Shaping the Future of the Newspaper Blog - Launches and Closures http://www.sfnblog.com/ en Copyright 2012 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification New publishers join Piano Media's Slovakian paywall Picture 7.png
In Slovakia two new publishers have joined Piano Media's national paywall. One publisher that already collaborates with Piano has also agreed to put Slovakia's largest regional publication behind the wall. This mean that, in total, 12 Slovakian publishers and over 50 websites are now taking part in Piano's Slovakian single-payment system.

The publisher Petit Press, which already works with Piano, is adding Korzar, a daily paper covering Eastern Slovakia, to Piano's paywall. Piano's Chief Executive Tomáš Bella is quoted in the official press release about the expansion, saying: "we couldn't be happier that Petit Press agreed to include Korzar's daily paper into our offer. They have really great coverage of eastern Slovakia and that fills a big need for our readers who don't live in Bratislava."

Publisher The Rock is adding the English-language weekly the Slovak Spectator to the paywall. Paying users will gain access to the latest PDF edition of the paper and to the Slovak Spectator's archives. 


]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2012/02/new_publishers_join_piano_medias_slovaki.php http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2012/02/new_publishers_join_piano_medias_slovaki.php Launches and Closures expansion paywall piano media slovakia slovenia Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:39:58 -0600 Non-profit journalism site launches in Australia Picture 6.png
The Global Mail, a non-profit news site that aims to "deliver original, fearless, independent journalism", has launched in Australia this morning, reports Journalism.co.uk.

The Global Mail is funded by philanthropist Graeme Wood, founder of the accommodation website wotif.com. Wood has donated over $15 million to the new publication, which should be enough to support the site through its first 5 years, says editor-in-chief Monica Attard. 

Attard, a former broadcast journalist for ABC, said in an interview with The Australian that there will be a separation between the site's benefactor and its editorial content. "Graeme is chairperson of The Global Mail board. He has no editorial input whatsoever," she asserts.
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2012/02/non-profit_journalism_site_launches_in_a.php http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2012/02/non-profit_journalism_site_launches_in_a.php Launches and Closures Australia investigative journalism non-profit ProPublica Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:22:36 -0600 Introducing Social Pulse: Reuters' new social media hub Picture 42.png
Facebook's $5 billion IPO filing this week has left the world in little doubt about the growing importance of social media in our lives. Now, both adapting to this trend and looking at its power, Reuters has launched a social media hub with a special focus on the interaction between social media and business. 

Social Pulse, as the new hub is called, contains a curated selection of news from across Reuters' social media networks. The top section, titled The Hit List, features the most popular stories shared by people followed by Reuters accounts and Reuters journalists on Twitter. In a blogpost about Social Pulse, Reuters stresses that it follows influential "newsmakers", to bring its readers stories popular with the people who are setting the news agenda. The section is managed through the curation company Percolate, also used by IPG and American Express.

Curation is nothing new, but what makes Social Pulse stand out is the way it combines social media and business analysis. The second section on the new page, powered by "big data" sentiment-tracking company Wise Window, allows readers to compare the sentiment expressed about various firms on social media networks with those companies' stock prices. The companies analysed are sorted into broader industry catagories including Tech, Finance and Healthcare. 


]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2012/02/introducing_social_pulse_reuters_new_soc.php http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2012/02/introducing_social_pulse_reuters_new_soc.php Launches and Closures business social media Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:08:59 -0600 Goodbye international editions, hello digital international editions.jpg
Are international editions a luxury that newspapers with declining circulation can't afford? 

In this digital age, increasingly it looks like international print editions are under threat. An article in The Guardian last Sunday speculated that the International Herald Tribune, the global edition of the New York Times, might be about to shut up shop. Author Peter Preston writes that after selling its stake in the Boston Red Sox and its regional newspaper group, getting rid of the Tribune might be the logical next step for the New York Times. 

Preston calls the Tribune "very vulnerable" as senior editors are being called back from the IHT headquarters in Paris to other jobs in New York. He notes that the paper "doesn't make money. It struggles to keep circulation over 200,000 worldwide. And, crucially, it doesn't have a website of its own". 

The article is based on conjecture (and it should be pointed out, The Guardian's own circulation was 230,108 in December and it has been losing money for some time) but perhaps Preston raises an important point about the cost of printing international editions. When print production everywhere is under threat, it's no surprise that they're the first to go. 


]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/financials/2012/01/goodbye_international_editions_hello_dig.php http://www.sfnblog.com/financials/2012/01/goodbye_international_editions_hello_dig.php Business Financials Launches and Closures digital journalism Guardian international editions international herald tribune Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:54:39 -0600 Chicago Tribune offers literature fans premium paid content Picture 25.png

The Chicago Tribune has announced that it will be offering subscribers a new Sunday books section as a piece of premium paid content. 

Printers Row, as the section will be called, will cost Tribune subscribers an additional $99 a year. Those who sign up will get a 24-page book supplement every Sunday, featuring reviews, interviews with authors and news from Chicago's literary scene as well as a free book of short stories each week.

The Chicago Tribune describes the launch in its own business section as "a means to bolster revenue beyond the traditional subscription and advertising model" by offering readers with niche interests a high-quality targeted product that they will be willing to pay for. Gerould Kern, senior vice president and editor of the Chicago Tribune states that "audiences want very specialized information, and we are going to give them that".


]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2012/01/chicago_tribune_offers_literature_fans_p.php http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2012/01/chicago_tribune_offers_literature_fans_p.php Business Launches and Closures Chicago tribune literature paid content premium content Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:07:48 -0600 Huffington Post, à la française Picture 23.png
Le Huffington Post, a French edition of AOL's popular news, blogging and aggregation site, The Huffington Post, was launched today in collaboration with Le Monde and Les Nouvelles Editions Independantes. 

At a press conference held at Le Monde's headquarters in Paris this morning, Arianna Huffington, president and editor in chief of the Huffington Post Media Group, promised that the new edition would offer the HuffPo's trademark mix of original reporting, aggregation, bloggers and commentators.

However, Huffington stated that although the "architecture" of Le Huffington Post would be imported, the site would be "rooted in French culture" and that it was "absolutely essential" that the local journalists set the agenda.
 

]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/journalism/2012/01/huffington_post_a_la_francaise.php http://www.sfnblog.com/journalism/2012/01/huffington_post_a_la_francaise.php Journalism Launches and Closures france huffington post le monde LNEI Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:57:29 -0600 The Daily Mail expands online with Indian site Picture 17.png
British tabloid The Daily Mail is broadening its online presence with the introduction of Mail Online India, reports Roy Greenslade in The Guardian today.

The new page is integrated into Mail's UK website, but contains content from Mail Today, a publication launched by the Daily Mail's parent company Daily Mail & General Trust together with the India Today Group in November 2007.

Mail Online India features Mail Today's logo on its banner, but it also reproduces large amounts of content from its British counterpart; the 'Femail' section, for example, is identical on both sites' home pages.
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/circulation_and_readership/2012/01/the_daily_mail_expands_online_with_india.php http://www.sfnblog.com/circulation_and_readership/2012/01/the_daily_mail_expands_online_with_india.php Circulation and Readership Launches and Closures daily mail international edition online news Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:08:15 -0600 Tages-Anzeiger app mixes TV streaming and editorial expertise Picture 15.png
As print sales across Europe decline, what's a paper to do? As we reported earlier this week, taking advantage of different types of media is one option.  

Swiss national daily Tages-Anzeiger has taken a step in this direction with the launch of a TV streaming app for iPad called TV Sélection. The paper is offering its users a choice of TV programs, feature movies and documentaries from over 100 channels hosted through TV streaming service Zattoo. 

Why would users go to the app, rather than straight to Zattoo itself? This is where the editorial experience of the Tages-Anzeiger kicks in. Journalists from the paper's culture section will curate and select the best programs to create what Computer World calls "a more personal experience" that eliminates "aimless channel-flicking".  
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2012/01/tages-anzeiger_app_mixes_tv_streaming_an.php http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2012/01/tages-anzeiger_app_mixes_tv_streaming_an.php Launches and Closures app iPad tv streaming Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:21:39 -0600 News Corp launches Xbox 360 apps Screen Shot 2012-01-11 at 15.02.34.png
Barely a day seems to go by without a publisher launching a new app for Apple or Android. But now it's Microsoft's turn for a spot in the limelight, as Rupert Murdoch's News Corp announces its launch of a range of apps for Xbox 360.

Those who sign up to News Corp's Gold Subscription Package - costing £39.99 a year - will now get access to content from FOX, Fox News Channel, The Wall Street Journal and other News Corp media on their Xbox.
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2012/01/news_corp_launches_xbox_360_apps.php http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2012/01/news_corp_launches_xbox_360_apps.php Launches and Closures apps news corp wall street journal Wed, 11 Jan 2012 07:11:46 -0600 The Wall Street Journal launches German site Picture 3.png
The Wall Street Journal has launched The Wall Street Journal Deutschland today: a digital German-language edition of it paper, available at www.wsj.de and via mobile and tablet apps. 

National reporting will come from journalists at the Mudoch-owned Dow Jones Newswire, and international news will be supplied by The Wall Street Journal's 2000 worldwide correspondents. A team of around 10 editors based in Frankfurt will prepare articles for publication in the new edition.

The German edition is promoting itself as a digital only publication, proudly declaring on its Twitter feed this morning that it is "only on the web, never from the kiosk". The new managing editor of The Wall Street Journal Deutschland Knut Engelmann is quoted by the German tabloid Bild as a strong supporter of new media: "market surveys show that people want to consume news on the go and in real time. That means that a printed daily paper will always lag behind."
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2012/01/the_wall_street_journal_launches_german.php http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2012/01/the_wall_street_journal_launches_german.php Launches and Closures business reporting digital germany Wall Street Journal Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:12:16 -0600 Publishers start singing to Piano's tune in Slovenia piano small.jpgA piece of music sounds normally sounds better when all the parts are played together. And Slovakian start-up Piano Media argues that, when it comes to paywalls, news publications are also better off when their strategies work in harmony. 

Piano Media, founded in May 2011 by Tomáš Bella, former editor-in-chief of SME Online, the digital division of Slovakia's largest newspaper, has persuaded most of Slovakia's major media outlets to sign up to a single-payment system. This means that the country's major news sites share a paywall, and split the revenue between themselves - 40% goes to the news site where the reader bought his or her Piano subscription, 30% goes to the site where a reader is spending his or her time online and 30% goes to Piano Media itself. Its system makes the users' experiences easier by offering a simple pay plan and by reducing the feeling that readers are paying one company for content that they could get for free elsewhere. 

]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2012/01/publishers_start_singing_to_pianos_tune.php http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2012/01/publishers_start_singing_to_pianos_tune.php Internet Launches and Closures paywall piano media slovenia Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:56:02 -0600 The return of those evening newspaper editions pittsburgh.jpgby Mario Garcia

Resurrection is the word many are using to describe the reappearance of the long time evening daily, Pittsburgh Press, now back as an online newspaper. Will others follow?

So it is all about the "lean back" approach and reading newspapers in the evening.

Why am I not surprised?

Continue reading on García Media



]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2011/11/the_return_of_those_evening_newspaper_ed.php http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2011/11/the_return_of_those_evening_newspaper_ed.php Internet Launches and Closures evening newspaper online newspaper Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:56:18 -0600 Swiss Post plans new personalised daily paper swisspost.jpgSwiss Post plans to launch a new personalised daily newspaper at the end of November 2011. As part of a one-year pilot project, the online version of MyNewspaper will also be available in Germany. Further publishers will be able to participate in this innovative project.

MyNewspaper is a flexible solution which enables readers to compile a personalised daily newspaper based on around 30 publications.

Continue reading on World of Print
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2011/06/swiss_post_plans_new_personalised_daily.php http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2011/06/swiss_post_plans_new_personalised_daily.php Launches and Closures personalisation Tue, 21 Jun 2011 10:42:28 -0600 UK: Port Talbot Magnet aims to attract support and revive local media in town left without a newspaper magnet_banner-desktop-resize.jpgA community cooperative which includes redundant journalists is trying to revive local media in Port Talbot and fill the gap left when Trinity Mirror's Media Wales closed the Neath and Port Talbot Guardians in 2009.

Continue reading on the Media Briefing
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/journalism/2011/05/uk_port_talbot_magnet_aims_to_attract_su.php http://www.sfnblog.com/journalism/2011/05/uk_port_talbot_magnet_aims_to_attract_su.php Internet Journalism Launches and Closures local media Tue, 24 May 2011 04:21:14 -0600 UK: Guardian's failed experiment in local news starts a chain reaction guardian_local.jpgThe Guardian has announced its Guardian Local pilot is to end. Described as an experiment in local journalism, three websites were set up two years ago to serve Cardiff, Leeds and Edinburgh.

The publisher says the idea was to find out whether new models of local journalism could be editorially and commercially viable.

Continue reading on the Media Briefing
]]> http://www.sfnblog.com/internet/2011/05/uk_guardians_failed_experiment_in_local.php http://www.sfnblog.com/internet/2011/05/uk_guardians_failed_experiment_in_local.php Internet Journalism Launches and Closures bloggers Blogs hyperlocal Mon, 09 May 2011 03:05:12 -0600