Shaping the Future of the Newspaper Blog: August 2010 Archives

Pew: Social media use surges among U.S. adults 50+

Posted by Erina Lin on August 31, 2010 at 3:44 PM

Social media usage surged among U.S. adults ages 50 and up, according to a latest survey by Princeton Survey Research Associates on behalf of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, Media Post reported.

The survey also suggested social media may be an effective advertising and marketing platform to reach older Internet users.

Photo: Tim Boyle/Getty Images

Deseret News to restructure, coordinate operations

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 31, 2010 at 3:29 PM

Considering the major shift of readers from traditional news sources to digital media, changes were announced today at Utah's longest publishing daily, Deseret News. The U.S. newspaper will reduce its newsroom staff numbers by nearly half and introduce new strategic initiatives to serve massive audiences globally, TheSaltLakeTribune.com reported today.

Like many other newspapers, Utah's second largest daily faced a difficult choice - to either reduce staff and reinvent itself or to stop publishing. The newspaper chose the former; and despite declining ad revenues, the newspaper's readership showed an increase of 20 percent in 2009, the highest growth rate experienced by any newspaper in the country, according to a blog post by the newspaper's editorial page editor, Jay Evensen.

Newsweek launches Pakistan edition

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 31, 2010 at 3:26 PM

Newsweek magazine has this week launched Newsweek Pakistan, which will have double the print run compared to that of the international edition, The Express Tribune reported today.

Although Newsweek's financial woes are well known in its home country, the United States, print is growing in Pakistan, and the weekly is expected to see success. The launch is in partnership with Pakistani media company AG Publications, according to the Huffington Post. Newsweek was recently sold by the Washington Post Company to audio billionaire Sidney Harman. Newsweek Pakistan was being created before the company announced it would sell the news weekly.

Dominican Republic's oldest newspaper changes owner

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 31, 2010 at 10:10 AM

A group of Dominican investors have bought the 121-year-old Listin Diario and its radio stations, The Associated Press revealed yesterday.

Although the value of the Aug. 10 transaction was not disclosed, the president of the Central Bank, Héctor Valdez Albizu, said the operation had covered the $51.8 million debt that the media company had with the government, ElMasacre.com reported. The group of investors include media mogul José Luis Corripio and Juan Bautista Vicini Lluberes, whose family owns the sugar giant Vicini Group, ABC.es reminded.

Google and AP: How to make friends and licensing deals

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 31, 2010 at 9:54 AM

Yesterday The Associated Press reported that Google and the AP have updated their licensing deal for online content. Specifics of the arrangement were not released to the public, although there are two main factors in the deal: Google will purchase the AP's content for an undisclosed amount, and the two companies will also collaborate to increase the AP's online revenue. The terms of the contact may not be dramatically different from previous licensing contracts, yet the recent announcement marks a shift in more diplomatic relations between the AP and Google.

Originally Google and the AP signed a multi-year licensing contract in 2006, but the conditions of the agreement left the AP decrying that Google was publishing entire articles without sufficiently compensating the newswire. Google retaliated, claiming it was in full adherence to international copyright laws. The negotiations for a suitable contact came to a standstill around the time that the original licensing deal was to expire. From December to February of 2010, Google news did not host any material from the AP. The two companies started collaborating again in February, and the recent announcement of a new contract implies that the rocky relationship between Google and AP is being smoothed over.

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

Google plans on-demand movies on YouTube

Posted by Erina Lin on August 30, 2010 at 4:33 PM

Google is planning to launch a pay-per-view movie service on YouTube, according to a report in the Financial Times, sify news reported.

The Internet giant is talking with major Hollywood studios. If negotiations go well, YouTube could begin showing the latest movie content on demand by the end of the year, according to The Financial Times, Information Week reported.

PPF shutters local media project Naše Adresa

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 30, 2010 at 3:20 PM

Finance company PPF has sold its PPF Media division and shut down its local media project in the Czech Republic, called Naše Adresa ("Our Address"), which created a network of local weeklies across the country.

PPF invested at least Kc200 million (€8.05 million) in Naše Adresa, but the pilot project "did not meet the parameters of return on investment," the group's spokesman told the Czech News Agency (CTK) today. PPF sold its PPF Media company to investor Richard Benysek, CTK reported Friday.

Metro sets up team to create its first global branding campaign

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 30, 2010 at 3:18 PM

Metro International will not work with a creative agency on its first global branding campaign and has instead hired a brand team led by Mattias Frodlund, a freelancer previously working for Leo Burnett, Media & Marketing reported last week.

In a press release, Metro International CEO Per Mikael Jensen said the company's previous goal was to "establish Metro as the world's largest global newspaper." The next step"is building Metro into one global premium brand, admired and respected by readers as well as advertisers," global marketing director Christian Quarles added.

Mobile apps: Are newspapers ready to be innovative?

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 30, 2010 at 3:17 PM

According to findings from research carried out in May by Digital Media Test Kitchen, "few mobile news apps have pushed the creativity envelope." The report stated that "compared to the innovation that's rampant in the non-news mobile app world, the news apps we reviewed seem behind the curve."

Six newspaper apps were reviewed: USA Today, The New York Times, THE Associated Press, the Guardian, Politico, and the Huffington Post. "Most of the news applications that have been created by single news brands do not do enough to encourage interactivity, customization, or creativity...there is an overall lack of interactivity compared to the news brands' regular Web sites." Regarding creativity, these apps generally stuck to the same pattern of pairing headlines with thumbnails photos. However, these thumbnail photos can usually not be enlarged when clicked on, "a disappointment when the image was too small to discern adequately." As for interactivity, while most of the apps permitted sharing on social networks, only the HuffPost app allowed users to comment.

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

Danish free daily Urban stops using a wire service

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 30, 2010 at 2:48 PM

Danish free daily Urban has discontinued its use of Danish wire service Ritzau, Newspaper Innovation reported last week.

Owned by Mecom, the newspaper is now reliant on original content and those produced by paid newspapers of the publisher that include BT and Berlingske.

Image: NewspaperInnovation.com

Fairfax Media sees improved results, prepares to charge for online content

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 27, 2010 at 3:55 PM

Australian publishing giant Fairfax Media showed much-improved financial performance for the year ending June 30, with annual net profits of AU$282 million after incurring a $380 million loss last year, caused due to declines in advertising revenues. Fairfax will also begin charging for content online and across emerging mobile platforms, to survive in the competitive newspaper industry, Agence France-Presse reported today.

Fairfax's online payment strategy will centre around a two-tier model, wherein users will be required to pay for accessing premium content, while generic content will continue to remain free, Sydney Morning Herald reported. The general news on websites of The Melbourne Age and Sydney Morning Herald will remain free, while "premium niche content" such as that on The Australian Financial Review's website will be charged.

USA Today to cut 130 staff, restructure

Posted by Erina Lin on August 27, 2010 at 2:42 PM

USA Today announced plans for the most extensive reorganisation in its 28-year history, including cutting 9 percent of its staff and shifting its emphasis to digital media operations, according to the New York Times' blog.

Company spokesman Ed Cassidy said it plans to shed its workforce by 130 employees across the company, Toronto Sun reported.

Independent News & Media returns to profit

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 27, 2010 at 9:55 AM

Independent News and Media's newspapers have returned to pre-tax profits after selling loss-making titles, The Irish Times reported today. Revenues for the first half of the year reached €656.5 million, up 7.8 percent, as operating profit increased 29.2 percent, to €94.6 million. Earnings before taxes, amortisation and depreciation were up 26.1 percent, to €115.6 million.

The Ireland-based INM sold its UK Independent and Independent on Sunday titles in April, and also sold its remaining share in India-based Jagran Prakashan Limited media group, lowering its net debt by €360.1 million in the period from June 2009 to June 2010. INM reported pre-tax losses of €31 million for the year of 2009, according to MediaGuardian.

Dailies' newsstand sales decline in the UK

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 27, 2010 at 9:43 AM

British newsagents are selling 14 percent less newspapers than they were a decade ago and sales revenues are expected to continue decreasing by 44 percent in the next five years, according to research by Mintel, paidContent reported yesterday.

But despite this decline, newsagents' income has increased since 1999 by 10 percent, to £26.8 billion. The reason is a sales boost of other goods such as magazines, cards and cigarettes, the Press Gazette informed.

Graph: paidContent

Yahoo takes on hyperlocal in San Francisco

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 27, 2010 at 9:31 AM

Close on the heels of its Associated Content acquisition, "Yahoo has begun recruiting writers to begin building a local news site for the San Francisco area."

A recent email to registered Associated Content writers announced Yahoo's search for "writers living in or near the San Francisco area (like you!) to write compelling, local content -- ranging from highlights of your favorite neighborhood destinations to metro-wide, first-person reporting assignments covering the stories and topics not typically found in mainstream news media." This email confirmed speculations which had started earlier in the year when Yahoo advertised openings for local editors in San Francisco.

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

Publishers try out Groupon-like daily deals

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 26, 2010 at 4:12 PM

Groupon launched just under two years ago, and now publishers are trying out the same concept on their digital properties in order to forge new digital revenue streams. The Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune last week released its first STeal, under which it offers an exclusive deal from a local business each day, MinnPost.com reported yesterday.

"If enough people buy, everyone gets the deal. Then you can print, redeem, repeat," the STeals page explains. The Star Tribune is just the latest to experiment with daily deals - so far the Washington Post, Zagat, Open Table, the SF Gate, Yelp, Gilt Group, and more have also done so, YipIt Blog reported. And, although STeals will be a small part of the Star Tribune's digital revenues, it is a promising new revenue stream that has long-term potential.

Mobile content audit to be launched in U.S.

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 26, 2010 at 3:08 PM

The American Audit Bureau of Circulations announced yesterday it will launch an auditing report for mobile content providers, Editor & Publisher revealed.

The service, named m.Audit Report, will provide monthly statistics about number of app downloads, page views, unique visitors, audience access points, type of mobiles used by readers and visits per day to each mobile content site, the Bureau explained on its NewsBulletin Blog.

Photo Source: The New York Times via Johnny Holland Magazine

Polish publisher Agora launches Metro edition in Berlin

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 26, 2010 at 3:02 PM

Polish free daily Metro is launching a German edition of its newspaper in Berlin, Newspaper Innovation reported today.

Owned by Polish publisher Agora, the German edition will carry a circulation of 30,000.

ABCe: Mail Online only newspaper website to post daily unique increase in July

Posted by Erina Lin on August 26, 2010 at 2:40 PM

Mail Online had a slight increase of 0.38 percent from June to July at 2,494,916 daily unique browsers. Its year-on-year growth in daily visitor numbers also rose by 44 percent, Media Guardian reported.

Could MouseTrace help newspapers build their web content based on user behaviour?

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 26, 2010 at 12:00 PM

Newly launched MouseTrace offers website owners the ability to find out detailed activities of visitors. It "provides a complete view of how your visitors are using your website, recording every click, mouse movement," according to information provided on the product website: so website owners can see the exact paths that users take around their sites.

Declaring itself not a traditional 'web stats' company, MouseTrace works in collaboration with existing stats packages on a website, Google Analytics for example. It is able to monitor activity of an unlimited number of pages on a website, including secure (ssl) pages. It also monitors iPhone activity, providing information on page scrolling and zooming, as well as gestures and device rotation.

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

Hearst opens app 'think tank' to jump start business, education

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 25, 2010 at 12:23 PM

U.S. Publisher Hearst Magazines is preparing to open an "App Lab" at its Hearst Tower headquarters in Manhattan, paidContent reported. The lab will serve as a "think tank" for those in the advertising and marketing industries, aiming to to kick-start business associations and help experts discuss mobile content ideas with the publishing industry.

The initiative is set to begin in September, with educational sessions on topics including previews of emerging mobile content, applications and platforms, including iPad and other tablets; advertiser and agency roundtables on new ad formats and models; and consumer insight panels, among other programming, according to the press release posted on WebWire.com. In early 2011, the group plans to open up a physical space for showcasing its iPhone, iPad and tablet products exclusively to consumers.

Image: greenquest.co.uk

Most time-shifting TV viewers skip advertisements

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 25, 2010 at 12:19 PM

Although television continues to be advertising's most memorable form, 86 percent of UK viewers using a digital video recorder to watch time-shifted shows skip through the ads, research published yesterday by YouGov for Deloitte has found. Shorter breaks in advertising would lead to more ad-watching, 48 percent of respondents said, MediaGuardian reported.

Meanwhile, digital and personal TV video recorders has led to more television watching, the report found. The research was conducted for the MediaGuardian Edinburgh international television festival, which begins Friday.

Image: Mahmoud.M's flickr photostream

Monster completes acquisition of HotJobs

Posted by Erina Lin on August 25, 2010 at 11:33 AM

Global online recruiting site Monster has completed its acquisition of Yahoo!'s HotJobs for $225 million (£145 million), Recruiter reported.

Monster also inked a three-year commercial traffic agreement with Yahoo!. According to the deal, Monster will become Yahoo!'s provider of career content and will pay $20 million to $31 million a year to Yahoo! for the redirected traffic, Boston Herald reported.

Survey: Three in four Chinese get news through microblogs

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 25, 2010 at 11:04 AM

Microblogging has become very popular in China, where 73.5 of Internet users rely on microblogs, such as Twitter, to quickly receive news and information updates, according to a recent survey conducted by the China Youth Daily, Efe reported yesterday.

There is a general trust in the news delivered through these sites, as 56.5 percent of Chinese believe in the information provided by microblogs. However, 20.3 percent considered them to be "unreliable" while 23.2 percent remain uncertain about their credibility, Xinhua News Agency revealed.

Photo Source: Switched.com

Nieman Lab launches iPhone app

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 25, 2010 at 10:56 AM

Without waiting for the argument on whether or not the web is dead to be concluded, Nieman Journalism Lab has launched its Apple app. It works with the iPhone, the iPod touch, and though not at optimum performance, the iPad.

"Every day, there are 16 gazillion news articles about the future of journalism, 27.5 flabillion blog posts, and 294 quinzillion tweets," Joshua Benton wrote on niemanlab.org. "In response, we've built the Nieman Journalism Lab iPhone app," he continued. "You can use it as you like, of course, but the use case I'm imagining for it is when you're standing in line at the grocery store, sitting on a train, or otherwise in a situation where you could squeeze in two minutes to catch up on what's going on."

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

News Corp. to fuse Fox Audience Network with MySpace

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 24, 2010 at 5:16 PM

News Corp. will integrate its online advertising network, Fox Audience Network, with MySpace, in order to "utilize its services to further drive MySpace's revenue efforts and to play a key part of the site's planned re-launch later this year," the media conglomerate's Jon Miller said yesterday, paidContent reported.

The decision to combine FAN's team and technology with the social media site changes News Corp.'s previous decision to spin out FAN into another unit under Bain, the article explained. FAN sells targeted ads across News Corp.-owned online platforms, as well as on the sites of third-party publishers.

Futurist: 'Australian newspapers will be irrelevant by 2022'

Posted by Erina Lin on August 24, 2010 at 4:26 PM

"Newspapers have 12 years or less left to live in print," according to the digital consultant Ross Dawson, who will speak in the Newspaper Publishers' Association forum in Sydney, Australia this Thursday, mUmBRELLA reported.

According to a NPA release, Dawson said: "By 2022 newspapers as we know them will be irrelevant in Australia. However the leading newspaper publishers of today may have transformed themselves to thrive in what will be a flourishing media industry," The Australian reported.

Photo: Pranav Mistry

Free dailies closures slow down

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 24, 2010 at 12:31 PM

The free newspaper industry seems to be doing better this year as only three dailies have closed in the first 8 months of 2010, Newspaper Innovation revealed yesterday.

In the last four years, 2009 remains the year with more closures with 42 titles and their 97 editions disappearing from the streets. According to the data compiled by Newspaper Innovation, in 2007 30 titles shut down while in 2008 some 33 free dailies closed.

Graphic source: Newspaper Innovation

VSS: Newspaper industry to stabilise, then grow in 2014

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 24, 2010 at 11:55 AM

The declines in newspaper spending are expected to stabilise in 2013, and the industry is slated for growth in 2014, according to forecasts by Veronis Suhler Stevenson Communications Industry, a private equity firm specialising in media business and marketing services for the year 2004-2014, Editor & Publisher reported.

As print circulations decline, retail, national and classified advertisers will continue to invest interests in harnessing the potential reach of digital media platforms "to target audiences and improve return on investment." The report further stated that "weekly newspapers are no longer insulated from the migration of users and advertisers to the Web," and total industry spending is expected to fall by 9.5 percent this year, including decline in dailies by 10.6 percent, weeklies by 7.1 percent and digital platforms by 1.1 percent.

What can Facebook Places do for news?

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 24, 2010 at 11:49 AM

With all the talk about the 'massive' potential of Facebook Places to marketing and advertising, what is the significance of this new tool to the newspaper industry?

With just a little imagination, news providers could jump on the band wagon, especially as current hyperlocal trends already make news dissemination for a specific location easier. Starbucks for example, has launched a page in collaboration with some newspapers where customers can access local news. With Facebook Places, this is going to be possible at all venues. Imagine the unlimited possibilities if after checking into a place, a user can then access news items specific to that environment. Reaching out to consumers with location information is not a new idea and some newspaper houses are already working with similar application, Foursquare.

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

AP launches college football site APTop25.com

Posted by Erina Lin on August 23, 2010 at 4:12 PM

The Associated Press has launched an interactive Web hub, APTop25.com, which provides in-depth coverage on college football, Editor & Publisher reported.

Readers can check out the latest news, photos, and statistics about Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) Schools, as determined by the AP Top 25 Poll. Other features include content from AP member publications and college football blogs, Media Bistro reported.

Study: Internet users dislike online ads

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 23, 2010 at 3:05 PM

Only 17 percent of Internet users find online advertising to be appealing and most people considered it to be "intrusive, repetitive, unappealing and cheap," a study conducted by Connect Insight revealed, NewMediaAge reported today.

However, younger audiences are more willing to accept online ads as 24 percent of the 16-to 34-year-olds do think this type of advertising is appealing. Nonetheless, 50 percent of those over 55 years old said they avoid websites where ads would pop up and "interrupt their online activities," NewMediaAge explained.

Photo source: Physorg.com

Viacom's digital exec to head News Corp.'s tablet-only newspaper

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 23, 2010 at 12:52 PM

Rupert Murdoch is pushing forward with his plans for a tablet computer-only digital newspaper, tapping Greg Clayman, currently head of digital distribution for Viacom, to serve as publisher, All Things Digital's Peter Kafka reported yesterday.

News Corp. is looking to spend US$30 million to $40 million on the project, paidContent confirmed today.

Financial Times creates new circulation measurement, collaborates with BurrellesLuce

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 23, 2010 at 12:39 PM

The Financial Times has created a print and digital circulation metric that calculates the number of people who paid for accessing content on its paid website each day. The FT announced it believes it is the first media company to produce such circulation data, and said the statistics will be released quarterly in addition to ABC statistics on print circulation, MediaGuardian reported. The first set of results revealed for the period 31 May to 4 July shows that the average global circulation was 563,026, including newspaper sales, active FT.com and e-reader subscriptions.

The financial daily has also entered into a licensing deal with U.S media monitoring service provider BurrellesLuce to "increase its coverage and change the way FT articles are accessed," Editor & Publisher reported.

Content farms enjoying success on Google News

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 23, 2010 at 12:15 PM

Content farms have come under more criticism for their lower quality articles that are tailored to what people are searching for and produced by low-paid freelancers, as they continue to produce vast amounts of content and dominate online search results with their advanced use of SEO.

Scott Rosenburg, cofounder of Salon, lamented the appearance of an Associated Content article as the top recommendation following one of his Google searches. Looking to find out more about the resignation of Dr Laura Schlessinger from her radio show over a racial slur, he entered 'dr. laura n-word' into Google. The Associated Content story came up first in the Google News results, followed by one from the Washington Post and then one from Media Matters for America, a blog.

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

ABC: Many Irish newspapers see circulation declines

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 22, 2010 at 5:58 PM

According to the latest Joint National Readership Survey (JNRS), 86 percent of Irish citizens are amongst the most avid newspaper readers in Europe; however, this did not help increase circulation numbers across the country.

All Irish newspapers, including daily and weekly titles listed in the latest "Island of Ireland Report" from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), showed lower circulation figures, The Irish Times reported.

APN News & Media upbeat despite underwhelming interim result

Posted by Erina Lin on August 20, 2010 at 11:33 AM

APN News & Media is upbeat for improving advertising markets, despite an underwhelming half-year result, The Australian reported.

APN News & Media saw its shares close 9 percent lower after it posted net profit of AU$40 million for the first half of the year.

Apple to shutter Quattro and focus on iAd

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 20, 2010 at 9:49 AM

Apple announced yesterday it will shutter its Quattro Wireless Network next month, and begin focusing its mobile advertising efforts on mobile ad network iAd, paidContent reported. On Sept. 30, "we will support ads exclusively for the iAd Network," created for the iPhone and iPod, the announcement stated.

Apple bought the Quattro ad network earlier this year for an estimated US$275 million. On its quattrowireless.com website, only a message remains, stating "We believe iAd is the best mobile ad network in the world, and starting next month we're going to focus all of our resources on the iAd advertising platform. We are no longer accepting new campaigns for the Quattro Wireless Network, and we will soon begin winding down existing campaigns."

Image: iAd for the Nissan Leaf, via YouTube

Bild to publish 3D edition

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 20, 2010 at 9:40 AM

A special edition of Germany's largest daily will hit the newsstands on August 28, in which all the photos and advertising will be in 3D, Efe reported yesterday.

The newspaper, which has a circulation of 3.8 million copies, will also give away the 3D glasses so readers can enjoy the three-dimensional effect. However, the text will be published in its regular format.

Encourage attention to long reads with technology

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 20, 2010 at 9:02 AM

With Twitter and Facebook now indispensable features of journalism, it is quite difficult to envisage readers paying attention to articles of any substantial length. Mallary Tenore on PoynterOnline writes about how Nate Weiner (Read It Later), Marco Arment (Instapaper), Max Linsky and Aaron Lammer (Longform.org), and Mark Armstrong (@LongReads) have "found ways to use Web tools to renew attention to long-form journalism, increase its shelf life and make it easier for people to consume and share it."

Read It Later, is a tool "that enables people to save stories from their computer, smart phone or iPad, and makes them available for offline use." The tool saves an entire article page and makes it available even when offline, to reduce distractions, pages can be saved as text-only. This way, an article can be revisited at a more convenient time, without risking its disappearance on a busy news website.

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

Multitasking helps UK users spend almost half their time using technology

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 19, 2010 at 4:43 PM

In the United Kingdom, the average person spends 45 percent of their waking hours watching television, listening to the radio, or using mobile phones, computers or other gadgets, media regulator Ofcom has found in its first study to track how long consumers spend with various media. Increasing use of both smartphones and social networking sites are partly responsible for the high number, Telegraph.co.uk reported today.

For example, two years ago 5.7 million people said they accessed the Internet on their mobile phone, while 13.5 million people said so this year, Ofcom's annual Communications Market Report found. The most popular mobile site was Facebook, at 45 percent; Google came in with 8 percent.

Image: Micht Licht, NotionsCapital.com's flickr photostream

VSS: No newspaper growth until 2014

Posted by Erina Lin on August 19, 2010 at 4:09 PM

Declines in the newspaper industry are expected to slow down this year, and the market will eventually stabilise by 2013 and resume growth in 2014, according to the Veronis Suhler Stevenson Communications Industry Forecast 2004-2014, Editor & Publisher reported.

VSS predicted that retail, classified and national advertisers will continue to shift budgets to digital platforms "to target audiences and improve return on investment," as print circulations drop, which indicates consumers' migration to new electronic media, the report stated.

Mexico's free daily El Nuevo Siglo goes online only

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 19, 2010 at 1:57 PM

Mexican free daily El Nuevo Siglo has stopped its print edition, and will now be available as an online-only newspaper, Newspaper Innovation reported today.

Founded in 2000 as a weekly newspaper, the Guadalajara-based newspaper became a daily publication in 2004, and also published weekend editions. No reason for shuttering its print edition was given.

KOS Media's newspapers are available on the iPad

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 19, 2010 at 9:18 AM

KOS Media launched on Friday an iPad application that gives readers access to its 16 free dailies, the Press Gazette informed yesterday.

The company, which owns local titles like the Kent on Sunday and was acquired in June by regional publisher Archant, claimed that its app "is the first for a regional newspaper in Britain," Kent News reported.

Spain loses three Galician-language news sites

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 19, 2010 at 8:46 AM

A Peneira, a biweekly newspaper published in the Spanish region of Galicia, has shut down its website due to financial problems, Periodistadigital.com reported Tuesday. This is the third Galician-language website to close in less than a month.

The newspaper's owner, Guillermo Rodriguez, said the regional government was responsible for the economic distress of the company, which has not paid its workers in six months and might see its print edition at risk, Prnoticia.com revealed.

To engage younger audiences, avoid stereotypes

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 19, 2010 at 8:33 AM

After a year of research on what role young people have to play in the future of journalism, Christopher Sopher shared his discoveries and recommendations concerning younger consumers. "The question that matters," he says, "is this: What will replace the morning newspaper as the news habit of the first generation of Americans to grow up immersed in a digital culture?...Journalism needs to focus on young audiences and experiment with new approaches to engaging them."

Stereotypes have a huge role in the high failure rate of journalistic efforts aimed at youths. "Too many stereotypes about young people get worked into news experiments aimed at them," he writes. "While it's true that most young people feel more comfortable with technology and the Internet than their elders do, we don't possess some sherpa-like, innate ability to navigate poorly designed, poorly organized information." In conclusion, "recreating an old experience in a new format is an ineffective way to reach young audiences."

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

Nielsen: Mobile to outpace other media platforms, including the Internet

Posted by Erina Lin on August 18, 2010 at 3:57 PM

"Defying classic economic models, the demand for communication (cell phones) leads traditional media growth, signifying a global, disruptive phenomenon," states a new report by Nielsen Wire, with research from The Cambridge Group, Media Post reported.

The Internet will continue to grow, but "at more predictable patterns," the report added.

Photograph: Alamy

News of the World plans to implement paywall in October

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 18, 2010 at 2:52 PM

News International's News of the World plans to move its content behind a paywall beginning in October, with the company's tabloid The Sun set to follow, MarketingWeek.co.uk reported today.

Following the recent implementation of The Times' paywall on July 2, the move by the News International group is an extension of its subscription model approach.

Newspaper circulation to grow in Latin America

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 18, 2010 at 2:48 PM

Circulation of dailies in Latin America is expected to grow during the next five years, generating more than US$7.5 billion in revenues, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers' Media & Entertainment Outlook for 2010-2014, the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas reported yesterday.

The growth will be lead by Brazil and Argentina, expected to see an increase of 2.2 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively. However, countries like Colombia and Venezuela are expected to see declines between 0.8 and 0.2 percent, La Nacion revealed.

Will Google create the iPad's next competitor?

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 18, 2010 at 1:12 PM

Google is planning to launch a Chrome OS tablet on the Verizon cellular network Nov. 26, a source told Download Squad today. The iPad's latest competition is being built by HTC, which also created the Nexus One for Google.

TechCrunch pointed out over the weekend that earlier this year, Verizon itself said it was working with Google on creating tablets. Verizon and Google have been working together in other areas too, recently proposing a net neutrality deal. The Nov. 26 launch date coincides with the biggest shopping day of the year in the United States, the day after Thanksgiving, called Black Friday.

Image: Gizmodo

Social discounting websites make readers excited about a good deal

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 18, 2010 at 12:32 PM

The combination of a weak economy and the digital age makes selling newspapers increasingly difficult; however, innovative solutions can leverage the situation. Magazines and newspapers are using social discounting websites such as Groupon and Crowdity to rein in new subscriptions.

The principles of the discount sites are simple. Newspapers offer their subscriptions at a largely discounted price, but the deal only goes through if a minimum number of people subscribe. Last month when the Chicago Tribune used Groupon, they offered their one-year subscription for US$13, a 75% discount from the full price of $51. They required that 200 people subscribe to offer the deal. The final number of subscriptions was 7,494. Groupon, however, does take a 50% cut of the profit from the subscriptions.

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

The Times readership goes down by 27 percent

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 17, 2010 at 4:56 PM

Combined traffic to The Times and The Sunday Times websites has fallen to 1.61 million visits in July, from 2.22 million in June and 2.79 million in May, according to comScore's latest findings, Media Week reported yesterday.

News International, which owns the newspapers, was expecting its readership to decline dramatically as it began charging for online content in July, New Media Age reminded.

Birmingham Mail goes hyperlocal in collaboration with local bloggers

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 17, 2010 at 2:43 PM

Trinity Mirror's Birmingham Mail has allotted a section of its website for the creation of "hyperlocal" communities in association with local bloggers, aimed to provide readers with multimedia news and information across 34 areas of the West Midlands, HoldTheFrontPage.co.uk reported last week.

The communities established will feature a mix of in-house authored news, picture galleries, Fish4 property listings and links to posts written by local bloggers, indexed by each of the 38 areas, according to paidContent. There is no ad revenue sharing; however, bloggers will have a voice in how some of the Birmingham Mail Charitable Trust's donations are spent, as well as being in charge of the agenda for quarterly community workshops.

U.S. media ask South Africa's president to shelve tribunal

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 17, 2010 at 2:34 PM

A committee representing U.S. media groups is calling on South African President Jacob Zuma to end legislative proposals they say would "severely restrict" media in the country, Times Live reported yesterday.

"We call on you as the head of state and leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to ensure that such proposals are either amended in line with constitutional safeguards for freedom of the press and access to information, or withdrawn altogether in the interest of preserving the transparency, accountability, and democracy gained after apartheid," the Committee to Protect Journalists wrote. The committee includes The New York Times, NBC News, the Washington Post and others.

Image: blackchristiannews.com

U.S. newspaper group spent $290,000 lobbying in 2Q

Posted by Erina Lin on August 17, 2010 at 2:25 PM

In the second quarter, The Newspaper Association of America spent US$290,000 lobbying the federal government on issues such as the future of media, privacy and legislation aimed at making government information public, according to The Associated Press article posted on Business Week.

The amount was up from $250,000 in the previous quarter, as well as $278,000 in the same quarter of 2009, according to a Congressional disclosure form.

Photo: Media Bistro

Increased mobile Internet access dims 'app revolution'

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 17, 2010 at 12:39 PM

A report based on research carried out by Pew Internet shows a dramatic increase in the use of mobile phones to access the Internet, with a 13% growth since last year. "While overall mobile phone ownership has not grown over the last year, cell owners now take advantage of a much wider range of their phones' capabilities," the report states.

Even though adults between ages 18 and 29 are leading the trend, with 65% of them accessing the Internet from their mobiles, other age groups are catching up. In fact, more than half of mobile phone users go online daily using their phones, with 43% of users going online several times a day compared to 37% in 2009. Recent studies in the UK by comScore had similar findings, with more than a third of smartphone users regularly accessing the internet through their phones.

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

For more information like this, look for SFN's World Digital Media Trends 2010, due out later this month.

Study: Facebook expected to gain £1 billion in ad revenue next year

Posted by Erina Lin on August 16, 2010 at 2:39 PM

Facebook is expected to bring in £1.13 billion in ad revenue in 2011, while MySpace's ad revenue is forecast to drop 14 percent, according to a new report from eMarketer, MediaGuardian reported.

Facebook has more than 500 million global users now, which has left one-time social networking leader MySpace far behind. This year, its ad revenue is expected to reach $1.285 billion, or £824 million, compared to MySpace's $347 million.

Google buys social payment provider Jambool

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 16, 2010 at 1:20 PM

Google has bought online social payment start-up Jambool, a next step past search and into the realm of "using personal relationships as the basis to find and share online content," the San Jose Mercury News reported today.

TechCrunch first reported the buy last week, noting that Jambool's Social Gold payment product gives developers the tools they need to "build payments directly into their games and other applications." The price of the buy wasn't released by either company, but sources told TechCrunch it was around US$70 million, which includes about $20 million in earnouts. The buyout was announced Friday.

Australian publishers pressured to reveal daily figures

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 16, 2010 at 1:15 PM

After media buyers and advertisers said they did not want rolling averages of circulation data each month, newspaper publishers are now being pressured by the Media Federation of Australia (MFA) to disclose individual weekday sales figures, The Australian reported today.

Currently, newspaper publishers release data each quarter. Publishers had put forth a plan in which they would release two audited bi-yearly statements, in addition to 13-week average sales figures that would be released each month. This alternative proposal, among others issued by publishers "do not address key concerns raised by our members," which include top media buying agencies, the MFA stated in a letter to the country's four largest publishers.

NY Times Co. trials paywall

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 16, 2010 at 11:32 AM

The New York Times Co. is testing out its paywall strategy, but not on its flagship newspaper's website. Rather, the company has set up a metered paywall on the website of its Worcester, Massachusetts newspaper, the Telegram & Gazette, The Times announced yesterday.

Beginning today, the daily will allow readers to view 10 local news articles each month for free. After that threshold has been reached, they will be offered several different online subscription options, from a US$14.95 monthly pass, to a $1 day pass.

Poll: 25% of Americans trust print news

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 16, 2010 at 9:06 AM

Americans' confidence in newspapers remains low, as only a quarter of the population says it trusts the press, a Gallup poll revealed on Friday.

Yet the greatest confidence (49 percent) comes from people between 18 and 29 years old, "the same demographic often blamed for the precipitous decline in U.S. dailies' subscription rates," Agence France Press pointed out. Nonetheless, the newspaper industry is not the only media field experiencing low confidence. According to the poll, 78 percent distrust television news.

Newspapers 'like' the new Tweet Button

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 16, 2010 at 9:01 AM

Last week Twitter announced the creation of its Tweet Button, created to perform a similar function as the "Retweet Button," which allows users to efficiently share their favourite links through Twitter. However, the Retweet button was created by TweetMeme, a third party company. Twitter announced that it will be phasing out the Retweet button in favour of the new Tweet Button.

Publishers can go onto Twitter and customise the tweet button onto their own websites. Once the newspaper has added the button, readers can share their favorite news stories via Twitter without leaving the original Web page. Instead they click on the "tweet button," which opens a small Twitter box with the shortened link.

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

Study: Social networking sites top competitors for breaking news in UK

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 13, 2010 at 4:09 PM

Social networking sites are now competing with news publishers as sources of breaking news and information, new research from UK firm iCD shows, Journalism.co.uk reported today.

High usership of social networks, combined with aggregated and personalised news streams on Facebook and Twitter, had led to this trend. According to the study, which polled 1,000 people in United Kingdom, the top destination for news seekers was the BBC's website, where 50.4 percent of people said go to for breaking news. In second place was social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, at 18.5 percent, and in third place was SKY news, at 18.1 percent.

Graph: Journalism.co.uk

Australian newspaper sales down in 2Q

Posted by Erina Lin on August 13, 2010 at 3:38 PM

Newspaper circulation in Australia dropped in the second quarter, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulation figures. Monday to Sunday newspaper sales was down 2.5 percent year-over-year, according to the Australian Associated Press article posted on Sydney Morning Herald.

Among all the 25 main capital city and national journals and weekend newspapers, 22 of these reported a sales loss for the month of June quarter.

News Corp. plans national U.S. newspaper for tablets and mobiles

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 13, 2010 at 3:25 PM

News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch has announced a new plan to launch a national U.S. digital newspaper, which will be made available exclusively on mobile phones and tablet computers, such as the iPad, the Los Angeles Times reported today.

No launch date has been set, but people familiar with the situation said it is likely to be unveiled before the end of the year. The new digital newspaper would directly compete with USA Today and The New York Times, offering general news and information through short stories that can be consumed quickly.

Newspaper readership remains strong in Ireland

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 13, 2010 at 12:38 PM

Irish citizens are among the most avid newspaper readers in Europe, as 86 percent of the country's population regularly reads newspapers, according to the latest Joint National Readership Survey (JNRS), Adworld.ie revealed today.

Nonetheless, press readership has declined in the last 12 months by 10,000 to 3,522,000 readers, The Irish Times reported.

Photo source: Newstalk

A new weekly for France's English-speaking community

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 12, 2010 at 1:54 PM

The French Week, an English-language weekly, was launched two weeks ago to inform the Anglophone community in France's Dordogne region about domestic news, Bloomberg reported today.

"We explain to the Anglophone in France what is going on around them and we add analysis and comment but also more fun things about culture, sport, leisure and gardening," editor-in-chief Miranda Neame said to the Agence France Press, MediaGuardian quoted.

Newsday to add 34 editorial jobs

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 12, 2010 at 1:18 PM

Newsday, which is owned by Cablevision Systems Corp, will be hiring 34 journalists for its newsroom and digital team over the next six months, and it will add 2,600 news and opinion pages annually, Crain's New York reported yesterday.

"I'm very excited to announce that we are making this significant investment in people and pages to provide more and stronger coverage for Long Islanders," editor-in-chief Debby Krenek said in a memo sent to the newspaper staff, while explaining that the move is aimed at "boosting our local coverage," Poynter Online quoted.

Photo Source: Getty Images via The New York Observer

The New York Times launches international news weekly in Singapore

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 12, 2010 at 12:58 PM

Singapore's national daily, Media Corp owned-Today, will now carry The New York Times international news weekly supplement within its pages, MediaMughals.com reported today.

The weekly issue will offer readers a selection of articles from The New York Times featuring news coverage, commentary, world affairs, business, colour photos and graphics covering politics, culture, style and social trends.

Australian newspaper sales drop in past two decades

Posted by Erina Lin on August 12, 2010 at 11:48 AM

Although some researches claim newspaper sales in Australia have remained stable throughout the years, new study finds that considering the country's growing population, sales have been in a decline significantly, according to the Media Alliance in Walkley Media Conference this week, mUmBRELLA reported.

The organisation combined data from Audit Bureau of Circulation with Australian Bureau of Statistics population numbers, and calculated an approximate measure of metro and national paper sales per capita over the last two decades.

Knight Foundation discusses non-profit ventures

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 12, 2010 at 11:13 AM

In a publication made available online yesterday, the Knight Foundation has detailed possible non-profit local and regional news ventures.

Saving traditional news organisations cannot be helped by the non-profit model; instead, creating and strengthening "informed communities and local information ecosystems, of which journalism is a necessary component" is the type of venture that non-profits can possibly be of help with, the U.S.-based organisation states, the foundation notes. The publication is based on an April 26 meeting sponsored by the Knight Foundation and co-hosted by the Texas Tribune, Voice of San Diego and Knight Chair in Journalism at The University of Texas at Austin.

New network aims to capture lucrative, but elusive, business market

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 11, 2010 at 3:50 PM

American City Business Journals has unveiled the first national digital platform to reach "business spenders", MediaBuyerPlanner.com reported today.

CityBizNetwork, created by Charlotte-based bizjournals, will help buyers to coordinate advertising and media campaigns across more than 125 websites and reach some 15 million business spenders in more than 75 DMAs "on local trusted sites they use every day."

Study: Media industry to grow faster than U.S. economy

Posted by Erina Lin on August 11, 2010 at 2:39 PM

Media and communications spending will outpace U.S. economic growth as consumers and companies invest in mobile and Web access, according to a new report from Veronis Suhler Stevenson, CNBC reported.

Between 2009 and 2014, Veronis forecasts a 6.1 percent average annual growth for the media and communications industry, which outpaces the 5.8 percent average annual growth rate expected for the U.S. GDP, Business Wire reported. Total communications spending this year is on track to increase 3.5 percent.

Photo: InfoUSA

El Tiempo leads Colombia's newspaper readership

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 11, 2010 at 11:21 AM

El Tiempo, owned by media group Casa Editorial El Tiempo, is the most popular newspaper in Colombia with 1,139,052 daily readers, according to the second general media study of the year, Portafolio reported yesterday.

The survey shows that, in the general interest category, El Tiempo is followed by El Espectador (310,387 readers), El Colombiano (230,683 readers), El País de Cali (170,427 readers), El Heraldo de Barranquilla (133,840) and El Universal de Cartagena (113,671).

USA Today updates iPad app

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 11, 2010 at 9:12 AM

Gannett Co.'s USA Today has added a daily crossword and customisable market and stock listings to its free iPad application, Editor & Publisher reported yesterday.

"We've been thrilled with reader reaction to our App and think these enhancements will be well received," president and publisher of USA Today David L. Hunke said. The first version, which was launched in April, has been downloaded more than 800,000 times, USA Today revealed.

South Africa debates media controls

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 11, 2010 at 8:57 AM

The South African government is debating the role of the press and government control over keeping federal information secret after the country's ruling political party, the African National Congress, has backed proposals to tighten controls on the media, Reuters Africa reported yesterday.

The proposed tribunal would control print media in order to "enhance accountability and improve reporting," a senior ruling party official said, the article explained. The Media Appeals Tribunal would investigate complaints against print media, and decide on punishments when it deems irresponsible reporting has taken place, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Image: ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu. Photo via Times Live

Boston Globe creates position to expand audience

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 10, 2010 at 5:44 PM

The Boston Globe is hoping that adding a new position, vice president of digital content development, will help to expand the newspaper's audience beyond print and its website, the daily announced today in a press release.

Jeff Moriarty, former senior vice president of product management at About.com, has been named to the position.

Twitter hires Facebook and Yelp veterans as first two ad salespeople

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 10, 2010 at 5:32 PM

In an attempt to ramp up its advertising model, Twitter has hired two employees to sell ads, Jennifer Valentino-DeVries reported today for Wall Street Journal Blogs.

The microblogging site has hired Amanda Levy, the first ad saleswoman for review site Yelp, and Dan Coughlin, former director of media sales at Facebook. Levy will be Twitter's sales director in the Western region, while Coughlin will be sales director for the East. In an e-mailed statement, Twitter's chief operating officer, Dick Costolo stated that the company is "putting together a top-flight sales team as we begin to open our Promoted Suite of products to more companies," according to the WSJ.

Newspaper circulation booms in Kenya

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 10, 2010 at 4:58 PM

Newspapers in Kenya are showing double-digit growth and are exploring new opportunities in the digital media space, according to half-year results released by Kenya's Nation Media Group on August 2 in Nairobi, CSMonitor.com reported.

The group recorded a 51.6 percent growth in the pre-tax period as of June 30, during the period of six months caused by strong growth in revenue, low cost of newsprint and cost management, AllAfrica.com noted last week.

Image via Global Voices

Job ads in Australia on the rise

Posted by Erina Lin on August 10, 2010 at 3:39 PM

Newspaper job advertisements in Australia, including online and print, were up 1.3 percent in July, according to the latest data by ANZ Banking Group, the Australian reported.

The total number of advertisements increased to an average of 171,685 per week, which made up a 36.1 percent annual rise.

E.W. Scripps reports 2Q profit gain

Posted by Erina Lin on August 9, 2010 at 4:27 PM

The E.W. Scripps Co. Monday reported its second-quarter revenue and net income up, and said its trends are expected to improve through the second half of the year, according to the Associated Press article posted on Business Week.

The Cincinnati-based company's net income reached $99.5 million, or $1.56 per share, in the second quarter, up from $2.3 million, or 4 cents per share, year-over-year, Market Watch reported.

Ofcom considers further relaxing media ownership rules

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 9, 2010 at 1:52 PM

UK communications regulator Ofcom has recommended relaxing cross-media ownership rules so that the only restriction left would be that one body cannot own local newspapers with more than a 50 percent market share, the ITV licence for the area and a local radio station. Now, however, Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport Secretary Jeremy Hunt is asking the regulator to consider further liberalising that rule as well, The Press Association reported today.

Because local media is facing "significant economic pressure," Ofcom has said it will review the rules.

Yahoo News launches 'Infinite Browse' for more active user engagement

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 9, 2010 at 11:13 AM

In order to increase user engagement with its website content, Yahoo News is experimenting with an "Infinite Browse" feature, which facilitates users to continue searching and consuming content on its network, PCMag.com reported last week.

As a part of this new feature, a small window opens at the end of a Yahoo News story with topical results found within the story, while encouraging users to "explore" pages within search. "These modules might look simple, but they harness an array of Yahoo! technologies and search sciences to complement the work of editors at Yahoo! News," Caroline Tsay, director of product management, and Marc Davis, a product manager stated on the YahooSearchBlog.

American newspapers moving toward 'reader revenue'

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 9, 2010 at 8:57 AM

For years, American dailies have relied on a traditional business model in which about 80 percent of revenue comes from advertising and 20 percent from circulation. But now, according to a study conducted by Harvard University, the old rule of thumb has changed, The Guardian reported on Friday.

"We're moving into an era of 'reader revenue,' one that will roll up print subscriptions, single print copies, digital pay per view, digital subscriptions, all-access (across platform) subscriptions, memberships and more," said Ken Doctor, who leads the research.

MTV hires first 'Twitter Jockey'

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 9, 2010 at 8:53 AM

As social media increasingly becomes part of everyday life, New York-based MTV has hired 23-year-old Gabi Gregg to be its first-ever "Twitter Jockey," The Associated Press reported today.

After a nationwide viewer vote, Gregg won the position, called a TJ. The job is a social media version of the music television station's video deejay job, or VJ. Gregg is also the founder of the fashion blog, Young Fat & Fabulous.

Washington Post profits up; shares drop on education unit worries

Posted by Erina Lin on August 6, 2010 at 3:05 PM

The Washington Post Co. reported its second-quarter net income up to $91.9 million, from $12.2 million year-over-year. Continuing-operations income totaled $94.2 million, up from $21.2 million in the same period in 2009, Media Bistro reported.

The company added that its biggest business, the Kaplan test-prep and education services segment, could be hurt by the proposed rule changes at the U.S. Department of Education.

Study: Mashable is Twitter's most influential account

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 6, 2010 at 1:04 PM

Researchers at Hewlett-Packard have analysed 2.5 million tweets and used its "Influence-Passivity Algorithm," and found that technology website Mashable is the most influential Twitter account, based on links posted and links retweeted, MediaGuardian reported today.

"Influence" is different from "popularity," the research notes, as influence has to do with engagement, and popularity is based on the number of followers a Twitter account has.

Thailand newspaper publishes anniversary edition in 3D

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 6, 2010 at 9:19 AM

The Bangkok Post published today a 3D newspaper to celebrate its 64th anniversary, becoming the first daily in Thailand to produce an edition of this kind, The Star reported.

"You may be surprised to find the colors blur into each other in some photos, but you'll be amazed and fascinated when you see them through special 3D viewer glasses distributed free with the newspaper," The Bangkok Post explained in an article published in its front page.

Photo: The daily's front page shows a 3D-picture of a woman looking at Bua Sawan flowers

Dominican weekly shuts down

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 6, 2010 at 9:11 AM

Dominican weekly Clave and its online version Clave Digital yesterday ran their last editions due to financial problems, El Mundo revealed.

"With highs and low, we have made a serious journalism, responsible and interested in contributing to democracy. We went beyond where traditional newspapers have gone," editor-in-chief Fausto Rosario Adames said in an article, while explaining that the economic crisis affected the financial capacity of Media Team Dominicana, owner of the publications.

Google, Verizon and the FCC: Why net neutrality matters

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 5, 2010 at 5:00 PM

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission today called off closed-door talks it was having with lobbyists on network neutrality, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The announcement came a day after news reports broke that an unannounced deal between mobile phone giant Verizon Communications Inc. and Google Inc. on their own network management practices had been made. Under the agreement, Verizon would have been able to prioritize some broadband traffic.

Image: A protester shows support for network neutrality in Canada in 2008.

Analyst: Fairfax should axe two print papers

Posted by Erina Lin on August 5, 2010 at 4:43 PM

An analyst for a big Australian-based investment bank suggested that Fairfax Media Ltd. could gain its earnings by shutting down the print editions of The Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne's The Age and focusing on e-readers and online, The National Business Review reported.

According to the report from Macquarie, Australia's biggest investment bank, dropping print editions and delivering content via e-readers could "boost earnings from the two papers to A$55 million - $5 million more than the bank's 2010 forecast, the Australian reported.

Hong Kong daily launches iPad app

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 5, 2010 at 4:03 PM

The same day that Apple started selling the iPad in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post became the first English-language newspaper in Asia to launch its iPad application, News & Tech reported yesterday.

The news app, release on July 23 and developed in partnership with WoodWing, has been download by more than 3,000 readers and quickly became the second most popular app in Hong Kong's iTunes store, Editor & Publisher revealed.

Irish media group sells stake in Jagran Prakashan

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 5, 2010 at 3:00 PM

Independent News and Media is withdrawing from India's newspaper market after selling its remaining 5.7 percent stake in Jagran Prakashan Limited, owner of the Dainik Jagran daily, for €32m (£26.5m), Media Week reported yesterday.

The Ireland-based publisher, which bought 26 percent of the shares in 2005 for €28.5 million, will use the money to pay off its bank loans, The Irish Times informed. The company started selling its stake a year ago and, overall, has received €96m (£79.6m).

News Corp. reverses loss

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 5, 2010 at 1:48 PM

News Corp. yesterday announced it turned a profit in the fourth quarter, compared to a loss the same time last year, The Associated Press reported.

The media conglomerate's finances were helped by the sale of its Bulgarian television station and a drop in restructuring charges. However, its profits were down about US$16 million, to $932 million, due to lower profits at its Sky Italia satellite TV unit and movie studio. MySpace, owned by News Corp., also saw revenue continue to fall. Revenue in the three months ending June 30, meanwhile, were up 6 percent, to $8.11 billion.

West Australian Newspapers yearly profits rise

Posted by Erina Lin on August 4, 2010 at 3:52 PM

West Australian Newspapers Holdings reported a 10.3 percent increase in full-year profit due to a modest market recovery, according to The Australian Business Journal.

However, the publisher was cautious about that its new financial year, as uncertainty about the federal government's planned tax on resources companies and the upcoming federal election's drag on advertising demand, the Australian reported.

NYT to launch content publishing platform for iPhones, iPads

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 4, 2010 at 12:16 PM

The New York Times plans to launch "Press Engine," a digital publishing platform that will aim to make it easier for publishers to create iPhone and iPad applications , MediaPost reported yesterday. The launch is planned for the fourth quarter of this year.

Through the service, clients will be able to leverage the newspaper's technology in building digital products designed to grow readership, create an expanded subscription model and provide new advertising opportunities to reach out to newspaper readers, according to a press release.

Survey: Italians starting to trust online news

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 4, 2010 at 10:39 AM

Despite preferring print newspapers to electronic versions, Italians are slowly starting to change their mentality towards digital news. In 2010, the number of Italians who read online dailies has increased to 39 percent, according to a Mediawatch Journalistic Observatory survey, La Stampa reported today.

"Italians' confidence in the Internet has significantly increased over the past three years... This is an area that can become strategic," Mediawatch's President Carlo Vittorio Giovannelli said to La Voce d'Italia, remembering than in 2007 only 25 percent of Web users read online news.

Photo source: La Stampa

Personal data is making Facebook rich, helping it grow

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 4, 2010 at 10:26 AM

Despite the social networking site's privacy missteps, Facebook's biggest advertisers have increased their spending 10-fold or more over the past year, the company's chief operating officer told Bloomberg Businessweek. Some have even boosted spending by 20-fold.

"Two years ago the big brands were experimenting with us," Sheryl Sandberg, said in the interview, published today. "They started buying with us a year ago. Now, they're going big." She would not specify which advertisers are spending more, and Facebook does not disclose revenue figures. However, the article cited two unnamed sources who said Facebook's sales could reach at least US$1.4 billion by the end of 2010, and between $700 million and $800 million last year.

Rwanda closes 30 media outlets a week before elections

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 4, 2010 at 10:24 AM

Rwanda's regulatory body has suspended 30 media organisations for not meeting requirements set by the new media law, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) denounced on Monday, Agence France-Presse reported.

"With just a week to go to a presidential election on 9 August, the Rwandan authorities are openly flouting the rules of the democratic game," the organisation stated in a press release. Last week, the Media High Council published a list of 22 newspapers and 19 TV and radio stations that "meet the requirements of the law and therefore [are] legally recognized in Rwanda," the authorities said in a statement, allAfrica.com quoted.

Photo: Umuseso and Umuvugizi are among the banned newspapers

Social networking: Americans' most popular online activity

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 3, 2010 at 5:31 PM

On average, U.S. Internet users spend almost 25 percent of their time online using social networking sites and blogs, a 16 percent growth from the same time last year, according to the latest Nielsen research.

Facebook is the main reason this activity is growing, the Los Angeles Times reported. Of all social networking use, Facebook took 85 percent, while News Corp.-owned MySpace was next, with just 5 percent. Twitter claimed a 1 percent share.

Italy launches a newspaper reading campaign

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 3, 2010 at 4:28 PM

Under the slogan "Who reads, sees," the Italian Federation of Newspaper Editors (FIEG) launched on Sunday an advertising campaign to promote the reading of magazines and dailies.

The ads, which have started to appear in the press and the radio, remind potential readers that dailies "are the best way not to not remain speechless."

Murdoch: "Tablets are the future for News Corp"

Posted by Erina Lin on August 3, 2010 at 2:20 PM

"Tablets are a perfect platform for cheap, convenient and up-to-date News Corp content," Rupert Murdoch said at a media debate in Sydney Tuesday, Media Guardian reported.

"News Corp has "tens of thousands of readers" through apps for the Wall Street Journal, the Times and the Australian," Murdoch added. He then pointed out that Apple's iPad sales will exceed than predicted.

Azerbaijan includes 77 newspapers in its press blacklist

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 3, 2010 at 12:55 PM

Azerbaijan's Press Council today published its newest list of "racketeer" publications, which includes 77 newspapers and journals that the group says have violated the country's Journalists' Professional Behavior Rules, the Azerbaijan Press Agency reported.

"This list is a tool for public condemnation of the press, which ignore the professional principles, publish materials, affecting the honor and dignity of people, slander, and commit other such illegal actions," the chairman of the Press Council Aflutun Amashov said, Trend News Agency quoted.

Vienna City Council sponsors newspapers through advertisements

Posted by Savita Sauvin on August 2, 2010 at 3:28 PM

The Vienna City Council sponsors three Austrian newspapers through advertisements with an annual spend of around €15m (£12.5m) in a year, NewspaperInnovation.com reported yesterday.

In the paid market segment, Austrian leader Kronen Zeitung has maximum readership with 536,000 readers, while other paid newspapers lag far behind. The free news title Heute and Österreich, which is a mixture of paid-for and free has 512,000 readers and 313,000 readers in Vienna respectively.

U.S. Q2 newspaper sales: "Less bad but not good"

Posted by Erina Lin on August 2, 2010 at 1:31 PM

Ad sales for most newspaper publishers in U.S. were less bad in the second quarter of this year, compared to the previous quarter.

However, "less bad is not the same as good," according to the Business Insider, which pointed out that the outlook for the rest of the year is "decidedly murky".

Irish newspaper group seeks new owner

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 2, 2010 at 1:20 PM

Dunfermline Press Ltd., which publishes more than 30 local newspapers in the UK and Ireland, has put its Irish subsidiary Celtic Media Group up for sale, according to the Sunday Times, The Guardian reported.

The company's fate has been in a limbo since May, when its chief executive and majority shareholder Deirdre Romanes died.

The Westmeath Independent is one of the newspapers on sale

PwC predicts growth of Australia's media industry

Posted by Clara Martínez Turco on August 2, 2010 at 1:11 PM

A steady growth in the Internet sector will increase Australia's entertainment and media industry revenue by 28 percent to $36.2 billion in 2014, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers's annual Entertainment & Media Outlook report, B&T Magazine revealed today.

This year the Internet sector, which includes digital advertising in newspapers and magazines, is expected to increase to $8 billion from 2009's $7 billion. By 2014, it should reach $10.6 billion, as PwC estimates a compound annual growth rate of 8.7 percent over the next four years, Smartcompany.com.au informed.

YouTube increases video time limit to 15 minutes

Posted by Leah McBride Mensching on August 2, 2010 at 9:00 AM

YouTube is allowing users to upload longer videos - increasing the time limit from 10 minutes to 15 minutes, Mashable reported Friday. Full-length video has always been available to YouTube partners, paidContent noted.

Why is the time limit being raised now? The video sharing site has recently finished improving its Content ID system, which makes it easier to protect the rights of small and large copyright owners, the site explained in a blog post by product manager Joshua Siegel.

August 2010 Archives

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