Singapore free daily newspaper Today, owned by MediaCorp, plans to slash its weekend circulation down to 150,000 copies. MediaCorp Press Managing Director Philip Koh says that in light of the recent economic turmoil across the industry "every cent matters."

Nearly eight months ago, Today's total circulation was boosted from 250,000 to 300,000, meaning that if the weekday circulationg remains at 300,000 the current average circulation will amount to 275,000.

Today was launched in 2000, while its weekend edition in 2002. Four years ago the paper decided to venture with its competitor Streats, also launched in 2000.

Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), which owns Streats, has a 40 percent stake in Today. In addition, the company started a Chinese language free daily two years ago called My Paper.

Publishing group MediaCorp is controlled by the state, whereas SPH is state-owned.

Source: Newspaper Innovation through IFRA Executive News Service

Search engine giant Google announces that its newly launched Chrome browser is no longer in "beta," reports AFP. Google may keep its software in beta for relatively long periods, but the firm says that Chrome met stability and performance aims in a brief time frame.

Since its launch Chrome has been modified 15 times in order to optimize the performance, after receiving feedback from over 10 million people around the globe who were employing the browser. Changes include improved plug-ins like videos, speedier data loading as well as "strict" privacy and security measures, AFP writes.

While Chrome is challenging Apple's Safari, Mozilla's Firefox and Microsoft's Internet Explorer, it may not be completely ready to lose its "beta" tag since it still doesn't support the Mac system according to Reuters.

Source: AFP, Reuters, PC Mag

A number of Latvian newspapers were printed as a commemorative issue with black crosses on the front page in order to protest the government's initiative to augment the Value Added Tax (VAT) on production costs by 21 percent.

Latvia's Association of Press Publishers warns that the move may place the country's newspapers on the verge of bankruptcy.

Source: Lenta.ru

In the wake of the Blagojevich corruption scandal, community news site, Windy Citizen, is trying a new approach to online coverage.

One of their pages, Blagojevitter, has real time Twitter updates using a customized widget from Monittor. In addition, there is a graphic, based on the 78-page official complaint against the governor, that is generated by analyzing text and turning into art.

According to Poynter, "this approach can provide insight into a document -- even on a subconscious level. For instance, this image makes it obvious that the Chicago Tribune is a significant topic of the complaint. Plus, word clouds are attractive, intriguing, and fun."

Source: Poynter

Mobile phones are the primary way of accessing the Internet for people in "emerging markets," or those with poor fixed-line telecommunications, mobile technology companies are reporting.

It could be inferred from the information that in emerging nations, focus on the mobile market would produce higher revenues for advertisers or even news organizations trying to increase readership.

Countries such as Indonesia have many areas "lacking high-speed cable broadband connections, DSL lines or even regular phone lines for dial-up service," the Wall Street Journal is reporting.

Improvements in mobile technology have made it easier and quicker to go online via cell phones. The cost can also be cheaper than buying a computer or paying for home Internet service.
Wireless network operators and companies have seen emerging nations as "crucial" for growth, WSJ reports. They've developed their software to work with the technology available in poorer countries, compressing software to be quicker to access via mobile technology.

In developed markets, WSJ reports, the focus is on "smart-phones," which have similar functions to PC's with video and graphics. Cell phones in poorer nations are required more for checking email or social networking sites, and are hundreds of dollars cheaper.

Desktop browsers are still the larger global market than mobile versions, however, the mobile-browser market is "surging," WSJ reports.

Are there any newspapers willing to move completely online, foregoing the current struggle for a print edition? This is the question journalist Gary Andrews asks, analyzed by Media Guardian's Roy Greenslade.

Local papers, feeling the squeeze in recent months, could find a way to save their product in venturing completely online, but who will be the first to take the plunge? The Independent is considering it, but is facing criticism for abandoning the roots of newspapers.

Andrews asks another important question: what does a paper have to lose by going digital?

There is the matter of paying for it. Monetizing an all-online venture has yet to prove completely successful for newspapers, especially if their content is free. But the newspaper industry is hemorrhaging money trying to save its print edition and provide multi-platform services for its audience, and soon may not be able to produce the physical format.

An online edition, Greenslade says, is surely better than no edition at all. Even though going online would mean the death of newsprint, Greenslade says, "what counts is the journalism, not the platform." As providers of a service, news organizations (no longer just newspapers) have an obligation to the community they serve to keep producing news, no matter the outlet.

Bebo announced the release of its new social media tool, Social Inbox, which is designed to collect and organize feeds from networking sites such as Twitter and Flickr, email services and other sites such as YouTube.

The service encourages online news consumption, including a localized RSS feed reader for global news, and a media favorites section lists what friends are watching and listening to, with content from over 500 media companies including the BBC, CBS and ESPN.

The new platform aims to solve the "main problem facing consumers online, namely a cluttered social networking experience."

Source: Brand Republic

European Union leaders are considering a €200 billion economic rescue plan which includes €1 billion to bring high-speed Internet access to rural areas.

The proposal will be considered during a two-day meeting of EU government leaders beginning today, and support of the plan is "not assured," according to the International Herald Tribune. The proposal, if passed, would undoubtedly provide an opportunity for greater mobile media connectivity.

European Commission president José Manuel Barroso proposed the broadband spending in November, saying, "Linking more Europeans to the Internet would improve economic competitiveness."

The Internet proposal will pit "the Continent's telecommunications operators against satellite companies," IHT reports. Satellite companies are opposed to the plan, saying they are "uniquely suited" to provide and expand broadband service to "underserved" areas in Eastern Europe and the Alps. The companies say their high-speed network will be available there by 2010.

Satellite technology has been "little used" compared with cable television and DSL, despite its "potential reach."

Throughout the EU, 21.7% of residents had broadband Internet access in July, according to the European Commission, with only 6% of residents receiving broadband via mobile phones.

Source: International Herald Tribune via EJC

In a memo to staff obtained by Politico, Washington Post publisher Katharine Weymouth discusses the long-term strategy of the paper: to make its product "indispensable" to its customers.

The strategy includes three-pillars, to focus the paper "on Washington, for Washingtonians and those affected by it," to provide "utility, engagement and convenience for local readers" and "extend the brand with new products and new platforms."

To achieve its goals, the Post will address readers' "core needs," and increase its "practical utility" online. The paper will "diversify" its business model by creating new, relevant products. Weymouth emphasized speed in the transition, saying that the paper's mission of "making sense of Washington has never been more important."

Over the summer, a team of 40 WaPo staffers from various departments created a detailed analysis of the paper, evaluating its effectiveness for both readers and advertisers, its cost-effectiveness in how it publishes and its competitive "advantage" compared to other news outlets.

Despite a growing online market, Weymouth wrote, the results are not enough to "offset the larger declines in print revenue and profitability."

Weymouth said the strategy review was not to find a quick "fix" for the business model, but instead propose an "integrated set of choices" to maintain the paper's quality and position the company for a financial rebound.

Journalist Dana Willhoit has just announced the launch of thepressreleasesite.com, a press release writing and distribution service.

The site is "staffed entirely by former newspaper reporters," according to a press release. No one is more suited to create a newsworthy press release than a newspaper reporter, Willhoit said.

A press release "molds brand identity," she continued, and if it is to be picked up by media outlets, must be crafted properly by keeping the intended audience in mind. Using both free and paid press release services gives their clients "visibility," the site claims, and provides "instant traffic."

Willhoit has also included resources to help those "on a tight budget" write and distribute their own press releases.

Source: Free Press Releases

Dow Jones & Co. has announced that it has added new content and multimedia features to Dow Jones Factiva. The additions include 4,000 blogs and 12,000 websites, which brings together more than 25,000 businesses and news sources, according to Editor & Publisher. The new content is designed to reflect the growing influence of social media around the globe.

The goal of the enhancements is to "provide a comprehensive local and global view that addresses the content needs of our customer base and provides researchers and knowledge workers with the information they need to make informed business decisions," according to Dennis Cahill, chief product officer at Dow Jones.

In addition, Factiva is now compatible with mobile devices, is offered in different languages and uses widgets to allow users to distribute content using widgets.

Source: Editor & Publisher