Editors Weblog: November 2007 Archives

Continuing newspaper innovations at Las Ultimas Noticias

Posted by Evan Fell on November 30, 2007 at 4:11 PM

Las Ultimas Noticias in Santiago, Chile has embraced many innovations over the past few years. Editor Augustín J. Edwards has talked with Michael Smith from the Readership Institute about his experiments and innovations.

UK: Guardian journalists vote for 24/7 integration plan

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 30, 2007 at 2:20 PM

Guardian journalists voted on Nov. 29th an “enabling deal” that backs the newspaper’s 24/7 plan. The National Union of Journalists’ Guardian chapel endorsed the deal by 211 votes to 27.

Only those who integrate will succeed

Posted by Evan Fell on November 30, 2007 at 2:17 PM

Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor in chief of The Huffington Post talks about the future of digital media, saying, “The only agency people who’ll succeed are those who fully integrate.”

CitJ: to stay or not to stay?

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 30, 2007 at 1:15 PM

Time is once again to vivid discussions about the future of citizen, professional, and pro-am journalism, as Steve Boriss from The Future of News blog argues that “citizen journalism is dead. Expert journalism is the future.”

Tribune launches branded channels on YouTube

Posted by Evan Fell on November 30, 2007 at 1:12 PM

Tribune Interactive is launching branded channels for its newspapers and TV stations on YouTube. The move is said to be about “leveraging” and enhancing public exposure for Tribune and local content for YouTube.

FCC expected to waive rule for Tribune

Posted by Evan Fell on November 30, 2007 at 12:54 PM

The FCC is anticipated to approve Tribune’s $8.2 billion deal to go private by today. The rule barring ownership of a newspaper and a broadcast property in one market needs to be waived in order for Tribune to complete the Sam Zell privatization.

Tips for the metro editor and columnist

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 30, 2007 at 12:37 PM

According to O. Casey Corr of Crosscut, the role of the city columnist has been on the decline, despite the typically heightened focus on local news. So here’s why and how to improve metro writing.

Topix adds user comments to 61 newspaper sites

Posted by Evan Fell on November 30, 2007 at 12:14 PM

News forum Topix announced Tuesday a deal with MediaNews Group to provide each of its 61 daily newspaper’s online versions with discussion forums and article commenting.

ACAP: new standards for publishers and search engines unveiled

Posted by Evan Fell on November 30, 2007 at 11:32 AM

Publishers everywhere are being asked to implement ACAP, Automated Content Access Protocol, developed at the initiative of the World Association of Newspapers, the International Publishers Association and the European Publishers Council.

Is journalism school really unnecessary?

Posted by Evan Fell on November 30, 2007 at 10:53 AM

Matt Taibbi, a political reporter from Rolling Stone has never had a problem expressing his opinions and his latest is journalism school is a waste of time.

Many US papers going more local, AP expanding on international scene

Posted by Evan Fell on November 29, 2007 at 5:08 PM

Many US news organizations have taken a major step back from the international scene, deciding to become more local in their content. The Associated Press, however, has been expanding its international reach, providing vital reports.

YouTube closes down account of Egyptian journalist and activist

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 29, 2007 at 4:55 PM

Last week, YouTube suspended the account of Egyptian journalist and anti-torture activist Wael Abbas, on the basis that the clips he posted, which depicted police brutality, voting irregularities and other government-unfriendly content, were unsuitable for viewers.

France: journalists using bodyguards to cover suburb

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 29, 2007 at 4:04 PM

In the last few days, a French suburb went ablaze again after a mysterious and deadly encounter between two young motorcyclists and a police car at Villiers-le-Bel. Although the situation is cooling down, Le Monde reported that journalists were using bodyguards to tour around the town.

Yahoo and Adobe PDF pair to create new ad product

Posted by Evan Fell on November 29, 2007 at 3:50 PM

Yahoo has partnered with Adobe PDF to create a new ad product called “Ads for Adobe PDF powered by Yahoo!” The project aims to allow publishers the chance to include contextual, text-based ads next to PDF-based content.

China: concerns about press freedom in the lead to Olympic Games

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 29, 2007 at 3:39 PM

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has sent an open letter to the International Olympic Committee to express their concern about the way Chinese authorities are dealing with Olympic preparations regarding journalists, who are to be closely controlled during the games.

US: Gannett’s Ocean County Observer goes weekly

Posted by Evan Fell on November 29, 2007 at 2:03 PM

A Gannett owned daily newspaper, The Ocean County Observer, is changing to a weekly due to declining circulation.

Lessons learned about businesses built on UGC

Posted by Evan Fell on November 29, 2007 at 1:36 PM

Steve Outing, a columnist for Editor & Publisher decided to talk about his failed company, the Enthusiast Group, which was an experiment in grassroots media and social networking, to teach the lessons he learned and to save others from the same failure he experienced.

Opinion: from Bangladesh to California: the digital gap widens?

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 29, 2007 at 1:32 PM

Media coverage of cyclone Sidr, which devastated Bangladesh, left hundreds of thousands homeless and killed at least 3,100, has been extensive, as is now the tradition in cases of major natural catastrophes. However, in comparison to coverage of the recent Californian wildfires, one can also wonder whether the differences in coverage of these two events can be representative of the digital gap widening.

Request for site to document reporting restrictions

Posted by Evan Fell on November 29, 2007 at 12:30 PM

Simon Westrop, the head of the legal department at Newsquest has called for a website that will document reporting restrictions that have been placed on court cases, in an effort to avoid the breaching of court orders by the media.

US: NY Times freezes hiring, cuts jobs

Posted by Evan Fell on November 29, 2007 at 11:48 AM

In an effort to cut spending, the New York Times has frozen new hiring and cut a small amount of newsroom jobs.

Agence France Press takes stake in citizen journalism site

Posted by Evan Fell on November 29, 2007 at 11:27 AM

Agence France Presse has announced that it has taken a 30% stake in Scooplive, a French company that runs a citizen journalism platform for films and photos.

US: Republican Party holds YouTube debate

Posted by Evan Fell on November 29, 2007 at 11:11 AM

US Republican presidential candidates held a YouTube debate much like the one held by the Democratic Party in July. Eight candidates answered questions from people using YouTube that were broadcast to CNN.

Pluck connects traditional media with social networks

Posted by Evan Fell on November 28, 2007 at 5:24 PM

Pluck Corp an online media syndication company that serves over 200 media web sites has announced that it will give traditional media companies the chance to link their sites to online social networks, like MySpace and Facebook.

Tip to local papers: do not outsource community participation

Posted by Evan Fell on November 28, 2007 at 4:40 PM

On his blog, Howard Owens says “local news is vertical” and explains that local papers need to aim for ownership of local news and information across many platforms, especially on the Web.

UK: Johnston press to roll out mobile news service

Posted by Evan Fell on November 28, 2007 at 4:08 PM

Johnston Press plans to launch a news subscription service next year via mobile phones across its 120 titles.

Part 2 Non-integrated newsrooms: Le Monde: 5 reasons why it’s not integrated

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 28, 2007 at 2:49 PM

Le Monde’s print and online teams are non-integrated, and it’s only this year that the paper began mapping out a concrete plan to further collaboration – not integration. Yet this relative ‘belatedness’ doesn’t prevent Le Monde and LeMonde.fr from being considered by many as the French quality newspaper of record, and being second among national news sites for time spent and first for number of unique visitors. Why isn't Le Monde integrated? How does it keep both operations running smoothly? The Weblog interviewed Alexis Delcambre, editor of LeMonde.fr, and Philippe Le Coeur, who coordinates the relationship between print and online.

Telegraph Media Group reports the role change of newspaper advertising

Posted by Evan Fell on November 28, 2007 at 2:10 PM

Telegraph Media Group says that companies looking to recruit will achieve the best results with integrated ad campaigns, incorporating both online and print activity.

Beijing Daily Messenger relaunches as freesheet

Posted by Evan Fell on November 28, 2007 at 1:51 PM

The intense competition between the ten newspapers that vie for the same audience in Beijing has caused a drop in ad revenue as a result of the overcrowded market. As a response, Beijing Daily Newspaper Group’s Beijing Daily Messenger relaunched as Beijing’s first free publication distributed on the metro.

BBC Worldwide underestimated online revenue

Posted by Evan Fell on November 28, 2007 at 1:18 PM

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, has announced it will beat its online revenue targets and that it plans to increase the amount of money made from online activities.

Reuters reports on mobile journalism developments

Posted by Evan Fell on November 28, 2007 at 12:50 PM

Reuters' reporters have been experimenting for a few months now with mobile journalism toolkit, using a Nokia N95. They have mostly used it for TV reporters to shoot video for the Web, but now a text reporter will use a handset and a Bluetooth keyboard to file to the wire from L.A. and Las Vegas.

Citizen Journalism is here to stay

Posted by Evan Fell on November 28, 2007 at 12:25 PM

Jose Antonio Vargas of the Washington Post examines Faye Anderson, a prominent citizen journalist, in order to examine citizen journalism, what exactly it is, the credibility issue, and where citizen journalism stands in the future.

Google to launch file storage service to users

Posted by Evan Fell on November 28, 2007 at 11:40 AM

Google Inc. is planning a new way for consumers to store files on its hard drives. The company is preparing a service that allows users to store all of the files that they would usually keep on their personal computer hard drives.

Corbis offers free images to bloggers, in exchange for advertising

Posted by Evan Fell on November 28, 2007 at 10:48 AM

Corbis, a stock photography company has partnered with PicScout to offer some of its images to bloggers for free, in exchange for advertising.

L.A. Times launches blog aimed to communicate with readers

Posted by Evan Fell on November 28, 2007 at 10:35 AM

The L.A. Times has just announced several newsroom changes that will allow readers to have significantly more access to the publication. The paper launched a new blog, "Readers' Representative Journal," which aims to inform readers of how editorial decisions are made.

Don't complain about the media as a whole: the 'tabloidy' sources are to blame

Posted by Evan Fell on November 27, 2007 at 5:05 PM

Timothy McNulty, the public editor of the Chicago Tribune examines the Drew Peterson story as covered by the media to unveil the problems with local television news, morning network news, true crime shows on cable and tabloid journalism in general - as opposed to quality papers.

News blackout plagues Greece

Posted by Evan Fell on November 27, 2007 at 4:15 PM

Greece experienced a 24-hour news blackout when journalists went on strike Tuesday. The strike followed the presentation of the 2008 budget to parliament. It included controlled public spending, a further lowering of the deficit and higher taxes.

US: Plans & priorities at the News & Observer: the future of the print paper and developments online

Posted by Evan Fell on November 27, 2007 at 3:51 PM

Ted Vanden, a journalist at The News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C. spoke with new executive editor John Drescher about the paper’s plans and priorities. Drescher said that readers will probably not see any major changes. The paper will continue to cover state and government politics. However, it will be trying to develop more online.

US: Talk to the NY Times’ editors

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 27, 2007 at 3:47 PM

An excellent initiative by The New York Times: between Nov. 26 through Nov. 30, web editor Fiona Spruill will be answering reader questions on the paper’s website, as part of its ongoing ‘Talk to the Newsroom’ column.

China: from paid-for paper, to entertainment-only, to free

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 27, 2007 at 3:26 PM

According to Interfax, The Beijing Daily Messenger, one of the capital’s most popular newspapers, run by the municipality, has switched overnight from a retail and subscription model to a freesheet, to become Beijing's first subway free paper.

Nothing like publishing a (small) mistake

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 27, 2007 at 3:06 PM

John Robinson, editor of the News & Record in North Carolina, gives a few pointers and examples about editors’ pet peeve: mistakes and the corrections that ensue.

Newspapers need to depend on more than just news

Posted by Evan Fell on November 27, 2007 at 2:47 PM

At a recent Society of Editors conference, Peter Wright, editor of the UK’s Mail on Sunday, gave the message that newspapers need to look to their circulation distribution systems to deliver more than just the daily paper in order to generate revenue.

BBC allows outside content producers to retain rights

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 27, 2007 at 2:35 PM

The BBC has agreed to a deal allowing third party programme and content makers, in the interactive and new media sector, to keep the rights to the work they submit.

New mobile video service launched

Posted by Evan Fell on November 27, 2007 at 12:40 PM

Avot Media has announced its new mobile video service, calling it "third generation" video-streaming platform that attacks the issues of poor video quality for mobile Web users.

Südkurier: how exactly does a paper develop mobile news?

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 27, 2007 at 12:02 PM

SÜDKURIER, a regional newspaper in southern Germany, is experimenting with new technologies of news-distribution. Apart from the daily newspaper and its Internet platform containing a news ticker, SÜDKURIER offers a news-feed, an E-paper in pdf-format and a daily television program (suedkurier.tv) from 4 pm onwards. The television news is either presented as moving images or with a newscaster reading the information in front of a camera. “We want to be number one in all distribution channels,” says editor-in-chief Thomas Satinsky. Furthermore, SÜDKURIER has developed its own mobile phone news service (SÜDKURIER-Blitz/SK-Blitz) in order to inform its readers on the latest news immediately. The Editors Weblog spoke with Thomas Satinsky about his experience so far with the mobile phone service.

UAE trial over Internet press freedom

Posted by Evan Fell on November 27, 2007 at 11:47 AM

An appeal court in United Arab Emirates has suspended for three years a five-month jail term against a man accused of slandering an official in an online article.

Motorscooter ranks one of the top tools for online journalists this year

Posted by Evan Fell on November 27, 2007 at 11:26 AM

Noah Barron of Online Journalism Review gives his list of the top nine gifts for online journalists this year. This list of toys is a real treat for any techno-savvy reporters.

US: Online news sources launch polls for '08 elections

Posted by Evan Fell on November 27, 2007 at 11:03 AM

Yahoo News and the Associated Press have partnered to launch a series of political polls, called Political Pulse. The polls will focus on the attitudes of Americans on issues relevant to the 2008 presidential elections, such as religion. The Huffington Post has also announced the launch of its polling project geared toward the '08 elections.

Finland: news publisher launches user-generated site

Posted by Evan Fell on November 27, 2007 at 10:18 AM

Sanoma Digital, a Finnish news publisher has launched a user-generated news site, Vartti.fi, which uses an open-source journalism platform in order to gather the material needed for the series of weekly freesheets that it publishes in and around Helsinki.

US: Atlanta Journal-Constitution's radical reorganization

Posted by Evan Fell on November 26, 2007 at 6:11 PM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has recently gone through restructuring that would, amongst other things put print and digital operations on the same level. Publisher John C. Mellott talked with Julia M. Klein of Columbia Journalism Review about the changes.

Austria: Wirtschafts Blatt’s integrating, workshops about the story path

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 26, 2007 at 5:10 PM

Austria’s leading financial daily, Wirtschafts Blatt, has been treading its way to integrate its print and online operations and become a 24/7 news provider. To do so, the paper, in collaboration with Mario Garcia Sr., organized workshops to reorganize the newsroom in terms of the ‘path of the story’.

Mort Zuckerman: new web business models ‘substitute pennies for dollars’

Posted by Evan Fell on November 26, 2007 at 4:28 PM

The House of Lords Select Committee on Communications traveled to New York to interview New York Daily News publisher, Mort Zuckerman as part of their inquiry for media ownership. Zuckerman told the committee that he is trying to develop new online business models for his newspaper but is just “substituting pennies for dollars.”

Korea: OhmyNews! CitJ has a school

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 26, 2007 at 3:44 PM

On Nov. 24, OhmyNews, reportedly the world’s largest citizen journalism website, inaugurated a new school – funded by and designed for citizen journalism. Not only did the school benefit from $400,000 in funding, its programs seem far from amateurish.

UK: Liverpool Echo ‘Streetbroadcasts’ its news

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 26, 2007 at 3:28 PM

The Liverpool Echo is to deliver news through Streetbroadcast screens in the city’s busy shopping area. Sounds like good marketing?

Will 3G really bring the Web to users’ mobiles?

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 26, 2007 at 3:04 PM

Now, with the much-advertised advent of the third generation of Internet-capable cell phones, dubbed 3G, content providers, advertisers and consumers are wondering whether this truly is the launch of a new era in mobile Web usage. And The Moscow Times has launched a mobile edition.

ABC News partners with Facebook

Posted by Evan Fell on November 26, 2007 at 12:48 PM

A formal partnership has been announced between Facebook and ABC News. This is Facebook’s first partnership with a news site. The partnership has created a U.S. politics category on Facebook, which allows members to electronically follow ABC reporters, view reports and video, as well as participate in polls and debates.

UK: How the crime beat has changed: personal contacts, terrorism and access

Posted by Evan Fell on November 26, 2007 at 12:17 PM

Sky News’s Martin Brunt describes how things have changed for reporters on the crime beat. He tells of changes in relationships, police officers, and ultimately how terrorism has changed everything.

Want to be an interactive videojournalist?

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 26, 2007 at 11:39 AM

A short clip from our fellow colleagues at Visual Editors, David Dunkley and Robb Montgomery, entitled “So you want to be a interactive multimedia video journalist?” At a time when most newspapers are building up their video capacities, this should make some mouths water.

UK: Standard cuts costs, no taxis for staff

Posted by Evan Fell on November 26, 2007 at 11:16 AM

The London Evening Standard will be cutting costs following the announcement of dramatic falls in profit from Associated Newspapers. Departmental expenses will be reduced immediately.

Technology to track multimedia usage in households, for advertisers

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 26, 2007 at 11:13 AM

French audience survey company Médiamétrie is planning to roll out a new system that will track ‘inaudible tones’ emitted from television broadcasts, that can produce audience measurements that were yet unavailable.

Murdoch admits editorial control over The Sun, News of the World

Posted by Evan Fell on November 26, 2007 at 10:52 AM

Murdoch has admitted that he has editorial control over The Sun and News of the World regarding who the paper backs in general elections or what line they take on European issues.

France: regional press unites for mag supplement

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 26, 2007 at 10:50 AM

The French regional daily press is preparing to jointly publish a magazine supplement next spring, which will be distributed freely at one million copies.

UK: Sun and News of the World have no plans to integrate

Posted by Evan Fell on November 26, 2007 at 10:29 AM

According to Graham Dudman, managing editor of News International’s Sun, there are no plans to integrate the daily paper with the Sunday title News of the World.

Kenya: reporters going mobile

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 23, 2007 at 1:54 PM

Thanks to the Voices of Africa project, supported by the Africa Interactive Media Foundation and citizen photojournalism site Skoeps, four young Kenyans have become mobile reporters.

US: ABC News redesigned website

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 23, 2007 at 1:46 PM

ABC News launched its redesigned site last week. Some of its changes may be helpful to newspaper website designers.

Irish Independent distributes Gazeta Wyborcza supplement

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 23, 2007 at 1:37 PM

On Nov. 21, the Irish Independent was delivered along with a special supplement by the Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza concerning the Polish real estate market, targeting the local Polish population in Ireland.

Guardian overtakes NY Times in online news

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 23, 2007 at 12:49 PM

A short bit of news, in the wake of Guardian Unlimited reaching its record number of unique visitors during October. One might think that The New York Times would have more online readers than the Guardian. Not so.

UK: Associated pays Blairs for its indiscretion

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 23, 2007 at 12:32 PM

Tony Blair and his wife have won substantial damages for infringement of privacy by Associated Newspapers, after flagship paper the Daily Mail published pictures of the couple on holiday.

European Court rules in favor of source protection

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 23, 2007 at 12:10 PM

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has ruled that a Dutch court should not have detained Dutch journalist Koen Voskuil in 2000, after he refused to reveal a source. A step towards the protection of journalists and their sources in Europe.

Comment: using old news to write the new

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 23, 2007 at 12:01 PM

Two years after Luis Sinco snapped the iconic photograph of a US soldier in Iraq smoking a cigarette, the Los Angeles Times and Sinco ran a two-part series about the same soldier, Blake Miller, who has returned to the US with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Practical tips for multimedia coverage: a court case

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 23, 2007 at 11:33 AM

Technolo-J, the blog launched by the Society of Professional Journalists, has been running a series about ‘Rob Curley’s seven ways to help revitalize our industry’. Last week, it took a look at how The Wichita Eagle covered a murder case the multimedia way.

France: Beytout reassures Les Echos staff

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 22, 2007 at 4:58 PM

Nicolas Beytout, who was editor of the Figaro for three years, is readying to head LVMH’s media division, the DI Group. In an interview with Le Monde, he shows himself reassuring towards the employees of Les Echos, recently acquired by LVMH.

“Integration and non-integration are just transitory stages” - Interview with Bruno Patino, Vice President of Le Monde

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 22, 2007 at 4:11 PM

Several major newsrooms have chosen to integrate their print and online operations to adapt to the digital age, including the Daily Telegraph in the UK and Fairfax in Australia, and most recently The New York Times moving into its new building. But most newspapers remain non-integrated or consider – such as Le Monde in France or El Pais in Spain – that full integration is not the best choice. In light of this debate, the Weblog interviewed Bruno Patino, Vice President of Le Monde group and President of Le monde interactif, to figure out which is the ‘right’ way to rethink the newsroom, or whether or not integration should be the main concern altogether.

UK: Guardian site peaks at 18.4 million visitors

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 22, 2007 at 3:45 PM

Guardian Unlimited comforted its position as the most-visited UK newspaper site, by reaching its record user figure at 18.4 million during October.

Greece: Eleftheros Typos wins Best-Designed European National Newspaper Award

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 22, 2007 at 3:26 PM

The Greek paper Eleftheros Typos won the Best-Designed European National Newspaper of the Year Award, after it redesigned last May with the help of the Innovation consulting group.

Ireland: ‘features’ freesheet launched

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 22, 2007 at 12:41 PM

As freesheets continue to branch out into niche areas of interest and more specific formats, a ‘features’ freesheet, the Dublin Informer, was recently launched in Dublin.

Sri Lanka: One of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists to work

Posted by Evan Fell on November 22, 2007 at 12:28 PM

A media rights group Free Media Movement, in Colombo has asked the Sri Lankan government to help find a Sri Lankan Tamil journalist based in embattled Jaffna who was "abducted by an unidentified group," according to FMM, believed to be paramilitary forces.

Russia: covering the elections without the reporting

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 22, 2007 at 12:23 PM

This might come as a real shocker to editors used to free and investigative reporting about politics: Russian journalists who want to report about the upcoming parliamentary elections on Dec. 2 will have to do so without throwing either negative or positive light on the candidates, whatever that means – by law.

Publishing house in Sri Lanka attacked

Posted by Evan Fell on November 22, 2007 at 12:14 PM

A pro-opposition newspaper in Sri Lanka was stormed by gunmen November 21st who set fire to the printing presses of the Sunday Leader. The paper's chief editor, Lasanth Wickrematunga, accused the government of making the attack because newspaper has been critical of the administration of President Mahinda Rajapakse.

Quarter 3 shows big decline for US newspapers

Posted by Evan Fell on November 22, 2007 at 11:58 AM

The results of the 3rd quarter show that the decline of print is accelerating and online growth is decelerating and not making up for losses in print.

Spain: conviction for cartoons of royal couple having sex

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 22, 2007 at 11:54 AM

The International Press Institute (IPI), a media watchdog, condemned a Spanish court ruling on Wednesday that fined two cartoonists who had published a caricature of the Spanish royal couple having sex.

Russian Novaya Gazeta receives Press Freedom Award

Posted by Evan Fell on November 22, 2007 at 11:10 AM

Dmitry Muratov, founder and editor-in-chief of the Russian opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta, has been given the International Press Freedom Award in New York.

New study warns Internet gridlock by 2010

Posted by Evan Fell on November 22, 2007 at 11:00 AM

US analyst firm Nemertes Research predicted in a recent report that the Internet could experience complete gridlock by the year 2010. In the report, a drastic slowdown is predicted because the network will struggle with the amount of data being carried on it.

World Editors Forum UK Study Tour

Posted by Evan Fell on November 22, 2007 at 10:42 AM

The World Editors Forum will be host to a ‘Study Tour’ of the UK this December, opened to senior editors from across the globe. The editors are invited to share ideas and information on all aspects of newspapers.

Survey: News executives report that within 3 years 40% of content will be user generated

Posted by Evan Fell on November 21, 2007 at 5:08 PM

A survey by Polopoly reports that European newspaper executives believe that within three years 40% of their content will be user-generated. The survey reported that blogs will become more important, personalized advertising will be more possible, and the Internet will continue to grow in importance.

Devin Wenig, COO of Reuters talks about merger and the future

Posted by Evan Fell on November 21, 2007 at 4:44 PM

Devin Wenig, COO of Reuters and the proposed CEO of the Reuters media businesses following the pending Thomson-Reuters merger spoke at the Future Of Business Media conference about the merger and the future of business media data.

Brokaw envisions the Washington Post print paper to be dead in 10 years

Posted by Evan Fell on November 21, 2007 at 4:01 PM

Tom Brokaw, a popular TV journalist in the US, thinks that print newspapers will be dead in ten years. As an old media figure himself, this is not a good sign for the newspaper industry.

Problems with journalism: key points for editors

Posted by Evan Fell on November 21, 2007 at 3:39 PM

Mary Nesbit, director of The Readership Institute, examined the problems with journalism and came up with several points and pieces of advice that she thinks would be of help to editors try to “lead, not just keep things ticking over.” Here are some of her main points:

A customized Google magazine?

Posted by Evan Fell on November 21, 2007 at 3:15 PM

On November 8th, Google was granted a patent titled “Customization of Content and Advertisements in Publications.” Many bloggers have speculated that this patent was granted so that Google could offer users the ability to create customized and printed magazines from Internet content, complete with customized ads.

UK: Trinity Mirror prepares to launch region specific mobile service

Posted by Evan Fell on November 21, 2007 at 2:21 PM

The Trinity Mirror is preparing to launch a multi-platform mobile service that will be tailored to the mobile user’s postal code.

UK: Profits up at Daily Mail & General Trust

Posted by Evan Fell on November 21, 2007 at 2:04 PM

Daily Mail & General Trust announced that they had a rise of 11% year-on-year in pre-tax profits to a record of £288m, saying this was in part due to their strong business-to-business operations.

Azubuike Ishiekwene of Nigeria becomes new WEF board member

Posted by Evan Fell on November 21, 2007 at 1:37 PM

Azubuike Ishiekwene has become a board member of the World Editors Forum. Ishiekwene is the executive director of Punch Nigeria, a private family-owned newspaper publishing company.

New York Times integrates newsroom

Posted by Evan Fell on November 21, 2007 at 1:23 PM

The New York Times has moved into a new building, complete with an integrated newsroom. The newsroom now combines print editorial operations with the digital news operations.

MySpace offers Pennywise album for free

Posted by Evan Fell on November 21, 2007 at 12:53 PM

MySpace has signed band Pennywise to its record label and will offer the band’s ninth album for free, as the site's first free ad-supported music download.

President of AP bashes US military for treatment of journalist

Posted by Evan Fell on November 21, 2007 at 11:24 AM

Tom Curley, president and chief executive of Associated Press has accused the US military of violating freedom of the press in their dealing with AP journalist Bilal Hussein.

SFN Wrap-Up

Posted by Evan Fell on November 21, 2007 at 10:47 AM

Some news bits from our partner site SFN Blog:The Moscow Times launched its mobile version, allowing readers to get updates from the newspaper via their mobile phones. Spain’s Vocento SA will focus on its press and Internet businesses hoping to become a leading player in the free press segment until 2010, according to CEO Belarmino Garcia. Conrad Quilty-Harper is the first blogger ever to become a member of the UK National Union of Journalists.Harper contributes to Engadget and blogs at Spalpeen.

Economist’s failed innovative project may lead to online only venture

Posted by Evan Fell on November 21, 2007 at 10:03 AM

The Economist’s ten-month web R&D project to “create an innovative and web-based product, service, or business model by July 2007” ended without success and didn’t bring any output to the market. However, the publisher is now taking what is left from that project to possibly create an online-only publishing venture.

Newspapers matter but must develop reader involvement

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 20, 2007 at 4:34 PM

Lauren Rich Fine, a veteran (former) Wall Street equity analyst interviewed the publisher and the editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. She insists that newspapers still “matter” but that they need to re-engage their respective communities to remind them of that.

UK: Hulu launch to compete with all online video providers

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 20, 2007 at 2:43 PM

News Corporation and NBC Universal have yet to launch their US online video site, Hulu, in beta right now. However, the launch in the UK is already being planned. Hulu is to rival prominent online video content providers.

Chinese Journalist Wins Golden Pen of Freedom

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 20, 2007 at 2:37 PM

Li Changqing, a Chinese journalist who was imprisoned for alerting the public to an outbreak of dengue fever before the authorities, has been awarded the 2008 Golden Pen of Freedom, the annual press freedom prize of
the World Association of Newspapers.

UK: Regional Express & Star creates weekend soccer video site

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 20, 2007 at 2:28 PM

The tech-savvy regional newspaper the Express & Star of Wolverhampton has started Sporting Star Live, a video-centric weekend soccer news site.

US: San Jose Mercury downsizing receives bad feedback

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 20, 2007 at 2:03 PM

The reinvention of the San Jose Mercury News is still moving along with its plans for a smaller and very different product. However, some staffers and readers are concerned with the fact that "the very top of the organization is saying, blow up the newsroom," says Chris O'Brien, a reporter for the Mercury.

Digital age: the big get bigger, the smallest survive

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 20, 2007 at 1:38 PM

In a world of declining newspapers, people in the newspaper industry believe “that readers are willingly turning from fiber to cyber — a replacement of the method but not the methodology of reporting and editing,” says James Vesely, Seattle Times editorial page editor.

US: Washingtonpost.com creates investigations blog

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 20, 2007 at 12:50 PM

The washingtonpost.com’s investigations team has created a blog to highlight investigative projects and the results that ensue after the story hits page one.

Online skills needed to survive the news world

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 20, 2007 at 12:26 PM

“Professional development and learning of new skills should be a constant part of your professional life, not a one-year project. Our business is changing constantly and if you want to succeed in it, you need to be growing constantly,” says Steve Buttry of the American Press Institute. Here are some ideas for journalists to become Web-savvy.

US: ideas for an interactive Thanksgiving

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 20, 2007 at 12:24 PM

Al Tompkins of Poynter Online came up with the following ways for newspapers to make Thanksgiving a more interactive holiday on their websites. Here are some of his ideas.

The future of news: content and delivery are key

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 20, 2007 at 11:25 AM

Overproducing the same news in both printed and the digital products is what is killing the news business, according to Mindy McAdams, a professor of Journalism at the University of Florida. She goes on to say “Content and delivery are the two fundamental things that require our attention in journalism” - not gadgets and digital media.

Amazon launches e-Reader

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 20, 2007 at 11:12 AM

Amazon has just unveiled its latest platform in the US, the ‘Kindle’, an e-reader that enables readers to download digital books and read them on the 6-inch screen, at prices ranging from $2 to $20.

India to Host World Newspaper Congress, World Editors Forum in 2009

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 20, 2007 at 11:00 AM

India has been chosen as the host country for the 62nd World Newspaper Congress, 16th World Editors Forum and Info Services Expo in 2009, the World Association of Newspapers announced today.

Yahoo’s Flickr to map photos around the world

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 20, 2007 at 10:44 AM

Flickr, Yahoo Inc’s online photo sharing site, is introducing a new mapping feature to its site that makes it possible to track the day’s millions of photo submissions based on their location.

Campaign against repression in China

Posted by Evan Fell on November 19, 2007 at 5:42 PM

The World Association of Newspapers asks for support of participants in next summer’s Beijing Olympics - the International Olympic Committee, athletes, sponsors and other partners in a campaign against repression in China.

106 Journalists killed this year

Posted by Evan Fell on November 19, 2007 at 5:29 PM

In its half-year report, The World Association of Newspapers reported that 106 journalists have been killed this year on duty in 28 different countries. 45 of these cases were in Iraq.

Yahoo advertising group gets 17 new members

Posted by Evan Fell on November 19, 2007 at 4:54 PM

17 more newspapers have joined the Yahoo Inc. group of online publishing partners. The Columbus Dispatch along with 16 New York Times owned regional newspapers joined the consortium.

Poland: six regionals make one national through ProtecMedia platform

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 19, 2007 at 1:36 PM

Publisher Polskapresse is using the Spanish ProtecMedia’s Milenium platform to produce its new national daily, Polska The Times, through the merging of Polskapresse’s six regional titles.

UK: The Times sells itself on free City AM

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 19, 2007 at 1:22 PM

The Times is advertising itself through a wrap on today’s business freesheet City AM. An interesting reversal of situations, as just a few years ago newspapers openly viewed freesheets as a nuisance in their market.

The future of media: networking

Posted by Evan Fell on November 19, 2007 at 12:44 PM

“The future of media is less about products - that is, controlling content and distribution - and more about networks,” Jeff Jarvis, a journalism professor at the City University of New York and a blogger said.

Does online kill the headline?

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 19, 2007 at 12:36 PM

As The Sun completes the integration of its print and online teams, the Guardian comes back on the effects newsroom integration may have on staff, particularly on subeditors, for whom the task of writing headlines is entirely different online.

Can the audience overpower the traditional reporter?

Posted by Evan Fell on November 19, 2007 at 12:03 PM

Many recent examples have proven that there has been a shift in power from professional reporters to the readers and audience and ethics are certainly a concern in this shift.

Israel: Haaretz deliberately ‘unjournalistic’?

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 19, 2007 at 11:57 AM

The daily Haaretz is probably Israel’s most widely-known paper internationally, and is considered by many as the quality reference paper locally. But its editorial line and independence may not be as objective as one might think, as described by its editor, David Landau.

France: Mougeotte to head Figaro newsrooms

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 19, 2007 at 11:31 AM

Etienne Mougeotte, editorial head of Figaro magazine since September 2007, should be appointed head of the Figaro group’s newsrooms on Nov. 20. This move follows the recent appointment of Nicolas Beytout, currently editor of Le Figaro, as head of DI Group, LVMH’s media division. Beytout returns to Les Echos, recently acquired by LVMH, which previously edited.

Netherlands: Volkskrant using Flash for Harry Potter story

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 19, 2007 at 10:03 AM

As the Dutch translation of the latest Harry Potter book was released on Saturday, the Volkskrant carried an exclusive interview with author J.K. Rowling. But what made the online article special was its interactive flash-animated content and use of multimedia storytelling.

Code Couture releases TextTime: a revolutionized word count

Posted by Evan Fell on November 19, 2007 at 9:56 AM

Code Couture, a provider of customized software solutions for newsgathering and media companies in Berlin has released a new tool, TextTime, for newsrooms producing podcasts, radio and TV bulletins or other audio-based media for cross-media applications.

Media organizations reach temporary deal with Cricket Australia

Posted by Evan Fell on November 19, 2007 at 9:34 AM

A coalition of media organizations has ended their boycott of the Australia vs. Sri Lanka cricket series after reaching a temporary deal with Cricket Australia over media rights.

UK: Guardian group appoints technology directors

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 16, 2007 at 2:28 PM

As jobs around the newsroom and media organizations continue to evolve, typically in the direction of more IT, Guardian News & Media (GNM) has appointed two senior technology directors to oversee its transformation into a 24/7 digital media business.

New York Times will adjust article update policy

Posted by Evan Fell on November 16, 2007 at 1:11 PM

The New York Times has received complaints about old articles with wrong or incomplete information and has decided, as a result, to change their policy.

Rosen creates social network beat reporting experiment

Posted by Evan Fell on November 16, 2007 at 12:46 PM

Jay Rosen has been recruiting 12 beat reporters from different news organizations for his beat reporting with social network experiment. He said, “Maybe a beat reporter could do a way better job if there was a “live” social network connected to the beat, made up of people who know the territory the beat covers, and want the reporting on that beat to be better.”

US: There is an art to leaking information to journalists

Posted by Evan Fell on November 16, 2007 at 12:29 PM

In Washington D.C. there are probably a thousand leaks to journalists a day, explains Ryan Grim of Politico. He says, “A lot of breaking news is handed to reporters.”

UK: Telegraph creates single media department

Posted by Evan Fell on November 16, 2007 at 11:56 AM

A single multimedia business department has been created by the Telegraph Media Group. It will produce content for The Daily, The Sunday Telegraph, and Telegraph.co.uk.

India: Newspaper industry in need of communication

Posted by Evan Fell on November 16, 2007 at 11:28 AM

At the International Newspaper Marketing Association’s (INMA) first South Asian conference it was discussed that newspapers in India would benefit from a more open exchange of ideas.

Sport pays over error: editors must be cautious with pictures and captions

Posted by Evan Fell on November 16, 2007 at 11:21 AM

The Sunday Sport wrongly published a picture of a woman, using her picture to compliment an article about a woman given as Asbo for excessively noisy sex. The photo was of Jessica Lewis, who has no connection with the woman in the article and has never been given an Asbo.

USA Today offers buyouts for employees with less than 5 years online experience

Posted by Evan Fell on November 16, 2007 at 10:27 AM

USA Today has announced that 45 newsroom jobs will be cut citing “economic realities” in the newspaper industry.

The way newspapers are changing

Posted by Evan Fell on November 16, 2007 at 10:11 AM

At AMPE, Jim Brady executive editor of washingtonpost.com and Jennifer Carroll vice president/new media content of Gannett talked about the ways in which newspapers are changing. They discussed everything from blogs to online gaming.

Advertisers look for changes in newspaper industry

Posted by Evan Fell on November 16, 2007 at 8:50 AM

Advertisers have long been partners with the newspaper industry. However, now they are looking for changes to boost revenue.

Social Networking continues to develop on mobile

Posted by Evan Fell on November 15, 2007 at 4:12 PM

Many people now are using social networking sites on cell phones rather than on their computers. "Almost everyone I know has a Sidekick or a BlackBerry, and I can only imagine how much they use it to check their MySpace/Facebook messages," says Long Island graphics designer Liz Degen, 21.

France: Metro has found business model

Posted by Evan Fell on November 15, 2007 at 3:21 PM

The daily freesheet Metro, launched in 2002 recorded a growth of 28% in its number of readers, reaching 2 million in the period of July 2006 to June 2007, according the survey by Epiq. They have now reached a circulation of 880,000 copies a day.

UGC: News’ friend or foe? interview Daily Motion

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 15, 2007 at 3:16 PM

User-generated content websites have flourished and there is no question now that they are here to stay, and that ‘user’ content will increasingly pervade all media – ‘traditional’ media that is. Has the definition of ‘News’ changed, or deteriorated, with the Web 2.0 revolution? Are UGC sites competitors or facilitators for newspapers transitioning to the online world? Martin Rogard, director of content for YouTube’s European alter ego, Daily Motion, answers some of these questions for the Weblog, to help newspapers that can be torn between opening to readers and keeping the old rules in place.

Future of online video holds semi-professional class of content producers

Posted by Evan Fell on November 15, 2007 at 2:38 PM

"It feels to me that the professional content is where the real growth is going to be,” said Geoffrey Coco, a member of a panel of executives talking about performance metrics during the OMMA Video conference in Hollywood.

University graduates launch new literary freesheet in London

Posted by Evan Fell on November 15, 2007 at 12:52 PM

A new London freesheet, Notes from the Underground, a creative writing publication aimed at providing readers with a more intellectual publication than traditional freesheets. The publication will be distributed fortnightly beginning next month.

Swedish mail services refuse to distribute Muhammad cartoon

Posted by Evan Fell on November 15, 2007 at 12:08 PM

Swedish national postal service has refused to distribute the SD Kuriren, a newspaper containing a reproduction of Lars Vilks’s illustration of Muhammad as a dog.

Article 19 report examines China’s hold on press

Posted by Evan Fell on November 15, 2007 at 11:24 AM

A report released today by Article 19, entitled The Mechanics of Censorship, and analyzes legislation used by China to restrict freedom of press. The report investigates two recent sets of regulations concerning print journalism in light of international standards of press freedom.

CNN International to take back control of content

Posted by Evan Fell on November 15, 2007 at 10:52 AM

CNN Worldwide has announced a major reorganization in order to take back control of the content that it publishes and broadcasts. This is CNN's biggest expansion of international newsgathering resources. These changes were about owning content and giving CNN power that would allow them to develop new business models more quickly, according to Tony Maddox, executive vice president and managing director of CNN International.

Journalists must unlearn misconceptions to improve writing

Posted by Evan Fell on November 15, 2007 at 10:17 AM

Journalists, especially online journalists, need to unlearn many of the misconceptions that they have formed about writing and reporting news, according to Robert Niles of Online Journalism Review. He speaks of three misconceptions that he has heard at least three journalists or editors generalize about in the last year.

Gazeta Wyborcza travels the EU

Posted by Evan Fell on November 15, 2007 at 9:30 AM

The Gazeta Wyborcza of Warsaw Poland used their latest editorial project to travel across the EU and find out how their neighbors live. The newspaper sent their local reporters to 21 cities across the EU for two weeks to immerse themselves in the lives of people from different cities and town all across the EU.

Practical tips: The New York Times' comment moderation

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 14, 2007 at 3:47 PM

The New York Times began last week allowing user comments on select articles and editorials. Here are some details concerning its moderation process, and how the prestigious paper has come to embrace user contributions.

France: Former Le Monde editorial head to launch news site

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 14, 2007 at 2:23 PM

The former editorial head of the daily Le Monde, Edwy Plenel, hopes to raise 4 million euros to launch a news site in the beginning of 2008.

US: ABC to change paid daily circulation count

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 14, 2007 at 1:53 PM

The Audit Bureau of Circulation has announced that it will change the way that it counts paid daily circulation, to provide marketers with more pertinent information.

Zillow.com to partner with newspapers: online ad revenue to reach $20bn?

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 14, 2007 at 1:49 PM

Zillow.com, an online real estate services company is partnering with newspaper companies to extend local real estate adds to the newspaper’s online sites. Newspaper advertisers who are advertising open house or for-sale ads would also have the option to place the ads on zillow.com.

Newspaper online ad revenues stall: 3 scenarios for growth

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 14, 2007 at 12:06 PM

Newspaper online ad growth in the US has been about 30-40% per year recently. However, in 2007, online advertising fell to about 20% in the first half and slowed even more in the third quarter.

South Africa: Witness launched Link, in-print CitJ

Posted by Jean Yves Chainon on November 14, 2007 at 11:57 AM

South Africa’s The Witness newspaper has introduced a participatory journalism section in its print edition, the Link, similar to that of El Correo’s EnlaCe concept.