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/newspaper/2010/03/tindle_looks_local_to_bring_in_new_reven.php&bodytext=<form contenteditable="false" mt:asset-id="6016" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/tindle.jpg"><img alt="tindle.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/03/tindle-thumb-200x67-6016.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="67" width="200" /></a></form><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/12/newspaper_group_tindle_to_put_up_paywall.php">The <b>Tindle Newspapers Group</b>, </a>publisher of around 230 local and regional papers in the <b>UK</b>, is to launch four weekly local newspapers in<b> London</b>, the <i>Guardian</i> has reported. <br /><br />Three of the four weekly titles were available from last <b>Friday</b> and have been identified as the <i>Edmonton Herald, East Barnet Advertiser</i> and<i> Winchmore Hill Herald</i>. The print runs are very small at 3,000 copies of each paper, and the first issues were distributed door-to-door. Specific details regarding the fourth paper, set to launch in a couple of weeks, are as yet unknown. &title=<b>Tindle</b> looks local to bring in new revenue streams, with launch of four new titles){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newsrooms_and_journalism/2010/03/murdochwsj_to_launch_metro_edition_in_ap.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><b>Rupert Murdoch</b> announced <i>The Wall Street Journal</i>'s plans to launch a New York edition this April during a <a href="http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45&aid=178772">speech before the <b>Real Estate Board of New York</b></a> yesterday. Murdoch has reportedly set aside a <a href="http://www.observer.com/2009/media/watch-out-times-murdoch-plans-15-m-nyc-edition">$15 million budget</a> for the new metro edition with the hopes of rivaling <i>The New York Times</i> in local news. <br /><br />Murdoch, whose' <b>News Corporation</b> acquired the Journal in 2007 and also owns <i>The New York Post</i>, had not previously acknowledged public reports over the new section, one of the worst-kept secrets in the newspaper industry. His remarks mark the Journal's first foray into local news with a stand-alone daily section featuring articles on culture, sports, politics, and other news from New York.<br /> &title=<b>Murdoch</b>: <i>WSJ</i> to launch New York section in April){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2010/02/bbc_to_shrink_web_offering_to_appease_ri.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="5434" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/01/bbc-logo-thumb-200x160-5433.jpg"><img alt="Thumbnail image for bbc-logo.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/01/bbc-logo-thumb-200x160-5433-thumb-200x160-5434.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="160" width="200" /></a></form>The <b><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/">BBC</a></b> is to halve its number of web pages, as well as closing two radio stations and cutting spending on imported TV shows, <a href="http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article7041944.ece">the <i>Times</i> reported.</a> The changes will be announced next month by director-general <b>Mark Thompson</b>, according to the Times, and Thompson will admit that the corporation has become too large and must shrink to allow its commercial rivals more room to operate. <br /><br />The halving of the number of pages on the BBC website will be accompanied by a 25% cut in staff numbers and a 25% cut of its £112m budget. To appease rival publishers, it will pledge to include more links to articles from other news outlets, and not to produce news services at a more local level than it does currently. These latter elements do not signify a dramatic change in policy: last month, the BBC's director of news <b>Helen Boaden</b> <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2010/01/bbc_rules_out_going_local.php">asserted that the organisation was not looking to go more local</a>, and the corporation's news website already provides a "from other news sites" section alongside each story where it displays links to similar articles on newspaper websites. <meta name="Title" content="">
<meta name="Keywords" content="">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 2008">
<meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 2008">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>126</o:Words>
<o:Characters>722</o:Characters>
<o:Company>wan</o:Company>
<o:Lines>6</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>1</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>886</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>12.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<style>
<!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:Cambria;
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;
mso-font-charset:0;
mso-generic-font-family:auto;
mso-font-pitch:variable;
mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{mso-style-parent:"";
margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
@page Section1
{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;
margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt;
mso-header-margin:36.0pt;
mso-footer-margin:36.0pt;
mso-paper-source:0;}
div.Section1
{page:Section1;}
-->
</style>
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment--><!--EndFragment-->
&title=<b>BBC</b> to shrink web offering to appease rival publishers){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2010/02/what_journalists_should_know_about_googl.php&bodytext=<form contenteditable="false" mt:asset-id="5756" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/google%20buzz.jpg"><img alt="google buzz.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/02/google%20buzz-thumb-200x124-5756.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="124" width="200" /></a></form>In a move to step up its social feature repertoire, <b>Google Inc.</b>, released its new social media product, <b>Buzz</b>, this week. This new networking tool that mixes some of the programs Google has created over the years and could prove very useful for journalists, <a href="http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=31&aid=177590">according to <i>Poynter Online.</i></a><br /><br />However, these enhanced capabilities could come at a price for news outlets. <br /> &title=What journalists should know about <b>Google</b>'s <b>Buzz</b>){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2010/02/la_repubblicas_updated_iphone_app_with_m.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="5745" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/screenshots/photo-1.jpg"><img alt="repubblica mobile.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/02/photo-1-thumb-180x270-5745.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="270" width="180" /></a></form>Italian daily <a href="http://www.repubblica.it/"><i>La Repubblica</i></a> has launched a new paid version of its iPhone application, providing new content and services. In the eight months since the original app was launched, it has been downloaded by 150,000 users.<br /><br />New offerings include editorials and in-depth articles from La Repubblica's top journalists, and "the best from the print paper on the debates and analysis surrounding the news."<br /><br />The new version provides push notifications, alerting the user about breaking news even if the application is closed, or sending them messages when their selected football team scores a goal. Using key words of a reader's choice, the application will collect and save relevant articles that it finds to create a kind of press review. <br /><br /> &title=<i>La Repubblica's</i> updated <b>iPhone</b> app with more content and more services){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newsrooms_and_journalism/2010/02/glacier_media_and_national_post_presiden.php&bodytext=<form contenteditable="false" mt:asset-id="5725" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/canwest_logo.png"><img alt="canwest_logo.png" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/02/canwest_logo-thumb-200x118-5725.png" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="118" width="200" /></a></form>Consortiums led by community publisher <b>Glacier Media</b> and <i>National Post</i> President <b>Paul Godfrey</b> are both preparing bids to buy the newspapers of <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2010/01/canada_newspaper_group_files_for_bankrup.php">bankrupt</a> media giant <b>CanWest Global Communications</b>, the <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/canwest-auction-heats-up/article1462643/#article"><i>Globe and Mail</i> reported Wednesday</a>.<br /><br />CanWest Limited Partners newspaper division owns 35 small community papers and eleven metropolitan dailies, including the <i>Montreal Gazette</i>, <i>Ottawa Citizen</i>, and <i>Edmonton Journal</i>. They also control Canada's second most circulated national newspaper, the <i>National Post</i>. The pending sale was described as the "largest auction of media assets ever undertaken in Canada" by <b>Grant Robertson</b> and <b>Susan Krashinsky</b> of the <i>Globe and Mail</i>.<br /> &title=<b>Glacier Media</b> and <i>National Post</i> president line up bids for <b>CanWest</b> ){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/web_20/2010/01/guardian_local_bloggers_announced.php&bodytext= <form mt:asset-id="5535" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/beatbloggers.jpg"><img alt="beatbloggers.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/01/beatbloggers-thumb-200x119-5535.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="119" width="200" /></a></form><i>The Guardian</i> has appointed three bloggers to its new experimental <i>Guardian Local</i> initiative.
<br /><br /><b>Tom Allan</b>, <b>Hannah Waldram</b> and <b>John Baron</b> have been appointed to cover the cities of Edinburgh, Cardiff and Leeds respectively. They will take on the position of '<a href="http://beatblogging.org/2009/03/04/what-were-talking-about-when-we-say-beatblog-our-definition/">beatbloggers</a>', that is, bloggers who stick to a well-defined beat or coverage area.
<br />&title=<i>Guardian Local</i> bloggers announced){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/uk_government_to_investigate_local_counc.php&bodytext= <form mt:asset-id="5414" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/localnewspapers.jpg"><img alt="localnewspapers.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/01/localnewspapers-thumb-200x156-5414.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="156" width="200" /></a></form>The UK government may ask the <b>Office of Fair Trading</b> (OFT) to consider the impact of local council newspapers on local commercial newspaper publishers, <a href="http://www.printweek.com/business/news/978066/Government-may-turn-OFT-local-council-newspapers/"><i>Print Week</i></a> and <a href="http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/whereilive/localheadlines/4849922.Taxpayer_funded_town_hall__propaganda__newspapers_referred_to_watchdog/"><i>This is Local London</i> report</a>. Or it may not, media commentator <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2010/jan/14/council-run-newspapers-local-newspapers"><b>Roy Greenslade</b> points out</a>.
<br /><br />Members of parliament from the three main parties last week called for council papers to be culled. Local newspapers have long protested that council papers take away from their falling market share.
<br />&title=UK government to investigate local council papers? ){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/uk_us_printing_plants_to_close.php&bodytext=<form contenteditable="false" mt:asset-id="5276" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/printingplant.jpg"><img alt="printingplant.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/01/printingplant-thumb-200x224-5276.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="224" width="200" /></a></form>Two newspaper printing plants, one each in the US and the UK, are set to close, and substantial layoffs are expected to follow. <br /><br />In the UK, <b>Harmsworth Printing</b> has begun a 30-day consultation over closing its Plymouth printing plant. If the plant is closed, 90 staff could be lost, although the company has said it would try to find jobs for them elsewhere in the organisation. <a href="http://www.newsandtech.com/dateline/article_1fe6ac38-fbd4-11de-9c20-001cc4c03286.html"></a><br /> &title=UK, US printing plants to close){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newsrooms_and_journalism/2009/12/eric_newton_of_the_knight_foundation_at.php&bodytext=<b><form mt:asset-id="5032" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/ericnewton.jpg"><img alt="ericnewton.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/12/ericnewton-thumb-250x348-5032.jpg" width="200" height="298" class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;" /></a></form>Eric Newton</b>, Vice President of the Journalism Program at the<b> John S. and James L. Knight Foundation</b>, spoke at the FTC journalism workshop on December 2nd about ways the government could help journalism. <div><br /></div><div>Boldly opening with an account of how Cicero was disappointed with his 'commercial news packets coming from Rome' when he was sent to the provinces, Newton explained that a lot of people today have similar problems; they don't get the news they want from the places they feel are important.
</div><div><br /></div>He asserts that many governments at the regional or local level are held unaccountable because there is no local reporting; of the 3,248 counties and 30,000 towns and villages in the U.S. as of 2007, the <b>Newspaper Association of America</b> reported only 1,422 daily papers.&title=<b>Eric Newton</b> of the <b>Knight Foundation</b> at the FTC hearing){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/12/update_details_of_voluntary_redundancies.php&bodytext=<form contenteditable="false" mt:asset-id="5003" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/parisien16mars.jpg"><img alt="parisien16mars.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/12/parisien16mars-thumb-175x246-5003.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="246" width="175" /></a></form>After <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/12/france_staff_at_two_newspapers_strike_to.php">two rounds of strike action</a> to protest planned job cuts, and <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/12/france_staff_at_le_parisien_reject_furth.php">another staff meeting</a> that narrowly decided against further strikes, staff at <i><b>Le Parisien</b></i> and <i><b>Aujourd'hui en France</b></i> have still not been informed of exactly what these plans look like.<br /><br />The management of these two newspapers has just decided to delay any announcement of the details for its plan to impose voluntary redundancies until 2010, <a href="http://www.lefigaro.fr/medias/2009/12/11/04002-20091211ARTFIG00610-le-parisien-plie-face-aux-syndicats-.php"><i><b>Le Figaro</b></i></a> reports.<br /><br />Staff have continued to express their opposition to any job cuts, whether voluntary or involuntary. They have also called on management of the two papers to open discussions about their economic plans.<br /> &title=Update: Details of voluntary redundancies delayed at <b><i>Le Parisien</i></b>){kind=link}