Considered by some to be the ultimate test of whether or not newspaper websites will be able to charge for content in the future, the New York Times' pay model TimesSelect is receiving harsh criticism from loyal Times readers and of course, the blogosphere. Poynter's Steve Outing has received a number of emails slamming the Times' decision and concluded, "What I picked up from this pile of e-mail is that many people view the Times' columnists as fulfilling an important global public-service role, and that by publishing them freely on the Web for so many years, they spread ideas around the world that need to be read widely. The times is being judged on its mission of serving the public good, not shareholders... Something the times may have damaged here is its global impact." One of Outings' emails came from a devoted Times subscriber who said, "Yes, I can afford to subscribe to TimesSelect, but I will not. I have canceled my delivery of the paper, as well."

Despite a 3% rise in advertising revenue, the Financial Times is still on the chopping block, according to BrandRepublic. The International Herald Tribune also reports that the annual shareholder's meeting of Pearson, the media group that owns the FT, concluded that the daily would not be sold and said that after a few years of losses, the paper will break even this year. In a more useful note for editors, the Guardian writes that the pinksheet's news editor role will be divided between two staff members. Editor Andrew Gowers said, "We run a global, 24-hour news operation, and the fact that we have chosen two people to run it reflects the scale of the role."

Sources: BrandRepublic, IHT, Guardian

Although the daily is an international news powerhouse, the New York Times is selling tickets to its hometown's Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. AuctionBytes.com writes:

"The NYTimes' show and venue information pages have been upgraded to include links to up-to-date performance calendars and will soon offer show "trailers," short, edited streaming video clips from the shows. The section includes capsule reviews and cast information; reader reviews; schedules; search; multimedia features with audio from Times theater critics; discussion forum; and an "opening soon" feature.

NYTimes.com also offers TicketWatch, a free email service with discounted theater and performing arts offers that is sent regularly to over 325,000 subscribers who have signed up at www.nytimes.com/ticketwatch. Each email provides a special offer to a specific Broadway or Off Broadway show or performing arts event. The email includes a promotion code to use when ordering tickets by phone or online."

This doesn't appear to be a way to attract new readers, just a way to attract new revenue. Do moves like this cheapen the brand, or are newspaper companies always going to have to diversify in such a way as to build up the finances to provide to their newsrooms and continue their quality reporting? Would such services even be possible without newspaper Websites?

In June, the San Jose Mercury News eliminated the traditional local, national, and international news print sections and combined them into one (see previous posting). The change was controversial and many readers did not like it. A big problem was: it was now much harder for couples to share the morning paper.

Now the paper responds to readers' feedback: "OK, we hear you. Beginning Tuesday, Aug. 30, we'll go back to having two news sections: The first section will focus on national and international news, the second on local and state news. Page One will continue to offer an average of 75 percent locally written stories and the watchdog reports you find only in the Mercury News", wrote MercuryNews.com on August 21. The paper keeps, however, some changes that readers liked, such as news highlights on Page One, international pages clearly labeled by region, Monday's Calendar, Friday's new Interactive Arts + Entertainment section etc.

Source: MercuryNews.com

Found on Editor & Publisher, Merrill Lynch has released not so stellar results for the US newspaper industry's first-quarter advertising revenues. Predicted to rise 3.3%, ad income fell short by .3%. The printed press grew about 1.5% but Merrill Lynch said that much of this growth came from new products such as Hispanic publications and weekly papers. Web advertising exploded, increasing 40% "(saving) the quarter." The report emphasized the switch to online advertising with Google and Yahoo's incredible first quarter ad revenue growth (109 and 47% respectively), and a report by a major auto manufacturer who said that they are dedicating 25% of their ad budget to the Web.

Source: Editor & Publisher

Happy Easter bloggers! And for today a good paper from Peter Wilby in The Independent about the differences (or similarities) between tabloids and quality newspapers: "In principle, I applaud the decision by the editors of up-market papers to withdraw from the British Press Awards. But I also detect snobbery. The posh papers do not like being judged alongside the tabloids...

The secret of most big tabloid stories is that they are not the result of genuine investigation, but of somebody getting a fat fee or wanting their 10 minutes of fame. Nearly all "kiss-and-tell" stories fall into this category: a woman has sex with a footballer or a pop star and decides to cash in, usually through an PR industry intermediary such as Max Clifford. Is this journalism as traditionally understood? Probably not. But I do not think most broadsheet journalism today is significantly different."

Passing the 2.4 million daily copies sold mark, The Times of India (TOI) has surpassed such titles as USA Today and The Times of London as the largest selling English broadsheet paper in the world. This can be considered an honorable feat, seeing as there are only 60-70 million English readers in India, compared to the United States who has over 200 million. On the other hand, TOI does not face the extensive competition that papers in the US or UK have to deal with. TOI sells to 30% of the Indian English speaking market, a percentage which gives it numbers comparable to more popular regional-language papers.

In related news, the International Herald Tribune reports that USD 300 million have been invested in the Indian media industry in the past 18 months, a number expected to increase by another USD 250 million. CEO of Ireland based Independent News & Media, Tony O'Reilly said that India is "the new theatre of strategic investment."

Sources: Times of India and International Herald Tribune

Cheers to Bachi Karkaria, National Metro Editor at the Times of India (TOI) and WEF board member for the TOI article.

The Newspaper Law and the Press Arbitration Law which have recently been passed in Korea and have been questioned since their conception will now be under review after one of the country's major dailies, Dong-A Ilbo filed a constitutional petition against the laws. The paper claimed that the laws violate the rights of freedom of press and publication, freedom of vocation, and economic freedom protected in the Constitution. Its petition will be heard by the country's Constitutional Court on April 2.

Source: Dong-A Ilbo

"There's a new animal in online newsrooms," writes Mark Glaser at Online Journalism Review. In adapting to the evolving age of citizen journalism, Glaser highlights the need for someone to filter incoming digital mounds of news, someone who is "part chat moderator, part copy editor and part ombudsman." He labels the emerging beast a "citizen media editor" (CME). Although no newspaper has officially pasted this title to its editors' desks, it appears that it could one day be a common if not obligatory member of a newsroom staff. Already, at media organizations such as MSNBC and newspaper websites such as NorthwestVoice.com and News-Record.com that have had successful experiences with citizens journalism, traditional editors are beginning to function as such. Glaser uses Korea's OhMyNews as an example, saying that the editors of the profitable citizen journalism site are still "feeling their way around, trying to find the right balance." Having done a survey of citizen media ventures and the functions of their editors, Glaser continues his article explaining in detail his pointers for future CMEs such as winning the trust of the audience and giving the reader a voice.

Source: Online Journalism Review

From dotjournalism.co.uk and Jemima Kiss: "The bias and political spin of mainstream news has alienated younger readers and contributed to the popularity of mix and match internet news, says Yahoo! UK editor Simon Hinde...

"There is definitely Darwinism occurring - an evolutionary movement within our media. There is no longer a 'one size fits all' mentality but a collection of niche news sites, and these will need personalising and filtering" Mr Hinde said. "The revolution in news gathering and journalism is that there are no longer one or two institutions giving out information in a god-like fashion," said Mr Hinde... "Young people are leaving newspapers in droves because print news isn't trustworthy," he said.

"It's vanity on the part of newspapers to push a particular political view. Facts are distorted to fit a particular view of the world and they don't give a dispassionate view of events."

Recent crises in the traditional media, most notably Rathergate, had contributed to mistrust of mainstream media, said Mr Hinde. The internet gives a range of views and allows the user to choose their own sources.

"Niche subjects are very well covered online because of semi-professional commentary. There are now mechanisms for blogs to be monetised and that is opening up a whole range of possibilities."

From broadsheet to tabloid to Berliner - where next for newspaper formats? The World Association of Newspapers (WAN) has been studying the format change phenomenon, and will present the results at the World Editor & Marketeer Conference, to be held in Athens, Greece, on 17 and 18 November next.

The study, part of the WAN Shaping the Future of the Newspaper (SFN) project, examines the drivers, highlights the opportunities and determines the risk of format change. The SFN session includes a presentation from Marc Sands, the Marketing Director of Guardian Newspapers of the United Kingdom, and will also feature others who are making the change from broadsheet to tabloid or even smaller formats.

In addition to the format change research, SFN will provide the Editor & Marketeer Conference with a special "master class" in which best practice methodologies to increase circulation sales will be presented. The class
will be conducted by Jim Chisholm, Director of the SFN project. Other conference sessions will focus on content delivery that exploits digital media opportunities to gain both readers and revenues, on 'new weapons' in the battle for readers, on young readers, on how to increase purchase frequency and subscription renewal and develop long-term readers who can be retained economically and on maximizing revenues between print and online.