Archive: 30 October – 5 November 2006
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Sunday 5 November 2006
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I fear Dr Tristram Hunt may have got carried away when writing today's risible Mail on Sunday polemic about the need for Britons to celebrate the death of Guy Fawkes. In extolling the virtues of the King James Bible as "part of the literature that helped to codify a culture in a proudly English language" he then asserted that in its "wake came the works of Shakespeare, Milton and Bunyan". I have no argument about the latter pair, but the Bard of Avon had written virtually all of his plays and sonnets well before the king's bible was published in 1611. An odd mistake for the man proudly billed in the paper as "lecturer in history at Queen Mary, University of London." (Via Mail on Sunday)
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Both Peter Preston in The Observer and Peter Cole in the Independent on Sunday devote their main pieces to the newspapers' response to the global warming report by Sir Nicholas Stern. Preston notes the continuing scepticism from some quarters and instances of hypocrisy. But his main point is that papers are selling their readers short by failing to promote a level-headed debate. Cole broadly agrees, arguing in particular that readers of the popular papers are more interested in climate change than the editors realise. (Via Observer and Independent on Sunday)
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Saturday 4 November 2006
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Is this story a pointer to the future of web-based journalism? There are several facets to it that make it interesting because it combined both campaigning and investigative aspects, and it was rooted in a local community. It did not involve a newspaper (and, therefore, a large staff and the accompanying overheads). But, and this point should not be overlooked, its successful outcome was largely due to the result of work by two trained, professional journalists with national newspaper experience.
In December 2005, Justin Williams - night editor of the Sunday Telegraph - and David Hewson - an author who previously worked on The Times, Sunday Times and The Independent - set up a website called save-wye.org in order to oppose plans by Imperial College to build a science park in the village of Wye in Kent.
Their first posting referred to the "bombshell" agreement between Imperial, Ashford Borough Council and Kent County Council "to transform our charming rural area into a hotbed of futuristic research and development, or, as others might put it, home to a bunch of new and sprawling housing and industrial estates which will transform our lives and the heritage of this region forever." They had a hunch that Imperial were planning to build a huge number of houses and were frustrated by the failure of the local paper - the Kentish Express, which Williams once edited - to take up the story.
In the following months Williams and Hewson mounted a campaign which gained the enthusiastic support of local people. They also cultivated contacts within Imperial College and eventually secured the help of several whistleblowers who provided them with documentary evidence that a "secret plan" lay behind the science park proposal.
Their breakthrough came when they discovered that Imperial planned to raise £100m by building 4,000 houses on 300 acres of land designated as an area of outstanding natural beauty. It would have quadrupled the size of Wye. According to the journalists, Imperial had "hoodwinked" the two local authorities into signing "concordats" in which they gave their backing to the plans before anything was known to the public. This revelation galvanised Wye's 2,500 inhabitants, and there were times when their website was attracting 1,500 unique hits a day.
The upshot was that, on September 15, Imperial College dropped its plans. The campaign had ended in victory for the people of Wye. Williams and Hewson, working in their spare time, had written 250 articles about the scandal. They had produced weekly printed editions of their downloaded articles for people without access to the internet. The local press, which took no interest at first, was eventually forced to take the matter seriously (though without giving credit to the web campaigners).
This is only one case of course, but it deserves attention. Here were two journalists using their skills to report and campaign on a local issue by using a medium that is unhindered by vested interests. In so doing, they have enabled people to ask penetrating questions about the way in which decisions are made in their name behind closed doors. At its heart, this is a fine example of the way the web can enhance democracy.
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Three days ago I asked Is Northcliffe quietly giving up on newspapers? That was prompted by the sale of the paid-for title, the Wellington Weekly News. But a worse fate has befallen the freesheet that shares its offices, the Taunton Times, which is to be closed after next Thursday's issue with the loss of six editorial jobs.
That news prompted a former Taunton Times staffer with "a great fondness for the paper" to write to me, pointing out that it exhibited the editorial values of a paid-for paper. That's why it regularly won awards and was so highly regarded by journalists on the rival Somerset County Gazette that some of them offered story tips to the Times. Oh yes, and 50,000 readers rather liked it too.
So I ask again: is Northcliffe really interested in running newspapers any longer? And one more question: could it be that the Daily Mail & General Trust's regional division is being sacrificed in order to provide necessary funds to fight the London freesheet newspaper war?
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Friday 3 November 2006
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Cliff Kincaid is the editor of an organisation called Accuracy In Media which describes itself as a "grassroots citizens watchdog of the news media that... sets the record straight". But I wonder just how straight and accurate that can be when he writes that the New York Post's endorsement of Hillary Clinton for the Senate over a solid conservative Republican is "another sign" that Rupert Murdoch "moving to the left." Moving to the left? Are you serious?
Sorry if this sounds rude, Mr Kincaid, but you obviously don't know much about Rupert or, for that matter, Hillary. First, Murdoch likes to back winners and, as the Post editorial rightly said, her opponent is not credible. He can't possibly win. Clinton's poll lead is indeed "insurmountable". This doesn't indicate that Murdoch has moved leftwards. It is yet another example of his political pragmatism and it does not imply that he has changed his general (ie, right-wing) outlook.
Second, though Clinton has liberal social views - on abortion, gay rights and gun control, for instance - she remains committed to the prosecution of the war on terror, having backed the invasion of Iraq, and has never advocated genuine leftist economic policies. In many ways, her general outlook is not dissimilar to that of Britain's prime minister, Tony Blair, who Murdoch has supported for many years.
By the way, Mr Kincaid, just to feed your right-wing paranoia, perhaps you ought to know that, in his undergraduate days, Murdoch had a bust of Lenin over his fire. Conclusive proof that he's a communist "sleeper", eh?
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With Google poised to become the dominant force in British advertising, The Times's media commentator, Dan Sabbagh, argues that the internet search engine would be wise not to alienate both broadcasters and newspapers at the same time. While Google could make money by winning advertising revenue from Channel 4 and the Daily Mail, he says it would "be smarter if it can find a way of working in partnership with traditional media" and concludes that "there are hints that its thinking is moving that way". (Via The Times)
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We know that Iraq is dangerous for journalists, as the posting immediately below illustrates. But the situation is also worsening in Pakistan. I posted yesterday about the murder of Mohammad Ismail Malik. Now comes news of a correspondent for the Urdu-language daily Subah, Rehmanullah, being shot and seriously wounded in Peshawar. Colleagues report that he had been subject to threats from Islamist militants. Earlier this year, TV news cameraman Munir Sangi and reporter Hayatullah Khan were killed in separate incidents. (Via Reporters Without Borders)
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See beyond the sad statistics that follow and think instead about the inhumanity involved. Freelance journalist Abdelmajid Ismael Khalil was kidnapped on October 18 by gunmen who surrounded his car. Local police found his body 13 days later. He was the 127th journalist to be killed in Iraq since the start of the war, and the 52nd to be kidnapped. It is a record of unsurpassed tragedy. (Via Reporters Without Borders)
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Two journalists have been jailed for six months in Algeria for libelling the Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi who sued them through his country's Algiers embassy. Ali Fodil, who runs the daily newspaper Ech-Chorouk, and a writer, Naila Berrahal, were also each fined 20,000 dinars (£140). The court action centred on two articles in August that claimed Gaddafi had planned to "divide the Tuaregs... and destabilise Algeria." The sentences have been suspended pending an appeal. (Via Middle East online)
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It is increasingly likely that the troubled US media empire owned by theTribune company will be broken up. The proprietor of the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, several TV stations and the Chicago Cubs baseball team is currently worth $7.6bn (£4bn). But no buyer wants to take it all at the kind of price that would satisfy Tribune's warring shareholders. So a piecemeal sell-off looks imminent. Entertainment mogul David Geffen, supermarket magnate Ron Burkle and property developer Eli Broad have expressed interest in the LA Times. (Via WARC)
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The Economist has agreed a syndication deal with the Indian Express Group. It means that the print and website versions of the Indian Express and the Financial Express will be able to publish Economist surveys, branded pages and supplements across the sub-continent. The Economist is currently distributed in India by the Times Group, and it is not known whether the new deal will affect that agreement. (Via Content Sutra)
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The Yorkshire Post is backing the Tory party's "Make Them Pay By Christmas Day" campaign which demands that the government pay farmers at least a portion of the subsidies due to them before the holiday. The paper has lined up with other supporters, such as the National Farmers' Union (NFU), the Tenant Farmers Association and Country Land and Business Association. The Post decided to join the campaign after it was revealed that overdue 2006 farm payments may not reach farmers this year. An NFU spokeswoman said: "We are delighted the Post is joining the campaign. No-one wants to see a repeat of the real hardship suffered by many Yorkshire farmers this year." (Via Yorkshire Post)
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Thursday 2 November 2006
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Welsh Secretary Peter Hain has warned health chiefs not to ignore the South Wales Evening Post's neurosurgery campaign. Hain, Labour MP for Neath, has supported the paper's campaign which culminated in a 105,537-strong petition opposing the switch of services from Morriston Hospital in Swansea across to Cardiff. This sent out a strong and clear message, said Hain. (Via South Wales Evening Post)
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The much-awaited relaunch of the Times Educational Supplement (TES) finally arrives next Friday. The £5m makeover was announced way back in June. It was then said to involve a new format, a full-colour paper and a glossy magazine as well as a strengthened online presence. Concerned TES readers are already debating the relaunch on the paper's website. The TES was sold by News International to TSL Education for £235m last year. (Via Mad.co.uk)
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The editor of the New Straits Times in Malaysia is to step down amidst allegations that he plagiarised the work of an US journalist. Bloggers pointed out that Monday's column by the editor, Brendan Pereira, looked remarkably similar to a column written by Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press. Yesterday it was announced that Pereira would be leaving the paper at the end of the year. It is a classic example of the way in which new media is acting as a watchdog on the old. And it bites! (Via BBC)
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The Buxton Advertiser has been thanked by the family and friends of a woman suffering from cancer who has won her campaign to be treated with a pioneering form of chemotherapy. Ethel Hallam's daughter, Louise, said the paper's coverage of her mother's plight "made a huge difference." Derbyshire County primary care trust had previously refused to give Ethel the drug, Alimta, but has changed its mind following publicity about the case. (Via Buxton Advertiser)
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With the axe hanging over the staff at Press Gazette - expect an announcement later today - it's great to see that they have not lost their ability to laugh in the face of adversity. According to the magazine's Axegrinder blog, "a certain gallows humour" has descended at the magazine. So they've been playing with an Excel-based "job predictor" to forecast their future occupations.
The results? Editor Ian Reeves is to become a hypnotist and his deputy, Jon Slattery, will be a children's TV presenter. Heavyweight reporter Dominic Ponsford can expect a post as a headteacher while his colleague, Sarah Lagan, is inexplicably due to be a garden gnome. PG's resident blogger, Martin Stabe, is evidently looking forward to a career as a stand-up comic.
But the sting is in the tail. "So much for the staff", it concludes, "but what about their (at least until tonight) paymasters?" Piers Morgan, who has already spent years as Fleet Street's resident stand-up comedian, will assume the role of "alien investigator" and Matthew Freud will end up as a mime artiste. A silent Freud? I don't think so.
Anyway, more seriously, we await news of Press Gazette's own fate. Will it become a mime artiste for the national newspapers, or can we expect a new puppet master to emerge from the ranks of the trade magazine industry? A report on PG's website this morning says that "a majority of the national newspaper groups have expressed a commitment to work together to explore ways to make the proposal work, and expressions of interest have also been made by significant players from the regional press and magazine publishing world."
Maybe. Maybe not. Not all nationals are keen and the regionals are very hesitant indeed. Despite the urgency, there's a long way to go yet before there will be any agreement.
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Brad Pitt is furious that a photograph of him in boxer shorts has wound up on the cover of December's issue of Vanity Fair. The star's lawyers are now considering legal action against the magazine because they claim the picture was used without Pitt's permission. The picture was taken during Pitt's appearance last year in an avant garde video art project for the artist Robert Wilson. According to Vanity Fair, Pitt was informed in early October that the picture would be used. (Via San Francisco Chronicle)
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The Macclesfield Express is supporting the campaign to protect rural post offices from closure. To illustrate the importance of sub-post offices to communities in isolated Cheshire villages the weekly paper (circ. 17,299, and rising!) is running a series of articles about the difficulties postmasters face in trying to keep their businesses going. "There is a deep-seated community spirit... in most of these far-flung outlets", says the Express. (Via Macclesfield Express)
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An editorial in the Botswana paper, Mmegi (The Reporter), has criticised "the Western media" for reports which cast doubt on South Africa's readiness for the 2010 World Cup football championships. "It is as if South Africa, and by extension the whole of Africa, had to work extra hard to convince everyone that the World Cup could be successfully hosted in the continent", it says. The Gaborone-based daily adds that the criticism appears to be "motivated by a pervasive negative mentality about Africa among many Western media and citizens... It is the deep-rooted belief that Africa does not possess the necessary capacity to perform on the international stage." (Via Mmegi)
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Associated Press is appealing for the release of one of its photographers who is held by the US forces in Iraq. Bilal Hussein, a regular freelance for AP , has been in custody for more than six months without being charged. Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll has called on news organisations to help win freedom for Hussein, saying: "Here is someone who has brought you pictures, images from a critical part of Iraq, who has now been in US military custody for six and a half months, not charged with a crime, not charged with anything, but told he will be held indefinitely because his pictures are unwelcome." Carroll called on newspaper columnists and editorial writers to focus on his plight. (Via Editor & Publisher)
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The Danish editor responsible for publishing the cartoons that caused uproar last year among Muslims now has to take careful precautions every day, as do the cartoonists themselves. "I have received threats," says Flemming Rose, culture editor of Jyllands-Posten. On a visit to Britain, he travelled under an assumed name and in Spain was under constant security guard. But the cartoonists were initially forced to go into hiding, he says, having been unprepared for the political "minefield" they had stepped into. (Via Cnews)
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A veteran journalist with Pakistan's national news agency, Malik Muhammad Ismail, has been killed in Islamabad in mysterious circumstances. He died from repeated blows to the head with a sharp-edged weapon and rope marks were found on his wrists. Police believe Ismail, an editor for Pakistan Press International (PPI), was the victim of a "target killing". (Via South Asian Media Net)
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Profits at Canada's largest newspaper publisher , Torstar Corp<</b>, fell by 67% in the third quarter. The company, which blames foreign exchange losses and restructuring charges, recorded a profit of $7.7m (£3.6m) in the three months up to September 30 compared to $23.7m (£11m) in the same period last year. Losses at Torstar's flagship Toronto Star newspaper increased slightly though other newspaper divisions fared a little better. (Via CBC)
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Wednesday 1 November 2006
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The Press Gazette is going into administration, probably tomorrow. Its largest shareholder, Matthew Freud, is not prepared to sustain the losses any longer and the staff have been told that they have received their final monthly pay cheques. They were paid for one day's work today and may well be paid tomorrow, but that will almost certainly be their last wages from the Freud-owned company, Press Gazette Ltd.
It is thought that the company is carrying debts of more than £500,000 and is losing something like £15,000 a week. With no prospect of income from a press awards ceremony, Freud could not continue trading at a loss. However, administration will provide a breathing space that will allow the magazine to continue publication and provide time for a buyer to come forward.
There appear to be two possibilities: a trade buyer or a consortium of newspaper and magazine publishers. Freud is thought to believe that the former is most likely. However, it is known that a number of national paper publishers and editors are eager to save the magazine by forming some kind of industry-wide trust. At present, only national papers appear to have shown enthusiasm, having been impressed by approaches from the PG's editor, Ian Reeves.
They evidently hope to provide interim funding and, in order to place the magazine on a business footing, they have already sounded out Roger Eastoe, the former Mirror group managing director, to oversee the magazine their behalf. He worked for six months as commercial director at Press Gazette when Freud and the former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan bought it in June last year. Eastoe, who I couldn't reach for comment, is understood to have a clear idea about how the magazine might cut its losses. This might possibly involve a tie-up with the Press Association.
The difficulty with the trust idea is that there has been far less interest shown thus far by magazine and regional newspaper publishers. While it is thought the magazines will come on board, regional publishers are much more hesitant. Several regional companies are already committed to expanding the coverage of the industry through the Holdthefrontpage website, and they therefore view Press Gazette as a rival, especially due to its increased internet activity in recent months.
Meanwhile, the future looks very uncertain just now for Reeves and his 10 journalistic colleagues. A further eight staff are also affected. As for Freud and his fellow shareholders, there is an acceptance that they are going to lose their investment. As one told me: "I guess we were naive, but we acted for the best possible motives, despite what some editors believe, notably Paul Dacre. And we sincerely wish the best for the magazine."
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I'm beginning to wonder whether the Daily Mail and General Trust really wants to go on owning regional newspapers after all. After failing to sell off its Northcliffe Newspapers division, it managed to find a buyer for its Aberdeen papers. That was a substantial sale, of course, but now comes the disposal of a really small part of its dwindling empire, the Wellington Weekly News, to Sir Ray Tindle's newspaper group.
Yet the Wellington paper is hardly a stand-alone title. It is part of Northcliffe's substantial west country division, which includes the Bath Chronicle, the Frome & Somerset Standard series, the Yeovil-based Western Gazette series, and the Western Daily Press in Bristol. The Weekly News, with a circulation of 4,120, may be seen as small fry or, in the language of business, a "non-core" title. But that hardly implies a commitment to newspaper publishing. In fact, it suggests that virtually any paper in the Northcliffe group is now in play as long as someone has the right money. It is clearly prepared to sell off its empire piece by piece.
I must stress that the Wellington Weekly News, which has a history stretching back to 1860, has not fallen into bad hands. Just the opposite. Tindle, who has 200 locals, knows how to nurture small papers. As Northcliffe's Jacquie Dean said, this "much loved local newspaper" will be in safe hands. But why has a much-loved paper been allowed to slip from Northcliffe's once-safe hands?
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Now I wonder what mainstream newspaper journalists will make of this? Here is the view of Jeff Jarvis on the decision by the Express group to outsource its business section to the Press Association and thereby reduce the staff of the Daily and Sunday Express by a tenth.
"It makes sense, as far as it goes. When I was Sunday editor of the New York Daily News, I worked to outsource our TV grids and book. Papers have long since done this with financial tables. Why not whole sections?
But what about off paper and online? There, if you don't want to go to the expense of having a business section, if it's not core to what you do, then you can link to one. And that forces you to decide what is core. What is it that just you can do and that can't be outsourced?
When you've answered that question, then, finally, you've decided what your news organisation is really all about."
So there it is, a rationalist, futurist challenge to accepted orthodoxy. Jarvis appears to agree with the cost-cutting Express owner Richard Desmond. But that's only the appearance, isn't it? Well, isn't it?
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Qatar's Al Jazeera group is backing the launch of a new pan-Arab newspaper as it seeks to establish Doha as an Arab media capital and break Saudi dominance over regional print media. Abdul Wahab Badrakhan, the former deputy editor of the Saudi-backed Al Hayat daily, will edit the paper, which is expected to start publishing next year from Qatar. The news comes as Al Jazeera celebrates its tenth anniversary and follows the announcement of a November 15 start date for the launch of its much-awaited English language news channel. (Via Gulf News)
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Freedom of the press in Hong Kong is being gradually stifled by China. According to Hong Kong Journalists Association leader Serenade Woo "there is a gradual compression of press freedom". She told a forum in Taipei: "The Chinese Communist Party is tightening its dominance of the direction of news". For example, reporters had been deprived of the right to protect their sources by an ordinance passed in June that allows the government to intercept communications. (Via Taipei Times)
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A German-language Islamic newspaper has been launched in Austria, the first of its kind. The 16-page monthly Al-Muslima is aimed at the country's 400,000-strong Islamic community, and its editor-in-chief, Dr Amir Zaidain, says it will help to educate Austrian society in particular and European society in general about "the true essence of Islam." (Via Kuwait News Agency)
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The "Platinum Pride" campaign launched by the Scunthorpe Telegraph has moved into its second phase with a major clean-up of four streets. Workmen from North Lincolnshire Council, which is supporting the paper's project - aimed at getting people to take pride in their neighbourhoods - are to carry out a set of tasks, including the removal of graffiti, the resurfacing of footpaths and the installation of new litter bins and community skips. (Via Scunthorpe Telegraph)
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The staff of The Advocate and Greenwich Time in Connecticut want to buy their newspaper from its owners, Tribune. A letter to the company from union representative Maida Rosenstein said: 'We will be prepared to show you that we have sufficient resources to make the purchase price." Tribune will probably seek to sell the whole company before considering sales of various parts, but a sale of segments seems more likely in the absence of corporate interest. (Via Topix.net)
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Is this a case of wishful thinking by old media? Both the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal report that Myspace.com is losing its popularity after a Nielsen/Net-Ratings study claimed participation has dropped by 4%. According the Post young people are turning instead to Facebook.com while the WSJ claims that they are renouncing all social networking sites. Both, of course, gloat about Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp having paid $580m for MySpace. (Via Editors' weblog)
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The New York Post greeted its surge in sales with typical modesty, devoting the whole front page to the news under the headline, "Circulation stunner: Post beats News. Thanks New York". But the 5% rise, which makes Rupert Murdoch's Post the fifth largest circulation paper in the US, has to be seen in the context of it being the cheapest, at 25 cents, and the fact that it loses lots of money. And the Columbia Journalism Review has discovered plenty of sceptics about the figures. (Via Newspaper Innovations)
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The editor of an Armenian newspaper who evaded military service has been jailed for four years. The sentence on Arman Babajanian, of the daily paper Jamanak Erevan , may be politically-motivated, says Erevan press club president Boris Navasardian. The authorities are known to be unhappy with Babajanian's work. The press watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, called the sentence "disproportionate". (VIa Reporters Without Borders)
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The Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard is backing a campaign to demand reduced speed limits on a Wiltshire road that has claimed the lives of several drivers in recent years. The paper made its decision after the death last week of a 17-year-old motorist on the B4040, which runs through Sherston and Luckingham. (Via Wilts & Gloucs Standard)
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Tuesday 31 October 2006
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First, a welcome to the blogosphere to Professor Adrian Monck, head of the journalism department at London's City University. Second, two declarations of interest: I lecture at City and I write a column for the London Evening Standard. I mention the latter because of Monck's sharp reponse to a statement by Martin Linton MP that more people read the Standard in Tunbridge Wells than in Battersea.
Monck writes: "What Linton meant by his throwaway comment is that it's read by commuters. And commuters, especially rail commuters, are political trash. They generate their economic value in a place that gives them no political voice. They spend most of their money there. But they sleep a train ride away. It's a measure of how disconnected politics are from people's lives that these simple facts defy our electoral system and our media. Instead politicians romanticise communities and localities. MPs are more embedded in geography than the Lords they supplanted." (Via Adrian Monck)
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A Moscow-based freelance journalist, Alexei Pankin, has questioned the haste, taste and accuracy of "the polemics" following the murder of Anna Politkovskaya. He is offended by a Financial Times article which described Politkovskaya as "Russia's bravest reporter" and the accompanying "lecture" to Russian journalists on how to grieve properly for fallen comrades. He also takes issue with a piece in The Times which asserted that Politkovskaya was "just about the only investigative journalist [in Russia]." Before my eyes, he writes, grief is turning into a dance on Anna's grave. It's a thoughtful piece. (Via Moscow Times)
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Another evening paper has become a morning. The Plymouth Evening Herald yesterday became the Plymouth Herald, announcing its change as "a landmark" in its 111-year history, reflecting "the needs of the 24-hour digital age". In a message to readers, the editor, Bill Martin, wrote: "In response to changing tastes, buying habits and reader demand, the Herald will be available on news stands from breakfast-time" and "around the clock on the internet". The 34p Herald sold an average of 41,148 in the first six months of this year, almost 5% fewer than the year before.
But the change of title and press time means that the Herald will be on sale at the same time as its Northcliffe Newspapers stablemate, the Western Morning News (WMN), which has a weekday circulation of 40,782 and 58,749 on Saturdays. Won't that mean each paper becoming rivals for readers?
WMN editor Alan Qualtrough says not, revealing that the two titles' cross-over sales are no more than 3,000 copies. "We have completely different markets and separate agendas," he says. "Ours is largely rural and we have a different readership within the city. We also compete directly with the national dailies, while the Herald is more of a community-based, urban paper, more of a red-top tabloid." He also claims that the WMN has secured 21% of the morning market, up from 18% a year ago, in the face of national newspaper declines.
Qualtrough, a former Herald editor, also stresses that the change in publishing times is part of an overall Northcliffe strategy linked to upgraded websites in order to provide 24-hour news to the people in the city and the areas around. So it's going to be fascinating to see how this all works out. None of the evening papers that have dropped their "evening" title are competing with a daily in the same city owned by the same company. Newspaper life is changing fast, isn't it?
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The Financial Times reveals the latest business venture of Maxwell William Humphrey Aitken, better known as the third Lord Beaverbrook and, therefore, grandson to the celebrated owner of the Daily Express. It appears that the current Beaverbrook, a former lord-in-waiting and Tory party treasurer, is now chairman of CheekyMoon Entertainment, "an on-line gambling and entertainment website" offering "a portfolio of games... for young adults." According to the FT report the cheeky moon website features a game entitled Naughty Netball, in which the female players strip off as punters place bets. Good lord! (Via FT.com)
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Daily circulation fell 2.8% at US newspapers in the six-month period ending in September, while Sunday circulation fell 3.4%. The decline is in line with a long-term trend of falling sales. USA Today remained the top-seller with 2,269,509 sales, down 1.3% from a year ago, and the second-placed Wall Street Journal fell 1.9% to 2,043,235. The Los Angeles Times suffered the largest drop among major newspapers with a decline of 8% to 775,766.
New York's two tabloids were the only newspapers in the top 20 titles to add copies. The New York Post rose by 5.1% to 704,011, edging ahead of the New York Daily News, which increased by 1% to 693,382. Canada's papers also suffered from overall falls. (Via USA Today)
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Many Indonesian journalists accept bribes, according to a report in an Australian newspaper, The Age. The paper claims that journalists take "brown envelope" bribes from public officials with two ministries explaining that, despite a presidential campaign against corruption, cash is handed out to journalists who attend news conferences. One reporter said he often received payments from military officials, saying: "These people will think we're arrogant if we refused to take it." (Via IJNET.org)
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A transport authority report concludes that the free newspapers in New York's subway stations are largely responsible for the recent growth in subway floods and fires. The two papers, amNew York and Metro, were found to be the main cause in the 2004 subway flood, because the discarded papers clogged drains. Discarded copies on the tracks have been set on fire by train sparks. (Via New York Post)
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A journalist in Chad who wrote about the country's alleged use of child soldiers has been arrested. Evariste Ngaralbaye, of the privately-owned weekly Notre Temps, was detained four days ago by the national gendarmerie. His arrest followed a press conference in which the defence minister denied that children were being recuited and warned journalists not to "cast a slur on the army". The press watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, has called for his release, arguing that "journalists are entitled to write about a subject of public interest, such as the army, without fear of imprisonment." (Via AllAfrica.com)
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The editor of a Bangladeshi newspaper was prevented from boarding a flight to London the day after suspending publication of his paper and firing 104 journalists. Police arrested Shafiq Rehman, editor of Jai Jai Din, after the sacked journalists complained that he was fleeing without paying them. Rehman was later reported to be seeking talks with senior journalists. (Via Reuters)
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Monday 30 October 2006
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Shane Richmond, news editor of telegraph.co.uk, is distinctly underwhelmed by the claims made by Merrill Lynch analyst Lauren Fine that it will be 30 years before online ad income accounts for more than 50% of total newspaper revenues. Richmond treats Fine's "back-of-the-envelope calculation" to withering scorn, asking her rhetorically: "You think we'll still be printing newspapers in 2036?"
He points out that the internet has been in existence for 15 years, during which time a lot has changed, and he cannot conceive that, in 30 years' time, online will still be playing catch-up. First the facts: "Print sales are declining. Print ad revenue is declining. Online revenue is increasing."
He follows up with a prediction of his own (and, presumably, no cigarette packet was required): "At some point, probably within the next 10 years, print won't be slowly declining anymore, it will fall off a cliff."
He offers one possible scenario: "We should have functional, affordable e-paper within five years. Within 10 years it will be practically disposable. Who in their right minds would still be printing on paper when that happens?" Then, he concludes, "it will become meaningless to talk about a distinction between print and online."
I admit that I've been doing all I can to avoid making this kind of prediction. I have been straddling the print-online fence in both theory and practice (blog here and column in the newsprint London Evening Standard). Despite the fence being uncomfortable, despite the fact that I know that the future is screen-based and despite my consistently stating that paper sales are heading for a cliff fall, I still hesitate to be as certain as Richmond, not to mention a cohort of like-minded digital missionaries whose views I also value.
I just can't make that revolutionary leap of imagination to conceive of a world without newsprint. My leg on the print side of the fence is anchored there though, doubtless, some would say "dangling there". I spend more hours now at this laptop than I do reading papers but I retain an aching love for the newspaper format. Is this counter-revolutionary or romantic nonsense, or both? Please advise.
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A prolific house-breaker who wanted to apologise to his victims wrote to the Torquay Herald Express. And his act of contrition helped him to escape a jail sentence. William Johnson wrote: "I'm sorry for the misery I've caused many innocent people... I need help." A court in Exeter was told that Johnson, who admitted stealing property worth more than £10,000, was now determined to cure a heroin habit and realised that his burglaries had ruined people's lives. He was given a two-year supervision order. (Via Torquay Herald Express)
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I should be surprised but, then again, I guess it was inevitable. A musical about the Profumo affair, "built around Christine Keeler", is being planned. Evidently, it will be "a fairly raunchy" all-dancing, all-singing account of the scandal with "nude romps". So far, so predictable. But its creator, Richard Alexander, may be over-hyping things by claiming "to have unearthed new evidence", which will be concealed "until the curtain goes up". Well, as Christine's old friend would doubtless observe, he would say that, wouldn't he? (Via Daily Telegraph)
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The notion of forming a media industry trust to own and run the Press Gazette isn't getting a good press. Stephen Glover writes in his Independent column: "I am afraid I do not think this would be a terribly good idea." Kim Fletcher , in The Guardian, "cannot discern the common interest that would see such a variety of groups find the money and time to invest in such a project". And the Spanish newspaper commentator, Juan Antonio Giner, dismisses both the trust plan and the magazine's continuance as a print product: "Internet and the media blogs provide today a lot of information on real time... The era of media gatekeepers is gone." (Via The Independent and The Guardian)
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Heard the one about the comic media moguls? No, neither have I. But, according to Richard Siklos, 350 people attending last week's "roast" for media executives in New York were in stitches at jokes made at the expense of Tom Freston, recently fired as ceo of Viacom. Here are two examples (and I hope you're sitting down):
NewsCorp's president, Peter Chernin, started with this: "I don't think there's anyone in this room that feels that Viacom has treated Tom fairly. After years of loyal service, Tom was let go. And there is no doubt in my mind that Tom's continued success will haunt Viacom for years to come. But enough about Tom Cruise. We're here to talk about Tom Freston."
No? Did your sides remain unsplit? OK, then, how about another Chernin rib-tickler about Freston's successor, Leslie Moonves? "MTV now officially stands for 'Moonves Takes Viacom'."
Well, I guess you had to be there. (Via New York Times)
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A female TV sports presenter has been killed in Iraq. Naqsheen Hamad , who worked for the state television station, Iraqiya, was shot along with her driver. It is the second murder of an Iraqi sports reporter in five months. At least 85 foreign and Iraqi journalists have been reported killed since the invasion in March 2003. (Via Reuters)
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A journalist working the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) was beaten by police while covering the elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Despite having identified himself as a journalist, Njanji Chauke was hit several times over the head when Congolese police charged a crowd of people shouting support for the vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba. Chauke was released from hospital after treatment to his head injuries. An SABC spokesman said the assault undermines its ability to report freely. (Via African News Dimension)
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A good spot by Kristine Lowe, the Norwegian-based blogger. While acknowledging that it's "hardly a riveting insight" to say that newspapers are failing to use the web to its full potential, she picked up on a comment by washingtonpost.com editor James Brady that deserves attention. Brady told the Associated Press managing editors conference in New Orleans: "In far too many cases, newspapers are still using sites for the basic task of reprinting the paper." Well, that may be the case in the US, but British papers - national and regional - have been doing much better in the past year. Most sites have interactive elements, and there are innovations week by week. (Via Kristine Lowe)
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A journalist was one of three people shot dead during the conflict in Mexico's colonial city of Oaxaca. Bradley Roland Will, a cameraman working for Indymedia in New York, was shot in the chest and died before reaching the hospital, according to the independent news group's website report. It appears that Will was caught in crossfire during one of the shootouts that preceded yesterday's police action which resulted in an end to the five-month siege in the city. (Via Reuters)
