As online companies dominate local ad markets, newspaper publishers are scrambling to modify the way they sell ads, a move that may have come a bit too late.

In the United States, McClatchy is reconstructing its commission and incentive packages to better compensate staff for online sales. Gannett, on the other hand, operates 50 mom-centric social-networking sites around the U.S. in order to boost online revenue through the "hyper-localized" sites. Other publishers, such as Lee Enterprises and Media General, are relaunching sales of local online ads.

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The Internet audience in the United Kingdom is changing, with older generations claiming a larger share of the online population, Nielsen Online revealed Tuesday.

The age make-up of those surfing the web over the past year has shifted, with the number of 25-year-olds decreasing from 29 to 25 percent, a relative drop of 16 percent. At the same time, those age 55 and over have increased their share from 16 percent to 19 percent, a relative increase of 22 percent. Overall, the average age of a UK Internet user has risen from 35.7 to 37.9, Nielsen data shows.

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Independent News & Media said Wednesday it would acquire Irish regional newspaper, the Sligo Champion.

The Ireland-based group, which has operations in Ireland, Britain, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and India, did not disclose the amount of the deal.

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An abandoned elementary school 90 minutes outside Seoul has been transformed into the new Citizen Journalism School by OhmyNews, AsiaMedia reported Tuesday.

The school will focus on teaching students about user-generated content and citizen journalism, and is designed to hold more than 60,000 citizen reporters.

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Tribune Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Dennis FitzSimons will step down from his post at the end of the year, immediately after Chicago businessman Sam Zell takes over the company, the Los Angeles Times, a Tribune-owned newspaper, reported late Tuesday.

The official announcement was made Wednesday, and the handoff to Zell, who will take the company private in the $8.2 billion deal, is expected to go through this week, pending approval from Tribune's investment banks, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

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The latest monthly revenue figures from U.S. publishers the New York Times Company and Media General show both companies seeing double-digit growth. The New York Times Company saw revenue data slightly above the publisher's peers, while Media General underwent struggles in print, but saw double-digit growth for its interactive unit.

At the same time, two other major U.S. newspaper publishers, Gannett and McClatchy, seem to be experiencing more hurt by classified ad revenue reductions, paidContent reported

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