The Vancouver-based citizen journalism site NowPublic.com has closed a $10.6 million round of financing with a series of Canadian and U.S. venture funds, the Web site announced Monday.

The deal was led by Rho ventures in New York and Montreal, as well as existing investors Brightspark and GrowthWorks Capital Ltd., both of which were seed investors, the site said in a statement.

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The Associated Press is closing down its “asap” service in October, saying the multimedia service failed to gain enough traction with newspaper clients, the AP has announced.

The asap service was launched in September 2005 as a way for the AP to target a younger audience, between the ages of 18 and 34, but has evolved into a venue to feature multimedia packages.

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The government in Kenya and media stakeholders have compromised on proposed amendments to the country's controversial media bill.

Media Owners Association Chairman Hannington Gaya and Orange Democratic Movement-Kenya activist and media consultant Tony Gachoka welcomed changes to the bill, but both are apprehensive that a Parliament “deemed hostile to the media may interfere with the passing of what they perceived as a 'healthy' bill,” AllAfrica has reported.

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Richard Stott, 63, former editor of the Daily Mirror, died early this morning at home of pancreatic cancer, according to an announcement by his family.

Stott wrote columns for the News of the World, and more recently the Sunday Mirror, which he continued writing until shortly before his death. His last column in the Sunday Mirror was published June 3.

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A new free daily Hebrew newspaper has launched Sunday.

Israel Hayom distributed 150,000 copies in train and bus stations, with a goal of reaching a daily circulation of 300,000. For its first month, the paper will sell advertisements only to non-profit organisations, and distribution will include placing copies in private mailboxes, as well as being distributed in transportation hubs.

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After obtaining newspapers in Germany, Denmark, Norway, Poland, the Netherlands and Ukraine, Mecom wants to expand into France too.

The European publisher bid for regional assets of the Le Monde Group and Lagardere, including free daily titles Monpellier Plus and Marseille Plus.

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European B2C e-commerce sales will grow threefold by 2011 to $407 billion, with a 25 percent annual growth rate over the next four years.

The United Kingdom, Germany and France are currently the market dominants, making up 72 percent of total online sales, according to eMarketer’s new report, European B2C E-Commerce: Spotlight on the UK, Germany and France.

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The Bancroft family has until 5 p.m. today to present voting agreements on whether to sell Dow Jones & Co. to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, which has offered $5 billion, or $60 a share, for the company.

The family, which controls 64 percent of Dow Jones's voting shares, headed into final deliberations over the company's fate yesterday, but a decision is still too close to call. Michael Elefante, the family's lead trustee, indicated to some on the board last night he has slightly less than 30 percent of the overall vote, according to The Wall Street Journal. It is unclear whether News Corp. would proceed with less than that.

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