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."

It is well known that American newspapers have been rapidly shedding jobs as of late, the latest being at the Orlando Sentinel which will lose 21 employees and leave 33 vacant positions unfilled. Over the past month, that epidemic has jumped the puddle to the UK.

In October, the huge publisher Trinity Mirror announced a New York Times-style job reduction program saying it was considering axing 550 to 770 jobs, or 5% to 7% of its 11,000 employees.

At the beginning of November, the Scottish national The Scotsman initiated its own employee scale back program announcing at least 8 journalists would be let go.

The latest news comes the Guardian Media Group Regional Newspapers which is to cut 48 jobs, 13 of which will be editorial. Its entertainment and listings magazine City Life is to be cancelled because of weak advertising.

Print as an advertising medium "cannot yet be put out to pasture", concluded a majority of five panelists at the Print Forecast panel in Manhattan on Monday, reports MediaDailyNews. Jason Klein, president and CEO of the Newspaper National Network (NNN) said, "The trends are not exactly what we would like, but I think the reports of print's death are greatly exaggerated." He also pointed to the NNN's recent study that showed newspapers are "the engagement media" and therefore attractive to advertisers (see former posting).

However, Charlie Rutman, CEO of Media Planning Group (MPG) North America, countered, "Dying may be a little extreme, but the medium is definitely on a resuscitator." Pointing to recent scandals regarding cirulation controversies and weak numbers he said, "once burned, twice shy. It's happened too often - clients are nervous, we're nervous."

Source: MediaDailyNews

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

Leaders of the Russian press and foreign publishers and editors, meeting in Moscow to discuss press freedom problems, were stood up by a senior Kremlin official who pulled out of the programme at the last minute. "Another brilliant public relations coup to improve the Kremlin's image on press freedom and independence", said – ironically - Timothy Balding, Director General of the World Association of Newspapers, which organised the meeting together with the World Editors Forum and the Russian Guild of Press Publishers (GIPP), during Publishing Expo 2005, which ends in Moscow today, Thursday.

Photo: Reuters journalists camp in the grounds of the Muzaffarabad Press Club. For the first time, foreign journalists are able to travel to into Muzaffarabad without "minders" or official permission. Muzaffarabad is the capital of the Pakistani part of Kashmir called "liberated Kashmir", the other part - with Srinagar as capital - is called"occupied Kashmir" in the country. (Photo: Lisa Upton/Internews)

According to a report released by Goldman Sachs last week, "the newspaper sector is stuck in the mud", reports Editor & Publisher. Ad revenues for July were up 2.9% with August expected to be about the same. Retail was up 3% and "national has improved slightly (against easy comps). But what's worrisome is that classified ad growth is slowing", states Editor & Publisher.

The help wanted category continues to suffer from 'the burden with growth in the mid-teens' in online and print. The real estate category has slowed modestly and the automotive category is "exceptionally weak." And circulation revenues continue to decrease and were down 2.6% year-to-date. However, ad spending on newspapers' websites increased double-digit in recent quarters, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

"Taking all this into account, total industry revenue growth is about 2%, year-to-date, 'the industry's weakest performance since the 2001-2001 recession' ", states Editor & Publisher.

Robert Niles of the USC Annenberg Online Journalism Review asked a number of web editors and publshers the following question: "Why do i love online publishing?"

Niles first gives us his own view: "the people of this country finally have a medium at their disposal which allows any person to speak and be heard by a global audience. If freedom of the press belongs to those who own one, now, we all do. And the world, ultimately, will be the better for it."

Here are some of the answers Niles was given:

Len Apcar (Editor in chief of the New York Times online)
"What I love the most is the challenge of trying to figure out how a great news organization like The New York Times can succeed in a big way on the Web. It is a daunting task trying to help lead a transformation from a newsroom focused on producing a daily newspaper to becoming a successful online publisher."

Robert Cauthorn (former vice president of digital media for the San Francisco Chronicle)
"the readers ... the whole community. Online publishing brings you so close to the readers that they become part of every breath. And that's one of the greatest feelings in all of publishing. The readers constantly amaze me with their insights, appetites, intelligence and sheer sense of fun. You learn from them."

According to the latest Annual Euro RSCG Magnet and Columbia University Survey of the Media, 51% of journalists, combared to 11% of all US internet users (according to eWeek), are using weblogs regularly and 28% rely on them for their daily reporting. By contrast, only 1% of journalists believe in their credibility. The study is based on responses of 1,202 journalist from the US and other countries worldwide (no further details regarding the other countries given on Euro RSCG Magnet ). Of journalist who reported using blogs 70% use blogs for work-related tasks: they use blogs to find story ideas, researching and referencing facts, finding sources and uncovering breaking news. However, only few journalists post on blogs or have their own blogs. "Such activities might be seen as compromising objectivity and thus credibility."

"Beware: tomorrow's stars are no longer necessarily interested in yesterday's media." This warning from media pundit Jeff Jarvis comes after a chat he had with a young German journalist who has rapidly gained recognition, but not for work in print, television or radio. Larissa Vassilian is the brain behind the popular podcast, Schlaflos in Munchen (Sleepless in Munich).

Vassilian produces a 5-minute recap of her life and muses thereof including reviews of movies, books, etc. through another podcast called Filme und So (Movies and Stuff). She does so all from the comfort of home with very minimal overhead - only about $100 for technical equipment and $10 a month for an Internet connection.

With this small investment, Vassilian attracts 5-16 thousand people and is one of the top 10 downloaded German podcasts. Jarvis says her story demonstrates the danger posed to old media by like ventures; "it's hard for talent to rise and survive in your institutions. But on the internet, with her podcasts and thousands of faithful fans, Vassilian has the freedom to be herself."

Although she has a solid following, podcasting doesn't pay... yet. Vassilian continues her work as a journalist to survive but if she had her way, she'd make her living online. With more people turning to the Internet and more journalists like Vassilian going it solo online, functioning business models are certain to emerge. Old media has to adapt.

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.