Recently by Alisa Zykova

Even though Internet-based media is gaining in popularity in Jordan, experts have said that the country's current legislative system may not be capable of regulate this new content. There is a growing demand for citizen news, and "traditional" news may become even less popular despite accuracy and accountability worries, writes The Jordan Times.

Colin Myler, editor of the UK Sunday tabloid newspaper News of The World, says that "back door" privacy laws are restricting Britain's media. Myler put forward that smaller publishers  are placed under undue pressure by the legislation, since they frequently do not have the budget to take legal action.

He added that the lack of parliamentary discussion about these issues was worrying. According to Myler, the edicts from High Courts in London are prompted by Human Rights judges from the European Union, who are "unfriendly" to freedom of expression, while the MPs remain silent. 

Although the media may be partly responsible for the privacy situation, instructions imposed by Justice Eady, senior libel judge, and other prominent legal figures have left the UK media in an "unrecognisable" state.

Myler's paper was ordered to pay £60,000 in damages to world motorsport figure Max Mosley in July, AFP reported. Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre previously said that the "public shaming" of high-profile figures may be meaningful in "defending the parameters of what are considered acceptable standards of social behaviour."

"Some [newspapers] will struggle to survive, but, as an industry, we really do have to be more positive and not allow those so-called media experts and commentators to tell us how badly we are doing," Myler said.

Source: Journalism.co.uk, AFP

In a debate organized by representatives of the European Commission in Russia and national news agency RIA Novosti, media's role as promoter of cross-cultural dialogue seemed to be the main theme. Additional discussions include reporting of the financial crisis.

A World Internet Project-International Report 2009, released by the Macau Internet Project, reveals that even though people may have increasing trust in online sources, a "surprisingly high" amount of users find that only half or less of the information found on the Web is reliable. Meanwhile, almost half of users from around the globe believe that offline newspapers are dependable sources, Macau Daily Times reports.

A Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) study reveals that Russians are not satisfied with how the Russian press reports on the financial crisis, Lenta.ru writes. Coverage elsewhere in the world is considered more "objective."

According to the FOM results, 45% of respondents think the media are not objective on the country's economic situation. 35% have the opposite view, while 20% could not decide. 57% said that the reporting of the financial crisis in Russia may not be thorough.

39% of Russians who participated in the study said that coverage of the global financial crisis was objective. However, 31% couldn't decide and 30% said that it wasn't objective.
 
Although 40% think the situation in the country is actually worse than it is, only 5% think that it is better than portrayed by the media.

Source: Lenta.ru

State-owned Indonesian news agency LKBN Antara, which provides news stories to media sources, asked for a IDR450 billion (US$35.9 million) government bailout from the State Ministry for State Enterprises. The money would be used to "revitalize" and improve the company's economic performance as well as to redesign the website, Asia Media wrote.

"We are planning to become a content providing company and to enrich our website with multimedia content, and we need help from the government to carry this out," CEO Ahmad Muklis Yusuf said.

According to recent findings from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Pew Research Centre's Project for Excellence in Journalism, health is a key issue for internet users. However, only 3.6% of Internet-based news content between January 2007 and June 2008 dealt with the issue, according to the study. Directnews.co.uk reports that the demand for online health news may be increasing.

The study showed that 42% of all online news stories covered specific conditions. Meanwhile, 31% focused on public health and 27% on health policy. Traffic to online health outlets in the UK rose by 10% in September since the previous month, comScore research showed.

"As the public's news consumption shifts more toward online and cable outlets, people are likely to come across fewer stories about health and particularly about health policy," said Kaiser Family Foundation's Victoria Rideout.

The Kaiser Family Foundation recently announced the launch of a news utility that will offer  "in-depth coverage of the policy and politics of health care" on the Internet and though the mainstream media.

Source: Directnews.co.uk

Brazilian newspaper Diario de Pará has seen some significant changes that include a restructuring of editorial processes and editorial focus, reorganization of content, addition of new material, a new design as well as a new logo.

"With a new logo, the management of Diario hopes to start a new era representing a product that is more modern, with a stronger presence in the market," wrote Dr. Mario Garcia.

Source: Garciamedia

Roger Alton, editor of UK daily newspaper The Independent, said in an interview on Sky News Online that he takes responsibilty for the publication's declining economic situation. Alton also sttates that there are no plans to sell the newspaper in the future.

Alton goes on to say that the price increase startegy (from 80p to £1 in September) failed and pushed sales down further. The price rise made The Independent more expensive than other papers in the UK market, such as The Telegraph, The Guardian and The Times.

Free newspaper thelondonpaper, owned by News International, announces plans to pull out of the National Readership Survey (NRS). However, until a new chief executive is assigned, the decision will not be finalized.

The Dutch governenment may be probing into the takeover of the country's paper's by outside groups, according to the European Journalism Centre. Culture Minister Ronald Plasterk mentions that he wishes to look into the possibility of protecting the newspapers "against possible dangers of being owned by a foreign firm."

Daniil Kupsin, owner of Russian business radio station Business FM, has announced that he will launch an online business news site, RIA Novosti reported on Thursday. Bfm.ru will be run by Russian Internet journalist Anton Nosik and will have a team of nearly 30 reporters.

View From Publishing, a small community newspaper publisher in the UK, announces increased year-on-year circulation and advertising revenues. Since September 2008, the company's titles have surged to over £1 million in ad revenues.

Police in the UK say that national news outlets in the country gave a "skewed" perspective of a murder story earlier this week. Coverage by local and regional media, meanwhile, was "informed", "accurate" and "balanced," says Derbyshire Assistant Chief Constable Peter Goodman.

Fifteen-year-old Kadem Blackwood was killed with a gun in Derby on Tuesday night and the crime is thought to be the first time that a teenager was shot dead in the city, reports Hold The Front Page.

UK blogger and journalist Paul Bradshaw discusses his Birmingham-based HelpMeInvestigate.com project, which will draw on the public as well as journalists to pursue investigative reporting. The platform, an entry for the Knight News Challenge this year, will help back reporters who wish to investigate on a local level, Bradshaw says.