Shaping the Future of the Newspaper Blog - Ownership and Regulations

Wikipedia, Reporters Without Borders take part in anti-SOPA blackout

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 08:55:54 -0600

Today Wikipedia has blacked out its English language pages in protest again the proposed anti-piracy legislation in the US, which it says could "fatally damage the free and open Internet."

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA) bills that have caused the controversy are intended to stop the infringement of US copyright material by overseas websites. If passed, SOPA would give the US Justice Department and copyright holders the power to seek court orders to block search engine results or websites linking to pirated material. PIPA, due to come before the Senate on January 24th, proposes similar measures.

Wikipedia objects that the proposed laws will block entire sites unnecessarily and place the onus on site owners to police the material they link to, with damaging consequences:

"Small sites won't have sufficient resources to defend themselves. Big media companies may seek to cut off funding sources for their foreign competitors, even if copyright isn't being infringed. Foreign sites will be blacklisted, which means they won't show up in major search engines. And, SOPA and PIPA build a framework for future restrictions and suppression."

Ecuador passes controversial law restricting coverage of political candidates

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:18:50 -0600

The Ecuadorian National Assembly have passed changes made by President Rafael Correa to the country's Democracy Code restricting media outlets from publishing positive or negative material about political candidates in the run up to elections, due to take place on January 20, 2013.

The changes come into effect on February 4th and prohibit news media from directly or indirectly promoting any kind of material that carries positive or negative messages about any candidate, electoral preference or political opinion.

The press freedom organisation Fundamedios has condemned the new law, saying that it "represents the imposition of censorship in advance on the content of news media". The group notes that "the legislation due to come into effect contains ambiguous language that will make journalistic work subject to the discretion of the National Assembly".

Independent regulation: the future of the press in Britain?

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:14:39 -0600

How can a country make sure that its press behaves responsibly? Government regulation compromises freedom of speech. Self-regulation can't always be trusted, as revelations about the unethical and illegal practices from parts of the British press, which continue to be discussed by the Leveson inquiry, prove.

Now the UK culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt and the Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke are advocating a third way: a powerful independent regulatory body.

Speaking at a parliamentary Joint Committee on Privacy and Injunctions, part of an inquiry that was launched to deal with controversy over super-injunctions, Hunt stated: "I think that it is clear that nobody wants statutory regulation of the press" and said that such regulation would be "completely the wrong direction to go".

Publishers gain from diversification

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:09:34 -0600

In the biological world, diversity means strength. The same also goes for the publishing industry, where having a diverse portfolio can do a lot to bolster your business.

One example is Schibsted, the Scandanavian media group that was praised by WAN-IFRA in August as a "shining example of how a newspaper publisher can transform its traditional publishing business into a diversified multimedia company". At the time the company was investing heavily in online classifieds. Now it is continuing to expand its portfolio, as it plans to buy the digital music streaming company Aspiro.

Schibsted is offering to buy up Aspiro for 340 million Swedish krona (that's $49 million or £32 million), Paid Content reports. Schibsted's interest in the company is not unexpected, as it's already an 18.3% shareholder in Aspiro and Schibsted's CFO chairs Aspiro's board. Paid Content writes that, so far, one third of Aspiro shareholders have given their support to accepting Schibsted's offer.

UK: Media regulation is being overtaken by technology

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:43:12 -0600

We've come a long way in the few short months since the full Hackgate scandal exploded, writes Press Gazette guest blogger Lara Fielden.

The immediate aftermath saw seismic criticism of self-regulation under the Press Complaints Commission, the departure of its chairman and demands for statutory press regulation. Punitive fines and effective licensing, akin to the model for broadcasting regulation, were the order of the day.

Continue reading on Press Gazette

Can we save the UK's regional papers?

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 03:50:17 -0600

Human beings cling to the past, ensuring that the nostalgia industry never declines. Indeed, the greater the change, the more it thrives. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the regional newspaper industry as it copes with a range of problems that make it inconceivable it could ever turn back the clock.

Delegates to this week's Society of Editors conference, like so many journalists, are particularly prone to the illusion that there is a magic solution to their industry's long-term decline.

Continue reading in the London Evening Standard

UK: Ten ways to save the regional press from disaster

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 04:46:37 -0600

A former regional newspaper editor has come up with a 10-point plan to help cure the crisis in the regional press - which includes a call for debt relief for big PLC publishers like Johnston Press and Trinity Mirror .

Neil Fowler, Guardian Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford , outlined his plan in a lecture in which he warned that Johnston, Trinity and Newsquest -owner Gannett were "having to pull as much cash as possible out of their businesses to service these debts - which in turn is causing those businesses long term damage."

Continue reading on TheMediaBriefing

USA: How Alden Global Capital has become a major player in the media business

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 02:36:57 -0600

You may not have heard of Alden Global Capital, but it has become a significant investor in media companies, including Tribune Co., MediaNews and Philadelphia Media Network.

"They kind of, along the way, supplanted [investment firm] Angelo Gordon as a lead force in private equity ownership of distressed newspapers," said Poynter's Rick Edmonds.

Continue reading on Poynter

USA: Has the Twin Cities' one-newspaper future finally arrived?

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 04:09:48 -0600

by John Reinan

The future of newspapers in the Twin Cities could hinge on events in Southern California. Sound crazy? Let me explain.

One of California's largest newspapers, the Orange County Register, is for sale. Industry analysts expect a couple of companies to bid aggressively for it: Tribune and MediaNews Group.

Continue reading on MinnPost.com

USA: Who owns newspaper companies? The banks, funds, and investors and their (big) slices of the industry

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 03:58:06 -0600

by Martin Langeveld

Who owns Americas newspapers?

In January, I detailed how a hedge fund named Alden Global Capital, which played a role in the shakeup at MediaNews Group, also had significant holdings in newspaper groups Freedom Communications, Philadelphia Newspaper Holdings, Journal Register Company, Tribune, and the Canadian newspaper firm Postmedia Network -- all firms with current or recent bankruptcy status.

Continue reading on Nieman Journalism Lab

World's Largest English Daily Publisher Said to Weigh India IPO

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 07:19:21 -0600

Billionaire Indu Jain's Bennett, Coleman & Co. plans to give stock options to employees in preparation for a potential initial public offering in India in the next two years, said three people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Some senior staff at the Mumbai-based publisher of the Times of India and Economic Times were told about the stock options last week, said two of the people, who declined to be identified because there hasn't been a formal announcement. Bennett, Coleman Chief Executive Officer Ravindra Dhariwal yesterday declined to comment.

Continue reading on Bloomberg

UK: Wanted: local heroes to save the regional press

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:51:42 -0600

After enduring a seven-year decline that has resulted in well over £1bn in ad revenue bleeding out of regional newspapers, Daily Mail & General Trust last week hoisted the white flag over any ambition to be a long-term player in the embattled sector. The publisher admitted it is keen to offload Northcliffe Media, home to more than 100 daily and weekly regional titles from Hull to Bath, and has no desire to put "fresh capital" in and lead what it views as a necessary large-scale consolidation in the sector.

Continue reading on guardian.co.uk

UK: DMGT chief voices doubts over Jeremy Hunt's local TV plans

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 10:13:27 -0600

The Daily Mail & General Trust chief executive, Martin Morgan, has said he is sceptical about the commercial viability of Jeremy Hunt's plans for local TV services.

Morgan said that DMGT, which owns the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday as well as more than 100 regional titles, remained unconvinced that businesses involved in Hunt's plans could make profits.

Continue reading on guardian.co.uk

New York Times Almost Bought Into Demand Media

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 09:09:21 -0600

Demand Media, which is fresh off its IPO, was almost part of the New York Times family.

Demand, a mass producer of instructional content, approached Times Co. executives more than three years ago about combining the company with About.com, a person familiar with the matter said. Times Co. paid $410 million in 2005 for About.com, a network of sites that serves up information on thousands of topics from would-be experts called "guides."

Continue reading on Deal Journal (free)

USA: The shakeup at MediaNews: Why it could be the leadup to a massive newspaper consolidation

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:05:16 -0600

Back in the early 1990s, Dean Singleton predicted that ultimately there would be just three newspaper companies left standing, and he intended his MediaNews Group to be one of them. It was an audacious prediction, because at the time, after a decade of wheeling, dealing and sometimes ruthless management, MediaNews Group still consisted of just a dozen newspapers, and the company's board meetings, as he was fond of saying, "could be held in the front seat of a pickup truck."

Continue reading on Nieman Journalism Lab