France's newspaper industry is in crises and President Nicholas Sarkozy is launching talks to look into alleviating the situation. There will be a two month industry consultation period led by a one of Sarkozy's former Elysee advisers.

However, unions are reportedly concerned Sarkozy could loosen ownership laws, allowing his television baron friends to buy into the national press. Sarkozy, is known as the "télé-président" due to his media fixation and his close relationship with key figures within the media.

The French press is one of the least profitable in Europe, the daily circulation of all French national papers is just 8 million, which is half that of the UK and one third of Germany. French newspapers' combined turnover fell from €1.145bn (£905 million) in 2000 to €848 million last year.

It also costs more to print a national newspaper in France than in most of its European neighbours due to the Union Le Livre's importance in this sector, it insists on strict working hours and conditions for its members. It is also difficult to buy a newspaper in France because Labyrinthine state controls newspaper kiosks. The press already receive €1.5bn in direct and indirect state each year

Le Monde's editor, Eric Fottorino, has called for Sarkozy to make it easier for the public to buy a copy of a newspaper.

Sarkozy reportedly favours loosening French laws to allow media organisation to own a TV station, a major radio network and a major daily newspaper.

Source: Guardian.co.uk

Newspapers around the world are facing a challenging time, not only because of the current difficult economic climate and declining advertising revenues, but also because of the ever more rapid push to multi-platform publishing and the changes to the operation that this has involved. Is it time the whole operating model underwent a shake-up? Neil Benson, Editorial Director - Regionals, at Trinity Mirror believes that newspapers need to radically overhaul the entire structure and that, being from a "conservative industry", they have been "overly-cautious" for far too long.

Benson, and the three Editors of the Birmingham titles affected, have rewritten the rulebook on workflow and newsroom management at the Birmingham Post (Editor Marc Reeves - business orientated newspaper), Sunday Mercury (Editor David Brookes - tabloid) and Birmingham Mail (Editor Steve Dyson - a popular evening paper); and the new system is scheduled to go live in mid-October. Benson says that in previous recessions for the media industry, the standard way newspapers have responded is to cut the pagination of the paper and axe staff, but Trinity felt that this was simply "inadequate". Benson says, "The financial pressure is nothing new, but the additional factor is the internet and convergence and the effect that this is having on the industry, so we felt that rather than do the straightforward cost-cutting, we needed to do something much more imaginative." The Editors Weblog spoke to Benson to get all the details.

Rethinking workflow

Trinity Mirror has been using the same tried and tested newsroom workflow as most other newspapers, ie, (1) journalist writes the article, (2) submits it to the news desk, (3) designer fits the story into the page, (4) sub-editing desk scrutinizes, and (5) final revision and publication. This whole system has been completely turned on its head, with Benson stating, "We are truly a multi-media business now, so lets structure for that." The old five-step system has now been honed down to just three steps: create, place and complete. Benson says that not only did they have to look at the overall operating costs in the current difficult economic climate, but they also wanted to fully integrate multi-media working practises into the operation. With the advent of new publishing platforms, such as mobile and the Internet, newsrooms have had to adapt rapidly and have thus frequently "bolted-on" on new practises to the traditional model. Benson wanted to revamp the whole process so that multimedia is fully integrated into the operation.

The new workflow system is as follows:

1) Reporters - who will now be known as multimedia journalists*, - create the content.
2) Send to the "Multimedia" desk where a newly trained multi-skilled team will not only check the copy but also place it into heavily templated pages. This is the key step in the reinvention; here Trinity have merged the news editing and production function into one.
3) Page finishing, revising and tidying up.

Benson says he cannot remember such substantial changes being made to a newsroom in 35 years. Not only will this system help to cut costs and integrate multimedia publishing, but it will also cut down on the time between a reporter finding a story and it appearing in print or online. Furthermore, the three titles at Trinity Mirror Midlands will all be sharing a newsroom; so if a big story breaks the merged newsroom can push more resources towards the story and cover it more thoroughly than was ever possible before.

Integrated newsroom - open space and collaboration

One of the key areas where the changes can be seen is in the newsroom team itself; the individual Head of Content or Head of Sport for each title will be merged and will now work across all titles and channels. Furthermore, the whole team, including advertising and sales, will all be on one floor working together.

In the centre of the new newsroom (the whole team is moving to a new purpose-designed site in Birmingham in about a month's time) there will be a structure that Benson describes as being "like a broken doughnut" (ie, a round structure, open at two points for exit and entry) which is the multimedia desk: everything will be directed from this central hub. It will also contain the conference table where all of the news meeting will take place, making it open to the entire staff rather than in the Editors office behind a closed door as in the past. This structure also enables the multi-media desk staff to always be at their workstations even during the news meetings.

Furthermore, over the summer, a new publishing system was introduced called "Content Watch" (produced by a MediaSpectrum) which is completely web-based making it possible to file copy and sub copy from anywhere.

Training journalists: the "nuts and bolts" of integration

The training programme undertaken to make this radical change in structure possible has been comprehensive. Benson describes the training as "nuts and bolts" and philosophical, ie, enabling the team to "think" multi-media when they are working.  Staffers are all being equipped with laptops for filing on the move and Smartphones (Nokia 95 Smartphones for shooting video, streaming video, and take digital pictures), so there have been practical training sessions for the new kit, being led by the Head of Multimedia and the editorial training manager.

The team have brought in Paul Bradshaw from Birmingham City University, who has an online journalism blog, for the philosophical side; the sessions involve talks on multimedia and issues surrounding it for senior staffer, who will then "percolate this knowledge down". The staff have also been attending a series of multimedia awareness sessions led by Andrew Dickinson from the University of Central Lancashire, who also has a journalism blog.

Benson is very clear on the importance of this training programme, "We are asking people to do something very new, and unless you invest in the training it is not going to work."

Managing the team through unfamiliar waters

Another key consideration for Trinity Mirror in this reinvigoration of its newsroom has been its staff. The process resulted in 65 voluntary redundancies at the newspapers and this understandably caused concern for staffers at the group's Birmingham titles. Furthermore, with the whole workflow system being turned on its head, staffers were required to apply for roles within the new structure. This, reports Benson, was a difficult decision and one "not taken lightly". However, the changes in structure are so radical that they felt it was necessary to take this step to underline the enormous change the Birmingham titles were undertaking, and for the staff to truly consider if they wanted to be involved in it. Benson reports, "We had our eyes open, we expected a big reaction."

Bearing this in mind, management moved ahead quickly and launched a consultation period where staffers had one-to-one sessions to discuss concerns and ask questions. Rapidly after, the job application process started.  

The UK's National Union of Journalists took a role in the process, telling management that they would fight any forced redundancies; thankfully, the voluntary process proved successful and a strike was averted. Benson reports that communication was open with the union throughout the process.

With hindsight?

Trinity Mirror Midlands is nearing the finishing line in this whole process, but with the benefit of hindsight, would they have done anything differently? Benson says that he does not feel that there is a "fundamental" in the process that they got wrong. He does believe that the communication process with staff is vital and needs to be as open and detailed as possible. For Trinity, communication has been, "pretty good, but more would have been better."

Furthermore, with the office move planned well in advance and with Trinity's desire to undertake the changes before the office move so teething problems could be ironed out, lack of time was an issue. Benson says, "Ideally, a bit more time, but then again I have been involved in projects in the past where you can give yourself too much time. Being journalists, we all like a deadline."

* The multimedia journalists role now involves shooting video, taking picture, and so forth, as well as being equipped to file from anywhere with the new web-based publishing platform.

According to Sly Bailey, Trinity Mirror's CEO, publishers need to put digital media 'at the centre' of their businesses to survive the current economic downturn.

Digital media must be integrated into the business model Bailey told delegates at the Association of Online Publisher's (AOP) Digital Publishing Summit, stating that it is now a "must-have."

Bailey revealed that by 2011, digital revenues will represent a "substantial part" of Trinity Mirror's business. She went on to say "Businesses can no longer simply rely on a rising tide of digital growth. Building digital audiences is the right thing to do. Attracting millions of unique users to your digital brands is great. But if businesses can't convert those users into revenue and then into sustainable profits they will simply run out of cash. This is no time for vanity publishing. Our business models have to be sound and our investment plans have to be able to withstand short-term economic shock. I'm firmly of the belief that there will be casualties in the coming months."

Bailey also expects 2009 to be the crunch year for the industry, with falls in print circulations and traditional advertising revenues.

Bailey also said, "These [traditional] processes are an impediment to success in a multimedia world. To build a successful multimedia business and a digital business of scale we have to be prepared to rethink the entire publishing process."

Source: Journalism.co.uk

Austrian tabloid, Kronen Zeitung, has been the subject of content concerns for quite some time.  The paper is currently under fire because publisher and editor in chief, Hans Dichand has been accused of manipulating the public by openly using his paper for pet political issues.

KZ has a daily circulation of three million (42% of the population), which, according to BNET is the highest per capita circulation of any newspaper in the world.

Dichand has now taken on the task of promoting Werner Faymann, the Social Democratic party's leader, to become Austria's next chancellor.

In many cases the paper's campaigns have succeeded which is making some experts nervous. According to the Financial Times, experts fear that Dichand is making other parties too subservient to his wishes.

Sources: Financial Times, Roy Greenslade, The Guardian, BNET

The second part of Technorati's report, "State of the Blogosphere 2008" was released today.  The first part, Who Are the Bloggers?, was released yesterday.  

The report explores the Active Blogosphere and the trends, stories and behaviors that influence not only other Blogs, but the mainstream media as well.  It also seeks to answer the following questions; "Why have blogs become a significant part of the media landscape so quickly? Just what is it that makes the medium of blogging so compelling? What are bloggers blogging about and why?"

In Part II of the survey, The What And Why of Blogging, 1000 bloggers were interviewed about the content of their blogging.  Most cover both personal and professional topics and half consider their style to be sincere, conversational, humorous, and expert in nature. 

Canada's Globe and Mail published a scoop on Saturday claiming it had received a secret Nato document which disclosed that Taliban insurgents were better prepared than French troops during last month's controversial battle in Afghanistan. However, Nato and French Government officials deny the very existence of any such document and strongly dismissed the substance of the report and article.

During the controversial battle last month, ten French troops were killed in an ambush in one of the most shocking attacks on foreign troops since the fighting in Afghanistan began. The incident has shocked France and brought France's very presence in Afghanistan into question.

Since the story broke there has been claim and counter claim between Canada's Global and Mail and French and Nato officials. The Editors Weblog decided to get to the heart of the matter, and spoke to Colin MacKenzie, Managing Editor of News for the Globe and Mail about the controversy surrounding the article.

EW: Can you confirm if the document you received was an email correspondence or a "secret Nato report"? And is there a real difference for you? 

CM: The document in question is not electronic, and bears no resemblance to an email. Any document we think may be newsworthy is assessed based on its contents, provenance, and the authority of the author, among other things, not on the medium with which it was created or conveyed. In this case, it was on paper, and clearly a detailed and official document. Emails are obviously more easily subject to manipulation, but even there, reporting can usually determine whether an email is authentic.

EW: What mechanisms do you have in place to check sources and how would you rate the source in terms of reliability?  
 
CM: Editors are in constant conversation with reporters about the reliability of sourcing for any particular story. In this case, we are confident in the authenticity of the NATO document in question and that we accurately reported on the nature and contents of that document.

EW: Is there any connection between the timing of the publication of the article and the French vote on the war in Afghanistan this week?

We published the information as soon as we were able to confirm it to our satisfaction. That being said we can't attribute motive, except as an aside, our source was not likely to be fully au fait with the intricacies of the French legislative agenda.
 
EW: How, as a Managing Editor, do you manage your reporters when they come to you with a scoop? Also, how do you react when the story comes under attack, for example, the allegations that the secret report is in fact just an email?
 
CM: Well, we have considerable experience with such allegations. Typically, we ask a reporter to share his or her sourcing, we try to assess any hidden agendas, and we determine accuracy by interviewing others who are aware of the subject at hand.

EW: Why do you think the French media are downplaying the story and not investigating it further (the story received minimal coverage in France and equal weight was given to the denials of the French Minister of Defense, Hervé Morin)?
 
CM: Not to sound flippant, but I would argue there are two things at play. First of all, the story was not original to any of the French media, and there is a universal tendency to be less enthused about others' work. Second, it broke over a weekend, when in most newsrooms there are fewer people to pursue stories aggressively, especially those that require official comment.

EW: What action are you taking next? How do you foresee this story playing itself out? Will you ask French authorities to respond to the main issues revealed in the Globe & Mail article (lack of ammunitions, lack of communication tools)?
 
CM: Our reporter in Afghanistan is primarily pursuing stories about Canada's involvement in the country. Without sounding too parochial, it falls a little outside our readers' interests.
That being said, we continue to report on developments in France's involvement in Afghanistan. The French Government has already responded to the main points of our report, and we have published that response as well as the facts as we know them. The government has since changed elements of its response, and we'll report that too.
 
Sources: Globe and Mail, TimesOnline

Blogs of the past were considered a tool for amateurs and were casually dismissed by the media industry.  Today, everything has changed;  blogging has significantly altered the landscape of the news industry.  According to the survey, blogs have become a "global phenomenon that has hit the mainstream".

An astounding 95% of the top 100 US newspapers have reporter blogs.  They have become a vital part of reporting, "The lines between what is a blog and what is a mainstream media site become less clear."

The shift in the attitude towards blogging has been explored in the first part of an annual report published by Technorati, entitled, "State of the Blogosphere."  Part I, "Who are the Bloggers?" attempts to unearth and analyze the trends and themes of blogging and bloggers.

Preston, UK: 13-17 October 2008

Reinventing the Newsroom master class participants will gain insight into key issues facing newspaper executives who operate in competitive, technologically-advanced environments.

Experts from leading media companies and the Journalism Leaders Programme Team will offer participants tips to set up a genuine multimedia newsroom and to ensure that your organization's change initiative gets widespread support.

Discussions will be lead by distingushed editors-in-cheif, senior news executives, scholars and master teachers who bring special expertise to every session.

Discussion Leaders include:
George Brock, Saturday Editor of the Times in London
John Burke, Deputy Director of the World Editors Forum
Andy Dickinson, digital media trainer and author of a highly-rated digital journalism blog
François Nel, award-winning journalist and digital media specialist
Jane Singer, international-recognized expert on media convergence

Please visit The World Editors Forum for more information

http://www.wan-press.org/wef/masterclasses.php

A recent article in The New York Observer discussed the changing dimensions of content in news reporting and how multimedia reporting is affecting journalists.  

In an email to the NYO, Bill Keller, the executive editor of The New York Times, admitted to his surprise that so many important "stories fail to resonate the way they deserve."

The Internet may be largely to blame for this.  It has changed the way we live and the way we receive news and information.  Quick, fast, and short.  As the NYO points out, "hyperlinks do not advertise their relative value or importance. Everything is equal, everything is a tie and nothing, it seems, is important anymore."

The Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey, was published on Wednesday without any Associated Press copy.  At this stage, it is still unclear as to why the paper chose to run without AP.  Sources close to the newspaper have pointed towards either a protest over AP's controversial new rates that began in January, or that it is a test to see if the paper can run without AP copy, the world's largest newsgathering source, as a means to cut-costs.  


Other dailies, such as The Bakersfield Californian, The Star Tribune of Minneapolis, The Post Register of Idaho Falls, the Yakima Herald-Republic and Wenatchee World of Washington have notified AP of their plans to discontinue the news service.

Paul Colford, AP spokesman, released a statement to Editor and Publisher, "We understand that The Star-Ledger and the media industry as a whole are facing difficult financial challenges and that in this environment many newspapers are experimenting with news priorities and with their presentation of news. The Associated Press has been working with all members of the cooperative, including The Star-Ledger, to determine their needs and to ensure that the AP news report retains its value to them and their readers. Member Choice, the content and pricing initiative rolled out this summer, was in fact developed as a response to member requests for simpler content and pricing options."


Sources:  Editor and Publisher, Poynter, Buzz Machine

See Also:
US regionals turn away from AP to focus on local reporting
US: In-depth news service to enter the market in 2009
AP offers members free access to Outsell Inc.
US: Cancellation notices and disagreements weight on AP

A number of US newspapers have submitted cancellation notices to the Associated Press (AP), announcing that they are dropping their contracts with the news service. Reasons range from the recent changes that the AP has made to its fee structure to its diversion from regional news. The Wenatchee World of Wenatchee, Washington, The Yakima Herald-Republic of Yakima, Washington, The Spokesman Review of in Spokane, Washington and The Post Register of Idaho Falls, Idaho, spoke to the Editors Weblog about their decision to cut back on AP content and future plans that they have.

The AP's new fee structure

The new pricing structure, approved by AP's board last year, includes state, national and international breaking news and allows newspapers to buy individual articles and other services, as opposed to its old structure of one bulk membership fee. The AP claims this will cause fee increases for only 10% of its subscribers,

But the Post Register's editor and publisher Roger Plothow refers to the new fee structure as "too rigid" and "too expensive", pointing out that the AP hasn't adapted too well to the changing newspaper industry.

Spokesman-Review editor Steve Smith mentions that he had to lay off 16 of the papers staff in December 2007 and choosing to unsubscribe from the AP ("even considering the cost of replacement services") would save the paper nearly USD$300,000 and permit it to keep 10 to 15 jobs.

"The AP's declining content contribution?" or "Focus on Local News"
 
"They do far less for us than ever before. This year, we would have had to pay extra for basic Olympics coverage once included in the basic rate. And the AP staff in Olympia, the state capitol, told us they were unable to provide statewide coverage of last month's primary election. That is simply not acceptable, not considering how much we pay," says Smith.
 
The Wenatchee World, apart from financial concerns, dropped the AP for similar reasons. It wishes to pay more attention to regional news and the AP's regional reports have "gone by the wayside," says the paper's editor and publisher Rufus Woods.
 
"We've started a free story-sharing service with other papers in our region to enhance our regional report. We do it for free and it works great for everyone," says Woods.
 
"I believe that successful news organizations are gonna be the ones that will have the strongest local content and the challenge for us is that it's more expensive to provide local content than anything else," says Jenkins.
 
Plothow predicts that smaller and medium-sized regional papers will rely less on the AP for content since most of it may be obtained through other sources or be less relevant to readers of papers like the Register. He says that in two years time, the Register will be 80-90% regional and local, with only the most important national and international news articles.

"We will take our savings and invest it into local reporting resources. For newspapers like ours, local is the only future," says Plothow.

Smith reflects a similar idea: that while his paper has international and national coverage, its focus is primarily on local and regional events. For this, the Review cannot rely on the AP, he says. Perhaps it is due to the news outlet's job cuts or the "restructuring and emphasis online and in multi-media." He also mentions that dropping the AP's online service, like audio and broadcast coverage, made no change to the Review's site traffic.

"The big question is what kind of news report resonates with readers. Given changing reader habits, it may be that an all-local paper is in our future. Or perhaps just a slimmed-down national/international report," says Woods.

Newspapers defecting to AP competitors?

The Register is replacing the AP with other services such as Thomson Reuters, the New York Times, The Los Angeles Times-The Washington Post, European Pressphoto Agency, sports providers like PA Sports Ticker and a  "reconfigured coalition of regional newspapers that share content," according to Plothow.

The Review is adapting a similar technique. It may also make use of McClatchy-Tribune's proposed network that would be set up "under their auspices" and would pay the paper for any Review content that it would use.

Tim Brettingen, the AP's chief revenue officer, said that an AP contract is "one of the great bargains in the industry," in an interview with PaidContent.org.

But Spokesman Review's Smith countered that opinion, saying, "Frankly, I think it's highway robbery. And obviously, I am not alone. I have heard from several dozen editors who have dropped or soon will drop the service for most of the same reasons. Most of the major papers in our region are opting out."
 
Jenkins says that submitting a two-year cancellation notice gives the paper time to look at alternatives "that are available now" and those that "are being developed".

"When you look back two years, so many more sources