September 2006 Archives

As newspapers look to maintain the value of their content while still making money in a commoditized news world, many have deemed archives a steady source of both value and income. A couple of interesting developments in archive technology have emerged which may either give newspapers some ideas or create problems for them.

Fashion designer Giorgio Armani’s cover for the Independent failed to achieve the success of Bono’s May edition.  Armani designed the September 21 issue in support of Bono’s charity Project Red.  Despite a cover featuring Kate Moss covered in black paint, the issue caused a spike in circulation of only 10-15,000 above average.

A new evening paper, The Valley Today, will be launched in Nova Scotia in mid-October.  The paper will gamble against the overwhelming move toward morning papers in the past thirty years. 

If your curious to learn about one of the most rapidly developing medium in the new media sphere, Mark Glaser at his PBS MediaShift blog has posted a comprehensive look at Citizen Journalism including history, terminology and specific cases. He has also written extensively about other new media topics such as blogging and RSS feeds.

Source: MediaShift 

A number of Japanese newspapers announced towards the beginning of September their intention to create a national web portal, breaking down the walls between publishers for a common purpose. A survey of American publishers found that they didn't believe cooperation could work in their own country. But the latest news about the Japanese project could change their mind.

News Corporation has expanded into New York’s outer boroughs with its recent purchase of two newspaper groups.  The owners of the New York Post are excited to expand their empire into Brooklyn and Queens.

In a sign of the times, the Finish publisher Alma Media has decided to join the political desks of its regional papers beginning September 2007. The group's press release explains that such "co-operation creates opportunities for renewal and for improving quality levels and efficiency."

Glasgow PM and Manchester Evening News are the latest additions to the United Kingdom’s mounting pile of free papers.  Glasgow PM (including a bar of chocolate) is offered in the afternoon for 15 pence while the Manchester Evening News is given away for free in the city center.

If the internet puts the entire world at your fingertips, it also provides great benefits in your own backyard.

How consumers are using the internet for local information, products and services, and why on-line newspapers are the best-placed medium to assist them, is the heart of a session on "New Local Strategies and Opportunities" at the World Digital Publishing Conference, to be held in London on 26 and 27 October next.

Newspapers are experiencing an upsurge in South Africa, with most daily newspapers increasing readership.  The publisher Media 24 has two English-language star papers to its name: the Sunday Sun and the Daily Sun.  The Sunday Sun is up 10% in the past 3 months, and the Daily Sun 4%.

Since July, the top selling German paper has been inviting its readers to send in photos of events that the tabloids own journalists may not have caught. Any photo printed in the national or regional editions of Bild
can earn a lucky amateur photog between 100 and 500 euro.

Kommersant, one of Russia's foremost daily papers, has made the move to color and expanded their size from 16 to 24 pages.  The change was effectuated on Monday.

The color pages will be published every day in Moscow and on Monday, Thursday, and Friday in St.Petersburg.  Color is also available for ad space.

Kommersant was sold last August to Alisher Usmanov, an owner of Metalloinvest.

 

Source: Publicitas 

London Lite is inching ahead of Thelondonpaper in London’s freesheet battle.  London Lite is reporting its distribution at 400,000, whereas Thelondonpaper has hit only 360,000.

Seventy-two percent of newspaper executives feel that they are missing out on numerous online opportunities by not coordinating functions, according to a recent poll by the American Press Institute. However, almost half of those surveyed didn't feel that this would occur successfully.

Along with the radical change of its newsroom, at the beginning of the month the Telegraph announced that job cuts were imminent. In the end 54 newsroom employees lost their job which was met by resistance from unions.

The Commonwealth Press Union (CPU) has announced its latest online training courses, one on newsroom management and one about Basic Journalism and Ethics. CPU began its online classes in 2003 for people in developing countries of the Commonwealth.

After prolonged delays, Sony is set to launch its portable E-book reader this week.  Sony Reader is smaller than most paperbacks and features enough memory to hold up to 7,500 pages at a time.

Seemingly attacked on all sides from traditional publishers, search engine giant Google declared that its principal functions will remain just that: search. A representative from the Mountainview-based dotcom said Tuesday that Google has no intentions of producing original content, preferring to continue "getting users where they want to go."

Source: Reuters