Shaping the Future of the Newspaper Blog - Financials

NYTimes Co.'s Sulzberger discusses metered model, iPad version

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:09:15 -0600

The New York Times is still planning to launch its metered paywall early next year, because that model is right for now; but in the future, it may not be, Times Co. Chairman and Publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. said at Bloomberg BusinessWeek's Media Summit 2010, paidContent reported today.

"We believe going to a metered model now is the right thing. But 10 years from now? Who knows?" he said.

News Corp: Other revenue streams can coexist with paywall

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:02:57 -0600

The "Year of the Paywall" is upon us and in a time where most newspapers seem to be gearing up to build one around their Web sites - The New York Times and the News Corporation Wapping publications are just a couple of examples - some executives believe there is still room for other revenue models to coexist with paid content.

The head of digital media at News Corporation, Jonathan Miller, told delegates at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit that "dual revenue streams" are likely to co-exist as media organizations try ways of making money online, according to Guardian.

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

Sun-Times tech upgrade could mean job cuts

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:01:44 -0600

Sun-Times Media Holdings LLC is planning to invest more than US$5 million in technology upgrades for print and online content, as well as back-office upgrades, Crain's Chicago Business reported yesterday.

A new centralised editing system could mean some employees will lose their job, CEO Jeremy Halbreich told Crain's. The project is expected to be finished at the end of the year, he said.

Report: MENA region to see jump in online media revenue

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:06:49 -0600

Online media revenue in the Middle East and North Africa is expected to spike to US$600 million by 2015, from less than $100 million last year, research from global consulting firm Booz and Company shows, The National reported today. Mobile revenues are also increasing, expected to reach $2.7 billion.

According to the report, 70 percent of audiences in MENA countries said they spend two hours or more on the Internet each day, while 36 percent said they spend two or more hours watching TV.

India's HT Media Surges on unit's IPO plans

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:45:47 -0600

HT Media Ltd., publisher of Hindustan Times in India, peaked in almost two years in Mumbai trading as its unit planned to raise 3 billion rupees ($66 million) through an initial public offer, Bloomberg reported.

Hindustan Media Ventures Ltd., a subsidiary of HT Media, filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) on Friday with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on March 5, according to Indian Television.

Sly Bailey: Trinity Mirror against paywall strategy

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:04:16 -0600

The Trinity Mirror will not implement a broad paywall strategy on its websites, according to Sly Bailey, chief executive of the newspaper group.

Bailey discussed the group's stance on charging for online access to content with MediaGuardian, confirming there are no plans to install a broad paywall. The group favors charging for more specific online services and products instead.

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

FT to use PayPal for daily, weekly online access

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:02:15 -0600

The Financial Times confirmed yesterday that payment for its day and weekly passes for its online content will go through PayPal, the e-commerce business owned by eBay. The FT first announced plans of its online subscription model last August before announcing the option of a day pass last month.

Despite previous reports, the FT will not be going ahead with a "micropayment" option, a model which would allow readers to pay a small fee to access a single article online. "Micropayments simply isn't going to work if you go to an article and you spend quarter of an hour filling out forms and ticking boxes," John Ridding, CEO of the FT, told the newspaper's Digital Media & Broadcasting conference in London.

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

Scripps, Belo, Post Co. and Journal Comm. see improved results

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:20:48 -0600

U.S. newspaper companies aren't exactly having an easy economic time, but as the global economy shakes off the recession, newspapers' negative results aren't as bad as years past, leading many to be upbeat about results, which are up by year-on-year comparisons, the Nieman Journalism Lab reported today.

E.W. Scripps reported a revenue drop of 18 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. "Scripps managed to present a negative as a positive," Nieman pointed out. The Wall Street Journal reported that the media company's shares rose to a 19-month high.

Washington Post Co.'s newspaper division sees Q4 profit

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:40:04 -0600

The Washington Post Co. announced Wednesday that its fourth-quarter profit increased to $82.2 million, or $8.71 a share, more than quadruple year-over-year. This gain is mostly due to a big reduction in accounting charges and the strong growth of its education division and the cable television business. The newspaper division was profitable after cutting employees, according to the Associated Press article posted on The New York Times.

Overall 4Q revenue increased 6 percent to $1.63 billion, up from $1.24 billion one year previous, Editor and Publisher reported.

Reuters.com to add 'paid services'

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:03:09 -0600

Reuters.com will add "paid services" to its web offerings this year Thomson Reuters Markets CEO Devin Wenig said in a conversation with WSJ.com managing editor Kevin Delaney, paidContent reported.

Wenig also revealed that in regards to cannibalisation of its other businesses, "the company would rather have cannibalisation come from within its company than from others."

Polish publisher Agora back to quarterly profit

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:52:42 -0600

Net income totaled 14.9 million zloty, or US$5.1 million, up from a net loss of 30.7 million zloty a year earlier, the company statement said.

SEC: Gannett can keep 2011 digital revenues goal secret

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:15:08 -0600

A notice filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last week gives Gannett Co. Inc. permission to withhold its revenue target through the end of 2011. The permission was given on a retroactive basis, and was given because that target has been deemed confidential commercial or financial information under the Freedom of Information Act, Jim Hopkins reported in his Gannett Blog.

The U.S. publisher likely wants to keep this information out of the competitions' hands.

Photo: Chris Saridakis, chief digital officer, Gannett

Financial Times launches conferences around Winter Olympics

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 08:13:08 -0600

The Financial Times was hired by the Canadian Government to produce conferences aimed at top global business executives. The FT plans to produce four events between February 13 and 27, BtoBonline reported.

The Global Business Leaders Day event focuses on the global economic outlook, and is scheduled to be held today. The conference attendees include Peter Van Loan, minister of international trade for the Canadian government, Mohamed El-Erian, CEO and Co-CIO of PIMCO, and Dame Clara Furse, former CEO of the London Stock Exchange Group.

Google donates US$ 2 million to Wikipedia

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:14:09 -0600

Search engine corporation Google has donated over US$ 2 million to the Wikimedia Foundation, a move that may reinforce the "symbiotic relationship" between Google and Wikipedia, according to Business Week. The total donations the free online encyclopaedia raised added up to US$10.6 million for its fiscal year ending in June, a 20 percent spike since the same time the previous year, wrote the Inquirer on Thursday.

There is speculation regarding why Google prefers Wikipedia to other sites, according to Business Week. One proposed explanation is that Google is Wikipedia's advertising partner.

West Australian Newspapers post net profit down but outlook positive

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:34:55 -0600

West Australian Newspapers (WAN) Monday announced a A$49.5 million net profit for the six months to December 31, 2009. It went down 15.4 percent compared to the previous period, mostly due to advertising downturn at its flagship title, The Australian reported.

Chris Wharton, chief executive of WAN, however, said the final two months of the first half was strong due to "improvement in all major ad categories and a strong local economy."