30 June
Two Portuguese Newspapers Face Closure
The Portuguese media group Controlinveste
announced plans to close its free newspaper Global Notícias and the
national daily 24 Horas as a result of "a deep structural change". It
was reported recently that this year's circulation of Global Notícias had dropped by over 50%. The management of the group explained that the closure
is a strategic decision to maintain the group's business.
http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2010/06/two_portuguese_free_dailies_close.php
28 June
Global: Yahoo! to Introduce "Ultimate" Style Guide
Competing with traditional media or universities, Yahoo! announced plans
to publish its "Study Guide" for online writing.
According to Yahoo!, the guide aims to provide journalists, editors, writers
and online content developers with a comprehensive list of online editorial
best practices, as well as basics of grammar and punctuation. Yahoo! also
claimed that the guide will show online content creators how to write for an
international audience. Some
resources will be posted online, but the full guide will be published, printed
and put on sale as a traditional paperback.
http://styleguide.yahoo.com/
24 June
Germany: Global Media Forum
Calls for More "Professionalism" from Journalists
Speaking in the Deutsche Welle (DW) Global Media
Forum, media owners and scientists called for more "professionalism" from
journalists to adapt to the change in the media industry. More than 1,500
participants from over 95 countries attended the Forum and discussed the state
of the media and the challenges it faces. In particular, the management of the
DW said that in "a flood of information", the media "must be in a position to
evaluate different sources" and "provide trustworthy and reliable information".
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5724306,00.html
US: 64% Americans Say Printed Newspapers Will
Cease to Exist by 2050
Another recent
poll for the Pew Research
Center shows that the majority of Americans are pessimistic about the future of the US newspaper
industry. 64% of the
people surveyed
in the poll predicted that the print newspapers will cease to exist by
2050.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100622/ap_on_re_us/us_upbeat_america
22 June
Report Says Google May
Introduce "One-click-payment" for Online Content
It was reported recently in the Italian daily La Repubblica that Google will
introduce its micropayment system enabling readers to pay for news
content through its "one-click payment" system at the end of this year.
According to La Repubblica, the payment system called Newspass would allow readers to
pay for full subscriptions or one-time access to articles. However, Google has
not confirmed the report. There is currently a similar micropayment system for
online content developed by Journalism Online LLC, which claimed recently that
more than 500 publishers had already signed up to its services.
http://www.repubblica.it/tecnologia/2010/06/17/news/google_pay-4932905/
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/21/BUTU1E2N9T.DTL
UK: ITV News Bulletins to
Incorporate Social Media
ITV, the competitor of the public broadcasting
service BBC, announced plans to slowly incorporate social media into its news
bulletins across its news desks. For the first time, ITV News will display
questions put forwards by social media users. The management explained that the
experience of watching TV whilst chatting online has become a mainstream
experience. It is hoped that the new feature will encourage more viewers, in
particular teenagers, to participate in the public debate.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jun/22/itv-news-social-media-budget-cuts
21 June
Japan: Online Media Remain as
"Sideshows"
While media in the West see online media as
a growing threat and rapidly adapt themselves to the digital environment,
online media in Japan
remain a "sideshow". The New York Time (NYT) reported that many online news
start-ups have been closed in the past few years as they struggle to attract
advertisers and maintain quality content. The underdeveloped online media in Japan has left
major news organisations in a dominant position for decades. This situation
will continue as Japanese citizens and society are responding slowly to changes, according
to the NYT.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/world/asia/21japan.html
16 June
Iceland: Parliament Passes
Media Law to Create "Haven" for Investigative Journalism
The Icelandic Parliament passed a new media
law that increases protection for anonymous sources, creates new protections
from so-called "libel tourism" and makes it harder to censor stories before
they are published. The new law is also expected to rebuild the public
trust in the media after the economic turmoil in Iceland.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/iceland-rewrites-law-to-create-haven-for-investigative-reporting-2002591.html
15 June
Global: YouTube Plans to Offer "Breaking News"
YouTube, the popular video web portal owned by
Google is planning to add a news feed feature offering audiences more "news"
content. According to YouTube, the new feature will provide a stream of "breaking
news" videos with "a focus on strong visuals, non-traditional sources" to
audiences. However, it is not clear if and how YouTube will apply any ethical
standards when labeling user-generated content as news.
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2010/06/14/youtube-begins-testing-news-feed-feature
Croatia: Public Broadcaster
Faces Drastic Cut in Funding
HRT, the public broadcasting service in Croatia could
face a drastic cut of 25% in its funding from 1 August this year. It is
reported that the Croatian Government is proposing to impose a heavy cut in the
country's public broadcaster HRT funding due to recent financial crisis. The
proposed cut is likely to affect both the quality and quantity of the
programming in HRT.
http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/ebu-calls-for-re-think-of-drastic-cut-in-croatian-licence-fee
14 June
OECD Countries: OECD Publishes Report on Information Industry
A report
published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
shows trends
in the information industry, in particular a decline in
revenues within the newspapers industry for the past three years among the 31
OECD countries. From 2007 to 2009, newspaper revenues in the US dropped by 30%; the second-biggest decline
was 21%, in the UK. Austria,
Australia and France are the
less affected countries with a drop of under 5%.
http://www.oecd.org/document/48/0,3343,en_2649_33757_45449136_1_1_1_1,00.html
US: Google Partners with Publishers on "Editors'
Picks"
The computer generated Google News have now
added a human dimension with the introduction of "Editors' Picks". The new
feature will offer readers a selection of news stories curated by editors from
some of the major US newspapers and magazines such as The Washington Post,
Newsday, Reuters and Slate. According to Google, the new service will
allow publishers to promote their content through Google News and drive more
traffic to their websites.
http://www.niemanlab.org/2010/06/google-news-experiments-with-human-control-promotes-a-new-serendipity-with-editors-pick/
11 June
UK: 200 Editorial Job Cuts at Trinity Mirror
Trinity Mirror announced plans to cut 200 editorial staff across its three national titles - The Daily and Sunday Mirror and The People. The announcement was made after the management had said it had "successfully implemented" its web-based content management system, ContentWatch. The National Union of Journalists has dismissed the so-called "evolution" praised by the management and described these job cust as "Neanderthal" without talented journalists.
http://www.nuj.org.uk/innerPagenuj.html?docid=1640
9 June
Contradictory surveys on the role of newspapers:
- in Japan, Newspapers Remain
"Indispensable" in Citizen's Daily Life
A survey conducted by the Newspaper Publishers
and Editors' Association in Japan
shows that newspapers still play an indispensable part in the daily lives of
most Japanese. The survey shows that over 90% of respondents said they read
newspapers everyday and 50.2% of them believed that newspapers are an
indispensable source for information. The survey was conducted in October 2009
on some 4,100 people about the popularity of different media to access news and
information.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100609b4.html
- in the Arab world, Online Media Score High
Trust among Young Readers
A recent
survey on news consumption of young people in the Arab world shows a high level of trust in online media. Around 83%
of respondents said they trust news reported by online media, of which 30% say
they "very much trusted" online media. The print media has the lowest rank as
the main source of information for the Arab young people. When asked if they
would pay for online news, around 81% of them said they would not.
http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2010/06/arab_free_press_forum_looks_at_how_young.php
8 June
Global: AOL Vows to Be Largest Net Hirer of
Journalists in the World
America Online (AOL),
one of the biggest global internet and media companies, said it aims to be "the
largest net hirer of journalists in the world next year", and announced its
ambitious plans to hire hundreds of journalists, editors and videographers in
the coming year. Currently around 500 full-time journalists and 40,000
freelancers contribute to "original" content for AOL websites. There is
speculation that AOL's move was sparked by recent acquisition of the content
provider Associated Content by its competitor Yahoo!. These trends show a shift from traditional press
houses as the future of journalism takes shape.
http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=144334
4 June
More Public Relations, Less Journalism in the UK
Richard
Sambrook, the former head of BBC News,
who recently becomes the chief content officer of the public
relations company Edelman thinks this is the moment of great
opportunities for public relations (PR) companies to expand their
territory . In a way that will certainly shock
professional
journalists, Sambrook explains that the fragmentation
of traditional media gives PR companies an opportunity
to combine traditional
marketing strategies and new social media tools and he sees the future
of journalism with the emergence of a scary hybrid of
"journalicist" media workers, who combine editorial and public
relations skills to tell a client's stories in credible
"publicitage".
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/pr-stunt-or-the-new-journalism-the-titans-of-public-relations-are-going-direct-to-viewers-and-readers-1989936.html
US: Senator Proposes "License-to-report"
Legislation
According to a legislative proposal filed by a
Michigan State Senator, Bruce Patterson (Republican), reporters may be required
to obtain a "license" to perform their jobs in future. Under the proposed
legislation, people practicing journalism will need to meet certain criteria
such as providing proof for working at a "generally recognised media or press
association", possessing a "good moral character" and a degree in journalism.
They will also need to pay $10 registration fee to obtain the "license".
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/Headlines/state-senator-proposes-law-to-license-reporters-61536-.aspx
France: Le Monde to
Change Owners, Concerns over Editorial Independence
Recent turmoil at Le Monde newspaper
regarding its future ownership has led to many concerns over its editorial
independence. One of the "quality" newspapers in France may be
on the verge of sacrificing its traditional values of independence if it puts
an end to its cooperative structure where employees have a 52% stake
in the company and a veto on the appointments of the paper's chief executive
and editor. The most concrete offer was made by a "trio" of businessmen,
Mathieu Pigasse (Lazard Bank), Xavier Niel (Internet businessman) and Pierre
Bergé (creator of the Yves Saint-Laurent company), whose main argument is to
avoid the paper being integrated in a multinational media group. Other
interested companies are Ringier (Switzerland),
Prisa (Spain) and l'Espresso
(Italy).
http://www.arretsurimages.net/vite.php?id=8237
http://www.lefigaro.fr/medias/2010/06/03/04002-20100603ARTFIG00766-le-monde-engage-un-tournant-historique.php
3 June
Associated Press: Staff on Strike Against
Downsizing in France...
For the
second time in a couple of weeks, the staff of AP France went on a 24
hours strike. The French AP wire was totally silent on 3 June to
protest against the termination of all temporary contracts at AP France. "The
newsroom entered into resistance", declared a representative of the trade
unions.
... and New Social Media
Guidelines in the US
The AP releases its new social media guidelines
including another 41 definitions, use cases and rules that journalists should
follow. Some of the changes include grammar, new phrases and acronyms that are
commonly used in social media. New guidelines also include rules for how social
media should and should not be used by journalists such as double-checking
their sources from blogs, tweets and other forms of social media.
Access to the full guidelines: http://www.apstylebook.com/
2 June
US: YouTube Dominates Online Video Market
A recent market research shows that YouTube, the
popular video-sharing website, dominates the online video market with over 13
billion videos displaying on its website in
April alone. Hulu and other mainstream media outlets (including ABC, Fox, CBS)
became a distant second streaming 958 million videos online during the same
period.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/youtube-dominates-online-video-views/
28 May
Australia Launches Crowdfunding
Investigative Journalism Project
Journalism foundations
around the world start experimenting on the non-profit news model. The Public
Interest Journalism Foundation in Australia
recently launched its crowdfunding investigative
journalism project "YouCommNews" based on the success of the US crowdfunding initiative Spot.us
(see MCJ12 November). Reporters from YouCommNews are mostly freelancers who
registered with the website and agreed to abide by the ethical code of the
Foundation and the Australian Press Council. Members of the public who
support the Foundation can "commission" journalists to report a
subject of their interest. The resulting news stories will then be published in
mainstream, independent and online media either freely or through the sale of
publication rights. The sponsor will be refunded once the story is sold.
http://youcommnews.com/
US: Is Yahoo! Dumping Down Journalism with
"Garbage Content"?
Search engines are not
only accused of ignoring intellectual property rights, they are also
criticised for dumping down on the content. Yahoo! recently acquired a
citizen
journalism website, Associated Content (AC), to increase its original
news
content on Yahoo! News. However this move has been widely criticized
over its
intention to downgrade quality journalism and to further blur the
distinction between professional journalism and amateur content.
http://socialmediaseo.net/2010/05/18/yahoo-acquires-associated-content-for-estimated-100-million/
http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=143565
26 May
Global: Publish2 to Offer New Content Distribution Services
Publish2, an online news aggregator and content
distribution services provider announced an ambitious plan to
offer "free" news content distribution services. According
to the company, it will provide wire services like traditional news agencies
but at a much lower cost or even free by operating as a platform open to both news organizations and journalists to do
business "face-to-face" instead of going through news agencies. Content
producers can set their terms and conditions for the use of their content. The
company also plans to operate a licensing fee model for publishers who want to
publish the content.
http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/24/publish2-disrupt/#ixzz0p2cnK8Zl
http://www.publish2.com/
25 May
US: Study Shows Shorter Life Span of "Social
Media News"
A recent study shows that news reported on the
social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook) have a shorter life span than news
reported in traditional media. The study says social media users generally
spend shorter time following news items with a 52% drop off rate within 24
hours. The study also shows that most news reported on the social media
originally came from traditional media outlets.
Access to the study: http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/new_media_old_media
19
May
Australia: Journalismno Longer a "Skilled Occupation"?
According to the
recent changes in the immigration policy in Australia, journalists are removed
from the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL). Foreign journalists who wish to
work in Australia
will have to find local employers to sponsor them under the new
scheme. The Australian journalists union, the Media Entertainment
& Arts Alliance (MEAA) said "the policy reflects the increasingly
competitive news industry [...] as the number of journalists and
journalism graduates are increasing".
http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/538742.php
11
May
UK: PA Launches Video Archives
The Press Association (PA) today launches its video archives offering
videos and news footages. It allows users and media companies to access over
40,000 videos dating back to 2000. Broadcasters can pre-edit and package the
archival video clips and publish them instantly.
http://www.pressassociation.com/video/video-archive.html
10
May
Global:
Reuters to Roll Out Web-based Video Service
Thomson Reuters announced plans to roll out a web-based video service
called "Reuters Insider" offering multimedia content to its subscribers.
According to Reuters, the new service will offer users and companies "exclusive
multimedia programmes" including live coverage of breaking news and news
analysis from its experts. Reuters will supply around 15% of its original
content to the service and its 150 partners will also submit content to Reuters
Insider. Users can view the video content through their computers or
smartphones from Tuesday.
http://etv.thomsonreuters.com/
7 May
Luxembourg:
First Quarter Earnings Doubled at RTL
The biggest
commercial broadcaster in Europe, RTL (part of the Bertelsmann group) announced
today that its first quarter earnings of 2010 have doubled. RTL reported
earnings of 197 million Euros before tax which is more than 10% increases compared
to the same period in 2009. RTL said that broadcasters in Germany, France
and Britain
are experiencing a "robust growth" in the media industry as the
advertising market is improving.
http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/rtl-more-than-doubles-first-quarter-operating-earnings
6 May
US: Newsweek Up for Sale
Despite "Heroic Efforts" Made to Save the Magazine
The Washington
Post Company, owner of the current affairs magazine Newsweek, announced
plans to put the magazine up for sale after continuous losses. According to the
management of the magazine, it has been struggling to sustain the business
despite "heroic efforts" made to save the magazine. Last year, the magazine
recorded an operating loss of $29.3m. It also made 44 employees redundant. The
parent company is currently seeking a buyer for the magazine. Some sources say that Mexican billionaire
Carlos Slim, who already has shares in the New York Times, is
interested in buying the title.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/237401
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/slim_has_his_pickings_tzgKXf0vAzLhCckjakF6QI
5 May
US: CNN and CBS
in Talk on Collaborative Reporting
The US
broadcasters, the CNN and the CBS are in talk to share their resources for news
gathering and reporting. According the New York Time, both organizations are
looking for ways to save costs and the collaborative project could enable them
to save considerable costs for news gathering. Faced with budget cuts, more and
more news organisations are looking for collaborative projects to save the high
cost of news gathering and to avoid additional cuts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/business/media/05network.html?ref=media
4 May
US: Washington Post to Offer Readers Live Video Chats with Reporters
The Washington
Post announced its plan to offer readers live video chats with reporters
across its newsrooms. According to the management of the Post, the
initiative will bring its staff closer to readers and add more personality to
the news they produced. The Post said this will give reporters an
opportunity to "conduct journalism in real time". However, there are
concerns that the time spent chatting with the public affect adversely
reporters' time for investigations.
http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2010/05/washington_post_offers_readers_a_new_way.php#more
2 May
Global: AP
Expects 600 Publishers To Join the Content-Tracking Programme
The Associated
Press (AP) is launching its News Registry on 14 July, a content-tracking
programme that can track unauthorized used of AP's news content. Since the
announcement last April, more than 200 publishers have already signed up to the
programme. AP expects 600 publishers to join the Registry before its launch in
July. According to the management of AP, the Registry will enable to track the
use of their content on the internet and offer potential
means to generate revenues for unauthorised use of its content.
http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-developing-a-premium-football-2010-4
http://www.ap.org/iprights/faqiprights.html
US: Cheap
Citizen News Threaten Professional Journalists
The commercial media "Advertising Age"
published
a recent overview of the cheap media content produced by amateurs which is threatening professional
journalists and quality journalism. Content producers like Associated Content
and Demand Media pay freelancers as little as $5 for an article. Major news organisations like USA Today, Thompson Reuters and Hachette
Filipacchi are regular buyers of these cheap media content.
http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=143565