As New York Business reports "News Corp. deputy Chief Operating Officer Lachlan Murdoch ... resigned from his father Rupert Murdoch's flagship media company" and will step down by August 31. He was seen as a possible heir to his father's leadership of News Corp. According to NEWS.com.au Lachlan Murdoch stated: "I look forward to returning home to Australia with my wife, Sarah, and son, Kalan... I will remain on the board and I am excited about my continued involvement with the company in a different role." According to Business Week Ruport Murdoch said: "I was particularly saddened by my son's decision and thank him for his terrific contribution to the company."
Sources: New York Business,News.com.au, Business Week
"Racist sharks that devour white swimmers" - with stories like that South African tabloids are stunningly successful. According to IOL "South Africa's young tabloid industry is riding a wave of sales". But some fear a decline in credible journalism.
"Racist sharks that devour white swimmers" - with stories like that South African tabloids are stunningly successful. According to IOL "South Africa's young tabloid industry is riding a wave of sales". But some fear a decline in credible journalism.
On Thursday Princess Caroline von Hannover and Germany reached a friendly settlement in one of the most controversial cases in media law. Germany will pay 115,000 Euro to Caroline, 105,000 for cost and expenses and 10,000 Euro for non-pecuniary damage. The impetus of the case were photographs appearing in German magazines showing Caroline shopping, riding or biking. According to Netzeitung (in German) in particular photos showing Caroline with a bald head triggered her to fight against the paparazzi.
You may be familiar with the concept of the the 'citizen media editor,' a newsroom position dedicated to sifting through participatory journalists' contributions described by Mark Glaser of Online Journalism Review back in March (previous posting). Take the 'media' out of the job title and what do you get? Citizen Editor! That's right, those feisty readers are at it again, rocking the foundations of what has always been your stable, however stressful, job as an editor.
You may be familiar with the concept of the the 'citizen media editor,' a newsroom position dedicated to sifting through participatory journalists' contributions described by Mark Glaser of Online Journalism Review back in March (previous posting). Take the 'media' out of the job title and what do you get? Citizen Editor! That's right, those feisty readers are at it again, rocking the foundations of what has always been your stable, however stressful, job as an editor.
"Northwestern women students wearing flip flops to a White House ceremony" - not exactly a story one would consider to be a hot topic. But nevertheless it received big coverage in the media. Louis B. Raffel called it "herd journalism" in the Chicago Tribune. He concludes: "Cute story, but what ever happened to news judgment?" Is this story maybe an example for a wider trend in news coverage to be softer and more entertaining while serious news stuff is declining? Are news values changing?
"Northwestern women students wearing flip flops to a White House ceremony" - not exactly a story one would consider to be a hot topic. But nevertheless it received big coverage in the media. Louis B. Raffel called it "herd journalism" in the Chicago Tribune. He concludes: "Cute story, but what ever happened to news judgment?" Is this story maybe an example for a wider trend in news coverage to be softer and more entertaining while serious news stuff is declining? Are news values changing?
Responding to an e-mail by a reader blaming the Los Angeles Times to be too left-wing in its news coverage, Jon Friedman writes on MarketWatch: "What readers refuse to concede is that even if a media organization does have a bias - and, yes, many do, in both political directions - they still have a professional obligation to report on the news. Most do a decent, if not a good, job at it". He suggests that, perhaps due to those readers "the media generally are trying harder to shed the long-held belief that they are liberal rebels with a cause."
"I am noticing that the news networks are trying to look more balanced. Their biggest problem is perception. Viewers seem to think they have a conspiracy against the American people to present only one side of the news"
states Bob Thompson, professor of pop culture at Syracuse University, on MarketWatch.
Source: Market Watch
If you've read articles about a man named Craig and his free online classifieds, you've probably noticed Craig's smiling face in the accompanying photo. Well, Craig has a lot to smile about. He now has classified sites in almost every major US city and in about 100 cities around the world. Newspaper execs hate this guy. And for good reason. According to a London consulting firm, in its relatively short existence, Craigslist has "destroyed" approximately 75% of US newspaper classified pricing, rates on which just last year newspapers depended on for over 35% of their revenue. Danny Meadows-Klue in the UK's The Guardian writes, "The list is not bad news; it's terrible news. The business model cuts at the heart of newspaper profitability and does so with such elegance, and is so intrinsically orientated to the new economy, that you can't help but shrug and say 'this is the future.'" Well, yeah! Every article written about the San Francisco based .org cites the impossibility of newspapers to compete with such a phenomenon.
If you've read articles about a man named Craig and his free online classifieds, you've probably noticed Craig's smiling face in the accompanying photo. Well, Craig has a lot to smile about. He now has classified sites in almost every major US city and in about 100 cities around the world. Newspaper execs hate this guy. And for good reason. According to a London consulting firm, in its relatively short existence, Craigslist has "destroyed" approximately 75% of US newspaper classified pricing, rates on which just last year newspapers depended on for over 35% of their revenue. Danny Meadows-Klue in the UK's The Guardian writes, "The list is not bad news; it's terrible news. The business model cuts at the heart of newspaper profitability and does so with such elegance, and is so intrinsically orientated to the new economy, that you can't help but shrug and say 'this is the future.'" Well, yeah! Every article written about the San Francisco based .org cites the impossibility of newspapers to compete with such a phenomenon.
Truth in general exists in 2 forms: in the object itself and in the mind of the perceiver argues Robert Lazaro in a comment in The Manila Times, found through Mediachannel. So the truth for an individual is always depending on how he perceives reality which is also dependent on his convictions. This is similar to what scholars in psychology often find. Regarding journalism Robert Lazaro points out that "when a journalist perceives the truth in his object, he has already taken sides without realizing that he is probably being subjective in so doing". Nevertheless he thinks of truth as "a guiding principle and an ultimate end of the journalist... Truth in journalism is not an empty play of words but a straight-to-the-point reality ... Deadlines, competition for newsbreaks and the need to catch public attention are not excuses for inaccuracies, slanting or semantics."
Product placement, which has transformed the TV advertising marketplace, is spreading its influence to all forms of media. At least that is what, according to MediaPostPublications, a new report by PQ Media, a Stamford-based media research firm, is suggesting. The report, which shall be published on Wednesday, estimates product placements in newspapers to rise 16.9 % to $65.0 million. MediaPostPublication states that even those numbers are small "the presence of any paid placements would seem troubling for editors or pride themselves on presenting objective news content that supposedly is not influenced by advertisers or other business interests."
Source: MediaPostPublication
In response to feedback from readers the Western Gazette is currently undergoing a redesign. According to HoldtheFrontPage the changes include the return to a black masthead on a better organised front page and the "introduction of 11 changes to front page Solus advertising - each from a local edition area and each supporting the local identity of the edition."
"We are using less colour more effectively and have made the Western Gazette more reader-friendly", claims editor Martin Heal.
Source: HoldtheFrontPage
In response to feedback from readers the Western Gazette is currently undergoing a redesign. According to HoldtheFrontPage the changes include the return to a black masthead on a better organised front page and the "introduction of 11 changes to front page Solus advertising - each from a local edition area and each supporting the local identity of the edition."
"We are using less colour more effectively and have made the Western Gazette more reader-friendly", claims editor Martin Heal.
Source: HoldtheFrontPage
We've talked a bit about the bottom line in a couple of recent postings (here and here) and how it's being affected by new technologies and changing reader habits. In June, top newspaper executives at the Newspaper Association of America's (NAA) Future of the Newspaper conference acknowledged the transforming media landscape, heralding the necessity for investment in technology, giving more power to the consumer and innovation in general. But when reading through an account of the meeting in the NAA's magazine Presstime, it doesn't seem like they're sure what to do about it.
