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/japans_the_nikkei_prepares_to_erect_payw.php&bodytext=<form contenteditable="false" mt:asset-id="6175" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/Image%2024.png"><img alt="Image 24.png" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/03/Image%2024-thumb-200x109-6175.png" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="109" width="200" /></a></form><b>Nikkei Inc.</b>, the Japanese newspaper publisher of Japan's five largest newspapers, has announced it will launch a paid digital edition for its business daily, the<i> Nihon Keizai Shimbun</i> (known as <i>The Nikkei</i>), on March 23.<br /><br />Access to the publisher's previous newspaper website, <i>Nikkei Net</i> was free of charge. However, after March 23, access to part of the content of the new website will be limited to paid subscribers only, <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2010/01/japanese_newspaper_drops_evening_edition.php#more"><i>The Asahi Shimbun</i> reports</a>.<br /><br />Nikkei President <b>Tsuneo Kita</b> said in a news conference that the company is approaching "this project from a different concept than the conventional perception that information on the Net is free of charge."<br />&title=Japan's <i>The Nikkei</i> prepares to erect paywall){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2010/03/proposed_tax_on_aggregators_to_help_news.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="1087" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/google.jpg"><img alt="google.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2008/10/google-thumb-200x133-1087.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" width="200" height="133" /></a></form>
Heading up the Commission of Inquiry into the Future of Civil Society, an independent investigation looking at the future of public life, <b>Geoff Mulgan </b>has branded the majority of online news as little more that "recycled 'churnalism'", <i>the Guardian </i>reports. To combat this, the commission has proposed a tax on the likes of <b><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/analysis/2009/03/google_news_and_newspaper_publishers_all.php">Google</a> </b>and websites using news that they themselves have not produced. It is estimated that the tax could generate £100m a year, which would be distributed amongst local newspapers feeling the pinch. <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=Proposed tax on aggregators to help newspapers feeling the pinch){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newsrooms_and_journalism/2010/02/ft_chinese_journalists_threatened_with_r.php&bodytext= <form mt:asset-id="5773" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/ftchineselogo.gif"><img alt="ftchineselogo.gif" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/02/ftchineselogo-thumb-200x41-5773.gif" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="41" width="200" /></a></form>Four Chinese journalists at the <i>Financial Times</i> are faced with redundancy if they do not return to China on half their current salaries, <a href="http://www.nuj.org.uk/innerPagenuj.html?docid=1480">according to the<b> National Union of Journalists</b> (NUJ)</a>.
<br /><br />Two of the four journalists, who produce a specialist Chinese language website for the paper called <a href="http://www.ftchinese.com/"><i>FT Chinese</i></a>, are British citizens. Their terms and conditions are already "inferior" to other journalists at the newspaper, the NUJ said. The union branch has voted to demand the threat of redundancies be lifted and to ballot for industrial action if necessary.
<br />
&title=<i>FT Chinese</i> journalists threatened with redundancy ){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2010/02/the_new_york_times_iphone_app_hits_3_mil.php&bodytext= <form mt:asset-id="5723" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/nyt_iphonesjpg.jpeg.jpg"><img alt="nyt_iphonesjpg.jpeg.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/02/nyt_iphonesjpg.jpeg-thumb-200x130-5723.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="130" width="200" /></a></form><i>The New York Times</i>' free iPhone application has been downloaded 3 million times since its launch in July 2008, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/feb/10/new-york-times-digital-media"><i>The Guardian</i> reports</a>.
<br /><br />In December, the Times managed at least 75 million mobile pageviews across its mobile sites and apps. The figures were announced by president and CEO of the Times <b>Janet Robinson</b> during the company's earnings call.
<br /><br />The Times had 3.1 million unique mobile users in December, placing it seventh in <b>Nielsen</b>'s mobile news rankings, <a href="http://moconews.net/article/419-nyt-75-million-mobile-pageviews-reached-3-million-iphone-app-downloads/"><i>MocoNews</i> reports</a>. It ranked behind <b>CNN.com</b>'s mobile site, which had 12.3 million uniques, and <b>Yahoo News</b>, <b>Fox News Digital</b> and <b>Google News</b>. The app also ranks second in the 'free news' category of the app store under <b>Zinio</b>'s magazine reader app.
<br />&title=<i>The New York Times</i>' iPhone app hits 3 million downloads ){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2010/01/google_promotes_freedom_of_expression.php&bodytext=<form contenteditable="false" mt:asset-id="5206" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/breakingborders.jpg"><img alt="breakingborders.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/01/breakingborders-thumb-300x69-5206.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="69" width="300" /></a></form>Amidst all the <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newsrooms_and_journalism/2010/01/2009_a_dangerous_year_for_journalists.php">threats to press freedom</a>, here's some good news: the <b>Breaking Borders Award</b>, jointly organized
by <b>Google</b> and international citizen journalism website <a href="http://globalvoicesonline.org/"><i>Global Voices</i></a> and supported by <b>Thomson Reuters</b>.
The award is presented to outstanding online projects that show
courage, energy and resourcefulness in using the internet to promote
freedom of expression and stand up to those who censor information.<br /><br />
Three categories of the prize are awarded: tools that promote freedom
of expression, outstanding work on policy, and activism or journalism
that contributed an important voice or argument. The winner of each
category receives $10,000. <br />&title=<b>Google</b>, <b>Global Voices</b> and <b>Thomson Reuters</b> promote freedom of expression ){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2010/01/the_times_turns_225.php&bodytext=<form contenteditable="false" mt:asset-id="5178" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/The-Times.jpg"><img alt="The-Times.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2010/01/The-Times-thumb-175x218-5178.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="218" width="175" /></a></form>U.K. newspaper <i><b>The Times</b></i> celebrated its 225th birthday this week, making it the English-language record holder for longest continuous daily publication. <br /><br />The paper was launched under the title <i><b>The Daily Universal Register</b></i>, then renamed <i>The Times</i> three years later to avoid confusion with other newspapers with "register" in the title. <br /> &title=<b><i>The Times</i></b> turns 225){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2009/12/an_indian_digital_journalist_says.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="4735" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/Kalra.jpg"><img alt="Kalra.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/12/Kalra-thumb-250x176-4735.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="176" width="250" /></a></form><div>An Indian digital journalist says the media divide in India is being bridged.<br /><br />Chief editor of <i><b>Times Internet Ltd</b></i>, <b>Rajesh Kalra</b>, said the divide is being bridged and it has been happening within the last decade. He was speaking at the <b><a href="http://www.wanindia2009.com/">16th World Editors Forum</a></b> in Hyderabad, India. <br /><br /></div>&title=<b>Times Internet Ltd</b> chief editor <b>Rajesh Kalra</b> details media 'bridge' in India){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2009/11/wikipedia_sees_huge_decrease_in_number_o.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="4583" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/wikipedia-logo.jpg"><img alt="wikipedia-logo.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/11/wikipedia-logo-thumb-200x240-4583.jpg" width="200" height="240" class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;" /></a></form><div><b>Wikipedia</b> has been loosing editors at an alarming rate in recent months, reports the <i><b><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125893981183759969.html">Wall Street Journal</a></b></i>. In the first three months of this present year, Wikipedia lost 49 000 English-language editors, as compared to the 4 900 they lost during the same time frame the previous year. This has caused many to raise concern for the future of the fifth most-popular website on the Internet.</div><div><br /></div><div>Roughly 325million people visit the online-encyclopaedia each month. Despite the drop in editors, the site traffic has grown considerably- traffic went up by 20 percent between September 2008 and 2009. So what's the rub? Is Wikipedia just out of things to write about?</div> &title=Wikipedia sees huge decrease in number of editors){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/11/local_papers_work_overtime_to_cover_cumb.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="4562" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/news%26starscreen.jpg"><img alt="news&starscreen.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/11/news&starscreen-thumb-200x132-4562.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="132" width="200" /></a></form>Local newspapers have been working overtime in Cumbria, where persistent downpours have flooded the north English county, claiming five lives and destroying more than 2000 homes and businesses last week. <br /><br />The Thursday edition of the <a href="http://www.timesandstar.co.uk/"><i><b>Times & Star</b></i></a>, usually a weekly paper distributed in the west Cumbrian towns of Workington and Cockermouth, came out as normal, but on Friday as the full extent of the destruction became apparent the paper released a second edition with four pages of flood coverage.<br /><br /><br /> &title=Local papers work overtime to cover Cumbria floods){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/11/redesigned_wall_street_journal_europe_la.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="4154" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/logos/wsj%20europe.png"><img alt="wsj europe.png" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/10/wsj%20europe-thumb-200x32-4154.png" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" width="200" height="32" /></a></form>The <i>Wall Street Journal's</i> new Europe edition comes out today, with changes to both print and online offerings. <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/10/wsj_europe_to_undergo_a_redesign.php">The US edition of the WSJ will no longer be printed and distributed in London, and its subscribers will be offered the
European version instead.</a><br /><br />Changes to the print paper include a new simplified front-page layout, with added sky boxes and navigation bars, new columns to run throughout the week, regionally themed pages and a series of eight-page special reports. <a href="http://www.europe.wsj.com/"><i>Europe.wsj.com</i></a> will highlight the paper's new columnists, interviews and analysis features. A new daily email service, 'World at a Glance', will provide a late-afternoon briefing on world and business news. <iframe 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" frameborder="0"></iframe>&title=Redesigned <b><i>Wall Street Journal Europe</b></i> launches today){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2009/11/wsj_to_launch_japanese-language_website.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="4374" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/wsjjapan.jpg"><img alt="wsjjapan.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/11/wsjjapan-thumb-200x132-4374.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="132" width="200" /></a></form>The <b><i>Wall Street Journal</i></b> will launch <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2008/12/japan_dow_jones_to_launch_japanese_langu.php">its anticipated Japanese-language website</a> next month, <a href="http://www.media.asia/DigitalMedia/Newsarticle/2009_11/WSJ-to-launch-Japanese-site-next-month/37841">reports <i><b>Media Asia</b></i></a>. <i><a href="http://japan.wsj.com/"><b>Japan.WSJ.com</b></a><b> </b></i> is expected to reproduce Japanese translations of the english <i>WSJ</i> edition as well as content from other <b>Dow Jones</b> publications.<br /><br />The website, which is the result of a partnership with Japanese financial services provider <b>SBI Holdings</b>, will officially launch on 15 December and a preview edition was put up earlier this week. <br /><br /><br /> &title=<b><i>WSJ</b></i> to launch Japanese-language website next month){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/11/wall_street_journal_to_hire_a_dozen_repo.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="4189" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/10/wsj-thumb-282x200-4058-thumb-250x177-4059.jpg"><img alt="Thumbnail image for Thumbnail image for wsj.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/10/wsj-thumb-282x200-4058-thumb-250x177-4059-thumb-200x141-4189.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="141" width="200" /></a></form>The <i>Wall Street Journal</i> is to hire about a dozen reporters in New York to cover local news, the <a href="http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/wall-street-journal-to-hire-about-a-dozen-reporters-to-cover-local-news-in-new-york/"><i>New York Times</i> reported</a>. The news comes just days after the paper announced the closure of its Boston bureau, for financial reasons. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/07/wall_street_journal_becoming_more_and_mo.php">It was reported earlier this year</a> that the <i>Wall Street Journal</i> was planning to start a New York edition, and the new staff will presumably be working for this. They are to cover traditional city desk beats like courthouses, City Hall and the state capital, according to the New York Times. The new edition is expected to have a strong arts and culture focus, it was reported this summer. &title=<b><i>Wall Street Journal</b></i> to hire a dozen reporters to cover local New York news){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/11/tribune_co_newspapers_trial_reporting_ap.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="4236" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/ap.jpg"><img alt="ap.jpg" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/11/ap-thumb-200x140-4236.jpg" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="140" width="200" /></a></form>The <b>Tribune</b>'s newspaper chain will go <i><b>AP</b></i>-free as of next week in an experiment to see if it can manage without the news feed and eventually cut back on the cost of subscribing to it altogether. <br /><br />The trial period is expected to start next week (Nov 8), <a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2008/10/us_tribune_co_to_drop_ap.php">just over a year since Tribune Co. gave <i>AP</i> the required two year notice of cancellation</a>. <br /><br /><br /> <iframe 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" frameborder="0"></iframe>&title=<b>Tribune Co.</b> newspapers trial reporting AP-free){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2009/10/al_jazeera_english_introduces_blog_site.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="4017" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;" contenteditable="false"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/screenshots/Al%20Jazeera%20blogs.png"><img alt="Al Jazeera blogs.png" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/10/Al%20Jazeera%20blogs-thumb-300x197-4017.png" class="mt-image-left" style="margin: 0pt 20px 20px 0pt; float: left;" height="197" width="300" /></a></form><i>Al Jazeera English </i>has launched a new blogging network,<a href="http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/536111.php"> reported <i>Journalism.co.uk</i>.</a> AJE Head of Online <b>Mohamed Nanabhay</b> said that he is "reasonably excited about it," although aware that it is something that many news organisations already have in place. <br /><br /><a href="http://blogs.aljazeera.net/">The blogs</a> are divided up by geographical area: Africa, Asia, Americas, Europe and Middle East, with the addition of a business section. A selection of correspondents and presenters have been writing posts. &title=<b><i>Al Jazeera English</b></i> introduces blog site){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/09/fts_alphaville_blog_focuses_on_new_york.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="3691" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/logos/alphaville.png"><img alt="alphaville.png" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/09/alphaville-thumb-250x51-3691.png" width="250" height="51" class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;" /></a></form><div>The <i><a href="http://www.ft.com">Financial Times</a></i> announced on Monday that its blog <b><a href="http://ftalphaville.ft.com/">Alphaville</a></b> is to expand its New York presence, as part of an effort to make the site a global, 24-hour news service. Alphaville offers a mix of breaking news, commentary, links to stories on the rest of the FT's website and<b> <a href="http://ftalphaville.ft.com/marketslive/">Markets Live</a></b>, a daily session that lets readers follow and contribute to an hour-long instant messaging conversation between two journalists discussing London's equities markets. </div><div><br /></div><div>The blog will now be edited from New York, while the core team remains in London. Editor<b> Paul Murphy</b> has relocated from London to New York. "As FT Alphaville has continued to grow we have been working to expand our coverage both geographically and by asset class. Developing our US coverage further is a natural next step, especially when blogging and new media in general is so much more advanced in the US than other parts of the globe," said Murphy.</div> &title=<b><i>FT's</b></i> <b>Alphaville</b> blog focuses on New York ){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2009/09/wall_street_journal_to_start_charging_fo.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="3661" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><a href="http://www.editorsweblog.org/misc/wall%20street%20journal%20blackberry.png"><img alt="wall street journal blackberry.png" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/assets_c/2009/09/wall street journal blackberry-thumb-200x301-3661.png" width="200" height="301" class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;" /></a></form><div>The <i>Wall Street Journa</i><i>l</i> is to start charging for its mobile application in the next few months, <b>News Corp</b> chairman <b>Rupert Murdoch</b> announced at <b>Goldman Sachs'</b> annual media conference. Murdoch also declared that although, e-readers might take 20 years to displace newspapers, there would come a day when print papers were no more. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Journal will charge non-subscribers $2 a week for mobile access and subscribers will pay $1 a week, it appears. Those who subscribe to both the print and online version of the paper will get free mobile access.</div> &title=<b><i>Wall Street Journal</b></i> to start charging for mobile app){kind=link}
![Digg](http://digg.com/submit?phase=2&&url=http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/08/italian_antitrust_authorities_investigat.php&bodytext=<form mt:asset-id="3255" class="mt-enclosure mt-enclosure-image" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Google news.gif" src="http://www.editorsweblog.org/Google%20news.gif" width="170" height="40" class="mt-image-left" style="float: left; margin: 0 20px 20px 0;" /></form><div>Italian antitrust regulators are investigating <b>Google</b> after the <b>Italian Federation of Newspaper Publishers <a href="http://www.fieg.it/">(FIEG: </a><i><a href="http://www.fieg.it/">Federazione Italiana Editori Giornali</a></i><a href="http://www.fieg.it/">)</a></b> complained that<b> Google News</b> is reducing publishers' ability to attract traffic to their sites. This complaint is nothing new, but what is interesting (and disputable) is their claim that asking to be removed from Google News results in exclusion from the standard Google search engine. </div><div><br /></div><div><i>Corriere della Sera </i>quoted the antitrust authority's statement which noted that this state of affairs amounts to "an extremely damaging condition [for publishers]: presence on Google's search engine is crucial in helping a website to attract visitors and therefore to obtain income from advertising, given the extremely widespread presence of this search engine." </div> &title=Italian antitrust authorities investigating <b>Google</b> after complaints from publishers){kind=link}