14 July

Australia: Online Marketplace Launched for Freelancers Creates Loopholes for Authors' Rights
Freelance journalists, photographers and cartoonists can now trade their content online in a new online market place founded  in Australia . Freelancers can upload their work to Globizzle.com free of charge and sell the content at a price they set. The site will take a 10% of the sale proceeds. Authors can also set the terms and conditions, including the option for an exclusive licence, for the use of their work. However, purchasers are not obliged to credit authors for their work : they can alter the content under the terms and conditions of the website, and the "non-exclusive licence" can allow purchasers to legally alter 20% of the content.
http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/539602.php
http://www.globizzle.com/index.php

13 July

Contradictory Studies on Citizen and Social Media:
UK: Online and Social Media Enhanced Networked Journalism 
A study of the UK 2010 general election and the roles of traditional and new media shows that online and social media enhanced the development of "networked journalism" by complementing and enriching mainstream election coverage. The study looked at how social and digital media affected the business of politics and journalism and shows during the 2010 election period in the UK. According to the study, "facebook generation" (young people aged 18 to 24) became more engaged during the election because of social media. Online news sites became the most important source of election news for the "facebook generation", ahead of television and printed newspapers.
To obtain a copy of the study, please visit:
http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/documents/Publications/Working_Papers/Social_Media_and_the_Election.pdf

US: Citizen Journalists Aren't Filling News Gap
A study conducted by the University of Missouri School of Journalism shows that citizen journalists are not filling the news gap caused by cutbacks in the newsrooms of traditional news organisations. The study looked at the top 60 citizen journalism websites and showed that many citizen journalism sites are "not even close to providing the level of coverage" that financially stressed news orgainisations offer.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/Headlines/study-citizen-journalism-isn%E2%80%99t-filling-news-gap-left-by-shrunken-newsrooms-61946-.aspx

9 July

UK: Mirror to Replace Casual Staff with Part-timers Working from Home
It is reported that one of the biggest news groups, Mirror Group Newspapers, is planning to cut its currently employed sports sub-editors and replace them with a team of part-timers who will work from home. Some full-time news sub-editors are also expected to be made redundant as the Mirror is considering outsourcing most of its news production.
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=45682&c=1

8 July

Europe:  New Survey Suggests that Journalists   are Adopting   Social Media
A recent digital journalism study on the changing nature of news-gathering shows that European journalists   have adopted social media and see it as an important tool for their work. The study, covering 750 journalists in 15 countries, shows that nearly half of journalists said social media has improved their work, but almost half respondents declared that they are expected to produce more content than ever before. Another study on social media shows that around 75% of Spain's online media sites have an official account on Facebook and Twitter.
http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/539509.php
http://www.sfnblog.com/circulation_and_readership/2010/07/75_percent_of_spanish_media_uses_faceboo.php

To obtain a copy of the study, please visit:
http://www.orielladigitaljournalism.com/download-report.php

7 July

US:  Is Yahoo! Right to "Give Readers What they Want"? 
Yahoo! introduced its "search-generated news" blog called "Upshot" claiming that it will democratise the news agenda from the bottom to the top by giving readers what they want to read. Two editors and six bloggers are being employed to update daily news on the blog. They will report and write news that is frequently searched   for by internet users on its search engine.  According to Yahoo!, this model will attract more advertisers by targeting specific audiences and advertisers, but it also raises concerns about the journalistic value of such an approach. 
http://news.yahoo.com/upshot

6 July

US:  The Future of Newspapers May Lie in Community Crowdsourcing and Free Online Publishing
A group of 18 daily newspapers have joined together to utilise community crowdsourcing and free online publishing tools to sustain their business. The group has been using free social media and publishing tools to crowdsource stories since last April. The group recently started publishing   their print dailies and website content using only free web-based softwares proving that their "new business model" can be sustainable outside the traditional   publishing systems.
Survey results: http://www.sfnblog.com/industry_trends/2010/07/sfn_report_more_than_166_us_newspapers_h.php
http://www.sfnblog.com/printing_and_production/2010/07/journal_register_company_publishes_18_ne.php

5 July

UK: BBC Trust Approves 25% Budget Cut in Online Services 
A proposed 25% cut in the BBC's online service was approved today by the BBC Trust after a report showed that the international website of the BBC made a loss of £1m year on year.  The Trust concluded that the corporation's online service needs "more active" editorial, strategic and financial management.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/our_work/strategy_review/index.shtml
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=45663&c=1

2 July

Brazil: Reference Newspaper may Abandon Print Version
The newspaper Jornal do Brasil published for 119 years in Rio de Janeiro, is consulting its readers over proposals to stop the printed version and concentrate all resources on the online edition only. On June 30, the newspaper published an announcementr inviting its readers to comment on the proposal. If the public agrees, the Jornal do Brasil will be the first major Brazilian daily to be available online only. 
http://knightcenter.utexas.edu/blog/?q=en/node/7704

UK: Readers Prefer to Buy Newspapers Rather Than Pay for Online News
"UK readers prefer to buy newspapers rather than pay for online news," concluded the YouGov SixthSense report which surveyed 2,160 UK adults. 60% of respondents said they are willing to pay for "quality" newspapers whilst 83% of them refuse to pay for online news. Only 4% said they would pay for news and content online if the material was not available anywhere else. Around 44% of respondents said that they are willing to pay for a newspaper rather than read freesheets which have "not much real content". However, a considerable number (38%) of UK readers believe that the current price of newspapers is too high.
http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/539408.php 
http://www.sfnblog.com/circulation_and_readership/2010/07/britons_prefer_to_buy_newspapers_rather.php

The Netherlands: Three Dutch Public Broadcasters to Merge into One
Three Dutch public broadcasters, NPS, RVU and Teleac, announced plans to merge into a single organisation, NTR, which will be officially launched on 1 September this year. The new broadcaster will employ around 300 people working on existing programmes on information, education and culture. However, it is not known if there will be any redundancies taking place among the three public broadcasters.

 http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/three-dutch-public-broadcasters-announce-merger
http://nos.nl/artikel/168867-nps-teleac-en-rvu-verder-als-ntr.html

1^st July

Google Introduces "News for You" Service
Google introduced its personalised news service called "News for You" on Google News website at the end of June. The new service will deliver "a stream of headlines automatically tailored" to readers' interests. Readers can customise the type and source of news they want to read and get it delivered to their Google homepage everyday. Readers can also share their favourite stories with friends on social networking websites.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/extra-extra-google-news-redesigned-to.html

China: State-owned Broadcaster Launches 24-hour English News to Reach Global Audience
The state-owned broadcaster, China Xinhua News Network Corporation, (CNC) launched its 24-hour English news network "CNC World" to expand its reach to the global audience. International audiences will be able to watch CNC World through satellite and cable TVs, smartphones and the Internet from 1 October this year. Last year, the state broadcaster CCTV began a 24-hour channel airing in 22 Arabic-speaking countries, reaching a total population of nearly 300 million people.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iAIlpuQm8TLEyn-6OC1QBcMAiDoQD9GM4AMG3

30 June

Two Portuguese Newspapers Face Closure
The Portuguese media group Controlinveste announced plans to close its free newspaper Global Notícias and the national daily 24 Horas as a result of "a deep structural change". It was reported recently that this year's circulation of Global Notícias had dropped by over 50%. The management of the group explained that the closure is a strategic decision to maintain the group's business.
http://www.sfnblog.com/launches_and_closures/2010/06/two_portuguese_free_dailies_close.php

28 June

Global: Yahoo! to Introduce "Ultimate" Style Guide
Competing with traditional media or universities, Yahoo! announced plans to publish its "Study Guide" for online writing. According to Yahoo!, the guide aims to provide journalists, editors, writers and online content developers with a comprehensive list of online editorial best practices, as well as basics of grammar and punctuation. Yahoo! also claimed that the guide will show online content creators how to write for an international audience.  Some resources will be posted online, but the full guide will be published, printed and put on sale as a traditional paperback.
http://styleguide.yahoo.com/

 
24 June

Germany: Global Media Forum Calls for More "Professionalism" from Journalists
Speaking in the Deutsche Welle (DW) Global Media Forum, media owners and scientists called for more "professionalism" from journalists to adapt to the change in the media industry. More than 1,500 participants from over 95 countries attended the Forum and discussed the state of the media and the challenges it faces. In particular, the management of the DW said that in "a flood of information", the media "must be in a position to evaluate different sources" and "provide trustworthy and reliable information".
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5724306,00.html

US: 64% Americans Say Printed Newspapers Will Cease to Exist by 2050
Another recent poll  for the Pew Research Center shows that the majority of  Americans are pessimistic about the future of the US newspaper industry. 64%  of the people surveyed in the poll predicted  that the print newspapers will cease to exist by 2050.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100622/ap_on_re_us/us_upbeat_america

22 June

Report Says Google May Introduce "One-click-payment" for Online Content
It was reported recently in  the Italian daily La Repubblica that Google will introduce its micropayment system enabling readers to pay for news content through its "one-click payment" system at the end of this year. According to La Repubblica, the payment system  called Newspass would allow readers to pay for full subscriptions or one-time access to articles. However, Google has not confirmed the report. There is currently a similar micropayment system for online content developed by Journalism Online LLC, which claimed recently that more than 500 publishers had already signed up to its services.
http://www.repubblica.it/tecnologia/2010/06/17/news/google_pay-4932905/
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/06/21/BUTU1E2N9T.DTL

UK: ITV News Bulletins to Incorporate Social Media
ITV, the competitor of the public broadcasting service BBC, announced plans to slowly incorporate social media into its news bulletins across its news desks. For the first time, ITV News will display questions put forwards by social media users. The management explained that the experience of watching TV whilst chatting online has become a mainstream experience. It is hoped that the new feature will encourage more viewers, in particular teenagers, to participate in the public debate.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/jun/22/itv-news-social-media-budget-cuts

21 June

Japan: Online Media Remain as "Sideshows"
While media in the West see online media as a growing threat and rapidly adapt themselves to the digital environment, online media in Japan remain a "sideshow". The New York Time (NYT) reported that many online news start-ups have been closed in the past few years as they struggle to attract advertisers and maintain quality content. The underdeveloped online media in Japan has left major news organisations in a dominant position for decades. This situation will continue as Japanese citizens and society are responding slowly to changes, according to the NYT.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/21/world/asia/21japan.html

16 June

Iceland: Parliament Passes Media Law to Create "Haven" for Investigative Journalism
The Icelandic Parliament passed a new media law that increases protection for anonymous sources, creates new protections from so-called "libel tourism" and makes it harder to censor stories before they are published. The new law is also expected to rebuild the public trust in the media after the economic turmoil in Iceland.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/iceland-rewrites-law-to-create-haven-for-investigative-reporting-2002591.html

15 June

Global: YouTube Plans to Offer "Breaking News" 
YouTube, the popular video web portal owned by Google is planning to add a news feed feature offering audiences more "news" content. According to YouTube, the new feature will provide a stream of "breaking news" videos with "a focus on strong visuals, non-traditional sources" to audiences. However, it is not clear if  and how YouTube will apply any  ethical standards when labeling user-generated content as news.
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2010/06/14/youtube-begins-testing-news-feed-feature

Croatia: Public Broadcaster Faces Drastic Cut in Funding
HRT, the public broadcasting service in Croatia could face a drastic cut of 25% in its funding from 1 August this year. It is reported that the Croatian Government is proposing to impose a heavy cut in the country's public broadcaster HRT funding due to recent financial crisis. The proposed cut is likely to affect both the quality and quantity of the programming in HRT.
http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/ebu-calls-for-re-think-of-drastic-cut-in-croatian-licence-fee

14 June

OECD Countries: OECD  Publishes Report on Information Industry

A  report published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows  trends in the information industry, in particular a decline in  revenues within the newspapers industry for the past three years among the 31 OECD countries. From 2007 to 2009, newspaper revenues in the US dropped by 30%; the second-biggest decline was 21%, in the UK.  Austria, Australia and France are the less affected countries with a drop of under 5%.
http://www.oecd.org/document/48/0,3343,en_2649_33757_45449136_1_1_1_1,00.html 

US: Google Partners with Publishers on "Editors' Picks"
The computer generated Google News have now added a human dimension with the introduction of "Editors' Picks". The new feature will offer readers a selection of news stories curated by editors from some of the major US newspapers and magazines such as The Washington Post, Newsday, Reuters and Slate. According to Google, the new service will allow publishers to promote their content through Google News and drive more traffic to their websites.
http://www.niemanlab.org/2010/06/google-news-experiments-with-human-control-promotes-a-new-serendipity-with-editors-pick/

11 June

UK: 200 Editorial  Job Cuts at Trinity Mirror

Trinity Mirror announced plans to cut 200 editorial staff across its three national titles - The Daily and Sunday Mirror and The People. The announcement was made after the management had said it had "successfully implemented" its web-based content management system, ContentWatch. The National Union of Journalists has dismissed the so-called "evolution" praised by the management and described these job cust as "Neanderthal" without talented journalists.

http://www.nuj.org.uk/innerPagenuj.html?docid=1640 

9 June

Contradictory surveys on the role of newspapers:
- in Japan, Newspapers Remain "Indispensable" in Citizen's Daily Life
A survey conducted by the Newspaper Publishers and Editors' Association in Japan shows that newspapers still play an indispensable part in the daily lives of most Japanese. The survey shows that over 90% of respondents said they read newspapers everyday and 50.2% of them believed that newspapers are an indispensable source for information. The survey was conducted in October 2009 on some 4,100 people about the popularity of different media to access news and information.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20100609b4.html

- in the Arab world, Online Media Score High Trust among Young Readers
A recent survey on news consumption of young people in the Arab world shows a high level of trust in online media. Around 83% of respondents said they trust news reported by online media, of which 30% say they "very much trusted" online media. The print media has the lowest rank as the main source of information for the Arab young people. When asked if they would pay for online news, around 81% of them said they would not.
http://www.editorsweblog.org/multimedia/2010/06/arab_free_press_forum_looks_at_how_young.php

8 June

Global: AOL Vows to Be Largest Net Hirer of Journalists in the World
America Online (AOL), one of the biggest global internet and media companies, said it aims to be "the largest net hirer of journalists in the world next year", and announced its ambitious plans to hire hundreds of journalists, editors and videographers in the coming year. Currently around 500 full-time journalists and 40,000 freelancers contribute to "original" content for AOL websites. There is speculation that AOL's move was sparked by recent acquisition of the content provider Associated Content by its competitor Yahoo!. These trends show a shift from traditional press houses as the future of journalism takes shape.
http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=144334

4 June

More Public Relations, Less Journalism in the UK
Richard Sambrook, the former head of BBC News, who recently becomes the chief content officer of the public relations company   Edelman  thinks this is the moment of great opportunities for  public relations (PR) companies  to expand  their  territory .  In a way that will certainly shock professional journalists, Sambrook explains that the fragmentation of traditional media gives PR companies an opportunity to combine traditional marketing strategies and new social media tools and he sees the future of journalism with the emergence of a scary hybrid of "journalicist" media workers, who combine editorial and public relations skills to tell a client's stories in credible "publicitage".
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/pr-stunt-or-the-new-journalism-the-titans-of-public-relations-are-going-direct-to-viewers-and-readers-1989936.html

US: Senator Proposes "License-to-report" Legislation
According to a legislative proposal filed by a Michigan State Senator, Bruce Patterson (Republican), reporters may be required to obtain a "license" to perform their jobs in future. Under the proposed legislation, people practicing journalism will need to meet certain criteria such as providing proof for working at a "generally recognised media or press association", possessing a "good moral character" and a degree in journalism. They will also need to pay $10 registration fee to obtain the "license".
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/Headlines/state-senator-proposes-law-to-license-reporters-61536-.aspx

France: Le Monde to Change Owners, Concerns over Editorial Independence
Recent turmoil at Le Monde newspaper regarding its future ownership has led to many concerns over its editorial independence. One of the "quality" newspapers in France may be on the verge of sacrificing its traditional values of independence if it puts an end to its cooperative structure where employees have a 52% stake in the company and a veto on the appointments of the paper's chief executive and editor. The most concrete offer was made by a "trio" of businessmen, Mathieu Pigasse (Lazard Bank), Xavier Niel (Internet businessman) and Pierre Bergé (creator of the Yves Saint-Laurent company), whose main argument is to avoid the paper being integrated in a multinational media group. Other interested companies are Ringier (Switzerland), Prisa (Spain) and l'Espresso (Italy).
http://www.arretsurimages.net/vite.php?id=8237
http://www.lefigaro.fr/medias/2010/06/03/04002-20100603ARTFIG00766-le-monde-engage-un-tournant-historique.php

3 June

Associated Press: Staff on Strike Against Downsizing in France...
For the second time in a couple of weeks, the staff of AP France went on a 24 hours strike. The French AP wire was totally silent on 3 June to protest against the termination of all temporary contracts at AP France. "The newsroom entered into resistance", declared a representative of the trade unions.

... and New  Social Media Guidelines in the US
The AP releases its new social media guidelines including another 41 definitions, use cases and rules that journalists should follow. Some of the changes include grammar, new phrases and acronyms that are commonly used in social media. New guidelines also include rules for how social media should and should not be used by journalists such as double-checking their sources from blogs, tweets and other forms of social media.
Access to the full guidelines: http://www.apstylebook.com/

2 June

US: YouTube Dominates Online Video Market
A recent market research shows that YouTube, the popular video-sharing website, dominates the online video market with over 13 billion videos displaying on its website in April alone. Hulu and other mainstream media outlets (including ABC, Fox, CBS) became a distant second streaming 958 million videos online during the same period.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/01/youtube-dominates-online-video-views/ 

28 May

Australia Launches Crowdfunding Investigative Journalism Project
Journalism foundations around the world start experimenting on the non-profit news model. The Public Interest Journalism Foundation in Australia recently launched its crowdfunding investigative journalism project "YouCommNews" based on the success of the US crowdfunding initiative Spot.us (see MCJ12 November). Reporters from YouCommNews are mostly freelancers who registered with the website and agreed to abide by the ethical code of the Foundation and the Australian Press Council. Members of the public who support the Foundation can "commission" journalists to report a subject of their interest. The resulting news stories will then be published in mainstream, independent and online media either freely or through the sale of publication rights. The sponsor will be refunded once the story is sold.
http://youcommnews.com/

US: Is Yahoo! Dumping Down Journalism with "Garbage Content"?
Search engines are not only accused of ignoring intellectual property rights, they are also criticised for dumping down on the content. Yahoo! recently acquired a citizen journalism website, Associated Content (AC), to increase its original news content on Yahoo! News. However this move has been widely criticized over its intention to downgrade quality journalism and to further blur the distinction between professional journalism and amateur content.
http://socialmediaseo.net/2010/05/18/yahoo-acquires-associated-content-for-estimated-100-million/
http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=143565

26 May

Global: Publish2 to Offer  New  Content Distribution Services
Publish2, an online news aggregator and content distribution services provider announced an ambitious plan to offer "free" news content distribution services. According to the company, it will provide wire services like traditional news agencies but at a much lower cost or even free by operating as a platform open to both news organizations and journalists to do business "face-to-face" instead of going through news agencies.  Content producers can set their terms and conditions for the use of their content. The company also plans to operate a licensing fee model for publishers who want to publish the content.
http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/24/publish2-disrupt/#ixzz0p2cnK8Zl
http://www.publish2.com/

25 May

US: Study Shows Shorter Life Span of "Social Media News"
A recent study shows that news reported on the social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook) have a shorter life span than news reported in traditional media. The study says social media users generally spend shorter time following news items with a 52% drop off rate within 24 hours. The study also shows that most news reported on the social media originally came from traditional media outlets.
Access to the study: http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/new_media_old_media

20 May

UK: Online News Readership Tripled in Three Years
A recent research shows that readers in the UK are spending more time reading news online. In the last three years, the amount of time UK citizens spend reading news online has tripled to around 22 million hours a month. However, the increase in readership does not reflect a significant rise in revenue for most media organizations as more online news content are made freely available.
ttp://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=45460&c=1

19 May

Australia: Journalism no Longer a "Skilled Occupation"?

According to the recent changes in the immigration policy in Australia, journalists are removed from the new Skilled Occupation List (SOL). Foreign journalists who wish to work in Australia will have to find local employers to sponsor them under the new scheme. The Australian journalists union, the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) said "the policy reflects the increasingly competitive news industry [...] as the number of journalists and journalism graduates are increasing".
http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/538742.php

11 May

UK: PA Launches Video Archives
The Press Association (PA) today launches its video archives offering videos and news footages. It allows users and media companies to access over 40,000 videos dating back to 2000. Broadcasters can pre-edit and package the archival video clips and publish them instantly.
http://www.pressassociation.com/video/video-archive.html

10 May

Global: Reuters to Roll Out Web-based Video Service
Thomson Reuters announced plans to roll out a web-based video service called "Reuters Insider" offering multimedia content to its subscribers. According to Reuters, the new service will offer users and companies "exclusive multimedia programmes" including live coverage of breaking news and news analysis from its experts. Reuters will supply around 15% of its original content to the service and its 150 partners will also submit content to Reuters Insider. Users can view the video content through their computers or smartphones from Tuesday.
http://etv.thomsonreuters.com/

7 May

Luxembourg: First Quarter Earnings Doubled at RTL
The biggest commercial broadcaster in Europe, RTL  (part of the Bertelsmann group) announced today that its first quarter earnings of 2010 have doubled. RTL reported earnings of 197 million euros before tax which is more than 10% increases compared to the same period in 2009. RTL said that broadcasters in Germany, France and Britain are experiencing  a "robust growth" in the media industry as the advertising market is improving.
http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/rtl-more-than-doubles-first-quarter-operating-earnings

6 May

US: Newsweek Up for Sale Despite "Heroic Efforts" Made to Save the Magazine
The Washington Post Company, owner of the current affairs magazine Newsweek, announced plans to put the magazine up for sale after continuous losses. According to the management of the magazine, it has been struggling to sustain the business despite "heroic efforts" made to save the magazine. Last year, the magazine recorded an operating loss of $29.3m. It also made 44 employees redundant. The parent company is currently seeking a buyer for the magazine.  Some sources say that Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, who already has shares in the New York Times, is interested in buying the title.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/237401
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/slim_has_his_pickings_tzgKXf0vAzLhCckjakF6QI

5 May

US: CNN and CBS in Talk on Collaborative Reporting
The US broadcasters, the CNN and the CBS are in talk to share their resources for news gathering and reporting. According the New York Time, both organizations are looking for ways to save costs and the collaborative project could enable them to save considerable costs for news gathering. Faced with budget cuts, more and more news organisations are looking for collaborative projects to save the high cost of news gathering and to avoid additional cuts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/05/business/media/05network.html?ref=media

4 May

US: Washington Post to Offer Readers Live Video Chats with Reporters
The Washington Post announced its plan to offer readers live video chats with reporters across its newsrooms. According to the management of the Post, the initiative will bring its staff closer to readers and add more personality to the news they produced. The Post said this will give reporters an opportunity to "conduct journalism in real time". However, there are concerns that the time spent chatting with the public affect adversely reporters' time for investigations.
http://www.editorsweblog.org/web_20/2010/05/washington_post_offers_readers_a_new_way.php#more

2 May

Global: AP Expects 600 Publishers To Join the Content-Tracking Programme
The Associated Press (AP) is launching its News Registry on 14 July, a content-tracking programme that can track unauthorized used of AP's news content. Since the announcement last April, more than 200 publishers have already signed up to the programme. AP expects 600 publishers to join the Registry before its launch in July. According to the management of AP, the Registry will enable to track the use of their content on the internet and offer potential means to generate revenues for unauthorised use of its content.
http://www.businessinsider.com/ap-developing-a-premium-football-2010-4
http://www.ap.org/iprights/faqiprights.html 

US: Cheap Citizen News Threaten Professional Journalists
The commercial media "Advertising Age" published a recent overview of the cheap media content produced by amateurs which is threatening professional journalists and quality journalism. Content producers like Associated Content and Demand Media pay freelancers as little as $5 for an article. Major news organisations like USA Today, Thompson Reuters and Hachette Filipacchi are regular buyers of these cheap media content.
http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=143565

29 April

France: Social Media Club Told Journalists to Create More Interactive Multimedia
The Social Media Club, a group of French journalists specialised in new media, argued that journalists should produce more interactive multimedia in order to attract audiences. They said journalists should look to movies and television for ideas to present their news in a more attractive and interactive way. 
http://socialmediaclub.fr/2010/04/le-storytelling-digital-formes-emergentes-nouveaux-metiers-business-models/

28 April

Australia: Nine Network to Become the First Broadcaster Offering 3D Live Programmes
The Australian broadcaster Nine Network will roll out its 3-dimensional (3D) programmes in June offering 3D rugby matches to audiences. It will become the first broadcaster in the world to offer 3D live programmes. According to the management, the company wants to take a lead in the 3D market as TV manufacturers started selling 3D capable TV sets.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63R0MR20100428

Italy: Corriere della Sera Joins European Network to Expand English Reporting
The Italian daily newspaper, Corriere della Sera, announced plans to join the European media including Spiegel, NRC Handelsblad and Politiken to increase its English reporting across Europe. Partners of the project will collaborate to produce English-language online coverage of European affairs. The collaborative project started in 2008 with the aim of increasing English-language reporting and media diversity across Europe.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,691478,00.html

27 April

UK: Times to Introduce Paid Online News Forum
The Times has announced plans to launch an exclusive online news forum as part of its paid package to be introduced in June. A new website with interactive features will be rolled out to provide "multimedia information and entertainment" to readers who will be able to interact with the Times' journalists and columnists. Starting in June, the Times will charge readers £1 for a day pass and £2 for a weekly subscription. Similar features have been introduced recently by the Economist.com (MCJ 19April 10) and the US online paid forum "Civil Beat" (see MCJ 22 April 10).
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=45358&c=1

23 April

US: Online Newspapers Record High Traffic, Study Says
Online newspapers have proven more and more popular. The Newspaper Association of America (NAA) revealed that US online newspapers attracted an average of 74.4 million unique visitors a month in the first quarter of 2010. The figures also show that local newspapers websites attract the most traffic. 57% respondents said that local newspaper website is one of the top online sources for local information.
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004085805

22 April

US: - Paid Online News Forum Offers to"Save Journalism"
Successful businessman and founder of eBay, Pierre Omidyar, is to lend his entrepreneurship to "save the media industry" by launching a paid online news forum in May. Readers have to pay $19.99-a-month for the membership of the news forum. They will be able to interact with reporters who host online discussions on heated topics that affect their communities. The entrepreneur hopes the new business model will reinvent journalism and make readers pay for content.
http://www.civilbeat.com/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100421/ap_on_hi_te/us_ebay_founder_news

- News Groups Form Collaborative Reporting on Climate Change
A group of news organisations including Wired, the Atlantic, the Centre for Investigative Reporting, Slate, Mother Jones, Reuters and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is to form a collaborative project called Climate Desk on climate reporting.  The project claims to fill the gap of climate reporting when most news organisations face deep budget cuts and lack resources to cover these issues.  The project is manly funded by the Surdna Foundation for journalism and the Park Foundation for environmental policy in the US.
http://theclimatedesk.org/about

UK: Reuters.uk Considers Charging Content After Revamp
Reuter is considering charging ‘niche' and ‘high-value' content after its UK website undergoes a revamp. The move came after Reuter received positive responses from advertisers for the revamp of its website in the US. However, Reuters is yet to decide if the paid model will be a sustainable business strategy.
http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/news/997956/Reuters-overhaul-website-hints-charging-content/

20 April

US: Pioneer Online Magazine Faces Closer Two Years after Launch
The online magazine Flyp announced that it is closing its operation and laying off a dozen of its staff as the company struggles to sustain the business. Flyp was first launched in 2008 offering readers multimedia content incorporating texts, images, videos and animations. It has partnered with the business magazine Fortune.com to produce interactive content. Recently, it was nominated among the top five online magazines for a Webby award (the international award honoring excellence on the Internet) along with the Economist, National Geographic, the New Yorkers and Wired.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gTRDlrRYGgglqOzbROFDhmBpRclwD9F692IO1
http://www.flypmedia.com/

UK: Survey Says Media Consumption Increases But Spending Decreases
A recent survey shows that people in the UK are spending more time on media products (i.e. TV, music, video games, newspapers and magazines) but are spending less money buying these products. In particular, spending on traditional media such as newspapers and magazines decreased by almost 20%, and spending on digital media has almost halved in the last six months. Around 19% to 21% respondents in the survey said they paid nothing for the magazines and newspapers. However, the survey shows that younger consumers (aged 16 to 24) are more likely to pay for online digital content than their older counterparts. Almost half of them said they would pay for online television programmes, films and music but only 30% would pay for online newspapers and magazines.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/apr/19/media-consumption-survey

19 April

The Netherlands: RNW to launch ‘Visual' Radio Programmes in the Middle East
The Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) announced the launch of its first ‘visual' radio services providing live graphics, web content and interactive SMS and Twitter feeds to radio audiences. In collaboration with the international broadcast services company, the World Radio Network, the service will first be broadcasted to the RNW's audience in the Middle East.  According to the management of the RNW, the new services can help traditional radio broadcasters to reach a wider audience through 24-hour TV channel and to create potential new revenue streams.
http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/rnw-partners-with-wrn-to-launch-radio-with-pictures

UK: Economist.com Launches ‘Conversation Cloud to Encourage Intellectual Discussions'
The Economist launched a new tool called ‘Conversation Cloud' to aggregate comments on the site's articles to let users discover the most debated topics more easily. The idea of Conversation Cloud is based on the research findings that people mostly read the comments before an article to decide whether it is interesting. The Conversation Cloud will allow users to search the most read and debated topics on Economist.com. The Economist.com is also considering integrating its activities on social media sites to attract younger readers.
http://www.nma.co.uk/news/economist-adds-tools-to-highlight-most-debated-content/3012228.article

15 April

France: France 24 Signed Deal to Expand Coverage in North America 
France 24, the French international news broadcaster signed a three-year deal with the global broadcast services company, GlobeCast, to expand coverage of its English-language channels in the United States and Canada. The deal will allow France 24 to reach 90% of the American cable market, as well as to consolidate its development in Canada. 
http://www.france24.com/en/20100415-13-april-2010-france-24-expands-coverage-north-america-with-globecast

US: Increasing News Sites Run by Think Tanks Raises Concerns over Ethical Journalism
As traditional media organisations struggle to survive, the number of news organisations run by think tanks is growing. These news organisations are sponsored by resourceful think tanks that often offer better pay to their ‘journalists' than traditional media organizations. However, their news coverage mostly focuses on government and politics with a specific agenda. This phenomenon, which shows that partial reporting is becoming increasingly popular, has led to growing concerns among journalists, civil society groups and the public as most of these news organisations lack transparency and their biased coverage often presents a conflict of interest. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100413/ap_on_re_us/us_think_tank_journalism

14 April

Global: Twitter Offers Guidelines to News Organisations
The popular social networking site, Twitter, launched a new guideline for news organisations on how to better use the site to ‘transform media, entertainment and journalism'. The site offers tips and case studies to both journalists and news organisations on how to better connect twitter fans.
http://media.twitter.com/

13 April