worldwide spokesman, the BBC Worldwide's staff was told on Friday that the BBC is "seeking a partnership with another company" to enable its titles, which include Top Gear, Radio Times and Gardener's World, to meet their potential, "while still protecting the BBC's editorial standards and brands."

Philadelphia Daily News to launch weekend edition in October

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 14, 2010 at 2:46 PM

Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC, parent company of the Daily News and Inquirer, announced at the Newspaper Advertising Association's mediaXchange conference in Orlando that it will launch a Daily News weekend edition in October, the Philadelphia Business Journal reported yesterday.

The new edition is "the result of over a year of creative thought and a great deal of research," said Brian Tierney, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC. "It won't be the regular Daily News published another day, rather a unique product with a review of the week behind and preview of the week ahead," Philly.com reported.

Russia: Kin to be launched in autumn

Posted by Alisa Zykova on April 14, 2010 at 1:06 PM

Microsoft's Kin smartphone, announced on Monday, will be available in the Russian market and will be launched through national network provider MTS, Lenta.ru reported today. The operator will only set prices after seeing sales data from Europe and the United States.

Sales of the device in the United States will start as of May (through network operator Verizon Wireless), while Russians will be able to purchase Kin by autumn 2010. Europeans will be able to get the smartphone through Vodafone, which currently has a partnership with MTS, according to RBC Daily.

SFN report: Over 70% of Japanese mobile subscribers in '08 used 3G or above

Posted by Erina Lin on April 14, 2010 at 12:43 PM

In Japan, mobile subscribers totalled 84 million in September 2004, with 50 million signed up for 2G data services, according to Impress R&D.

Twelve million used the voice-only plan and only about three million used a 3G or above service, SFN's World Digital Media Trends 2009 reported.

Apple delays global iPad delivery

Posted by Alisa Zykova on April 14, 2010 at 12:42 PM

Amid far higher demand for its newest concoction iPad, Apple has announced it is delaying the device's delivery worldwide, PC World reported today. Heightened demand is thought to continue to be larger than the corporation's supply "over the next several weeks," Information Week wrote.

Due to a "surprisingly strong" demand from the United States, Apple is shifting the international launch to the end of May, Information Week said. It will be regulating international pricing and registering global pre-orders on May 10.

Mobile surfing may surpass desktop by 2015

Posted by Alisa Zykova on April 14, 2010 at 12:23 PM

Morgan Stanley analysts have predicted that mobile Web use will outgrow "stationary browsing" by 2015, as it has expanded at a relatively faster rate, Switched.com reported today.

According to Wireless Federation, two industry factors that account for the trend are the presence of improved mobile devices and the accessibility of better network coverage. IntoMobile revealed that mobile users were now more likely to pay for content, which may be interesting to publishers.

Chief news agencies boycott Cannes Festival

Posted by Alisa Zykova on April 14, 2010 at 11:53 AM

Prominent news agencies Agence France-Presse, Reuters, The Associated Press and Getty TV are boycotting the Cannes Film Festival press conference, which is to be held on April 15 in Paris, the BBC reported today.

The agencies do not agree with the restrictions on video content from the red carpet events as well as news conferences during the event. According to a press release, the agencies may not even attend the festival unless some agreement is decided upon.

iPhone app bridges print/Web gap

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 13, 2010 at 5:13 PM

For users who find themselves wanting to share an article, search more about a topic or go to a Web site when reading a printed newspapers, the new iPhone app Paperboy may just be their answer.

Users take a photo of the content with their iPhones, and then the app recognises the pictures of the article pages, finds their online equivalents and then allows users to get extra information, send the article to social networks, e-mail it, make a pdf or go to links within the article, Newspaper Innovation reported today.

Canwest Newspapers' bankruptcy extended to June 30

Posted by Erina Lin on April 13, 2010 at 4:22 PM

Canwest Global Communications Corp. has won an extension of bankruptcy protection until June 30 for its newspaper division. This will allow the company to complete an auction for the publications, Bloomberg reported.

The extension was granted by Ontario Superior Court Judge Sarah Pepall Tuesday in Toronto. The bankruptcy protection was first granted on Jan. 8, and due to expire on April 14.

Gordon Brown slams Murdoch's paywall plan, joins online content debate

Posted by Michelle Ong on April 13, 2010 at 4:19 PM

In an interview with columnist Caitlin Moran in the Radio Times, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke against the implementation of online paywalls, arguing that "People will pay for certain things, and should pay for certain things, but I think there's a whole sort of element of communication that's got to be free." He continued, adding that "people mind paying for basic news."

As the Telegraph points out, Brown's position is similar to that of Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who believes that paywalls will work only for niche and specialist markets. Brown's pointed statement seems to be directed against News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch, who recently announced his plans to move the digital content of News International papers like The Sunday Times and The Sun behind a paywall.

Yahoo News creates daily 90-second Web series featuring top stories

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 13, 2010 at 3:30 PM

Yahoo News has launched a daily 90-second Web series featuring the most-clicked stories of the day on the basis of its popularity, in association with Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. and production house Reveille, MediaWeek reported yesterday.

The launch of the series, called "Who Knew?," follows the recent hiring of journalists and reporters from prestigious media agencies to the Yahoo news development team for creation of original content. The Web series is produced in collaboration with Reveille, and is being produced by the Elisabeth Murdoch-owned TV production house that also recently produced a show for Yahoo Shine as a part of the "content production and distribution agreement," paidContent reported.

Twitter announces advertising plan to make profit

Posted by Alisa Zykova on April 13, 2010 at 11:35 AM

USA Today reports that Twitter might start making a profit from advertising. "Promoted Tweets" may appear on some Twitter.com search results, according to co-founder Biz Stone. The move already has followers: Best Buy, Bravo, Red Bull, Sony Pictures, Starbucks and Virgin America.

Responses to the business model were two-fold, the Guardian pointed out. Some felt that the site needed to make revenue "inevitably", while others doubt its success. ReadWriteWeb described it as "non-invasive," "nothing too crazy," "nothing terribly exploitive," "entirely predictable" and that it had "no banner ads" or "sales of data to direct marketers."

Tribune Co. plan riles creditors

Posted by Alisa Zykova on April 13, 2010 at 10:36 AM

Tribune Co.'s recent bankruptcy exit plan has been harshly criticised by creditors such as Oaktree Capital Management, Goldman Sachs Loan Partners and Marathon Asset Management, who said that it was "impossibly tainted by the Debtors' attempt to give a free pass to their insiders. And it is not a settlement that has the approval or agreement of the lion's share of the entities being asked to fund it," Variety reported today.

The reorganisation plan permits Tribune Co., which belongs to Sam Zell (left), to keep its newspapers and broadcast stations as it eases the group's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, reported the Boston Globe. If the plan receives approval then Tribune Co. will hand over ownership to lenders JPMorgan Chase & Co and Angelo, Gordon & Co.

WePad: Germany's rival to Apple's iPad

Posted by Alisa Zykova on April 13, 2010 at 10:15 AM

German tech corporation Neofonie GmbH announced the launch of an iPad "rival," The Associated Press reported yesterday. The WePad might be better, the corporation claims, because of its larger screen as well as USB ports to connect exterior devices.

Neofonie mentioned that the machine might interest publishers because it would permit them to sell content without forcing a customer relationship (like Apple's iTunes or Amazon's Kindle do) so as to preserve the "simple content supplier" status, the AP wrote.

Will Apple's iAd application alleviate news industry's ad woes?

Posted by Michelle Ong on April 12, 2010 at 4:18 PM

The launch of Apple's iAd application may help newspaper organisations tap into the rapidly developing iPad market and the mobile advertising business.

The iAd application is one of more than 100 new user features integrated into Apple's OS 4, its latest operating system for both the iPhone and iPad. Marketed as a "new media outlet that offers consumers highly targeted information," the iAd allows application developers to generate advertisements and pocket 60 percent of the revenue. At the Apple OS 4 unveiling event, Steve Jobs highlighted the differences between this new generation of advertising, which features rich media ads that combine the "emotion" of television with the interactivity of the Web, according to Engadget.

SFN report: Global broadband subscribers to reach 749 million in '12

Posted by Erina Lin on April 12, 2010 at 4:13 PM

Global broadband subscribers are forecast to more than triple, from 216 million in 2005 to 749 million in 2012, according to IDATE.

In 2005, the biggest contributor was the Asia Pacific region, with 86 million subscribers. Europe and North America also made up 66 million and 53 million subscribers, respectively, SFN's World Digital Media Trends 2009 reported.

Paper.li transforms Twitter streams into daily newspapers

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 12, 2010 at 3:49 PM

Paper.li has introduced a simple Web application that can help turn Twitter streams into a daily online newspaper, to provide users with a daily summary of their Twitter streams and allow them to customise their daily read with topics of interest, TheNextWeb.com's Jeff Bajayo reported today.

This application helps find other newspapers by topic, share the Twitter newspaper via the retweet feature, keeps followers informed about your interests, and explores the Twitter field in a new way.

Survey: U.S. news execs worried about future, skeptical of funding ideas

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 12, 2010 at 2:07 PM

U.S. news executives see opportunities in technology, but are unsure of how to make revenue in the future, a new Pew Research Centre's Project for Excellence in Journalism survey has found. They are also "hesitant" about the multitude of alternate funding ideas being explored, such as outside funding.

"Our mantra this year is experiment and fail quickly," one newspaper news executive said, according to the survey, the results of which are out today. "Don't be afraid of change and don't stick with something too long if it doesn't work."

Smartphone maker Palm put for sale

Posted by Alisa Zykova on April 12, 2010 at 5:44 AM

U.S.-based smartphone manufacturer Palm announced that it is putting itself up for sale and will be searching for potential bidders as early as this week, according to three individuals familiar with the story, reported Bloomberg today. Possible buyers include Taiwan's mobile corporation HTC and China's computer firm Lenovo Group, according to The New York Times.

"The challenge for Palm is finding a buyer prepared to pay a premium for an immature platform when many potential suitors have already invested heavily in Android," said CCS Insight Analyst Geoff Blaber.

Reader's Digest UK saved from bankruptcy

Posted by Alisa Zykova on April 12, 2010 at 5:02 AM

The UK branch of Reader's Digest was rescued from bankruptcy by private equity company Better Capital through a £13 million management buyout, reported Business Week Friday. The move saved 117 jobs, according to The Independent.

"The iconic magazine and prize draw will continue but it should be remembered that these are just a part of a much larger business," said the outlet's Managing Director Chris Spratling. "There are tremendous opportunities for our businesses in financial services, books and health care and significant plans to expand all aspects of the Reader's Digest business in the U.K."

Japan's Nikkei puts up paywall and restricts linking

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 9, 2010 at 5:02 PM

Following the trend of paywalls being put up on news sites around the world, Japan's largest business newspaper, The Nikkei, erected paywalls on its new Web site last week and also imposed a policy restricting links to its articlesand its home page, The New York Times reported.

A detailed application stating reasons for linking to the Web site has to be provided to link to Nikkei's home page. The paper has additionally disabled the right-click feature that usually brings up a menu including ''copy link address.'' The paper's ''link policy'' ends on an ominous note: ''We may seek damages for any violations of these rules.''

Tribune will exit bankruptcy this year

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 9, 2010 at 4:31 PM

U.S. newspaper publisher Tribune Company announced yesterday it has come to an agreement with creditors that will see it exit bankruptcy protection later this year, Reuters reported today.

According to the plan, the company will emerge fron bankruptcy "significantly deleveraged, with its business units intact and with adequate liquidity for operating and capital needs," the company said in a statement. The Tribune Co., which publishes the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, filed for bankruptcy in December 2008.

WSJ, NY Post to provide ad discounts

Posted by Erina Lin on April 9, 2010 at 12:43 PM

News Corp's New York Post and the Wall Street Journal are offering discounts for ad prices, according to people familiar with the plan, the Financial Times reported.

The Wall Street Journal earlier announced to launch a New York edition in late April. According to the FT, by offering the discounts, Rupert Murdoch is trying to ramp up competition with The New York Times - which is a strategy similar to those he has used before to expand his business in other cities.

Photo: Bildungblog

Philly.com partners with FanDuel for legal online sports betting

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 8, 2010 at 9:23 PM

The Philadelphia Inquirer's, Philly.com has entered into a partnership with Fanduel.com to boost its online revenues through online sports betting, a press release posted on Casino City Times announced. This is the first U.S. newspaper partner FanDuel, created by UK social gaming company HubDub.

Many UK newspapers have offered betting and online paid games for years, but U.S. law is much more strict when it comes to online gambling. FanDuel is exempt, however, due to "the fantasy sports carve out in the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act; as stated, the only difference is that FanDuel-powered fantasy sports games only last a day (for baseball) and a week (for football)," TechCrunch Europe reported.

Photographers sue Google over Book Search

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 8, 2010 at 9:10 PM

The American Society of Media Photographers has filed a lawsuit against Google over its Book Search, which aims to make a digital library of scanned books, The Register reported today. The service is also being sued by American authors and publishers.

The photographers' trade association states in the suit that Google is illegally scanning and displaying millions of books without getting approval from those who control the rights to photos and other artwork within the titles. The lawsuit is seeking compensation from Google, and is similar to the lawsuit brought by writers over the same issue.

China Mobile, Xinhua Agency to launch mobile newspaper jointly

Posted by Erina Lin on April 8, 2010 at 4:20 PM

China Mobile Ltd., the leading mobile operator in the country, has cooperated with the Xinhua News Agency to launch a mobile digital newspaper for the upcoming 2010 Shanghai World Expo, according to the Shanghai Daily.

This digital product will provide multimedia content, including video, audio and images. It will be first sent to more than 40 million China Mobile subscribers during the event, which takes place from May 1 to Oct. 31, according to the China Knowledge article posted on Alibaba.

Fiji's new law may force Murdoch out, levy heavy restrictions on media

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 7, 2010 at 11:12 PM

Fiji may put in place a new law that states in every media organisation within the country, "all the directors ... must be citizens of Fiji permanently residing in Fiji," Stuff.co.nz reported. The move would force Rupert Murdoch's News Ltd out of the country. News Ltd owns The Fiji Times, the country's largest and oldest daily.

The draft, Media Industry Development Decree 2010, provides for the establishment of a Media Development Authority and a complaints tribunal that would have the power to fine news organisations and imprison journalists for up to five years, according to Pacific.Scoop.co.nz.

Photo: Voreqe Bainimarama

BBC World Service expands mobile content reach in Africa

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 7, 2010 at 10:45 PM

BBC World Service has entered into a partnership with mobile telecommunications firm Zain to maximise the reach of its content offerings via mobile Internet, TMCnet reported last week.

As per the agreement, Zain will provide access to BBC World Service news content to its users on their mobile handsets, across nine mobile portals in Kenya, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Chad, Congo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Malawi, Mediamughals reported.

SFN report: Free news sites increased share in Western Europe

Posted by Erina Lin on April 7, 2010 at 3:31 PM

Valérie-Anne Bleyen and Leo Van Hove at Vrije Universiteit Brussel conducted a study of 87 newspaper Web sites in nine Western European countries in 2006, 2008 and 2009, the latest SFN's report, New Revenue Models for Newspaper Companies, reported.

The study categorised the sites into the following groups: free, fee light and fee+. "Fee light" refers to newspaper sites where all the news, columns and archived articles (if available) are free, and where the PDF version is the only paid-for content on the site. "Fee+" on the other hand, refers to sites that offer something other than a PDF against payment.

Yahoo considers buying Foursquare

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 6, 2010 at 9:39 PM

Yahoo's mergers and acquisitions team is considering buying location-based startup Foursquare for about US$100 million, Business Insider reported today.

Foursquare CEO and co-founder Dennis Crowley, meanwhile, met with companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Apple last week.

Report: Newspaper publishing to rise to US$191.6 billion by 2015

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 6, 2010 at 9:18 PM

A report on the worldwide newspaper publishing market projects the industry will see an increase in revenue to US$191.6 billion by the year 2015. The report, "Newspaper Publishing: A Global Strategic Business Report," was released by Global Industry Analysts Inc. last week.

However, 2010 is expected to be the most challenging year yet, as the newspaper industry has for years been experiencing a downturn in circulation and advertising revenues, changes in readership habits, shifting demographics, competition from alternative media platforms, and the economic recession has further increased the pressure on newspaper publishers.

Sun-Times' Tyree: Print newspapers will survive for 10 years

Posted by Erina Lin on April 6, 2010 at 12:44 PM

Printed newspapers will probably survive a decade before digital news completely substitutes for it, according to James Tyree, chief executive of investment firm Mesirow Financial Inc., who also led the October buyout of the Chicago Sun-Times' publisher, Bloomberg reported.

"Newspapers have got a good strong 10 years. By then you'll have to evolve into something else - maybe five years evolve into something else - or you'll just be out of business," said Tyree in an interview in Chicago last week.

Does the Financial Times have a perfect business model?

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 6, 2010 at 12:26 PM

The financial crisis that spurred the media crisis has left journalists, publishers, bloggers, and other media professionals on an unrelenting quest to find the a business model that meets the demands of both the digital and print worlds. As this quest continues, Peter Kirwan, writing for The Guardian's Media Blog, suggests that, at least in the digital realm, Financial Times' Web site FT.com has found the answer.

Kirwan examines what the Financial Times did over the past few years to turn itself around from a failing publication in 2002 to one of the only publications to make a profit last year while the rest of the media world seemed to fall apart. This leads the author to wonder if "the FT has unlocked the secret of eternal profitability."

For more on this story, visit our sister publication, editorsweblog.org.

SFN report: Google sites top online video destination in U.S. and UK

Posted by Erina Lin on April 5, 2010 at 8:11 PM

In March 2009, more than 149.4 million unique users viewed 14.47 billion online videos in the United States, according to comScore Video Metrix. Each viewer watched 96.8 videos on average. More than 5.9 billion videos were viewed by over 100 million unique viewers at Google sites, which includes top video sharing brand YouTube. Google sites alone accounted for 40 percent of total videos viewed, and each viewer watched 59 videos on average on Google sites, SFN's World Digital Media Trends 2009 reported.

Other online video properties on the list included Fox Interactive Media, Hulu, Yahoo! sites, and others. However, they only owned a very small share of videos compared to Google sites, as well as average videos per viewer.

Which news publishers have iPad apps so far?

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 5, 2010 at 5:19 PM

The iPad was in U.S. stores on Saturday, and many top news outlets in the country were ready to meet consumers on their newest prized possessions.

USA Today touted its app for the iPad outside the SoHo Apple store in New York Saturday, and the Wall Street Journal is featured prominently on the iPad Apps page, complete with a video inviting users to "See The Wall Street Journal in action." Other news apps available on the iPad seem to be predominantly large national or international news outlets that are not charging for the apps, such as BBC News, NPR, AP News, Reuters News Pro and NYT Editors' Choice.

Photo: Thanks to zokuga for permission to use this photo, via his flickr photostream.

New Hampshire papers prepare to launch metered pay models

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 5, 2010 at 4:48 PM

As the newspaper industry increasingly embraces various paid online models, newspapers in New Hampshire, United States are following suit, with several planning to roll out a metered payment system for online content soon, NashuaTelegraph.com reported yesterday. The papers include The (Nashua) Telegraph, Concord Monitor, The Portsmouth Herald (Seacoast Online), and The Conway Daily Sun.

"The news industry's well-publicized financial problems, combined with technological improvements, are tipping the scales in favor of charging for online content - a move that has long been considered risky because of consumer expectations that information on the Internet should be free," the NashuaTelegraph.com article, by Ashley Smith, stated.

Boston Globe launches new online 'angle' to stories

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 2, 2010 at 3:47 PM

The Boston Globe is working to keep its place as a portal into Boston with its launch of a new feature in the opinion section of its Web site, "The Angle: Stories Worth Talking About." The section gives readers an opportunity to get deeper insights on regional and national issues and encourages their participation in discussions on the news, Editor & Publisher reported.

"By bringing together articles with a strong discussion point from all areas of our reporting, The Angle will help our online readers to become more engaged in the issues and subjects of high interest to them and the community at large," Peter Canellos, editorial page editor of The Boston Globe, stated in a press release.

UK Internet ad spending totaled $5.3 billion in '09

Posted by Erina Lin on April 2, 2010 at 3:30 PM

Internet advertising revenues in the United Kingdom rose by 4.2 percent from US$5 billion in 2008, to $5.3 billion in 2009, according to the new study conducted by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Since the dot com crash of 2001, Internet advertising spending in the country reported growth every year during the decade - from $232 million in 2000 to $5.3 billion. It has boosted 2,200 percent, Mike Sachoff wrote on the Internet Financial News.

Dutch free dailies cut circulation in '09

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 2, 2010 at 3:28 PM

All three national free titles in the Netherlands cut their circulation in 2009, Newspaper Innovation reported Wednesday.

Metro continues to be the market leader with 506,000 copies, a 5 percent decrease compared to 2008. Spits' circulation is down 3 percent to 417,000, and De Pers is down to an average of 220,000 copies, compared to 367,000 in 2008. The average year-on-year drop in paid circulation was 3 percent, according to HOI auditing data.

Texas Tribune founder defends the non-profit model

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 2, 2010 at 3:12 PM

The nonprofit news business model took a beating on Tuesday when Alan Mutter wrote in his blog that nonprofit news is not sustainable. But yesterday, John Thornton, venture capitalist and owner of nonprofit news site the Texas Tribune, took a stand in defense of the nonprofit model, indicting Mutter's arguments and using his own newspaper as evidence of potential success.

According to Thornton, non-profit news sites do not earn their money from an endowment, but rather integrate a number of different earning strategies into their business. He himself cites subscriptions to the Texas Weekly newsletter, membership to the site, and corporate support as ways the site aims to earn money.

For more on this story, visit our sister publication, editorsweblog.org.

First iPad reviews are in. What's the verdict?

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 1, 2010 at 5:10 PM

A select group of U.S. reviewers were given an Apple iPad a week ago, and yesterday the Wall Street Journal's Walter Mossberg wrote that he believes the device is "pretty close" to being a "laptop killer."

If people view the iPad as just another device they have to carry around, they likely won't be interested in large numbers. However, if they think they can replace their heavier laptops most of the time, for tasks like using e-mail, viewing photos and videos, playing games and surfing the Internet, "it could be a game changer the way Apple's iPhone has been," Mossberg wrote in a column for All Things Digital.

Newspaper Society spotlights local media's connection with readers

Posted by Savita Sauvin on April 1, 2010 at 4:43 PM

The UK Newspaper Society will run a print advertising campaign touting local media power next week, Campaignlive.co.uk reported yesterday. The target audience for the campaign is both national advertisers and leading media agencies based in London, Manchester and Edinburgh.

The campaign aims to spotlight the connection established by local media with readers, through research findings that indicate emotional attachment shared by consumers with the place they live. The campaign launch is the most recent phase of "The Wanted Ads" marketing programme launched by the Newspaper Society in 2006, according to a statement.

SFN report: Mobile ad spending in U.S. to reach $6.5 billion in '12

Posted by Erina Lin on April 1, 2010 at 3:27 PM

Mobile advertising spending in the United States totalled $878 million in 2007, according to eMarketer, and is expected to reach $6.52 billion in 2012.

Mobile message advertising contributed the majority in 2007, and will increase from $810 million to $4.5 billion in 2012, SFN's World Digital Media Trends 2009 reported.

Johnston Press tears down paywalls

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on April 1, 2010 at 2:49 PM

As paywalls go up across the web, most notably those implemented by the Times and Sunday Times last week, one comes tumbling down, reports Press Gazette. Johnston Press, a UK regional publisher with over 300 titles across the country, ended its paywall experiment this week.

In November of 2009, Johnston Press implemented various paid content strategies on four of its English titles and two Scottish titles. Some websites offered "teaser" content that suggested the reader buy the paper version to finish the article, others required user registration, and a few titles erected a paywall, allowing readers 3 months of paid content for £5. Johnston Press' annual report, published earlier this month, gave an optimistic outlook on the ability of JP papers to implement a paywall successfully.

For more on this story, visit our sister publication, editorsweblog.org.

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