August 2005 Archives

Thanks to journalist Robert Domes for this article:

"Local journalists are grassroots workers of democracy." Those were the words Bernhard Vogel, chairman of the German foundation Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, used to praise the profession of local journalists. For 25 years the Adenauer-Stiftung has been awarding a prize for local journalists. Nowadays the award is considered the "Oscar of the writing guild" among German journalists. To celebrate its 25. anniversary, 450 representatives of newspapers from all over Germany met in Berlin last week, among them winners of the past 25 years as well as editors-in-chief and publishers. They all appreciated the role of local journalists. Dieter Golombek, spokesman of the jury, called it "the largest celebration ever given to the German local journalism". Bernhard Vogel said: "You benefit all of us with your work."

Editors of about 100 European print media will meet for the "M100 Sanssouci Colloquium" in Potsdam, Germany, this weekend, reports Der Standard. The conference will focus on the development of Europe, on "the questions and problems of the relationship between the USA and Europe; culture as key to a European self-image; Europe as an economic area and, of course, the state of the European media." Among the participants are Mathias Döpfner, Chief Executive of publisher Axel Springer, and Frank Schirrmacher, editor of "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung", reports Der Standard.

The aim of M100 Sanssouci Colloquium is to build a European media platform: "Our thinking behind the idea of an annual forum in Potsdam to promote discussion of European affairs was to create - for the first time - a pan-European platform for leading opinion formers and media personalities from the whole of Europe."

During this years' conference the Prize of the European Media will be awarded for the first time.

Source: Der Standard, M100 Sanssouci Colloquium

Editors of about 100 European print media will meet for the "M100 Sanssouci Colloquium" in Potsdam, Germany, this weekend, reports Der Standard. The conference will focus on the development of Europe, on "the questions and problems of the relationship between the USA and Europe; culture as key to a European self-image; Europe as an economic area and, of course, the state of the European media." Among the participants are Mathias Döpfner, Chief Executive of publisher Axel Springer, and Frank Schirrmacher, editor of "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung", reports Der Standard.

The aim of M100 Sanssouci Colloquium is to build a European media platform: "Our thinking behind the idea of an annual forum in Potsdam to promote discussion of European affairs was to create - for the first time - a pan-European platform for leading opinion formers and media personalities from the whole of Europe."

During this years' conference the Prize of the European Media will be awarded for the first time.

Source: Der Standard, M100 Sanssouci Colloquium

The Mail on Sunday, traditionally 'female focused and conservative' (54% of the readership are women), is relaunching its supplement Night & Day to attract more male readers, reports MediaWeek. The relaunched Night & Day will include male-orientated interviews as well as news and features on music, films, gadgets, cars etc.

The Mail on Sunday has been successful with its female-friendly features, but has also lost readers recently. The new strategy is an attempt to boost readership and advertising. And the paper is serious about the change. MediaWeek states: "Yet, given that the supplement is backed by an £8m investment, The MoS is clearly serious about going after the testosterone-fuelled pound." Dominic Williams, press director at Carat, believes in the new strategy. He said on MediaWeek: "It gives me another platform to think about from a strategic point of view, and gives planners and buyers another option in the marketplace. Rather than just think it's female, it is now male and female." However, it will not be easy to convince men to buy a paper with a 'female' history. MediaWeek concludes that "much will depend on the quality of the supplement and the expected marketing campaign that will accompany its arrival."

Meanwhile The Times is relaunching its supplement T2 as Times2 to attract more women (see previous posting).

Source: MediaWeek

The Mail on Sunday, traditionally 'female focused and conservative' (54% of the readership are women), is relaunching its supplement Night & Day to attract more male readers, reports MediaWeek. The relaunched Night & Day will include male-orientated interviews as well as news and features on music, films, gadgets, cars etc.

The Mail on Sunday has been successful with its female-friendly features, but has also lost readers recently. The new strategy is an attempt to boost readership and advertising. And the paper is serious about the change. MediaWeek states: "Yet, given that the supplement is backed by an £8m investment, The MoS is clearly serious about going after the testosterone-fuelled pound." Dominic Williams, press director at Carat, believes in the new strategy. He said on MediaWeek: "It gives me another platform to think about from a strategic point of view, and gives planners and buyers another option in the marketplace. Rather than just think it's female, it is now male and female." However, it will not be easy to convince men to buy a paper with a 'female' history. MediaWeek concludes that "much will depend on the quality of the supplement and the expected marketing campaign that will accompany its arrival."

Meanwhile The Times is relaunching its supplement T2 as Times2 to attract more women (see previous posting).

Source: MediaWeek

According to paidContent.org publishers do not see a threat to suburban newspapers in the citizen journalism site YourHub.com. The Denver Business Journal had interviewed some suburban publishers and they all "didn't view YourHub.com as a competitor in their markets, but Harrison Cochran at the Aurora Sentinel called the publication the "boldest experiment" he's seen."

YourHub.com is a community web site of Colorado neighborhoods for people to share their stories, give opinions about local issues, learn about local events happening in their community, post team scores, upload pictures and find local shopping deals. (see previous posting) The site belongs to the Denver Newspaper Agency, publisher of Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post. A weekly print edition, that consists of several postings, is delivered to subscribers of The Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News.

According to paidContent.org publishers do not see a threat to suburban newspapers in the citizen journalism site YourHub.com. The Denver Business Journal had interviewed some suburban publishers and they all "didn't view YourHub.com as a competitor in their markets, but Harrison Cochran at the Aurora Sentinel called the publication the "boldest experiment" he's seen."

YourHub.com is a community web site of Colorado neighborhoods for people to share their stories, give opinions about local issues, learn about local events happening in their community, post team scores, upload pictures and find local shopping deals. (see previous posting) The site belongs to the Denver Newspaper Agency, publisher of Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post. A weekly print edition, that consists of several postings, is delivered to subscribers of The Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News.

In June, the San Jose Mercury News eliminated the traditional local, national, and international news print sections and combined them into one (see previous posting). The change was controversial and many readers did not like it. A big problem was: it was now much harder for couples to share the morning paper.

Now the paper responds to readers' feedback: "OK, we hear you. Beginning Tuesday, Aug. 30, we'll go back to having two news sections: The first section will focus on national and international news, the second on local and state news. Page One will continue to offer an average of 75 percent locally written stories and the watchdog reports you find only in the Mercury News", wrote MercuryNews.com on August 21. The paper keeps, however, some changes that readers liked, such as news highlights on Page One, international pages clearly labeled by region, Monday's Calendar, Friday's new Interactive Arts + Entertainment section etc.

Source: MercuryNews.com

Sad news from Algeria: one of the most courageous newspaper is obliged to disappear. Le Matin, the daily newspaper in French, will no longer appear. According to Le Quotidien d'Oran (in French) shareholders decided to dissolve SARL Le Matin and put it into liquidation. The decision was made at the general assembly on August 10 in the absence of manager and editor Mohamed Benchicou. Benchicou is still in jail for a violation concerning control of capital exchanges within the paper and for publishing a pamphlet attacking the president (see former posting).

The move came after one year of non-appearance and is probably due to the paper's huge debts. "The debts are huge. There are close to 8bn centimes (1.1m US dollars) in debts for printing in the central part of the country and close to 6bn (844,600 US dollars) in tax debts due to the bankruptcy to which Le Matin was subjected. In all that remain the debts due to the printing companies of the east and west as well as those that Le Matin owes to Algerie Presse Service (APS), the amount of which is not yet known," reports Le Quotidien d'Oran (in French). A little sign of hope is, however, that some of Le Matin's seven associates have decided to found a new newspaper.

Source: Le Quotidien d'Oran (in French)

Sad news from Algeria: one of the most courageous newspaper is obliged to disappear. Le Matin, the daily newspaper in French, will no longer appear. According to Le Quotidien d'Oran (in French) shareholders decided to dissolve SARL Le Matin and put it into liquidation. The decision was made at the general assembly on August 10 in the absence of manager and editor Mohamed Benchicou. Benchicou is still in jail for a violation concerning control of capital exchanges within the paper and for publishing a pamphlet attacking the president (see former posting).

The move came after one year of non-appearance and is probably due to the paper's huge debts. "The debts are huge. There are close to 8bn centimes (1.1m US dollars) in debts for printing in the central part of the country and close to 6bn (844,600 US dollars) in tax debts due to the bankruptcy to which Le Matin was subjected. In all that remain the debts due to the printing companies of the east and west as well as those that Le Matin owes to Algerie Presse Service (APS), the amount of which is not yet known," reports Le Quotidien d'Oran (in French). A little sign of hope is, however, that some of Le Matin's seven associates have decided to found a new newspaper.

Source: Le Quotidien d'Oran (in French)

As newspapers are not doing very well in terms of ad revenue (see previous posting), some think of new ways to attract advertisers. One such way is to accept shadow ads. 'Shadow ads', or 'watermark ads', are "shadowy images of corporate logos, movie characters, or other images" that turned up on stock tables, movie listings and sports data pages in newspapers (see Editor & Publisher from June). "News content is superimposed on images including corporate logos", writes The Philadelphia Inquirer. Shadow ads are not directly new and have been in sporadic use over the past years. In 2001, for example, Universal Studios had shadow-like ads in 15 newspapers in the US to promote its film "Jurassic Park II". "The images of flying dinosaurs appeared on tables of agate, or data, such as stock tables", reports Editor & Publisher . Such advertisements are, however, highly controversial with some editors being afraid that the line between editorial and advertising might be crossed.

As newspapers are not doing very well in terms of ad revenue (see previous posting), some think of new ways to attract advertisers. One such way is to accept shadow ads. 'Shadow ads', or 'watermark ads', are "shadowy images of corporate logos, movie characters, or other images" that turned up on stock tables, movie listings and sports data pages in newspapers (see Editor & Publisher from June). "News content is superimposed on images including corporate logos", writes The Philadelphia Inquirer. Shadow ads are not directly new and have been in sporadic use over the past years. In 2001, for example, Universal Studios had shadow-like ads in 15 newspapers in the US to promote its film "Jurassic Park II". "The images of flying dinosaurs appeared on tables of agate, or data, such as stock tables", reports Editor & Publisher . Such advertisements are, however, highly controversial with some editors being afraid that the line between editorial and advertising might be crossed.

As newspapers are not doing very well in terms of ad revenue (see previous posting), some think of new ways to attract advertisers. One such way is to accept shadow ads. 'Shadow ads', or 'watermark ads', are "shadowy images of corporate logos, movie characters, or other images" that turned up on stock tables, movie listings and sports data pages in newspapers (see Editor & Publisher from June). "News content is superimposed on images including corporate logos", writes The Philadelphia Inquirer. Shadow ads are not directly new and have been in sporadic use over the past years. In 2001, for example, Universal Studios had shadow-like ads in 15 newspapers in the US to promote its film "Jurassic Park II". "The images of flying dinosaurs appeared on tables of agate, or data, such as stock tables", reports Editor & Publisher . Such advertisements are, however, highly controversial with some editors being afraid that the line between editorial and advertising might be crossed.