http://www.sfnblog.com/ en Copyright 2010 Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:53:51 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification Google is preparing to announce new Gmail features that would extend its reach into the social networking realm, the Financial Times reported today, dubbing the plans a "Facebook assault." This following last week's news that Facebook is planning to launch an e-mail service.The search giant is looking to give Gmail users a way to aggregate contacts' updates, which can currently be viewed in Google's Chat service, within Gmail's inbox. This would create a "stream of notifications that would echo the similar real-time streams from Facebook and Twitter." http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2010/02/google_to_challenge_facebook_with_social.php http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2010/02/google_to_challenge_facebook_with_social.php Launches and Closures Facebook Google Social Networking Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:53:51 -0600 Leah McBride Mensching News International Commercial has launched outdoor and print advertisements that aim to show the power of newspapers and magazines, MediaWeek.co.uk reported today.The ads are based on research from Microsoft Advertising, which in December stated that for large retailers, print advertising is more effective than online ads, and more than twice as effective as television ads. Each £1 spent on print ads garner £5 in revenue, while TV and Internet ads bring in £2.15 and £3.44, respectively. http://www.sfnblog.com/advertising/2010/02/news_international_ads_showcase_power_of.php http://www.sfnblog.com/advertising/2010/02/news_international_ads_showcase_power_of.php Advertising Print Data Outdoor advertising Power of Print Print advertising Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:58:07 -0600 Leah McBride Mensching The Globe and Mail will publish three special Sunday editions for the British Columbia market to provide more coverage of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, making it the only seven-day newspaper in the region, MarketingMag reported Friday.The special editions will be published Feb. 14, 21 and 28. They will be delivered to subscribers, sold at more than 1,000 retail outlets in Vancouver, Whistler and Victoria, and be available to the rest of Canada as an online e-edition. http://www.sfnblog.com/printing_and_production/2010/02/globe_and_mail_to_publish_special_sunday.php http://www.sfnblog.com/printing_and_production/2010/02/globe_and_mail_to_publish_special_sunday.php Circulation and Readership Printing and Production specialty product Sunday papers Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:27:02 -0600 Savita Sauvin MediaNews Group will begin charging for online content in May, adopting a metered paywall system similar to the one The New York Times announced it will put up, Bloomberg reported Friday. The U.S. newspaper publisher will use Journalism Online LLC to handle processing of payments for its Web sites.The test will begin at the company's Enterprise-Record in Chico, California, and Daily Record in York, Pennsylvania. If it's successful, the paywall may be instituted at more than 50 dailies owned by MediaNews, including The Denver Post and San Jose Mercurcy News, the Denver Business Journal reported Saturday.Image: Superchou's Flickr photostream http://www.sfnblog.com/financials/2010/02/medianews_group_to_put_up_paywalls.php http://www.sfnblog.com/financials/2010/02/medianews_group_to_put_up_paywalls.php Financials Launches and Closures Journalism Online MediaNews Group meters paywall Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:16:34 -0600 Leah McBride Mensching Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter has announced that it will cut between 100 and 120 jobs after sustaining multi-million euro losses, The Local reports. This amounts to almost one sixth of the newspaper's workforce. The company employs 580 people, with half of these in the newsroom. Most of the cuts are expected to affect editorial staff, with more than a third of these set to go. The newspaper reported losses of 97 million kronor, or around €10 million, last year. Despite this, union official Hans Arbman said that the cuts were unexpected.For more on this story, visit our sister publication, editorsweblog.org. http://www.sfnblog.com/employment/2010/02/jobs_to_go_at_swedish_daily.php http://www.sfnblog.com/employment/2010/02/jobs_to_go_at_swedish_daily.php Employment Job cuts Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:26:33 -0600 Leah McBride Mensching Facebook is working on an e-mail product, and may have Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL Mail and others in its cross hairs.The social networking site is planning to launch a completely new e-mail product in the place of its current message product, internally known as Project Titan, TechCrunch reported today. "Tacking a real webmail product on top of those vanity URLs and Facebook connect is something even Google may shudder at," Michael Arrington wrote, adding that he doesn't think the new service will be a "Gmail killer."Image: castortroy520's flickr photostream http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2010/02/will_facebook_e-mail_bring_down_gmail_ya.php http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2010/02/will_facebook_e-mail_bring_down_gmail_ya.php Launches and Closures Facebook Google Yahoo Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:28:13 -0600 Leah McBride Mensching http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2010/02/axel_springer_launches_paywalls_on_two_g.php http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2010/02/axel_springer_launches_paywalls_on_two_g.php Launches and Closures Axel Springer paywall Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:13:36 -0600 Erina Lin http://www.sfnblog.com/advertising/2010/02/rival_magazine_publishers_join_forces_to.php http://www.sfnblog.com/advertising/2010/02/rival_magazine_publishers_join_forces_to.php Advertising magazine Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:59:27 -0600 Savita Sauvin http://www.sfnblog.com/financials/2010/02/metro_intl_announces_profits_for_q4.php http://www.sfnblog.com/financials/2010/02/metro_intl_announces_profits_for_q4.php Financials free papers Metro Metro International profit Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:05:22 -0600 Alisa Zykova http://www.sfnblog.com/ownership_and_regulations/2010/02/monsters_hotjobs_buy_may_move_200_newspa.php http://www.sfnblog.com/ownership_and_regulations/2010/02/monsters_hotjobs_buy_may_move_200_newspa.php Advertising Ownership and Regulations Yahoo Newspaper Consortium Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:57:55 -0600 Leah McBride Mensching UK publisher Pearson PLC announced Wednesday it has bought Medley Global Advisors, which advises hedge funds, investment banks and asset managers, as it aims to focus on subscriptions over advertising, Reuters reported.Pearson, which publishes the Financial Times, is looking to diversify its business model. In 2008, it bought an online news and discussion service aimed at fund managers called Money-Media, for example. It has also bought several data providers, such as MergerMarket, to cut down on reliance on print and advertising for revenues, according to the Daily Mail. http://www.sfnblog.com/financials/2010/02/pearson_buys_macroeconomic_intelligence.php http://www.sfnblog.com/financials/2010/02/pearson_buys_macroeconomic_intelligence.php Financials Ownership and Regulations Business model buyout diversify Financial Times Pearson Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:59:00 -0600 Savita Sauvin Free Russian-language newspapers Moi Rayion, distributed in Moscow and St. Petersburg on weekends, as well as Moscow's daily Metro, announced a joint advertising venture titled "Seven Days a Week," Slon.ru reported today. The publications claim that fusing two separate distribution systems (the subway for Metro and large supermarket chains for Moi Rayion) would provide advertisers with maximum access to a desired audience on any day of the week. According to Lenta.ru, the combined audience of the two outlets amounts to 1.2 million. Moi Rayion has 557,000 readers in Moscow while Metro has 775, 300. The average cost per thousand (CPT) adds up to RUB 595 (US$ 19.7). Metro has a CPT of RUB 603 (US$20.0) while Moi Rayion of RUB 480 ($15.9). http://www.sfnblog.com/advertising/2010/02/free_russian_papers_metro_and_moi_rayion.php http://www.sfnblog.com/advertising/2010/02/free_russian_papers_metro_and_moi_rayion.php Advertising Circulation and Readership Advertising Advertising trends free daily free papers Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:03:58 -0600 Alisa Zykova InformationWeek divulged Thursday that Amazon may have acquired Touchco, a touchscreen technology manufacturer. According to a New York Times (NYT) article from Wednesday "a person briefed on the deal" revealed that Amazon would be combining the manufacturer's technology and staff members into its California-based hardware division Lab126.The acquisition was reportedly a step to boost Kindle's touch screen mechanism in light of the launch of Apple's new device iPad, said the Wall Street Journal. The iPad is thought to be better than Kindle because it has a more colourful screen and is easier to navigate. http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2010/02/kindle_acquired_touchscreen_technology_m.php http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2010/02/kindle_acquired_touchscreen_technology_m.php Mobile acquisition Amazon Apple e-reader Kindle mobile technology Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:31:42 -0600 Alisa Zykova Teens and young adults blog less today than they did in 2006, while older adults are blogging more than ever, according to a Pew Internet Project survey, out today. Teens are also not using Twitter in large numbers, with just 8 percent of Internet users ages 12-17 using the micro-blogging service.Currently, 14 percent of online teens say they have a blog, while 28 percent said so in 2006. Comments on blogs are down too, with 76 percent of teen social network users saying they commented on friends' blogs in 2006. Today, that number is 52 percent. For adults, 24 percent of those ages 18 to 29 said they blogged in December 2007, while just 7 percent of those age 30 and older did so. By 2009, less users age 18 to 29 blogged - just 15 percent of Internet users - while 11 percent of those age 30 and older have a personal blog. http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2010/02/study_teens_blog_and_use_twitter_less_th.php http://www.sfnblog.com/mobile/2010/02/study_teens_blog_and_use_twitter_less_th.php Mobile Blogs Social Networking Twitter Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:01:35 -0600 Leah McBride Mensching Like most content creators, the Telegraph Media Group has always focused on increasing Web traffic by directing a maximum number of users to its Web site, Telegraph.co.uk, thereby increasing digital revenues through advertising. But times are changing, online ad revenue isn't enough, and TMG has come up with a new plan.TMG's digital editor, Edward Roussel, told MediaGuardian today that the publisher will stop chasing everyone and instead focus on the "three Cs": content, commerce and clubs, with the hope of building a more sustainable business model. http://www.sfnblog.com/financials/2010/02/telegraphcouk_tighens_focus_content_comm.php http://www.sfnblog.com/financials/2010/02/telegraphcouk_tighens_focus_content_comm.php Financials Launches and Closures Business model Online trends Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:26:23 -0600 Savita Sauvin