In many streets corners of Tirana, newspaper stands are illustrations of how the time of Albania's monolithic communist press has become history, also contradicting the gloomy future often predicted for the industry worldwide. In the capital's hip Blokku district, for instance, the kiosks show glossy magazines with their assortments of automobile, women, computer, and leisure titles. They are less numerous than in developed democracies, but leave a feeling of a vibrant industry.
Similar publications, some of which are familiar to western European and American readers, can be spotted in other limited places like the commercial streets of Durres, the second city and main port. Some Albanian names convey a local exotic touch (Klan, Spekter, Psikologji), unlike other magazines spotted even in areas not so much visited by foreigners (the original English-language, Italian, French, and even Spanish versions of Gente, Femme actuelle, Cosmopolitan).
More intriguing are the political dailies often displayed horizontally on tables - or vertically, hanging like cloths from a string - in front of the newsstands. They are plentiful, easily numbering more than a dozen, which is considerable for a country with only 3.6 million inhabitants. Their cover pages are also widely visible on Albanian television channels,which fill their news program every morning with endless press reviews quoting the main headlines.
Not less remarkable is the fact that print media's oversupply is not enhanced by low brow, yellow journalism. One can spot gossip outlets called Paloma or Intervista, but their presence is somewhat discrete, for the moment at least. Albania does not seem to have followed a strong pattern prevalent in other Balkan countries from Croatia to Romania, with the splashy presence of graphic papers. "One can say that of Kosovo [also primarily populated by ethnic Albanians], where most newspapers are based on a British concept, more tabloid-like. This could not succeed in Albania, because of the communist mentality and not because of Islam [the dominant religion]," comments Albert Gjoka, quality daily Albania's deputy editor-in-chief. "Rather we follow the Italian model with small pictures, big texts, and classical design."
Other serious newspapers with well-established brands include Shekulli ["Century"], Gazeta Shqiptare ["Albanian newspaper"], Zeri i Popullit ["Voice of the People"]. These names are familiar to anyone who wiki-googled the country's press before discovering it directly on the screens or in the streets. Other dailies may ring less a bell, whether they are called Panorama, Republika, or Tirana Observer (not written in English despite its name, and unlike the Albanian Daily News).
In the sport niche, the titles are far from being limited to Sporti Shqiptar [="Albanian sport"]. This is not surprising for a nation where soccer is worshipped everywhere, from district and village matches to international encounters (enhanced by highly visible betting stores and billboards). The self-described oldest Balkan sport paper - created in the 1930s before being shut down when the country became hermetically closed from the rest of the world - has been facing new competitors. Passerbys can spot names like Ekspres Sport, Metropol sport, Sporti & basti, Panorama sport. With its black and white cover page, the so-called Bota e sportit gives a now rare arch-communist flavor to the few kiosks where it is available.
At least 20 general news dailies
Even more than in soccer leagues, it is hard to establish a definitive ranking between the more than 20 general news dailies published in a country lacking audited circulation figures. Positions can change as quickly as the way players change clubs or editors switch to other newsrooms. From watching people in the streets or talking to journalists, however, the press league champion at the end of this first decade of the millennium seems to be Panorama. Shekulli has been at the top of the podium in the past years (if not the most profitable as its cover price is lower than many of its competitors'), but it is now joined - and maybe overtaken - by Panorama with circulation of 20,000.
Their closest and most respected followers, selling less than 10,000 copies, include the Italian-owned Gazeta Shqiptare (which set the tone for the new democracy's media, as many of its former editors now control other important outlets), Shqip or (same name in English) Albania. "Our price is about the double of the two best sellers', and the quantity of news we provide is longer, with 32 pages," says Dori Daka, Shqip's deputy editor-in-chief.
Panorama does not differ much from its peers in appearance, but it seems to be the most popular daily as also shown by an aged cloths seller met at the bazaar. A much younger journalism student, Elida Rustemi, says that she reads it "because it is more factual, less politicized." The would-be reporter attends the so-called UFO University, a private school based on Tirana's central Skanderbeg Square. "UFO" means "Universitas Fabrefacta Optime", and the institution is recognized by established journalists. But these abbreviations convey a feeling of strangeness.
There is definitely a sci-fi dimension in Albania's general news dailies, as they number immeasurably more than in European countries which are 15 to 20-times bigger in terms of population, such as France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and nearby Italy. Even including its multi-states 5 million-plus nationals living in Kosovo, Macedonia and other countries - who have their own dailies and can hardly have access to the print copies coming from Tirana anyway - the profusion of newspapers seems based on a model which could also be called UFO for "unlimited financing oddity".
Albania's high literacy rate of 99 percent may account for this huge number of publications, totaling about 70 for magazines and 90 for newspapers (the general news dailies representing one quarter of them). But western democracies have comparable education levels, and even considering a positive upshot after decades of tight dictatorship, it is hard to understand this business model.
A more valid explanation may be found in the sums invested by advertisers, at least for some activities. In the past weeks for instance, full pages have been taken over by a telephone company featuring Jim Belushi, the American actor. He is subject of national pride in this part of south-eastern Europe, as the son native Albanians. But this explains his widespread presence far more than the announcers' deep pockets. "Rates are very low, between 200 and 300 euros for a full back page color ad. Maybe 500 euros for the two dailies selling over 15,000 copies," comments Gjoka, who also manages online news agency
www.alblink.com.
Many businessmen want to control their own daily
Just because there are so many papers, there are not necessarily that many readers. Circulation numbers rarely exceed 4,000 and subscriptions are non-existent or of a few hundred maximum; these dailies' newsrooms are usually not staffed by more than 10 reporters. "Only four or five out of the about 23 are really sold, and the total circulation is 100,000 maximum [which is comparable, per capita, to French national dailies' sales]," believes Robert Rakipllari, Panorama's editor-in-chief. "We have many newspapers because we are a new democracy and some businessmen want to have their own. It is good for their ego to see their cover pages mentioned on TV every morning, and they also like to have a pressure instrument on the government."
As a matter of fact, two of the three businessmen who founded Panorama in 2003, active in the construction industry, left shortly after to launch their own dailies, Tirana Observer and Metropol. "There will be a consolidation in three-five years, however, with less than ten dailies left on the market," Rakipllari anticipates.
Beyond this Darwinian fate, the Albanian printed media have also to cope with a malfunctioning distribution system due to the poor infrastructure in a land where half of the population is still rural. Despite some European Union pressure and assistance, there is a lack of cooperation within the industry. "The EU people did nothing to help improve Albanian papers' distribution," Gjoka says.
Albania has been a parliamentary republic since 1990, lagging behind its Balkan neighbors in their efforts to turn into a more modern economy and democracy. Unlike in most eastern European countries, only a few weeklies are available in many regions, and there was no media privatization after communism. The only papers which continued after the communist collapse are the Socialist Party controlled Zeri i Popullit and a few state-owned specialized periodicals (in military, education, research). "There are no regional dailies because the concept is connected to communist propaganda. They were about 26 in 1990," recalls Shqip's editor-in-chief Aleksander Cipa, who also presides over Albania's Union of Journalists and comes from Gjirokaster, a southern city close to the border with Greece. "This absence is mostly linked to market conditions, lack of demand, lack of resources", thinks Ilda Londo, the research coordinator of the Albanian Media Institute (AMI), which manages monitoring and training projects.
Most newspapers have to follow a political or business agenda, as pointed out in the rare surveys on the industry. There are no public subsidies officially, but print media are indirectly assisted through free or cheap access to office facilities, and through state advertising. This represents most of their revenues according to daily Korrieri's editor-in-chief, quoted in one of the last studies, released five years ago by AMI.
Last November, the South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), the network of editors and media owners, organized for the first time in Tirana a major international journalism event, its yearly "South East Europe Media Forum", focused on marketing and new platforms. The two day conference, hosted in conjunction with AMI, attracted over 300 media executives, journalists and press analysts from the region, and Albania's President Bamir Topi opened it. It was a major achievement indeed, symbolically at least, for a country confined in a safe rather than just behind an iron curtain until 20 years ago.
The event was co-sponsored by Germany's press conglomerate WAZ Medien Gruppe, which is very active in the Balkans and, interesting to note, has no assets in Albania's print media, only in television. Italy's Edisud Media, which publishes La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno just across the channel separating the two countries, is practically the only foreign investor as the owner of Gazeta Shqiptare. Unlike in other central-European countries, foreign control of the media is limited in Albania. The access is unrestricted, but in print journalism at least, they are still not attractive for potential investors from abroad.
Just two days before the conference, an incident in Tirana also highlighted the difficulties of running a newspaper: daily Tema's editor Mero Baze was physically attacked by an oil tycoon and his bodyguards. It was the most notable act of violence in months, by coincidence. Baze is known for denouncing cases of corruption also on television, and had to be brought to a hospital. This was not the first time that he was a victim of an aggression (and earlier in the same year, his daily had also been expelled from its offices based in a state-owned building).
The violence was widely condemned within and outside the conference, not the least by Tema's competitors. It also served as a reminder of past habits, when intimidation and self-censorship was notwithstanding much more widespread. "Albania is between the Bulgarian, organized crime, and the Russian, oligarchs' model," says Gjoka, whose newspaper promptly reacted, devoting its cover and the full page three to the attack. "We are also having new journalism schools created, like UFO University's, and our investigative journalism is in its first steps."
Going back to Tirana's fashion district, the boutiques hardly hide the old decrepit buildings behind or over them, which are like vestiges of communism. But the numerous titles on display in newsstands are not just façades either. In spite of being mostly financed by businessmen with agendas, or sometimes threatened by thugs who do not understand there are more subtle ways to defend their interests, Albanian dailies are definitely symptoms of a democracy in progress, where what is on print - more than on internet for the moment - is part of the political debate.
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2010/02/ipad_changes_the_story_for_newspaper-sub.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="5634" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/01/ipadalone-thumb-200x115-5510-thumb-200x115-5511.jpg"><img alt="Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for ipadalone.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/02/ipadalone-thumb-200x115-5510-thumb-200x115-5511-thumb-200x115-5634.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="115" width="200" /></a></form>The launch of <b>Apple</b>'s <b>iPad </b>has garnered much optimism in the newspaper industry, driving hopes that the innovative tablet computer will be able to breathe some new life into an industry battered by an advertising downturn.<br /><br />Much speculation has placed very high hopes on the capacity of the iPad and a slew of new generation e-readers to revamp the industry and bolster its business model. But, <a href="http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=131&aid=177206">as <i>Poynter Online</i>'s <b>Bill Mitchell</b> reports</a>, the iPad will probably not be the solution to all of the newspapers' woes, but this sleek electronic device <i>could</i> play a substantial role in the migration of users from a cost-heavy past to a more efficient future. <br /> <iframe frameborder="0" name="mashlogic" style="border: 0pt none ; margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; overflow: hidden; display: none; z-index: 9999; position: absolute; top: auto; right: auto; bottom: auto; left: auto;" id="mashlogic" src="about:blank"></iframe>&title=<b>iPad</b> changes the story for newspaper-subsidized e-readers){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2010/02/uk_council_newspaper_costs_revealed.php&bodytext= <form mt:asset-id="5607" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/salfordstar.png"><img alt="salfordstar.png" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/02/salfordstar-thumb-200x258-5607.png" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="258" width="200" /></a></form>There's more fuel for the debate over council-run newspapers in the UK today, with <a href="http://www.salfordstar.com/article.asp?id=454">one local newspaper revealing</a> that its council-supported rival costs taxpayers almost £28,000 a month.
<br /><br />In the town of Salford, near Manchester, the council magazine <i>Life in Salford</i> competes with newspapers the<i> Salford Star</i> and <i>Salford Advertiser</i>. The Salford Star filed a freedom of information request to determine the cost of producing the council magazine. It determined that the council spends £27,797 per month, or an average of £333,564 per year.
<br /><br />By contrast, outside advertising income for the paper totaled just over £19,000 for eight issues.
<br />&title=UK: Council newspaper costs revealed){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newsrooms_and_journalism/2010/02/news_corp_closer_to_charging_for_online.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="3909" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/murdoch.jpg"><img alt="murdoch.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/10/murdoch-thumb-200x249-3909.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="249" width="200" /></a></form>As <b>News Corp</b> announced profits of $254 million over the three months up to December, <b>Rupert Murdoch</b> said his company is <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/feb/03/murdoch-news-corp-increases-profit">close to implementing online subscription models for all of its newspapers</a> like the <i>Times</i>, the <i>News of the World</i>, and the <i>Sun</i>. <br /><br />The company is also in "advanced negotiations" with handheld-device manufacturers about possible paywalls that would allow customers access to News Corp content "whenever and wherever they want it," said Murdoch.<br /><br />According to Murdoch, "ingenious and fabulous devices" like the <b>iPad</b> and the <b>Kindle</b> "would be unloved and unsold" without the creative content supplied by newspapers. "Content is not just king, it is the emperor of all things digital. We're on the cusp of a digital revolution from which our shareholders will profit handsomely," said Murdoch.<br /><br /><br /> &title=<b>News Corp</b> announces big profits and plans for pay walls){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2010/02/the_paywall_you_cant_see_bundling_newspa.php&bodytext=<form contenteditable="false" mt:asset-id="4559" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/paywall.jpg"><img alt="paywall.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/11/paywall-thumb-200x188-4559.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="188" width="200" /></a></form><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newsrooms_and_journalism/2010/01/newsday_website_struggles_behind_paywall.php#more">Although only 35 people have signed up for <i>Newsday</i> subscriptions</a> since it was put behind a paywall last October, these dismal figures hide the Long Island daily's grander scheme: a paywall that nobody notices because it is bundled with a cable television subscription. <br /><br />The owners of Newsday also own <b>Optimum Cable</b>, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2010/feb/01/charging-for-content-rupert-murdoch">according to <i>Guardian</i></a>, which supplies cable TV to 75% of Long Island homes, Newsday's backyard. Newsday.com was offered to these subscribers at no additional charge, bundled with cable and high-speed Internet services. Therefore, the number of people who signed up for to the Long Island daily since October was not 35, <a href="http://www.observer.com/2010/daily-transom/newsday-does-not-want-your-stupid-money-anyway">but 1.5 million, the people that currently have Optimum Cable subscriptions</a>.<br /> &title=The paywall you can't see: bundling newspaper and TV subscriptions){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2010/01/mcclatchy_to_trial_paywalls.php&bodytext= <form mt:asset-id="5523" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/mcclatchylogo.jpg"><img alt="mcclatchylogo.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/01/mcclatchylogo-thumb-200x38-5523.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="38" width="200" /></a></form>Newspaper publisher <b>McClatchy</b> is going to try out charging for content online, <a href="http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004062463"><i>Editor and Publisher</i> reports</a>.
<br /><br />Chief Executive <b>Gary Pruitt</b> said that McClatchy will trial a pay model on one of its newspaper websites, suggesting that a number of articles could be available for free before the reader hits a paywall.
<br />&title=<b>McClatchy</b> to trial paywalls ){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2010/01/the_future_is_digital_for_mecom_newspape.php&bodytext=<form contenteditable="false" mt:asset-id="5356" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/david_montgomery.jpg"><img alt="david_montgomery.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/01/david_montgomery-thumb-200x200-5356.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="200" width="200" /></a></form><b>Mecom,</b> a 'content and consumer business' under <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newsrooms_and_journalism/2008/11/uk_montgomery_steps_down_as_executive_ch.php"><b>David Montgomery,</b></a> publishes<a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2007/03/mecom_grows_european_newspaper.php"> 25 million newspapers per week across<b> Europe;</b> thrice as many as the <b>UK's Johnston Press.</b></a> In 2007 the company's share price plunged a disastrous 97 percent due to weak advertising and debt, an unfortunate turn of events the news publisher been struggling to recover from ever since. <br /><br />Trading up yesterday however, revealed an altogether brighter outlook for the publisher of some 300 titles, its share price jumping 14.8 percent, topping the <b>FTSE Small Cap .FTSC</b> leaders board. &title=The future is digital for <b>Mecom</b> newspapers){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2010/01/south_africa_online_replica_of_print_new.php&bodytext=<form contenteditable="false" mt:asset-id="5249" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/thestarsouthafrica.gif"><img alt="thestarsouthafrica.gif" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/01/thestarsouthafrica-thumb-200x46-5249.gif" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="46" width="200" /></a></form><b>Independent Newspapers South Africa</b> has launched an '<a href="http://thestar.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx">E-dition</a>', an online version of its printed newspapers that keeps the same format and layout as the print edition. This is in addition to the papers' standard news websites. <br /><br />It also includes interactive radio and instant translation functions, so readers can listen to the articles in 11 languages. The editions can be downloaded for offline reading and are optimised for reading on smart phones. Bookmarking and search functions are also included.<a href="http://www.biz-community.com/Article/196/90/43289.html"></a><br /> &title=South Africa: online replica of print newspapers launched){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2010/01/uk_news_websites_attract_even_more_users.php&bodytext=<form contenteditable="false" mt:asset-id="5184" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/guardianonline_logo.gif"><img alt="guardianonline_logo.gif" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/01/guardianonline_logo-thumb-200x30-5184.gif" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="30" width="200" /></a></form>The global audience for the websites of <i><b>The Guardian</b></i>, <i><b>The Daily Mail</b></i> and <i><b>The Telegraph</b></i> has risen again, according to November figures from the <b>Audit Bureau of Circulations Electronic</b>.<br /><br /><b><i>The Guardian News and Media</i></b> website, which includes the <i><b>Observer</b></i> and <i><b>Media Guardian</b></i>, recorded 35.8 million unique users in November 2009, up 13% from October and 37% from the previous year. This sets a new record for the highest number of unique users for a U.K. newspaper website in one month. It also shows a recovery from the <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/11/british_newspaper_websites_are_booming.php">October figures</a>, which were down almost 4% on September's record of nearly 33 million users. <br /> &title=U.K. news websites attract even more users ){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2009/12/sonys_new_e-reader_to_offer_subscription.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="4484" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/11/Sony-Reader-Daily-Edition-thumb-250x179-4483.jpg"><img alt="Thumbnail image for Sony-Reader-Daily-Edition.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/11/Sony-Reader-Daily-Edition-thumb-250x179-4483-thumb-250x179-4484.jpg" width="250" height="179" class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;" /></a></form><div>The <i>Wall Street Journal </i>and the <i>New York Post</i> will be available on the new <b><a href="http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10151&langId=-1&catalogId=10551&e=1">Sony</a></b><a href="http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10151&langId=-1&catalogId=10551&e=1"> e-reader</a>, reported <i><a href="http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004054227">Editor & Publisher</a></i> and the <i><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704238104574601792677910548.html">Wall Street Journal.</a></i> WSJ described the<b> News Corp</b>-owned papers' move as an attempt "to loosen Amazon.com Inc's hold on the fledgling e-reader market." Sony's touch-screen <b>Reader Daily Edition</b> <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2009/11/wow_sony_e-reader_delivery_delayed_due_t.php">should be on-sale by the end of the year</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Journal's digital edition will cost $14.99 a month, with the option to pay an extra $5 for daily news summary, or $10.99 for a summary of news and columns from MarketWatch.com. The New York Post's e-edition will be available exclusively on the Sony device from January at $9.99 a month. </div> &title=<b>Sony's</b> new e-reader to offer subscriptions to <b><i>Wall Street Journal</b></i> and <b><i>New York Post</b></i>){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/12/2010_outlook_on_ad_revenue_and_strategic.php&bodytext=<b>Kubas Consultants</b> have released the results of their survey of over 530 U.S. and Canadian newspaper executives' and managers' expectations for advertising revenues in 2010 and what strategies they have planned to meet the New Year's challenges. <div><br /></div><form mt:asset-id="5071" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/12/2010 initiatives-5071.html" onclick="window.open('http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/12/2010 initiatives-5071.html','popup','width=492,height=444,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false"><img src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/12/2010 initiatives-thumb-250x225-5071.png" width="250" height="225" alt="2010 initiatives.png" class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;" /></a></form><div>'Preview 2010' found that next year is widely held to be a year of improvement in all categories of newspaper advertising revenue. It is important to note that 'improvement' here means 'declining less quickly' rather than positive growth. This is approximately the same perception expected of 2009, except that this optimism was misplaced as 2009 saw newspapers' online sales decrease. </div><div><br /></div><div>The top strategic initiatives (show in the bar chart) predicted for 2010 were all found to be in the online sector. Improvements (i.e. making money off of) in website visitors, advertising spread, and web-based ad sales are to be integral parts of budgets next year.</div>&title=2010 outlook on ad revenue and strategic initiatives){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2009/12/googles_fast_flip_adopted_by_55_new_publ.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="5065" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/misc/Google%20fast%20flip.png"><img alt="Google fast flip.png" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/12/Google fast flip-thumb-250x118-5065.png" width="250" height="118" class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;" /></a></form><div>The <i>Telegraph</i>, <i>Independent</i> and <i>Daily Express</i> are among <a href="http://fastflip.googlelabs.com/sources">55 publications</a> who have joined <b>Google's</b> <b><a href="http://fastflip.googlelabs.com/">Fast Flip</a></b> experiment, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/dec/16/google-fast-flip">reported the </a><i><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/dec/16/google-fast-flip">Guardian</a></i><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/dec/16/google-fast-flip">.</a> Fast Flip displays news stories from different partner publications via screenshots of the articles, which the user can quickly flick through, essentially allowing readers to browse news faster and more visually. <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2009/09/google_news_fast_flip_offers_fast_browsi.php">It was launched in September with the involvement of 39 publications, most of them US-based. </a></div><div><br /></div><div>The most ground-breaking aspect of Fast Flip is the revenue sharing scheme: 'partner' news outlets share the revenue earned from (supposedly) contextually relevant advertisements. It is the first time that Google has offered publications a cut of the ad revenue it makes in this way. Fast Flip also includes a personalisation aspect for those who sign in with a Google account, and is available on the <b>iPhone</b> and <b>Android</b> phones. </div> &title=<b>Google's Fast Flip</b> adopted by 55 new publications){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/12/wall_street_journal_shuffles_editors.php&bodytext=<!--StartFragment-->
<form mt:asset-id="4814" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/17.jpg"><img alt="17.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/12/17-thumb-200x200-4814.jpg" width="200" height="200" class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;" /></a></form><p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/12/murdochs_praise_of_future_journalism_vei.php">The Wall Street
Journal</a></i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-AU"> has announced a replacement for </span><b>Nik Deogun</b><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-AU">, who left the paper recently
to take a post as managing editor at </span><b><i>CNBC</i></b><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-AU">.<span style="mso-spacerun:
yes"> </span>His replacement is </span><b>Rebecca Blumstein</b><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-AU">, who will now enter the
elusive </span><i>Wall Street Journal</i><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-AU"> troika as international editor of the </span><i>WSJ</i><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-AU"> and
deputy managing editor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><br />
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-AU">In </span><a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/revolving_door/wsjcom_managing_editor_blumenstein_named_journal_deputy_editor_146011.asp">a memo</a><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-ansi-language:
EN-AU"> regarding the promotion, managing editor of the </span><i>WSJ</i><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-ansi-language:
EN-AU">, </span><b>Robert
Thomson</b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-ansi-language:
EN-AU">, gleefully stated, "</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family:
Cambria;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana">Rebecca has
done outstanding work at </span><span lang="EN-US"><b>WSJ.com</b></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ascii-font-family:
Cambria;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana"> this year and her role overseeing our
correspondents will allow her to continue the important phase of integration
she has begun at dotcom. Before taking the role at online, she was
International News Editor and China Editor, so she is well aware of the
challenges of life as a correspondent and acutely conscious of our digital
potential, which she will continue to realize with her customary vigor and
creativity."</span></p>
<!--EndFragment-->
&title=<b><i>Wall Street Journal</i></b> shuffles editors){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2009/12/regional_publishers_increasingly_turn_di.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="2328" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/03/regional-press-screenshots-thumb-200x119-2327.jpg"><img alt="Thumbnail image for Regional press front page screen shots.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/03/regional-press-screenshots-thumb-200x119-2327-thumb-200x119-2328.jpg" width="200" height="119" class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;" /></a></form>Many UK regional publishers have seen the opportunities of digital and internet publishing and have capitalized on it. But local presses are increasingly selling digital-format replicas of their print products, which is not quite the same thing as going 'fully digital.'
<div><br /></div><div>Local newspapers re-formatted for digital viewing, usually complete with page-turning 'technology,' have been popping up all over the UK and are beginning to outstrip traditional print editions.
</div>&title=Regional publishers increasingly turn digital){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/12/newspaper_group_tindle_to_put_up_paywall.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="4906" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/Tindle_Newspapers.JPG"><img alt="Tindle_Newspapers.JPG" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/12/Tindle_Newspapers-thumb-200x67-4906.jpg" width="200" height="67" class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;" /></a></form>The <b>Tindle Newspapers Group</b>, which publishes over 200 local and regional papers in the UK, some of which are over 100 years old, has judged its various paid content experiments as successful and now plans to erect paywalls at 40 of its titles. <div><br /></div><div>Based in Surrey, the announced increases in projections on how much can be made from paywalls follows a heartening speech by chairman and boss <b>Sir Ray Tindle</b> at Oxon Hoath in Kent on how the group will emerge from the recession 'with flags flying.'
</div>&title=Newspaper group <b>Tindle</b> to put up paywalls for 40 regional newspapers){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/12/googles_living_stories_organises_article.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="4904" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/screenshots/google%20living%20ss1.png"><img alt="google living ss1.png" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/12/google living ss1-thumb-250x151-4904.png" width="250" height="151" class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;" /></a></form><div>The latest news-related product to emerge in <b>Google Labs</b> is '<b><a href="http://livingstories.googlelabs.com/">Living Stories</a></b>,' described by the company as "news, made for the web." The idea is that "complete coverage of an on-going story is gathered together and prioritized on one URL." The project is currently being tested with the <i>New York Times</i> and the <i>Washington Post.</i> </div><div><br /></div><div>Currently there are eight 'living stories' on Google Labs. Each story has a page headed with a title and a brief summary and features a timeline upon which each update to the story is marked. The different articles published on the story are listed from the newest down, so a reader can read all of them while staying within one page. On <a href="http://livingstories.googlelabs.com/lsps/climatechange#OVERVIEW:false,false,false,n,n,n:null;">the 'politics of global warming' page</a>, for example, there is also a pop up graphic which allows readers to listen to quotes on the subject from various authorities. </div><div><br /></div> &title=<b>Google's 'Living Stories'</b> organises articles by topic and follows their development){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/12/new_study_mass_paywall_shift_could_hold.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="4816" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/o%26ologo.gif"><img alt="o&ologo.gif" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/12/o&ologo-thumb-150x66-4816.gif" width="150" height="66" class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;" /></a></form>Media consultancy group <b>Oliver and Ohlbaum</b> interviewed (not just polled) 2,600 UK adults in early November and concluded that paywalls alone would not improve newspapers finances, but a mixed strategy of micropayments and subscriptions would be necessary. <div><br /></div><div>The study suggested that erecting a massive paywall around all content for as little as £2 a month for national papers would not prove popular, especially if all papers did so at the same time. </div><div><br /></div><div>This is exactly the opposite of what many have suggested as the only way to make paywalls work: Put them up everywhere, so readers have few free alternatives thus must pay. What should be noted, however, is that this clash comes from the differing perspectives on the paywall problem; the O&O study looks at it from the public popularity point of view, while the advocates of simultaneous paywall creation are approaching it from a purely financial perspective.
</div>&title=New study: Mass paywall shift could hold perils for newspapers){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/12/greenspun_merges_print_and_digital.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="4773" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/12/Greenspun_Media_Group-4773.html" onclick="window.open('http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/12/Greenspun_Media_Group-4773.html','popup','width=1035,height=636,scrollbars=no,resizable=no,toolbar=no,directories=no,location=no,menubar=no,status=no,left=0,top=0'); return false"><img src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/12/Greenspun_Media_Group-thumb-250x153-4773.jpg" width="250" height="153" alt="Greenspun_Media_Group.JPG" class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;" /></a></form><b>Greenspun Media</b>, parent of the <i><b>Las Vegas Sun</b></i>, has begun merging their print and online assets in the Las Vegas area. <div><br /></div><div>The staffs of Greenspun's eight media properties will merge into single teams of editorial, advertising, and support for all the media outlets concerned. This combines the editorial, online, advertising, marketing, production, human resources and finance departments for the<i> Las Vegas Sun</i> and its Web site. </div><div><br /></div><div>However, the other individual newspapers involved in the merger will continue to be sold separately. No word yet on whether this will effect the content of these papers.
</div>&title=<b>Greenspun</b> merges print and digital){kind=link}