5 February

Sweden:  Over  100 Staff Made Redundant at Dagens Nyheter

Dagens Nyheter (DN), one of the most popular daily newspapers in Sweden, announced plans to cut more than 100 jobs after it recorded a loss of  €  9.51  million. Staff in the editorial department are most likely to be affected. The management of DN explained that the company faces a difficult financial situation with increasing competition from other media such as online media and free newspapers. The management also warned that a series of further cost-cutting programmes will be introduced after the job cuts.
http://www.thelocal.se/24788/20100204/ 
http://www.sjf.se/portal/page?_pageid=53,6172478&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&element_id=12689486 

UK: The Guardian Launches Social Trend Index - ‘Zeitgeist'
The Guardian today announced that it is launching a social trend index ‘Zeitgeist'. Like ‘Local Trend' of the social networking website Twitter (See MCJ 29 January), The Guardian's Zeitgeist provides ‘a visual map' of the most popular news and articles on its website to readers, enabling them to see what's hot at a glance. However, Zeitgeist is still in an experimental stage. It is not clear where this 'social trend index' will lead to or whether it is just a marketing stunt.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/insideguardian/2010/feb/03/zeitgeist

4 February

US: Ethical Guidelines for Social Media
As an increasing number of journalists and media organisations is using social media for news reporting and gathering, maintaining ethical standards online becomes necessary. The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), an association representing electronic journalists in the US radio, television and all digital media, has released its ''social media and blogging guidelines'' for journalists to follow. The ethical guidelines for social media will serve as a supplement to the existing Code of Ethics for the journalists' association'. These guidelines are mostly based on the core principles of truth and fairness which represent the best practice of journalism in traditional media, but they also include advice on how to (re)use content from blogs and social media.
http://www.rtdna.org/pages/media_items/social-media-and-blogging-guidelines1915.php?g=37?id=1915

3 February

Media Conglomerate, News Corp, Records $254m in Adverse Media Climate
After winning the nation's minds as the most trusted news channel in the US (see MCJ 29 January), News Corporation, owner of Fox News, announced its latest triumph on making a massive profit of $254 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 despite the adverse media climate the industry is facing. The $254 million profit came mostly from its cable film and TV programmes, whereas written media such as The Wall Street Journal, The Times, Sunday Times and The Sun are still trying to implement a business model based on paid content.  Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corp also revealed in an interview that he is in 'advanced' discussions with portable device developers about a subscription model allowing consumers to access media content online.  
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/feb/03/murdoch-news-corp-increases-profit

The Netherlands: RNW Partners with New Internet Platform VJ Movement
Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW), the Dutch public broadcasting service announced its new joint venture with the Internet platform Video Journalism Movement. (VJ Movement). VJ Movement was an open source Internet platform providing short video documentaries on "non-mainstream" issues. Videos are produced by its members who claimed to be"experienced video journalists" from all over the world. The website is sponsored by various media foundations and donations from governments and other non-governmental organisations, as well as an annual membership fee of   €35. All material published on the website is subject to its editorial/ethical scrutiny and members of the public can complain to its editorial team for any ethical violations.
http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/video-journalists-shed-light-forgotten-stories

2 February

Conference Calls on EU to Act on Crisis for Media and Journalism
A conference organised by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) at the European Parliament has demanded fresh action from European political leaders to confront the media crisis that is overwhelming journalism across the region. The conference on the future of journalism was hosted at the European Parliament in Brussels and heard that thousands of journalists and media staff across Europe were being thrown out of work, titles were closing down and media were in turmoil in the face of market changes which undermined Europe's dual system of private and public media. Speakers called for urgent action to address the crisis and to ensure that media pluralism and high quality journalism remains in place within the European Union.
http://europe.ifj.org/en/articles/efj-conference-calls-on-eu-to-act-on-crisis-for-media-and-journalism

Analysis: 
What Media Crisis are we Talking About? Journalists Destroy some Myths

In the past weeks, several journalists and academics published in-depth analysis of the "media crisis" and reacted to a series of current prejudices. In "Don't let Murdoch Rewrites our Media History", Josh Stearns argued that a prosperous and independent media industry is not inconsistent with public support to media, quite to the contrary. According to him, "subsidies may well have been the second greatest expense of the federal budget of the early [US] Republic, following the military". He pointed out that precisely "the commercial media that Murdoch [...] so fiercely defends have pushed diverse viewpoints off the air".

Veteran journalists John Nichols and Robert McChesney also dismissed some myths of the current "crisis" in their recent article on "How to Save Journalism" published in the The Nation. "The most dangerous misconception has to do with journalism itself. Journalism is a classic "public good"--something society needs and people want but market forces are now incapable of generating in sufficient quality or quantity--, write Nichols and McChesney. "This takes us to the second great misconception: that the crisis in journalism was created by the rise of the Internet and the current recession. In fact, the crisis began in earnest in the 1970s and was well under way by the 1990s".

As David Simon stated last year during a Hearing of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee, "we know now - because bankruptcy has opened the books - that the Baltimore Sun was eliminating its afternoon edition and trimming nearly 100 editors and reporters in an era when the paper was achieving 37 percent profits. In the years before the internet deluge, men and women who might have made The Sun a more essential vehicle for news and commentary - something so strong that it might have charged for its product online - were being ushered out the door so that Wall Street could command short-term profits in the extreme."
When will be this debate be brought to the public in Europe?
Sources

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100125/nichols_mcchesney

http://www.savethenews.org/blog/10/01/22/don%E2%80%99t-let-murdoch-rewrite-our-media-historyhttp://www.reclaimthemedia.org/journalistic_practice/wire_creator_david_simon_testi0719

29 January

France: Gamma and Other Photo Agencies Officially Bankrupt
The Eyedea company which owns eight photo agencies and pictures databases, including the prestigious Gamma agency, decided on 26 January to officially file for bankruptcy. Last year the group closed its subsidiary Eyedea Press (see MCJ 29 August 09) with 33 redundancies. This time, the company would lay off its 56 staff and it would be the end of one of the most important photo agency of the past decades.
http://www.lemonde.fr/actualite-medias/article/2010/01/27/eyedea-proprietaire-de-l-agence-gamma-s-apprete-a-deposer-le-bilan_1297361_3236.html#ens_id=1297435

UK:  Kent Photo Agencies Face Closure as Newspapers Stop Paying
Kent News and Pictures, a British-based photo agency announced its closure as newspapers are struggling to pay for its content. The closure led to 11 redundancies at the photo agency, including eight photographers, two reporters and one freelance. The management said that tough economic conditions and poor national newspaper rates have contributed to its closure. Other photo agencies are also struggling and considering shutting down businesses. The sister agency of Kent News and Pictures, Image International, also closed last year.
http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/537388.php

US: Mapping Local News on Twitter
While the future of journalism is yet to be mapped, social media 'Twitter' has no hesitation to map out local news and trends for users by launching its 'Local Trends'. The new feature will filter news and messages on Twitter according to users' localities so that they can see a trend of popular news of their local areas.  In Europe, some traditional media have carried out similar test projects to  recruit bloggers and users to produce their local news (see MCJ on 5 & 13 October 09).
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/techchron/detail?&entry_id=56135

US: When Partisan Journalism Becomes a Success Story
The succes of Fox News based on the abandonment of principles of balance and fairness suggests that this is one of the ways taken by media companies to attract the public. But how dangerous is this "model" for the future?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/27/fox-news-most-popular 

Global:   Is  an "Oversized iPhone" the Future of Journalism?
As the future of journalism has been increasingly tied-in with the techonolgy industry, the introduction of a new portable mobile device called 'i Pad' has created much hype, hopes  but also some sarcasm for the future business models in the media industry. It is reported that media organisations like the New York Times and Conde Nast are considering to struck a deal with Apple and to start developing applications to distribute its news content online. While the 'rumour' of business deal is yet to be confirmed, the device which is equipped with micro-payment system (i.e. iTune) will surely have a certain impact on how readers consume news in the future.  However, it is still unclear if users will want to carry something that rather looks like an "oversized iPhone". 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/jan/28/can-apple-ipad-save-newspapers

http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-future-of-media-is-a-comically-oversized-iphone/?referrer=email

26 January

Australia to Launch its Non-profit News
The idea of non-profit news has become increasingly attractive as traditional business models are shaken by the changing media landscape. The Foundation for Public Interest Journalism, a non-profit organisation based in Australia, has received a generous sum in donation to support its non-profit news project. Similar projects have also been lauched in the US (Spot.us - see MCJ12 November and Connecticut Mirror).
http://www.panpa.org.au/Public/Template5/ThreadView.aspx?tid=26210

Canada: Metro Canada Partners with Twitter-like Website
Metro Canada, a free daily newspaper announced plans to team up with the social networking website, Foursquare, to produce local news content. The business model of the partnership is to promote each other's website with complementary news content. Members of Foursquare can update their activities (at local restaurants, pubs, libraries, etc.) and post news. Metro Canada will then post location-specific editorial content targetting local audiences.
http://www.newspaperinnovation.com/index.php/2010/01/25/foursquare-teams-up-with-metro-canada/

France: French News Sites to Erect Paywalls
Although the profitability of the online paid model is still uncertain, more and more online news sites are erecting paywalls. French news sites, L'Express and Le Figaro announced that they will do so. However, definite timeframe and pricing details are not confirmed yet.
http://www.sfnblog.com/financials/2010/01/french_newssites_offer_paywall.php

UK: 40 Editorial Staff Made Redundant at Guardian
Guardian News and Media (GNM) announced that 40 editorial stafff have taken voluntary redundancies as part of its cost-cutting scheme introduced in November last year (see MCJ 12 Nov). Those who took redundancies include the deputy editor and deputy production editor of the Guardian. The management of the (GNM) also confirmed there are more staff members who have requested to take voluntary redundancies. Currently, GNM is making around £100,000 loss a day.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jan/22/guardian-voluntary-redundancy

20 January

Francophone countries: Five Journalists to Report Through Social Media Only

Five journalists will be cut off from the real world for five days as part of an experimenting project called 'Behind closed doors on the net' ( "huis clos sur le net") during which they will report news through social media only. The five reporters from France Inter, France Info (France), RSR (Switzerland), RTBF radio (Belgium) and Radio Canada will be isolated in a house in south of France and allowed to report only news they find on Facebook and Twitter or  links posted on these two social media. According to the project manager, the aim is to find out whether the public can be informed through social media in the same way as they can rely on traditional media for information.
http://radiosfrancophones.org/coproductions-evenementielles-detail.php?copro=82

Japan: Foreign Correspondents are Pulling Out as 'Crisis' Strikes at the Home Front
Foreign media outlets and correspondents are pulling out of Japan as western media are struggling to cope with the financial crisis at the home front. According to the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, the number of foreign correspondents has dropped from its peak at 300 in the 1990s to 144 currently. Major foreign news outlets in Japan have either shut down or cut down their operational scale in the past year. The news magazine Time closed down its Bureau in Japan earlier this month; Newsweek also shut down its editorial section in Tokyo; and editorial staff of Business Week merged with Bloomberg in October 2009. The Number of staff at the New York Times, the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times offices in Japan were also reduced dramatically.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20100122f1.html

20 January

Canada: Toronto Star May Reduce Job Cuts
Following negotiations between the Toronto Star and the Southern Ontario Newsmedia Guild, the Star is considering cancelling its plans to outsource editing jobs and reducing the number of job cuts which were announced in November (see MCJ 9 November). The deal, which is expected to be signed on Thursday 21 January, will save around 35 out of 100 jobs which were going to be axed after the parent company Torstar recorded 13% drop in revenues in the final quarter of 2009.
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/752426--star-union-reach-deal-to-reduce-job-losses

US: Nearly Half Google News Users Bypass Newspaper Sites
According to a survey conducted by Outsell Inc., nearly half (44%) of Google News users bypass newspaper sites to access information through Google News. Around 30% users said they either use other search engines to access online news or go directly to newspaper sites. The survey results appear to support the claim made by creators and publishers, that news aggregators are stealing news content and revenues from newspapers. Some major online news sites (See MCJ 11 January 2010) have started blocking news aggregators indexing their news.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5geV6xbmQ4TGruFFDfDYy4DLoPKhg

France: Government Considers Subsiding Press Distribution Company
The French Government is considering subsidising Presstalis, the largest press distribution company which is going through a 'difficult time'. Le Figaro reported that the French Prime Minister has entrusted the General Inspector of Finance to examine ways (including financial grant) to support Presstalis in time of economic difficulties. At the beginning of January (see MCJ 5 January 2010), the French Government already initiated subsidy plans for news websites and free newspapers for young people.
http://www.lefigaro.fr/medias/2010/01/16/04002-20100116ARTFIG00127-l-etat-s-empare-du-dossier-presstalis-.phpBLOCKED::http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2010/01/french_press_distribution_company_to_get.php

19 January

Switzerland: Ringier Group to Cut 29 Jobs
Ringier Group, one of the largest media corporations in Switzerland has announced plans to cut 29 full time staff positions at its subsidiary newspaper group 'Blick'. The cuts are due to the recent integration of newsrooms at Blick. Staff at the production, layout, graphic and proof reading departments will be affected, with 28% of reduction in the production department and 11% in the layout department. The management of Ringier Group confirmed that they are still identifying areas for further cuts. EFJ/IFJ members CoMedia and Impressum expressed their outrage over the job cuts and demanded a six-month freeze on the job cuts until the economic situation has improved.
CoMedia: http://www.comedia.ch/de/aktuell/medienmitteilung/medienmitteilung/news/ringier-newsroom-auch-viele-schreibende-sind-betroffen/55.html
Impressum: http://www.impressum.ch/impressum/de/service/Presse/blick.html

India & US: Washington Post and Hindustan Times Sign 'Exclusive' Content-sharing Agreement
The Washington Post and the Hindustan Times, the second largest English language daily in India, have signed an 'exclusive' agreement to share the Post's content. Under the agreement, the Hindustan Times will share content including the Post's news, opinion pieces, book reviews and columnists. According to recent figures, the Hindustan Times has lost 0.2 million of readership since 2008 and its advertising revenues are falling. 
Source: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004059851 

US: Online Journalism Courses Open New Revenue Stream for Newspapers
Media organisations start to extend their business to online education as many of them are struggling to generate revenues from traditional revenue streams (e.g. adverting, subscription). The New York Times (NYT) is offering online journalism courses with certificates from this spring, charging $235 for credit and $199 for noncredit per course. The NYT has been offering online journalism courses for working journalists to improve their multimedia skills without awarding credits. The new credit system aims to attract journalism students who wish to study multimedia programmes which are not offered at their universities.
http://www.nytimesknownow.com/index.php/emerging-media-journalism-certificate/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/jan/18/online-education-new-york-times

12 January

Global: AOL to Close Offices and Cut Further  1,000 Jobs
AOL, the global media  and communications  company announced further job cuts worldwide. Its UK office will be severely affected as the management said there will be a ''significant reduction'' of staff. Many of its European offices will also be closed, including those in Spain, Sweden, Germany and France. In November 2009, AOL announced restructuring plans to cut 2,500 jobs and save $300m a year. Since then, around 1,100 staff have already taken voluntary redundancies.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jan/12/aol-cut-jobs-shut-offices

UK:  Scottish MP Calls  for Free Newspapers for 18-year-olds  Following Similar Experience in France
A Scottish MP of the Labour Party, Pauline McNeil, has called on the Scottish Government to provide free newspapers to 18-year-olds to promote the culture of reading newspapers. She also proposed that newspapers make news more relevant to young people by organising visits to newsrooms. The National Union of Journalists welcomed the initiative. A Similar free newspaper scheme has been launched in France and some German newspapers have introduced youth editions to attract a younger readership (see previous MCJ in December) to revitalise the declining readership in the newspaper industry.
http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2010/01/scotland_young_people_to_get_free_newspa.php

11 January

Canada: Canwest Files Bankruptcy and Seeks Buyers
Canwest, one of Canada's largest international media companies, owning 10 dailies and 26 community newspapers filed for bankruptcy today and is seeking potential buyers. Canwest has been operating under creditor protection due to its large debts since early 2009. Its flagship National Post newspaper was put under court protection in October 2009 after a rapid drop in advertising revenues. The company currently employs around 5,300 staff. If Canwest could find potential buyers to pay its debts, most staff jobs and newspapers would be preserved, said the management.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jacxGlrbkJekLwF6bRU0jbSie2sw

US: Study Shows Newspapers May Remain the Main Source of New Information
The prophecy that newspapers are dead has again been proven wrong as a new study shows that newspapers still remain the leading source of news for the public. The study conducted by the Project for Excellence in Journalism shows that around 95% of the news came from ‘old media' like newspapers. By contrast, a majority of digital news outlets are criticised by the study as repetitive and commentary.  
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/business/media/11baltimore.html?ref=media

UK: News International Starts Blocking News Aggregator
Times Online, the flagship UK online newspaper of News Corporation has finally introduced a technical block to prevent news aggregator NewsNow.co.uk indexing its content. The blocking system followed the announcement by News Corporation's owner, Rupert Murdoch in November 2009 of plans to erect paywalls to block aggregators. However, News International, the UK arm of News Corporation has not yet confirmed if they have plans to block other news aggregators like Google and Yahoo.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jan/08/digital-media-newspapers

8 January

UK: Sky News Encourages its Staff to Use Twitter for News Gathering and Reporting
As social media becomes an increasingly important tool for journalists, Sky News, one of the major UK news broadcasting media, announced plans to install Twitter software across its journalists' computers as part of the drive to encourage more use of social media for news gathering and reporting. Twitter, a microblogging and social networking tool has become increasingly popular for both readers and publishers. A recent research shows that the average US newspaper has around 18,000 Twitter followers and tweets 11 times per day. Some publishers are considering selling paid tweets to advertisers to open up a new revenue stream.
http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/537082.php
http://www.sfnblog.com/circulation_and_readership/2010/01/study_finds_average_us_paper_has_18000_f.php#more
http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=141294

7 January

France: French Government Proposes ‘Google Tax' on Online Advertising
The French Minister of Culture, Frédéric Mitterrand, announced a series of proposals to protect online content and improve remuneration of creators on the Internet. The proposals include creating a ‘Google tax' that will be levied on online advertising revenues generated by major Internet giants like Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, etc. Another proposal suggests imposing higher tax on internet providers to compensate revenues lost due to illegal downloading. The proposals to support content creation will require about 50 million euros of financing in 2010, then 35 to 40 million a year in 2011 and 2012.
http://www.lemonde.fr/technologies/article/2010/01/06/le-ministre-de-la-culture-recoit-les-conclusions-de-la-mission-zelnik_1288356_651865.html
http://www.liberation.fr/medias/0101612445-une-taxe-google-pour-soutenir-la-creation

Germany: Newspaper Publishers to Launch ‘Youth Editions' to Recruit Young Readers
As newspapers are gradually losing readership, German newspaper publishers are thinking of innovative ways to recruit new readers. DuMont Schauberg, one of the largest publishing houses in Germany announced plans to launch a news supplement aimed at a younger audience for its daily newspaper Berliner Kurier. The launch of the youth edition is expected to re-invigorate the print media by engaging young readers. Similar ventures were launched earlier and have proven successful. Spiegel, the German news magazine, launched its youth edition in 2009 recording a paid circulation of 72,000 copies for its first issue on federal elections. Weekly newspaper Die Zeit also launched a similar initiative with "KinderZeit", providing news and entertainment to its target audience of eight to twelve year olds.
http://www.wuv.de/nachrichten/medien/berliner_kurier_startet_2010_kinderkurier

6 January

US: Non-profit News Site Launched in California
A US non-profit news site, California Watch, focusing on investigative journalism, launched the 'save the future of journalism' initiative in December. California Watch, funded by the Centre for Investigative Reporting employs a team of 13 staff producing investigative news that is free to readers. Unlike other non-profit news sites, California Watch has proven successful in adopting a 'syndication-fee model'. Local and regional newspapers had already published many of its stories on their front pages even before its official launch last month.
http://www.editorsweblog.org/newsrooms_and_journalism/2010/01/non-profit_news_publisher_helps_readers.php

http://www.knightfdn.org/news/press_room/knight_press_releases/detail.dot?id=355086

5 January 2010

France: Government Subsidises New Websites

Online news publications in France will share in state aid for the first time, according to the daily newspaper Le Monde. Eighty per cent of the aid will be in the form of subsidies while the rest will be loans. The announcement follows the controversial state subsidies of the French press which totalled EUR 1.2 bn in 2009 and included a free newspaper scheme for young people. A new body representing online news publishers, Syndicat de la Presse Indépendante d'Information en Ligne (Spiil) has been debating whether or not to accept similar subsidies for some time. Several online-only sites are eligible for the state subsidy.

http://www.lemonde.fr/actualite-medias/article/2009/12/30/les-editeurs-de-presse-en-ligne-se-repartissent-20-millions-d-euros-d-aides_1285932_3236.html