It's a bit difficult to talk about editorial quality when such a catastrophe happens. But BBC has done an incredible good work in a few hours in all the countries struck by the today's earthquake and tsunami. In my opinion, one very important thing is that national victims (in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Indonesia...) were treated as well as foreign tourists. That's not the case in all coverage of this event: sometimes, you could think that only tourists were killed or injured.
Source: BBC News
Dear reader, dear editor,
It's time to take a break. Happy holidays and happy new year! We will come back beginning of January. And we will propose you our latest report, "TRENDS IN NEWSROOMS 2005". A 100 pages document which is, in fact, a synthesis of the 2,000 postings published in this one-year blog. A sort of Christmas gift!
Dear reader, dear editor,
It's time to take a break. Happy holidays and happy new year! We will come back beginning of January. And we will propose you our latest report, "TRENDS IN NEWSROOMS 2005". A 100 pages document which is, in fact, a synthesis of the 2,000 postings published in this one-year blog. A sort of Christmas gift!
According to sify.com, "Reuters plans to strengthen its operations in Bangalore through recruitment of more journalists and carrying out more editorial activities over the next six months."We are locating a number of important editorial activities to this (Bangalore) team over the next six months," a Reuters spokesperson told Business Line. The spokesperson said that Reuters had earlier announced that 20 journalists would be recruited in Bangalore. It now expects to have around 40 journalists in place by the middle of 2005... He said the number of staffers for the company's data operations is expected to grow to 400 by the end of the year."
Source: sify.com. See also former mails related to outsourcing.
According to sify.com, "Reuters plans to strengthen its operations in Bangalore through recruitment of more journalists and carrying out more editorial activities over the next six months."We are locating a number of important editorial activities to this (Bangalore) team over the next six months," a Reuters spokesperson told Business Line. The spokesperson said that Reuters had earlier announced that 20 journalists would be recruited in Bangalore. It now expects to have around 40 journalists in place by the middle of 2005... He said the number of staffers for the company's data operations is expected to grow to 400 by the end of the year."
Source: sify.com. See also former mails related to outsourcing.
The two pieces of news broke up the same day and it revealed a lot on today's China. First read this euphoric article by China Daily: "Today's trading debut of Beijing Media on the Hong Kong stock exchange marks the first overseas flotation of a mainland newspaper - a significant step to modernize China's media industry. The ground-breaking listing of the advertising and sales unit of the Beijing Youth Daily, one of China's most popular newspapers, will help lift industry standards while giving international investors an unprecedented opportunity to invest in China's media industry. The retailing portion of this initial public offering has been covered 422 times - a figure which bears full testimony to overseas investors' great interests in the newspaper and the promising Chinese media market it represents. The Beijing Youth Daily reported a 20 per cent increase in revenue last year to 900 million yuan (US$109 million), and after-tax profits of 150 million yuan (US$18 million)."
And now have a look on the The Guardian's article...
According to John N. Wilcox, president and chief operating officer of Ottaway, "Now, people expect to get the news on their desktops, laptops and cell phones not only once a day, but whenever it breaks." Ottaway, the parent company of The Daily Item, recently signed contracts to install a new content management system for print and online services at its daily and weekly newspapers in nine states. The project has been in the planning stage for more than two years. At The Daily Item, installation of the new equipment will commence in July 2005 and will offer the Susquehanna Valley area innovative ways to receive information and advertising messages electronically throughout the day, using a variety of electronic devices. The content management system will also streamline the traditional printing methods that are used to generate this newspaper daily, while offering expanded archiving capabilities.
According to Helsingin Sanomat, "Norway’s biggest media concern, Schibsted ASA, has made an unsolicited public offer to acquire Finland’s second-largest publishing and media group Alma Media for the equivalent of EUR 705 million, according to statements released to the Helsinki Exchanges on Tuesday morning by both companies. According to the Schibsted statement, Alma Media would be "a perfect partner". "The two companies complement each other both geographically and operationally", noted the Schibsted CEO Kjell Aamot. The statement continues that "It is Schibsted’s perception that Alma Media is a well-run company with skilled management and a strong position within newspapers, TV, and new media."
According to Helsingin Sanomat, "Norway’s biggest media concern, Schibsted ASA, has made an unsolicited public offer to acquire Finland’s second-largest publishing and media group Alma Media for the equivalent of EUR 705 million, according to statements released to the Helsinki Exchanges on Tuesday morning by both companies. According to the Schibsted statement, Alma Media would be "a perfect partner". "The two companies complement each other both geographically and operationally", noted the Schibsted CEO Kjell Aamot. The statement continues that "It is Schibsted’s perception that Alma Media is a well-run company with skilled management and a strong position within newspapers, TV, and new media."
According to Rediff.com, "A leading Irish media baron has evinced interest in acquiring an estimated 30% stake in Dainik Jagran, one of the largest circulated Hindi-language dailies. The paper is printed at 25 sites and the Jagran Group owns one of India's most popular online information portals. "Tony O'Reilly, chief executive of Independent News and Media Group (owner of The Independent in the UK) is in advanced talks and if successful, the deal will give the Irish entrepreneur's company a substantial foothold in one of the world's fastest-growing media markets," London's The Sunday Times reported. O'Reilly is expected to make an official announcement in the next few days, the report said. "The deal is likely to cost several tens of millions of euros," the newspaper quoted one person involved in the talks. Based in Kanpur, India, Jagran is wholly owned by the Gupta family. "They have been in talks with O'Reilly about the sale of a stake since 2000 but in recent weeks the talks have gained momentum," the report said."
Source: Rediff.com through IFRA newsletter
It's not very common in the newspaper industry: a publisher who becomes ambassador! But it happens in South Korea according to the Korea Herald: "It wouldn't have been a surprise if anyone did a double take at President Roh Moo-hyun's choice as the new ambassador to the United States: JoongAng Ilbo Chairman Hong Seok-hyun... The president's unconventional choice is widely considered to have come from Roh's desperate need for a figure with an amicable relationship with Washington as President George W. Bush begins his second four-year term. South Korea's relationship with the United States has been stuck in a tense limbo that has stalled communication with North Korea over the communist state's nuclear weapons program... As president of the World Association of Newspapers, Hong has a strong network with internationally renowned newspapers and opinion leaders, while also being a member of a number of international-level advisory councils."
The OSCE presented a new publication by the the Representative on Freedom of the Media, Miklos Haraszti, which "voices concern over limitations of access to the Internet and offers "recipes" on how to preserve the freedom of the Net. [...] The Media Freedom Internet Cookbook, further attempts to help users and governments fight "bad content", for example hate speech, without jeopardising freedom. "Regulatory activism can lead to suppression of freedom regardless of whether [the] censorship was intended or came as a consequence of ignorance. I intend to warn about the dangers over the Internet just as I do in the case of 'classic' censorship in the print press or the broadcast media" Haraszti added.
Source: OSCE website through the EJC newsletter
The Guardian announced that The Financial Times will discontinue its weekly media section "Creative Business" in its current form. The Guardian illuminates, "[the] decision comes two months after the Telegraph closed its media section and in the same year the Times decided to downgrade its media coverage on Fridays. The FT, which has struggled to attract advertising to the supplement, is to turn its weekly Creative Business into a monthly section from next year as part of a major cost-cutting campaign." Certain coverage of the topics will be guaranteed on two pages inside the FT branded "Creative Business," and a similar supplement of the current media bulletin will appear monthly in form of a pullout supplement. A spokeswoman for the FT said no staff cuts would result from the move. "Creative Business had a small staff and everyone will be redeployed," she said, adding that the paper was in discussions with staff about who would stay to oversee the supplement.
Source: The Guardian
The Guardian announced that The Financial Times will discontinue its weekly media section "Creative Business" in its current form. The Guardian illuminates, "[the] decision comes two months after the Telegraph closed its media section and in the same year the Times decided to downgrade its media coverage on Fridays. The FT, which has struggled to attract advertising to the supplement, is to turn its weekly Creative Business into a monthly section from next year as part of a major cost-cutting campaign." Certain coverage of the topics will be guaranteed on two pages inside the FT branded "Creative Business," and a similar supplement of the current media bulletin will appear monthly in form of a pullout supplement. A spokeswoman for the FT said no staff cuts would result from the move. "Creative Business had a small staff and everyone will be redeployed," she said, adding that the paper was in discussions with staff about who would stay to oversee the supplement.
Source: The Guardian
"The International Women’s Media Foundation is seeking nominations for its 2005 Courage in Journalism Awards and Lifetime Achievement Award. The only awards program exclusively for international women journalists, the Courage in Journalism Awards honor women journalists who have demonstrated extraordinary strength of character in pursuing their profession under difficult or dangerous circumstances, such as government oppression, political pressure, physical danger or other intimidating obstacles.
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.editorsweblog.org%2Fnewsrooms_and_journalism%2F2004%2F12%2Fsouth_korea_a_publisher_appoin.php&bodytext=<a href="http://wef.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/200412170025_00_1.jpeg"><img alt="200412170025_00_1" title="200412170025_00_1" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/images/200412170025_00_1.jpeg" width="130" height="177" border="0" style="float: left; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" /></a>It's not very common in the newspaper industry: a publisher who becomes ambassador! But it happens in South Korea according to the <a href=http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2004/12/18/200412180002.asp>Korea Herald</a>: "It wouldn't have been a surprise if anyone did a double take at President <b>Roh Moo-hyun</b>'s choice as the new ambassador to the United States: JoongAng Ilbo Chairman <b>Hong Seok-hyun</b>... The president's unconventional choice is widely considered to have come from Roh's desperate need for a figure with an amicable relationship with Washington as President George W. Bush begins his second four-year term. South Korea's relationship with the United States has been stuck in a tense limbo that has stalled communication with North Korea over the communist state's nuclear weapons program... As president of the <a href=http://www.wan-press.org>World Association of Newspapers</a>, Hong has a strong network with internationally renowned newspapers and opinion leaders, while also being a member of a number of international-level advisory councils."&title=South Korea: a publisher appointed ambassador){kind=link}