Newspapers are making several preparations in anticipation of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, trimming staff and putting increased focus on their online operations.
The Associated Press will provide newspapers with a service called Summer Games Plus, made possible by a deal with NBC that allows the AP to publish NBC-produced context.
According to New York Times Sports Editor Tom Jolly, the Times will utilize the AP's service "because we wanted the ability to fully cover things like lead-up events, lesser events we might not staff, and mostly agate events."
The Tribune Company's papers, which include the LA Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the Baltimore Sun, will share reporters to provide the widest range of coverage.
The Boston Globe is among the papers sharpening its web coverage. According to sports editor Joe Sullivan, the paper is bringing "a full-time multimedia person...in charge solely of producing products for the Web."
The Globe will also bring a Chinese reporter "to help with the language and cultural stuff."
Check out some past coverage of the Beijing Olympics:
IHT.com has announced a new iPhone-optimized web site. The entire site is based on AJAX, allowing for quick downloads.
IHT blogger Michael Cosentino acknowledged there are still bugs in the system, notably compatibility issues with some Safari features. "The iPhone site is still very much a work in progress. We wanted to get the core functionality in place first," wrote Cosentino.
The IHT plans to continue developing the site from its current barebones frame, including plans to soon add an "E-mail Article" option.
Last Monday, Katherine Weymouth, the Washington Post's publisher, announced that Marcus W. Brauchli, 47, would be the new top editor of the Post. Mr. Brauchli's former experience at the Wall Street Journal as top editor, with its integrated print and Web newsrooms, might prove valuable for the Post.
Weymouth is the first Post publisher to have direct control of the website. She hopes that Brauchli will help the Post to progress into new media.
According to the New York Times, the Post is undergoing budget cuts, job cuts, ad revenue reduction and circulation decrease.
In 2007, Brauchli resigned following News Corp.'s buyout of the Journal, lead by Rupert Murdoch, after which Robert Thompson replaced him.
In the last 8 years, the Post's circulation dropped from 800,000 to 673,000. Even though its website draws over nine million unique users per month, the paper hasn't been able to transfer the traffic into revenue. The Post's profit has declined from $14.9 million last year to $1.2 million.
The growing market for e-paper technology will soon welcome a device with a foldable, flexible display screen, to be released this fall. The Readius' foldable format is predicted to prompt developments in mobile reader screens, the New York Times reported.
"Flexible displays are the crucial enabling technology for a new generation of portable devices that are mobile, but also have compelling user interfaces," said Jennifer Colegrove, analyst for iSuppli Corporation, a Californian market research company.
The Readius is geared towards reading books, newspapers, magazines and e-mail on a 5-inch diagonal screen that can be folded and reduced to a pocket size.
Karl McGoldrick, CEO of Polymer Vision, the Dutch company that developed the Readius, said that although it displays only shades of gray, its "active matrix" technology might be developed to include colour and videos.
The Readius will come out in this fall in England, Italy and Germany, and in early 2009 in the United States. According to many analysts, the market for e-paper will really begin to boom in 2009.
(For more information about the functions of the Readius, see more about Polymer Vision)
In an article two weeks ago, despite objections from the Central Intelligence Agency and Deuce Martinez's lawyer, theNew York Timeschose to identify Martinez as the interrogator "who used shrewd psychology, not rough stuff, to get Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, to talk."
Clark Hoyt, NYT public editor explained the paper's decision in his Sunday column. The paper has faced criticism and reader's questions on their decision not to withhold Martinez's name.
"I understand how readers can think that if there is any risk at all, a person like Martinez should never be identified," wrote Hoyt. "But going in that direction... would leave news organizations hobbled when trying to tell the public about some of the government's most important and controversial actions."
The Times faced a classic journalistic dilemma. The paper had the duty to deliver accurate and substantive information, as well as maintain their journalistic independence, while balancing this with the obligation to seriously consider the consequences to a key stakeholder.
Bob Steele, of the Poynter Institute, was consulted by Hoyt after the decision, and discussed the issues in his Everyday Ethics column.
"This story is powerful in its substance. That power is enhanced by the specific use of Deuce Martinez's name," explained Steele. "Granted, the Times chose to use his nickname, Deuce, rather than his real first name, apparently to offer him some level of identity protection. But the use of his surname and nickname helps the paper achieve one of its primary objectives: bolstering the credibility of its reporting."
Steele did question "whether Times editors went far enough in seeking additional input from knowledgeable, independent individuals who could assess the potential risks to Martinez's personal safety and that of his family." Although the Times received input from Agency officials and Bob Bennet, the attorney representing Martinez, the Times did not seek "independent" voices who were not connected to the story, but might still be able to assess the potential risk to Martinez and his family.
Human Rights Watch has released a guidebook for the estimated 25,000 journalists traveling for to China to cover the Olympic games. The "survival guide" covers reporters' risks and rights, human rights issues outside the arena, tips on dealing with censorship and the police, protecting Chinese contacts, and the "Great Firewall" of internet censorship.
In 2001, Wang Wei, vice president of the Beijing Olympics organizing committee, said, "We will give the media complete freedom to report when they come to China."
This commitment was central to Beijing's successful '08 Olympic bid, having failed to win the 2000 Summer Games; however, China remains the leading jailer of journalists and continues to censor the internet and retaliate against citizen sources critical of the government.
The guidebook is available as a free download here.
Part 1 discussed how the planned changes at The New York Times and International Herald Tribune will help the NYT's continuous news offerings, and how these changes could affect the organization and interaction between both newsrooms.
Part 2 examines how The New York Times intends to: - Further compete against the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal internationally, and ways in which newspapers can reinforce their international reach. - Use the strength of its online brand while safeguarding the IHT's popular print brand name.
The Weblog spoke to Jim Roberts, Digital Editor at The New York Times, and Martin Gottlieb, who was appointed to the newly created position of Editor, Global Edition.
How newspapers can become international brands, the NYT joins the race
Until now, the Times hasn't specifically catered to overseas advertisers and readers.
"We need to be agile," said IHT publisher StephenDunbar-Johnson, "to compete much more aggressively, nose to nose, with The Financial Times, Wall Street Journal and anybody else who is competing for our readers and advertisers."
No doubt that the Times actually borrowed the continuous news outpost idea from the aforementioned competitors, which have been relying on their foreign bureaus to provide round the clock coverage.
The staff memo reaffirmed the NYT's "ambitious plans to expand in the region (Asia), particularly in India." In June, the IHT announced a partnership with the India-based Deccan Chronicle to print the Tribune's world business section in the Financial Chronicle.
With the rise of digital publishing, many news organizations are seeking to grow a previously inaccessible international readership by:
- investing in an online international section: In Germany, referential weekly Der Spiegel launched an English-language International edition on its website in 2004. Five fulltime staffers are dedicated to translating Der Spiegel's content and rewriting it with an international perspective, as well as doing their own international-minded original reporting (the full case study is featured in Trends in Newsrooms 2008). The Guardian adopted a different approach, by launching a separate, foreign-based, US website, Guardian America. The Guardian is reportedly considering similar ventures in other regions.
- simply reinforcing their focus on international news in their regular coverage: the Daily Telegraph's website in the UK, which was neck to neck with the Guardian in terms of traffic in April, claims nearly two thirds of its visitors are from overseas. A well-indexed website helps to brings in a significant number of 'light' international users through search engines.
Merging "co-branded" websites but not print: a branding issue
The NYT's approach is a combination of the first two strategies: the print IHT now serves as The Times' 'global edition' (see picture), while maintaining its trademark brand name. With the proposed online merger, the NYT could also follow the second route, by hosting an international edition online, without having to extensively change its workflows (see Part 1).
The rationale to merge the websites is clearly explained in the memo:
according to WebTrends, NYT's website boasts a strong international
audience and 58 million global users, compared to iht.com's seven
million.
"The global landscape for online news is highly competitive, making scale, speed and resources essential to success. Therefore we have determined that the best future online for the IHT and the NYT globally is through a joint international presence," said the memo.
However, the memo doesn't explicitly say why this won't be the case in print:
"The IHT should become the international print edition of the NYT, whether it is formally branded that way or not."
The main issue at stake is one of branding. "In print, there have been at least a couple of studies that show that among Tribune newspaper readers there is a great identification with the brand, that the brand means something to readers," said Gottlieb.
"More than the name, what accompanies the name, an international perspective, a sense of calling the best stories from The Times and augmenting them with unique reporting," was a combination that many readers liked.
As news organizations seek to grow their international reach, this consideration probably holds true for many that have established a reputable brand name on a local or national scale. However strong the brand name, its association with a particular place or country can potentially play against that news outlet on the international scene.
Source: New York Times - Media Bistro - Jim Roberts, Digital Editor The New York Times - Martin Gottlieb, Editor, Global Edition
At a time when any local or national news outlet can potentially become an international online brand, and as newsrooms adapt to a 24-hour news cycle, editors can learn from The New York Times' most recent attempt to 'kill' both birds with one stone.
Last week, top execs from The Times and the International Herald Tribuneannounced plans to mergeiht.com and nytimes.com into a co-branded international section, in order to increase both sites' reach and appeal to international advertisers.
In this two-part series, the Weblog spoke to Jim Roberts, Digital Editor at The New York Times, and Martin Gottlieb, who was appointed to the newly created position of Editor, Global Edition.
Through these moves, The Times intends to accomplish at least four ostensible goals:
Part 1: - Build an outpost for its Continuous News Desk in Paris, and eventually Hong Kong. - Integrate operations, streamline some resources by increasing efficiency and avoiding overlap.
Part 2: - Reinforce its international reach and further compete against the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal. - Use the strength of NYT's online brand while safeguarding the IHT's popular print brand name. IHT: an outpost for the Times' continuous news
Although the proposed changes are currently undergoing a consultation process with the IHT's works council, as required by French law, the process of integration of both papers began ever since the NYT acquired full control of the IHT in 2003, and has accelerated in past months.
In Feb., NYT executive editor Bill Keller had already announced plans to integrate operations and develop an "organic, global, 24-hour news operation," in order "to create a Continuous News outpost in Paris."
In May, the IHT dropped its 142-year-old logo from its nameplate to replace it with the phrase "The Global Edition of the New York Times."
"That says, we are one, and we are," although both arms are managed separately, said Jim Roberts, digital editor at The Times.
Video: Roberts talks about the 'integration' of both newspapers. Footage was collected during an interview at the 15th World Editors Forum in Sweden.
Thanks to this outpost and the six-hour time difference, the NYT is now able to upload content to its site nearly 24 hours a day (from about 6am to 1am, New York time). The paper eventually hopes to establish a similar outpost at the IHT's Asian headquarters in Hong Kong in the next six months.
The creation of these outposts does not mean that the IHT is becoming a full-blown Paris bureau for The Times. "We have a Paris bureau," said Roberts, "and the newsroom of the IHT still has a print edition and right now they still have a website." Integration, streamlining resources: evolution, no revolution
Since all proposed changes are undergoing a consultation process, editors couldn't give any firm preview of how workflows could be affected.
In the past, there has been "very regular contact between individual desks at the Times and corresponding desks at the IHT," said Martin Gottlieb, newly appointed editor of the Global edition. Many IHT editors come from The Times, regularly do edits on NYT pieces, and this past year IHT-written articles have appeared on nytimes.com with no distinctive byline.
However, there is no formal process of exchange between both newsrooms, and "There have been a couple of occasions when we've had IHT and NYT reporters covering the same thing," said Roberts.
The appointment of Gottlieb as editor of the Global Edition - note, no mention of the IHT in his title - is significant in that respect. In addition to fulfilling the role of editor of the paper, his mission will be to ensure that staff understands both papers are "two parts of one news-gathering operation, that should work in unison as much as possible in delivering the news 24 hours a day seven days a week," said Gottlieb.
A series of new editorial appointments at the IHT will be the symbols of this top-down integration. "There will be people coordinating the work of both staffs to, pretty much, make them as much as possible act as one staff," said Gottlieb.
For example, Alison Smale, who becomes European editor of the global newsroom, will be responsible for "coordinating the work of all NYT and IHT reporters in the region from the IHT newsroom in Paris," said the memo. To oversee the process, The Times also named Alan Flippen "Editor, Newsroom Organization."
It seems too early to say whether the planned reforms will lead to radical changes in workflows or content. Evolution, not revolution, said Roberts.
Currently, an IHT reporter based in Hong Kong might build upon a Times' story about the rise of airline fuel prices by interviewing Asian carriers, whose input might not have been as relevant to the core readership of the Times in the US. Likewise, an IHT story published in the Times might be fine-tuned to be more pertinent to the American audience (see the example of Der Spiegel in Part 2, looking at different newspaper approaches towards international editions).
Future workflows will likely build upon these current processes, rather than start from scratch. "It's continuing synergies that are taking place and maximizing them and regularizing them," said Gottlieb.
The planned changes can also be seen as an attempt to streamline resources - terminology often equivocated with cost cuts and layoffs. But according to Gottlieb, there are no planned newsroom layoffs at this point (this is subject to change during the next six months). It is possible that an online merger of iht.com and nytimes.com could lead to redundancies for some technical Web production positions.
Editors couldn't comment on any upcoming changes concerning the IHT's planned print redesign.
Stay tuned for Part 2, which will examine The Times' international branding strategy, and how newspapers can grow a previously inaccessible international readership.
Source: New York Times - Media Bistro - Jim Roberts, Digital Editor The New York Times - Martin Gottlieb, Editor, Global Edition
The New York Times (NYT) has taken a step to boost its digital revamping by adding innovative features such as a custom widget generator that bloggers can use to embed news content, WebWare.com reported.
New additions also include a collection of application program interfaces that will transfer data to third-party sites and the development of Timespeople.
Timespeople allows users to share, bookmark, comment on articles and rate restaurants or movies. It is currently available as a Mozilla Firefox plug-in, but may shortly become a part of the NYT website.
The NYT is reportedly developing iPhone applications for the new 3G iPhone, to be released this month.
Nytimes.com blogger Timothy Egan points to an interesting paradox about newspapers: how can we be talking about the death knell for newspapers when readership for many publications has never been higher?
Although the Internet may have damaged the traditional newspaper, it has also "increased the readership of some newspapers ten-fold."
US Newspaper websites attracted more than 66 million unique visitors in the first quarter of 2008 -- a record, and a 12 percent increase on a year ago, according to Nielsen Online analysis. Forty percent of all Internet users visit a newspaper site.
"A visitor, it should be noted, is different from a reader, but it's the measurement of choice. The Web is the future," writes Egan.
However, online advertising accounts for only around 10 percent of total ad revenue for newspapers. In its present form, the Web format does not generate enough revenue to support a full reporting team at a national newspaper. This is an area that newspapers need to focus on, and currently only a few newspapers are doing successfully.
Egan also discusses another interesting business model for the future; could newspapers go down the route of non-profit national broadcasters such as the BBC, CBC and National Public Radio? He discusses the possibility of a quality, independent media no longer driven by the search for ad revenues.
However, this system arguably couldn't support a nationwide competitive media, but it's something worth considering, even if it is an option with limitations.
Egan's blog puts a new slant on the debate about the future of newspapers and exposes the weakness in the argument that newspapers are in their last days. Egan's research demostrates that there is much vitality in the industry and that newspapers need to adapt to a changing media environment.
A number of major media organizations in the US took a quote by retired general Wesley Clark about JohnMcCain out of context, media watchdog Fair.Org reported.
This led to the publication of many misleading accounts about McCain's electability
A few days ago, CBS's Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer asked Clark about his previous declaration that McCain was "untested and untried", to which Clark replied:
"I certainly honor his service as a prisoner of war. He was a hero to me and to hundreds of thousands of millions of others in the armed forces as a prisoner of war."
Schieffer then said, "I have to say, Barack Obama has not had any of those experiences either, nor has he ridden in a fighter plane and gotten shot down."
Clark replied, "Well, I don't think riding in a fighte
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2008/07/ihtcom_launches_iphoneoptimized_site.php&bodytext=<form contenteditable="false" mt:asset-id="625" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><img alt="469_iphone.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/469_iphone.jpg" class="mt-image-none" style="" height="290" width="469" /></form><br /><br /><a href="http://www.iht.com/"><b>IHT.com</b></a> has announced a new <b>iPhone</b>-optimized web site. The entire site is based on <b>AJAX</b>, allowing for quick downloads. <br /><br />IHT blogger <b>Michael Cosentino </b><a href="http://blogs.iht.com/tribtalk/technology/lab/?p=20">acknowledged</a> there are still bugs in the system, notably compatibility issues with some Safari features. "The iPhone site is still very much a work in progress. We wanted to get the core functionality in place first," wrote Cosentino. <br /><br />The <i>IHT</i> plans to continue developing the site from its current barebones frame, including plans to soon add an "E-mail Article" option. <br /><br />It's expected other papers will soon follow suit, the <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2008/07/us_nyt_to_add_new_features_to_digital_ma.php"><i>New York Times</i> has already announced plans for an iPhone application</a>, which will be released later this month.<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://blogs.iht.com/tribtalk/technology/lab/?p=20">IHT Developer Blog</a> through <a href="http://blogs.journalism.co.uk/editors/2008/07/07/international-herald-tribune-launches-iphone-site/">Journalism.co.uk</a><br /><br /> &title=<b>IHT.com</b> launches <b>iPhone</b>-optimized site){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/analysis/2008/07/part_2_the_new_york_times_international.php&bodytext=<a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/analysis/2008/07/part_1_new_york_times_expands_continuous.php">Part 1</a> discussed how the planned changes at <i>The New York Times</i> and <i>International Herald Tribune</i> will help the NYT's continuous news offerings, and how these changes could affect the organization and interaction between both newsrooms.<br /><br />Part 2 examines how The New York Times intends to:<br />- Further compete against the <i>Financial Times</i> and <i>Wall Street Journal</i> internationally, and ways in which newspapers can reinforce their international reach.<br />- Use the strength of its online brand while safeguarding the IHT's popular print brand name.<br /><br />The Weblog spoke to <b>Jim Roberts</b>, Digital Editor at The New York Times, and <b>Martin Gottlieb</b>, who was appointed to the newly created position of Editor, Global Edition.<br /><br /><b>How newspapers can become international brands, the NYT joins the race</b><br /><br />Until now, the Times hasn't specifically catered to overseas advertisers and readers.<br /><br />"We need to be agile," said IHT publisher <b>Stephen</b> <b>Dunbar-Johnson</b>, "to compete much more aggressively, nose to nose, with <i>The Financial Times</i>, <i>Wall Street Journal</i> and anybody else who is competing for our readers and advertisers."<br /><br />No doubt that the Times actually borrowed the continuous news outpost idea from the aforementioned competitors, which have been relying on their foreign bureaus to provide round the clock coverage.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/newspapers/nyt_reorganizes_international_herald_tribune_87735.asp">staff memo</a> reaffirmed the NYT's "ambitious plans to expand in the region (Asia), particularly in India." In June, the IHT <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2008/06/india_iht_partners_deccan_chronicle_for.php">announced a partnership</a> with the India-based <b>Deccan Chronicle</b> to print the Tribune's world business section in the <i>Financial Chronicle</i>.<br /><br />With the rise of digital publishing, many news organizations are seeking to grow a previously inaccessible international readership by:<br /><br />- launching a print edition abroad: several papers have rolled out editions away from home this past year, such as the FT's <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2008/04/financial_times_launching_middle_eastern.php">recently launched Middle East edition</a> in Abu Dhabi, WSJ's <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/analysis/2008/05/mint_setting_ethical_standards_for_edito.php">partnership with business paper</a> <i>Mint</i> in India, the <i>Daily Mail</i>'s <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2008/05/uk_daily_mail_to_launch_website_in_india.php">partnership</a> with <i>India Today</i> to publish the <i>Mail Today</i>, or <i>The Times</i> of <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2007/08/the_times_of_london_moves_to_p.php">London's Polish edition</a>.<br /><br />- investing in an online international section: In Germany, referential weekly <i>Der Spiegel</i> launched an <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/">English-language International edition</a> on its website in 2004. Five fulltime staffers are dedicated to translating Der Spiegel's content and rewriting it with an international perspective, as well as doing their own international-minded original reporting (the full case study is featured in <a href="http://www.trends-in-newsrooms.org/home.php">Trends in Newsrooms 2008</a>). The <i>Guardian</i> adopted a different approach, by launching a separate, foreign-based, US website, <b>Guardian America</b>. The Guardian is <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2008/05/after_guardian_america_india_and_the_mid.php">reportedly considering similar ventures</a> in other regions.<br /><br />- simply reinforcing their focus on international news in their regular coverage: the <i>Daily Telegraph</i>'s website in the UK, which was neck to neck with the Guardian in terms of traffic in April, claims nearly two thirds of its visitors are from overseas. A well-indexed website helps to brings in a significant number of 'light' international users through search engines.<br /><br /><b>Merging "co-branded" websites but not print: a branding issue</b><br /><br /><form contenteditable="false" mt:asset-id="621" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/IHT%20NYT%20logo.gif"><img alt="IHT NYT logo.gif" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/IHT%20NYT%20logo-thumb-322x77.gif" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="77" width="322" /></a></form>The NYT's approach is a combination of the first two strategies: the print IHT now serves as The Times' 'global edition' (see picture), while maintaining its trademark brand name. With the proposed online merger, the NYT could also follow the second route, by hosting an international edition online, without having to extensively change its workflows (<a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/analysis/2008/07/part_1_new_york_times_expands_continuous.php">see Part 1</a>). <br /><br />The rationale to merge the websites is clearly explained in the memo:
according to <b>WebTrends</b>, NYT's website boasts a strong international
audience and 58 million global users, compared to iht.com's seven
million.<br /><br />"The global landscape for online news is highly competitive, making scale, speed and resources essential to success. Therefore we have determined that the best future online for the IHT and the NYT globally is through a joint international presence," said the memo. <br /><br />However, the memo doesn't explicitly say why this won't be the case in print:<br /><br />"The IHT should become the international print edition of the NYT, whether it is formally branded that way or not."<br /><br />The main issue at stake is one of branding. "In print, there have been at least a couple of studies that show that among Tribune newspaper readers there is a great identification with the brand, that the brand means something to readers," said Gottlieb.<br /><br />"More than the name, what accompanies the name, an international perspective, a sense of calling the best stories from The Times and augmenting them with unique reporting," was a combination that many readers liked.<br /><br />As news organizations seek to grow their international reach, this consideration probably holds true for many that have established a reputable brand name on a local or national scale. However strong the brand name, its association with a particular place or country can potentially play against that news outlet on the international scene.<br /><br />Source: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/business/media/24paper.html?_r=2&ref=media&oref=slogin&oref=slogin">New York Times</a> - <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/newspapers/nyt_reorganizes_international_herald_tribune_87735.asp">Media Bistro</a> - Jim Roberts, Digital Editor The New York Times - Martin Gottlieb, Editor, Global Edition<br /><br /> &title=Part 2: <b><i>The New York Times</i></b>' international bid, in print and online){kind=link}