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Average time spent per visit decreased for more than half of the top 30 global news websites in May compared to last year, according to the latest Nielsen data. The trend mirrors the drops seen at the top newspaper sites.

The biggest gains came from two non-traditional news sources. Google News upped the average time spent on its site to over 22 minutes, a gain of over ten minutes from May 2008. Similarly, the average visitor stayed on the Huffington Post for about 15 minutes, an increase of more than six minutes.

We live in a world, not a village

The directors of international journalism courses talked about the importance of internationalisation and giving students a chance to interact with other students from around the world in a bid to understand the effects of global media in a local context.

According to Eric Scherer at AFP, the future of journalism will lie in enterprising journalists and their efforts to come up with journalistic solutions that will facilitate the communication process and continuously revise the business models in place. He also believes that a new mindset will eventually need to replace the typical journalist's attitude of today, as well as in the value of a broad general knowledge base - something that internationalisation makes possible.

As online news becomes more and more prevalent, with an unimaginable amount of information available at users' fingertips and Internet now ranked as US consumers' top way to access their news, how can media organisations make sure that readers find their articles?  Part of the answer is search engine optimisation, which is becoming an essential part of the daily life of a newsroom. For the printed product, newspapers must try to sell the paper as a whole; online, articles can attract traffic individually as readers come across them while searching for specific topics. It is therefore important that each story, rather than simply the site as a whole, is 'optimised' to appear higher in search results. Aside from highly technical aspects like HTML meta tagging, URL structure or site navigation, what can a newspaper do to optimise its content for search engines?

How to introduce SEO to the newsroom

One major potential stumbling block is that journalists might view SEO as a way to manipulate their stories and take away their true value. So the way it is presented to staff is extremely important. And indeed, it is crucial that newspapers do not get carried away with prioritising SEO above all else. Even Google advises creating content "primarily for your users, not search engines:" it is important to make your site easily accessible to search engines but still remain focused on your visitors' needs.

Clearly, it is important for all reporters to be aware of the ways that they can make each individual article more search-friendly. After all, journalists have always wanted their stories to be as widely read as possible, in print as well as online, and are likely to be willing to help make that happen. And often, the principles of SEO echo the principles of writing a good story: such as the idea that the first sentence should be a summary of the rest of the article, containing relevant concepts or keywords. One difference is that less generic, more specific works for SEO in terms of names or concepts. Google recommends shorter rather than longer titles.

Esa Peltonen, who has been working as a web analyst at the largest Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat for three years, said that he has worked extensively with editorial staff, for example on how to use Google, to get an idea of how users will be searching and what kind of search words people are using. Head of audience development at the Telegraph, Julian Sambles, said in March that the paper was trying to give journalists "the knowledge and understanding that they need so they can apply it to their daily production process and make informed decisions about content when they're writing or publishing it." Thinking about SEO should be second nature, he added.

Papers must also consider their goals in optimising content for search engines. As Drew Broomhall, head of search at the Times explained, if you rank success by sheer volume of traffic, then you should "write the same as everyone else but more of it and more frequently updated." However, if you are looking to increase engagement on a specific subject you need more detailed keyword analysis and niche research.

One straightforward course is the need to stay ahead of the trends: predict what people are going to be talking about in upcoming months and provide appropriate content. "Fix SEO requirements into the editorial calendar," Broomhall suggests. Obviously much news is unpredictable, but there are some events that are year-in-year-out, or which are easy to prepare for in advance, such as an election or a festival. It is necessary to consider both specific, distinct events, such as religious holidays, and longer, less defined periods such as winter travel. Articles that contain links and that have been linked to by others appear higher in search results. Therefore, with annual events, it is beneficial to link to last year's coverage and make use of old content that already has inbound links to help promote the new content.

Hiring a SEO specialist?

As well as training all reporters to be aware of the principles of search engine optimisation, many newspapers have taken the step of hiring an in-house specialist. Ideally such a person would have deep technical knowledge combined with considerable journalistic experience, but such candidates might be hard to find. Peltonen comes from a business background, Broomhall from journalism and technology.

There are also many third party services available to news outlets, supplementary to the guidance of an in-house expert, such as Thomson Reuters' OpenCalais which recently announced deals made with the Huffington Post, DailyMe and the Mail Online. OpenCalais offers an 'Archive Express' feature which can tag an archive of up to 20 million documents in 24 hours. The service 'reads' and breaks down articles into their essential elements - who, what, when, where, how - and tags and sorts them so that it is easier to bring archived articles into 'related stories' sections and improve their search relevance.

Analysing traffic

A SEO specialist would be responsible for analysing traffic to a news outlet's site, looking at how readers find content, readership patterns and what methods of optimisation work best. Peltonen explained how he started off looking at basic data such as what are the top news stories, how many people are going where on the site, and started to work out how to increase traffic. His paper partnered with Microsoft to further analyse traffic data. Such traffic data analysis can be used to spot and develop potential niche verticals to focus on, for example, by looking at repeat visitor figures.  

Google keywords

Purchasing Google keywords to guarantee that news articles appear higher on search results is one of the more costly ways for news outlets to promote their content. Peltonen said that his paper frequently buys specific words, for instance for sports events, but stressed that it would be cheaper to improve the paper's SEO. Buying keywords could also raise ethical issues, depending on the words and their context. The Sun, for example, reportedly purchased the key words 'Natasha Richardson' immediately after the British actress's sudden death in March, in what appears to be a blatant attempt to profit from the tragedy. The Guardian came under considerable criticism last August when, apparently accidentally, it purchased the Google keywords "Madeleine McCann," giving any searchers the link to its coverage of the child's disappearance. The Guardian promptly relinquished the rights, and said it would review its list of keywords. Purchasing Google keywords in order to promote a product is common practice, but is it ethical for newspapers?

Evidently, SEO strategies are necessary in today's media landscape, not only to make more money but also to spread awareness of stories and help readers find what they are looking for and therefore should be embraced by journalists and editors as well as publishers. Search engine 'friendliness' should not be prioritised over good, accurate stories but it should be used to promote such content. Journalistic training is vital in order to optimise each individual article, and larger strategic steps should be taken by editors in conjunction with SEO specialists.

On Tuesday 23 June at 14.00 London time, Drew Broomhall, Head of Search at the Times of London will be speaking at a WEF webinar on "How to teach your journalists to write for the web." More details here.

News publishers, moving with the irrepressible technological pull of modern readership desires, and the financial necessity of adapting to advertising changes, have shovelled huge amounts of money and effort into the development of online editions of their titles. The aim was to increase revenue from the Internet editions faster than money was being lost from the printed editions. This was a risky, but apparently necessary gamble and the final result is yet to be seen.   The latest rounds of industry analysis, however, suggest that online editions will not be able to save their printed sisters financially, as the latter's traditional sources of revenues continue to drop disproportionately to the incomes generated by new ventures.

The analysts at 24/7 Wall Street maintain that even at companies of which 15 per cent of their sales are generated by online projects, this does not provide a sufficent base to maintain a substantial editorial and business staff.  Moving content online is a palliative, which may "bring in additional sales but it will not do anything more than buy time for the industry to find other solutions".

Classifieds website Craigslist has provided a noteworthy boost to alt-weeklies' adult classifieds revenue after its recent policy change that requires closer regulation of its adult-services classified ads.  This is an ironic turn of events for the online colossus of classifieds that has wrought havoc on its competition, in print and online, ever since 2005.

The Washington City Paper reported increases in adult ads of 38% compared to one year ago, a change Andrew Beaujon from the paper's City Desk blog correlates directly to Craigslist's tougher regulation of their adult ads. Beaujon reminisces that for alt-weeklies like his, "Craigslist's free classifieds were an extinction-level event." But now Craigslist's requires would-be adult-services advertisers to waver that their posts contain no "content that is unlawful, pornographic, or which advertises illegal services", no ads "suggesting or implying an exchange of sexual favors for money", and no "pornographic images, or images suggestive of an offer of sexual favors.". These stricter standards have driven adult advertisers away from Craigslist, resulting in the higher figures for the local papers and free weeklies that used to account for so much of the classifieds market.

Pess freedom in Italy has come under international scrutiny in recent weeks as a down-grading of the press's freedom status by US non-profit Freedom House has coincided with an increase in prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's aggression towards media outlets which oppose him. Leading left-leaning daily La Repubblica has even attempted to take on the premier directly, publishing a list of questions concerning his relationship with a young girl, to which it believes he owes answers. A Dutch politician has threatened to take action in the European parliament against the Italian leader because of journalistic constraints. Should a newspaper be demanding such information which concerns a politician's private life? Is the press freedom situation as bad as it seems?

The La Repubblica crusade

On May 14 La Repubblica journalist Giuseppe D'Avanzo published ten questions directed at the prime minister concerning his involvement with 18-year-old Noemi Letizia. Berlusconi's relationship with the girl gained mass media attention when, four days after the prime minister dropped in on the girl's 18th birthday party in Naples, his wife issued a press release accusing him of "consorting with minors" and pressing for a divorce. Berlusconi promptly went on a late-night political chat show to defend himself, but the holes in his story which have gradually emerged have attracted even more attention than the original incident. D'Avanzo's questions address these holes and ask the premier to come clean about the nature of his encounters with the girl. Berlusconi has not yet answered the questions and has given no indication that he intends to. The paper has put a timer on its website to indicate the days, hours, minutes and seconds since the questions were issued, and even offers them in English.

Berlusconi himself has tried to present the left-leaning paper's campaign as a left-wing plot to undermine his authority, accusing the paper of lying and adding in an interview on TV-channel Sky that he believes many readers will abandon the paper because of this. His office issued a statement saying referring to the "campaign of denigration" and saying that the paper is driven by "jealousy and hatred."  The prime minister has fought back as the story developed, with his lawyers applying for the seizure of photos taken at his Sardinian villa (where Letizia reportedly attended parties with other young women) before they could be published, and a journalist from Berlusconi's brother's Milan-based daily Il Giornale posing as a member of the foreign press to get an interview with Ms Letizia's former boyfriend in an attempt to discredit him.
 
 
The international reaction 
La Repubblica has defended its actions, with editor Ezio Mauro saying that "There are contradictions here and when the powers that be don't explain something, journalism has a job to do." And foreign journalists seem to agree. The paper also featured an interview with Bill Emmott, former editor of the Economist, who said that "for a newspaper, asking a political leader questions is not only legitimate, but part of its mission to inform the people." According to the International Herald Tribune, "for the first time in recent memory, the Italian press is shining a bright light into the dark recesses of a politician's personal life." The Times wrote that the premier's campaign against La Repubblica "looks ominously like an attempt to cow dissent rather than protect a private reputation" and that "his newspaper critics are performing a public service for a badly governed populace." A Financial Times editorial criticised the way that Berlusconi turned on La Repubblica following the questions, and stressed that part of the "danger of Berlusconi... is that of the media sapping the serious content of politics, and replacing it with entertainment."

Berlusconi has reacted with anger and scepticism to such foreign criticism. He seems to refuse to believe that papers might be acting of their own accord, announcing that "the international press's campaign is being orchestrated by an Italian group" and referring to it as a left-wing "plot." He insists that the foreign press is misrepresenting the Italian situation, and a rift in his relationship with Rupert Murdoch seems to be further deteriorating following the Times' article and others. He has accused the Times of writing critical editorials about him because his government is in dispute with News Corp. Il Giornale, owned by the prime minister's brother Paolo, ran a story discussing the FT editorial entitled "The left has also enlisted the Financial Times."

One of a newspaper's main goals should be to act as a watchdog over the government, but it is unusual for a paper to take on a country's leader so directly, particularly over a matter which is largely private. In the UK, the Daily Telegraph's recent campaign over MPs' expenses was firmly in the public interest, as it dealt with public money being used by members of parliament for personal gain. Berlusconi has been derisive of the media discussing what he says is his private life. Should a paper be putting so much focus on an issue that is arguably unrelated to the prime minister's ability to govern the country? Is this indicative of media trivialisation?

The Times editorial does not see the questions as intrusive, as they relate to Berlusconi's "public roles as politician and media magnate". The Independent's Peter Popham said that the media "cannot be accused of muck-raking on the issue because it was Mr Berlusconi himself who drew attention to the relationship" by attending the 18-year-old's party and not only posing for photographs but publicly giving the girl a 6000euro gold necklace. And the fact that a politician might have lied to the public is probably enough of an incentive to investigate.
 
Press freedom in Italy
 
Italy has a fairly unique media situation, which makes confrontation between a newspaper and the prime minister even more pertinent. The country's press freedom status is clearly in question. A Dutch politician who is leader of the Green Left party in the European Parliament, Judith Sargentini, has said that her party is considering taking legal action against Berlusconi because of the press freedom constraints in his country. Amongst her complaints is the fact that the premier blocks critical questions at press conferences. If a majority of the European Parliament were to agree to the initiation of legal proceedings, then the matter would come before the European Court of Justice.

US-based nonprofit Freedom House recently downgraded Italy's press freedom status from 'free' to 'partly free' for 2008. In conversation with Karin Karlekar, editor of the report, she explained that the main reasons given for this were the unusually high level of media concentration, particularly in broadcasting, threats from organised crime and others, and attacks on journalists, mainly from far right groups. During Berlusconi's former term as prime minister, the country was also given partly free ratings, and Karlekar added that the media concentration was "one of the highest levels anywhere in the world."

Daria Gorodisky, a veteran Corriere della Sera journalist who is also a union representative for the paper, told the Editors Weblog that she believes there is a "truly enormous press freedom problem in Italy" which will be "extremely difficult to resolve." She does not place blame for this directly on the government but on the fact that there are no "pure" newspaper owners, rather, those who publish newspapers also run other businesses and therefore have aims and interests aside from their papers. She also believes that the quality of Italy's journalism schools have deteriorated as more and more have sprung up. She did, however, point out that this is not the first time that Berlusconi has threatened the press.

Internet penetration is low in Italy in comparison to that of its Western European neighbours: about 48%, compared to 72% in the UK or 66% in France, for example. This low figure would suggest that many people are more likely to get their news from television and one or two newspapers, rather than the range of sources that online readers might visit. Despite this, however, Karlekar noted the country's "very vibrant and influential" blogosphere, particularly politically-orientated blogs.

Gorodisky commented that although some journalists were "very worried" by the situation, she did not think that there was enough widespread concern about Italy's press freedom status. Karlekar said that her organisation's report had sparked considerable debate and she had received both praise and hate mail from Italians. Niccolo Ghedini, lawyer to Berlusconi, dismissed the report on a TV show called Anno Zero, saying it was a private organisation and took its information from only two sources, La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera. Karlekar responded that she was "not sure where he got that" and was clear that "the range of sources is large and our authors would never just rely on one or two." She added that it was "interesting that the government felt compelled to respond in some way."
 
Karlekar did say that Berlusconi did not seem to be "exerting the same amount of influence over the broadcast media" as he did during his previous term as prime minister; there seems to be less "overt political manipulation." She was also clear that she did not think that the high media concentration had "stifled" the whole media, and drew attention to the diversity in terms of political opinion in the print sector.

Arguably there are far more important questions that the Italian press could be asking its country's leader, rather than focusing on the somewhat sordid details of his involvement with a teenage girl. But as a vital part of the press's role in a democracy is to play watchdog on the government, the fact that a paper is challenging the prime minister to clear up inconsistencies is something that must be welcomed. And even though the original issue may not be crucial in itself, the other questions it has brought up concerning use of government planes for private use, for example, are very pertinent. Given how much of the media the prime minister does control, and the fact that even the journalists who do not currently work for Berlusconi know that they may well some day, the press freedom situation could undoubtedly be worse than it is, and it is important that journalists keep fighting.

The proposed merger of two Polish dailies and the launch of an entertainment version of a political weely, both intended to conquer a new public and consolidate readership, have raised some doubts in the Polish newspaper industry.

Poland's largest business and legal daily Gazeta Prawna (87,000 paid circulation) will merge with the second quality news daily Dziennik (147,000 readership), in a 51/49% partnership between Infor Biznes and Axel Springer, their respective owners. The transaction, which will result in a combined newspaper strong in economics on one side, and politics, culture and sports on the other, is still subject to approval by the authorities.

Yesterday, the recently founded Media140 held its first Twitter and microblogging conference. Held at London's Southbank Centre - a venue in the heart of the UK capital synonymous with innovation - the event largely focussed on the effects that Twitter and micoblogging are having on the news gathering process and was attended by journalists from Guardian.co.uk, TimesOnline, TechCrunch, BBC, Aljazeera, Reuters and Sky News.

Kicking off discussions, associate editor of the Sunday Herald and author of 'The Play ethic', Pat Kane, opened up the conference with a keynote presentation on the way breaking news services were dramatically changing the face of journalism: "Reading a newspaper on a street corner might be seen as banal. What's becoming just as banal is producing news on that street corner," said Kane. You can access his slideshow from the presentation here.

The Economist has made the news industry the special focus of its business section for its latest edition. "Established" news is described as "being blown away" but news in general is otherwise considered to be "thriving."

In an opening paragraph which does not bode well for advocates of traditional media, the Economist ponders if "the surest sign that newspapers are doomed is that politicians, so often their targets, are beginning to feel sorry for them," in reference to Barack Obama's pledge to newspapers last weekend at an industry dinner in Washington, as well as Massachusetts senator, John Kerry's commitment to help the "endangered species" and, in particular, his region's beloved Boston Globe.

The BBC's in-house magazine, Ariel, earlier this week disclosed that BBC News would be cutting its Paris envoy, as well as making similar cutbacks to its offices in Moscow and Brussels, a Guardian article reveals.

The reductions within the news arm of the BBC is part of a savings strategy that should see the corporation save about £155 million, although "the BBC is planning to plough £70m over the same period back into BBC News for new investments in areas such as foreign coverage, online and on-demand news." Included in the plans is a reshuffle of the news teams in the UK. By next April, 88.5 jobs are expected to have gone.

The New York Times is expected to raise its cover prices again since they last raised it 11 months ago from $1.25 to $1.50. To try and make up for plummeting advertising revenue, they are expected to raise the newsstand price from $1.50 to $2.00 during the week and from $5 to $6 for the national Sunday edition, effective June 1. The New York edition will cost $5, still a one-dollar increase.

The 33% increase on the weekday newsstand price of the Times comes after the New York Times Company lost $74 million in Quarter 1 due to liquid losses of ad revenue. The Times revenue went down 27% since the same time last year. There is also talk about the New York Times starting to charge for some or all of its online content.

This week president and general manager of the New York Times Scott Heekin-Canedy is answering questions from readers on the newspaper's website. Among other issues, the readers' questions so far have led Heekin-Canedy to address newspapers' downward spiral, charging for online news, and the Times' future formats and platforms.

Heekin-Canedy says that though he believes print newspapers will continue, in the face of the challenges facing newspapers today--declining print advertising and circulation--the Times must "grow [its] digital profits quickly enough to outpace print declines." While this will be a challenge, he asserts his optimism about the future, claiming that Times content still claims a large and engaged audience. Though the Times has been affected by the changing media equation propelled by the Internet and the economic recession, he asserts, "Nevertheless, whether in print or online, when advertisers are venturing into the market with their messages, they are very likely to advertise with The Times -- in print, online or both -- in order to reach this premier audience."

Poynter Media Business Analyst Rick Edmonds questions the growing movement of print papers to online-only, saying that moving readers to a publication's online version may not work while papers close or stop printing on some days of the week. He suggests that the daily print edition actually promotes the online edition and vice versa. "Maybe that better pumps up Web traffic than trying to force-feed the print audience an online substitute," he wrote.

The Audit Bureau of Circulations has released its figures for US newspapers, for the six months ending March 31st - and they've created quite a stir. Data for 395 American newspapers was recorded, displaying an overall decline in circulation of 7.4% compared with the same period in 2007-08. Of the 25 top newspapers in the US, all bar one have seen drops in circulation.

It is the Wall Street Journal which has bucked the trend and managed an overall increase, albeit of just 0.6%. The WSJ has recently been displaying signs of a change in its editorial direction, leaning towards a slightly more mainstream news role and increased competition with newswires via Dow Jones. In a recent interview, managing editor Robert Thomson explained the WSJ's success was in part due to the demise of some US newspapers, which "creates a tremendous opportunity for us to gain readers".

The latest figures from Nielsen Online indicate that, following its switch to online-only, the number of unique users on SeattlePI.com dropped by 23% in March when compared with the previous year. The Nielsen figures push the PI out of the top 30 US newspaper websites - and in a further blow to the publication, former print rival the Seattle Times recorded 2.2 million unique visitors: year on year growth of 70%.

SeattlePI.com's owner Hearst has, however, contradicted the figures. Vice president Paul Luthringer revealed that Hearst's data from Omniture displays a 9.6% increase in unique visitors, and labelled Nielsen's methodology "flawed". Interestingly, Kathy Best, managing editor for digital news at the Seattle Times also questioned Nielsen's figures putting its unique visitors at 5.3 million for March; a 33% increase on the previous year.

During a Quarter 1 earnings call yesterday, New York Times Co. President and CEO Janet Robinson addressed the newspaper industry's paid-content debate as well as the company's financial situation. She maintains that the Times' current ad supported business model is still working and that the company is exploring payment models.

Robinson revealed that after examining the business models of more than 30 online organizations to discover the most effective way to generate online revenues, executives concluded that the Times is doing well in comparison. She also points out that while digital advertising declined 8% compared to last year, the company's main website showed significant growth in display advertising. The company prefers to proceed cautiously with respect to charging for content, as blocking content could disturb progress of its online advertising advances.

The Rocky Mountain News published its final edition on Friday 27 February, and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's last print edition before its move online was printed on Tuesday 17 March. The demise of these two publications, despite the P-I's continued existence online, left a hole in both Seattle and Denver. However, in both cities, online only publications have emerged. Both staffed by writers for the respective former newspapers, INDenverTimes and the Seattle PostGlobe are now up and running. The Editors Weblog spoke to INDT co-founder Kevin Preblud, and Kery Murakami who is leading the Seattle PostGlobe's effort, to find out more.

Funding

The two publications have taken very different routes in terms of funding. Fighting back against the mentality that information is free online, INDT is charging for subscriptions. Whilst much of the news will in fact be free, "it's really the premium content that we want our subscribers to pay for", explains Preblud. Initially, an target of finding 50,000 subscribers by April 23 was set, in order for the full launch to go ahead on May 4. However, the decision will now be based upon a combination of subscribers, users and page view figures.

Subscribers will have access to the INsider Channel, "where you can have a direct, real time conversations with our editors and writers" as well as a number of other applications and tools. "Insight, perspective, live blogging, live chatting, commenting, interactivity with writers and other readers" are amongst the benefits offered to paying readers.

Preblud believes that "business model is currently not working", largely due to the drop in advertising revenue and the decline in print readership. It is for these reasons that INDT is trying something different, and in terms of its model Preblud believes that "the cost structure is reasonable, the revenues are up, and with advertising and subscriptions I think we could make this work."

The Seattle PostGlobe, on the other hand is aiming to run as a non-profit, free to access publication funded by donations. Murakami presents the project as "for the broader civic good, as opposed to trying to make money." He added that "Seattle has a rich history of community efforts." Discussing INDT's decision to sell subscriptions, Murakami thinks that "it could work" - but his reluctance is attributed to the fact that he does not like the idea that only the people who could afford to pay would have access to information.

Citing the VoiceOfSanDiego and MinnPost as influences for the project, Murakami laments that "the big difference between us and them is that they were lucky enough to find some big pocket donors". He explains that the largest single contribution the Seattle PostGlobe has so far received is just $500. To increase revenue, the SPG has reached a deal with the Seattle Weekly, whereby the Seattle Weekly sells the SPG's advertising space and split the proceeds 50/50.

"We hope it will make the community feel empowered and they will respond - it's going slow so far but we'll see."

Murakami explains that they are giving readers the choice; "What we have done is said, 'We're going to volunteer and we're going back to you, the community, to put this in your hands. If you want us to do the work that we do, then support us. But really it's your choice.' We hope it will make the community feel empowered and they will respond - it's going slow so far but we'll see."

Coverage

Both the SPG and INDT have chosen, somewhat inevitably, to narrow their coverage from that of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Rocky Mountain News respectively, and place more of an emphasis on local coverage than statewide reporting. Murakami points out that "with a much smaller staff we have to be much more focussed, in terms of what we do," whilst Preblud concedes that "because we're an online-only news resource we just can't cover everything that the Rocky was covering."

"The Seattle P-I didn't go under because of a lack of interest or of readership, which is ironic."

Murakami hopes that the SPG will recapture the market that the P-I once held - because, as he explains, "the Seattle P-I didn't go under because of a lack of interest or of readership, which is ironic." There isn't, however, necessarily a call for a more hyperlocal approach to the news in Seattle because of several blogs already in existence which focus on specific neighbourhoods.

"We will be emphasising Seattle coverage as opposed to broader Washington coverage. We are focussed on issues that affect people in the city," Murakami explains. Similarly, Preblud describes how INDT believes "that our purpose is to cover the local market and the local community of Denver in a much more focused manner. We're unfortunately leaving out some of the more statewide coverage".

Both the Seattle PostGlobe and INDenverTimes will be looking at potential content-enhancing collaborations in the weeks and months to come. The SPG is investigating partnerships with public TV and radio stations, namely KCTS-TV. "We could be a demonstration project here in the state, showing how merging a public TV station, a public radio station and former newspaper reporters could work. The idea that we are pursuing is for the three entities to remain separate yet join to create a news organisation." INDT, meanwhile, could "end up partnering with some of the other local news outlets in the smaller cities".

Reception

"It seems that we really were valued and left a void that people appreciate us trying to fill."

The response to the new publications in both Denver and Seattle has been positive. "They've all been positive, keep up the good work, they're all rooting for us, and hoping that we can continue and that we can succeed," says Preblud. Murakami describes the reaction to the SPG as heartening: "It seems that we really were valued and left a void that people appreciate us trying to fill."

Personal impact

Preblud explains that his desire to launch INDT stems from his Denver roots, where he grew up reading the Rocky. He explains that he found it difficult to watch its demise, and that "nobody stepped up and was willing to buy the Rocky." It was this which prompted him to co-found INDT, "I just felt there was an opportunity there with part of what the future solution might look like," he clarified. Working on such a project is unlikely to be the same as working at an established paper, however. Murakami, discussing his new role, comments, "It's weird, I have been a newspaper reporter for 20 years. And now I am part-salesman, part fundraiser, part photo editor, part editor, part IT guy. And I haven't had time to do any stories."

How closures are affecting American cities

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer and the Rocky Mountain News are two of the most high profile American newspaper closures, but there has been speculation that more could follow. Whilst the P-I is now published online, the Rocky in any official form disappeared completely. In reference to the situation Seattle now finds itself, Murakami says "The paper left a big hole in the community and nobody in the community was ever asked if that was OK. The community had no voice, in terms of this thing that happened".

"I think there's a risk at the moment and there are places where they are losing coverage."

There has been speculation in the New York Times over which American town could become the first to lose both of its newspapers, and Michael Wolff of Newser recently, and somewhat controversially, suggested that all newspapers could have disappeared in 18 months time. In terms of communities losing valued newspaper coverage, Preblud says "I think there's a risk at the moment and there are places where they are losing coverage. A vehicle like INDenverTimes hasn't been put in place to cover the losses. It's critical that we as an industry figure out what the right model is so that we don't lose the core of journalism, which starts with local coverage."

Whilst neither the Seattle PostGlobe or INDenverTimes are claiming to be a replacement for the newspapers whose demise lead to their creation, they are undoubtedly trying to help fill the gap that was left. In the future, will the situation in Denver and Seattle repeat in other towns and states in the US? If there are further newspaper closures, it is somewhat inevitable that sites such as INDT and the SPG will emerge - but can such sites provide a service to the community that is in any way comparable to that of a city paper?

Speaking to the Australian, Wall Street Journal Editor Robert Thomson has explained that the demise of America's newspapers "creates a tremendous opportunity for us to gain readers". Thomson believes that one of the reasons for the increase in the WSJ's core circulation is the "diminishing" state of US newspapers. Thomson feels that the situation leads to the WSJ gaining "readers who are increasingly internationally aware and also aware of their need to be well informed about the world."

Thomson also described how changes within the News Corp owned WSJ are having a positive effect on the publication. He cites News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch's emphasis on "leveraging (content) across platforms to generate revenue". The WSJ recently launched new Asian, Indian and European sites, each focusing on the Journal news most relevant to its respective country.

An American company, U.S. Ink, a Sun Chemical Corp subsidiary, is coming out with a product called "Taste-It Note." The "taste-it-note" would most likely be an advertisement printed with lickable ink.

According to a product study, it tastes better than it sounds. It may be an intelligent move to increase ad revenue for print. Imagine being able to actually taste that delicious-looking chocolate cake you see advertised in the paper?  Almost 60% of 1.5 million taste-testers said they would be more likely to buy a product advertised with "Taste-it-Note."

U.S. Ink claims they can save newspapers with their product. In desperate times, it may be worth a try.

Source: Business Insider

In December, French daily Le Télégramme began a training programme created by IFRA, which is a worldwide research and service organisation for the news publishing industry. The programme lasts 800 days and aims to guide the publication with regard to its editorial and commercial objectives. Le Télégramme launched its new website on the 20th January.

Le Télégramme wants to respond effectively to the growing expectations of both its print and online readers, and to do this plans to increase local news alerts, increase use of video and encourage user interaction. IFRA describes the training programmes as unrivalled in the press in terms of its scope and range of themes.

Source: IFRA

The LA Times and Chicago Tribune have revealed that they will begin to combine their foreign operations. Both publications are owned by the Tribune Co. and according to an LA Times press release, the move is in order "to provide Tribune papers and websites with the enterprising overseas coverage that has brought such distinction to both news organizations".

For the most part the joint operation will be run from Los Angeles where the majority of editorial staff are currently based, but in consultation with editors from the Chicago Tribune and other sister newspapers. The operation's staff will consist of Times and Tribune correspondents "strategically based around the world, who will emphasize original reporting delivered in a unique voice for print and online audiences".

An article published yesterday in Le Monde describes it as the "paradox of the century", that French newspapers have their highest ever readership levels despite the doom and gloom currently surrounding the printed press. Xavier Ternisien reports that according to the "Etude de la presse d'information quotidienne", or EPIQ, studies have revealed that the number of people reading the news has increased. Interestingly, it is not just when taking into account online readers that the figures rise; Ternisen reports that daily print editions saw an increase of 1.5 million readers in 2008 compared to 2007.

Going into further detail, EPIQ found that 48.6% of French people aged 15 and above read at least one daily title, and also pointed out that 2008 was a particularly newsworthy year, with events such as the US presidential election. Free newspapers came out on top with 4.4 million readers, and even the regional press saw a 2.6% growth.  The most popular free daily was 20 minutes, whilst l'Equipe was the most read paid daily. These figures portray a French press greatly in contrast to the image of it as a struggling entity bailed out by the government, and indicate a problem with the newspaper business model rather than a lack of interest in the news.

Source: Le Monde

Chief media correspondent of the Financial Times, Ben Fenton, today published an article in which he argues that newspaper groups with a large number of free newspapers are struggling more compared to companies dealing in just paid-for titles.

Sly Bailey, CEO of the Trinity Mirror group agrees: "Free newspapers are in the frontline trenches of this war, simply because they only have advertising revenues."

E-readers have been on the market for some years now, but only very recently has it seemed even mildly likely that the idea might take off and they would become a widely used product. Currently e-Readers are still far from having must-have status. But with Amazon's much anticipated launch of Kindle 2.0, Plastic Logic's announcements of media partners for its upcoming product, and Hearst's recent news that it will also produce an electronic reader, it seems that the supply at least is ready, in case the demand does appear. E-readers could have far-reaching consequences for newspapers if they do increase in popularity, as publishers can bring in significant income from wirelessly delivering digital editions of their papers to users. The Editors Weblog spoke to Plastic Logic Vice President of Business Development Daren Benzi, about the company's business-orientated e-reader and its potential impact on newspapers.

Big screen news

Plastic Logic is planning to release its, as yet un-named, reader in January 2010. The main difference between it and the Kindle, or Sony's somewhat unoriginally titled Reader, is that the Plastic Logic product will have a considerably larger display and will be marketed towards the 'mobile business professional,' rather than the leisure reader, clarified Benzi. The screen will measure 10.7 inches diagonally (about 27cm) compared to Kindle's 6 inch/15cm display. Despite its larger size, the device will weigh about the same as the Kindle, as it will be made from plastic rather than glass and silicon. This also gives it the advantage of being more robust and durable, explained Benzi. The screen itself is flexible, but the rest of the components are not as the technology is not quite ready, and Benzi added that consumer testing has shown that people "would like it to have some form to make it easier to carry." The device is extremely easy to use, Benzi added, with an "intuitive touch screen" and just one button to power the display.

An important development compared to other e-readers, Benzi remarked, is that rather than just passing through text, Plastic Logic is "trying to deliver a deeper, richer reading experience," meaning that more information would be placed on the device. Some modifications will still have to be made to put a newspaper on such a product, but Benzi explained that there are companies which can do that for them. It will also be much easier to transfer documents such as word or pdf files from a computer to the e-reader, via a USB port. Although the product is focused on the needs of a business person, that does not mean that books will not be available also: "I don't want to discount the fact that the business professional enjoys leisure reading," Benzi added.

Partnerships with newspapers

Benzi was clear that one of Plastic Logic's key aims is to provide newspaper content on its e-reader. "Because of the size of our device, newspapers and magazines really are our core focus," he stressed, "right away a newspaper company sees the greater opportunity to publish on an end user product that is much closer to the print version." Content will be available through a shop, similar to Kindle's. The first product will be in grey scale but Benzi described the company's commitment to producing a colour device in the near future as a reason why papers with strong colour branding, such as the Financial Times and USA Today, are so keen to collaborate. Plastic Logic recently signed deals with these two publications, and Benzi was confident that the company will be announcing "lots more direct relationships as we approach the launch." Other partners include Libre Digital, which manages several digital newspaper titles and Zinio, which produces digital magazines.  

This attempt to "pass through the print like experience" extends to advertising, which Benzi said had "often been left behind in these device segments." It is however crucial for newspapers as a revenue stream in addition to income from subscriptions.  Benzi explained that although the first device will not access the internet, consumers might well be able to click on an advertisement for additional information on products or offers:"we could put a catalogue on the device if we wanted to, there is plenty of information that users can have at their finger tips."  Plastic Logic will be able to "track the information about what the customer is doing with the device," a system which would seem to offer benefits to both newspapers and advertisers.

"Customers have shown in the past that they are prepared to pay for news, and they will again in the future: you just have to give them the right experience."

Benzi emphasised that although he could not claim that e-readers would be the newspaper industry's saviour, he believed that partnerships with Plastic Logic could be "a greatly valuable asset to newspapers' overall mix of business models." He added that "the great advantage with us is that there is no paper or ink involved, and no moving things around with trucks," which significantly reduces the cost of delivering content. He explained that his conversations with newspapers have focussed on how they can work together "drive new revenue and hopefully reach new customers for our partners." With regards to charging for content that might be available free on the web, Benzi is convinced that it is not necessary to "devalue content" and that "customers have shown in the past that they are prepared to pay for it, and they will again in the future: you just have to give them the right experience." Pricing for the device or for subscriptions have not yet been finalised, but Benzi confirmed that prices would be competitive. He accepts that there are some savings when producing a digital product which should be passed on to the customer, and that will be taken into account when comparing the pricing with a print subscription.

The market case for e-Readers

Benzi was confident that the time is right for e-readers. "I think that the factors and trends are much more aligned now than five years ago," he explained. This is partly because of technological advances, meaning that the devices can be smaller, lighter and easier to use, and also because of the way mindsets have changed, meaning that "people are a lot more comfortable reading digital content, and are more conscious of the benefits of getting their information this way." Another huge advantage of digital paper, and one that has maybe not been giving the attention it deserves, is that it is more environmentally friendly, an issue will presumably only become more important, and should appeal to many consumers.

Benzi believes the time is right for e-readers: "the factors and trends are much more aligned now than five years ago"

Most of Plastic Logic's target market, the mobile business professional, are very likely to possess a lap top computer and a smart phone, so why do they need a third device, and would they agree to use one? Benzi insisted that there is room for such a product, as it would replace the need to carry around not just newspapers and magazines, but other documents also. Compared with a computer, one of the advantages of the device is that readers can focus entirely on consuming content, they will not be disturbed by emails, for example. It is also far easier to use, and there is no glare, "it feels like you're reading on paper." Lastly, it has much longer battery life than a computer or a smart phone.

It would appear that the most fierce competition for e-readers comes from smart phones, for which many different newspapers have created applications that allow consumers to access their content. However, Benzi was insistent that he did not view smart phones as competitors. He explained that he realises that they are an alternative partner for newspapers, but "for what we are trying to accomplish, their screens are too small." Reading the news on a smart phone is fine if you are just after the bare information, he commented, but Plastic Logic is aiming to deliver "a totally different kind of reading experience," one which is far more similar to print.

Smart phones are not competition: "for what we are trying to accomplish, their screens are too small."

Amazon's Kindle 2 has been met with mixed reviews, largely because it is not seen as being different enough to the first model; not least because the company has not given any indication that the product will be available outside the US. Its text-to-speech function recently suffered setbacks after protests from publishers: now publishers will decide whether to allow their books to be read by the device. Amazon has refused to release sales figures for either versions of Kindle, suggesting that numbers might not be what Amazon had been hoping for. At $359, it is not cheap.

Will the Plastic Logic device be better received? Its larger screen will undoubtedly be more suited to reading newspapers and documents, and the business market may well be more receptive to such a product. It must expect some competition from Hearst, which just announced that it is to release a large-format wireless e-reader this year, "suited to the reading and advertising requirements of newspapers and magazines," according to Fortune. It seems that the newspapers are indeed enthusiastic, but are the customers? Or will it take something more to persuade them to give up their attachment to paper, and possibly greatly reduced prices for the basic device?

On Friday 27 February, as the Rocky Mountain News printed its final edition, rival paper the Denver Post prepared itself for change.

The editor and publisher of the Post printed a front-page article with the title "Our pledge to you" promising readers that, as the one sole newspaper left in Denver, it would encourage a "diversity of voices."