The Sun-Times Media Group (STMG) announced Friday its board of directors had approved management's plan to reduce operating costs by US $50 million in the first half of 2008. The announcement came just three days after K Capital Partners LLC, the group's second-largest shareholder, demanded even further cost-cutting measures be taken.

STMG partly gave in to demands that its top executives and board directors take their 2008 compensation entirely in cash instead of stock.

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In an attempt to generate outdoor advertising revenues, London's Evening Standard and regional newspaper group Newsquest are launching campaigns on new digital billboards.

The Evening Standard has installed 30 of the 32-inch outdoor screens, called “Extra!” units, in Evening Standard sales booths near areas of major foot traffic in London, such as at Euston and Waterloo stations.

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Metro Poland published a special issue produced by bloggers last week, Newspaper Innovation reported Monday.

Agora SA's newspaper created MetroBLOX, in cooperation with the online community site Blox.pl.

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U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is on track to preside over a long-awaited final vote by the FCC on cross-media ownership rules Tuesday, as long as U.S. lawmakers do not stop him at the last minute.

Martin has been waiting for nearly a year for the final vote on the new media ownership rule that, if passed, would eliminate a ban that does not allow a broadcaster to own a newspaper in the same city in the 20 largest markets in the United States, with some exceptions.

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U.S. adults who read newspapers at an early age tend to be more civically active, according to new research from the Newspaper Association of America Foundation.

NAA found that about 75 percent of U.S. adults who read newspapers in school as teenagers donated money to a civic group last year, compared with 51 percent of those who did not read newspapers as teens.

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According to new Spanish readership data from AIMC / EGM, 20 Minutos is the most read paper in Spain, beating sports paper Marca and quality paid paper El Pais.

Free dailies Qué!, Metro and ADN follow behind in the fourth, fifth and sixth place.

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India Today's new digital division, which will assimilate the group's print and television content for online and mobile platforms, will launch in early 2008, agencyfaqs! reported Monday.

India Today Group Digital will incorporate all of the media group's individual sites, such as India Today, Prevention, Money Today, Men's Health and Business Today.

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Independent News and Media Group's Chief Operating Officer Gavin O'Reilly is attacking the intentions and track record of telecoms billionaire Denis O'Brien, who built up his stake in the group to 14.5 percent last week.

O'Reilly, also president of the World Association of Newspapers and son of INM Chief Executive Anthony O'Reilly, told The Sunday Business Post that O'Brien is critical of the media group because “he is hostile to the editorial coverage of him in titles owned by the Independent.”

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