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Press Review Blog: Complaints, the PCC and accountability online

July 6th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Laura Oliver in Editors' pick, Newspapers

Matthew Cain uses a recent complaint made to the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) against the Sheffield Star – and how it was dealt with by the paper – as an in interesting case study on the pros of self-regulation and the difficulties of dealing with apologies online.

“The online reaction to the story is interesting, with a number of people recognising a problem with the article both on the newspaper’s own comment section and on sheffieldforum.co.uk. With the data that the newspaper captures in the comments section, it wouldn’t be too difficult for the paper to contact all of the people who commented and to draw attention to the correction,” writes Cain.

“This case shows some of the strengths of self-regulation: a successfully resolved complaint, a complaint submitted by a third party, a prominent correction offline and a free service for the complainants. However, it also shows the unresolved difficulties of correcting articles sufficiently quickly, making corrections to stories online, and the problems associated with making sure the right people are held to account.”

Full post at this link…

Tags: Matthew Cain, online reaction, PCC, Press Complaints Commission, regulation, the Press Complaints Commission, the Sheffield Star

4iP Blog: 4iP invests in Newspaper Club

July 6th, 2009 | 1 Comment | Posted by Laura Oliver in Editors' pick, Handy tools and technology, Newspapers

4ip, the investment fund for public service media backed by Channel 4, has announced new funding for Newspaper Club – a service which allows users to create their own printed edition from any rights-cleared content online.

How will it make money? By asking for a small portion of the printing price and selling bigger packages to corporate clients – the BBC is already using the system for an internal newsletter.

Full post at this link…

Tags: 4ip, BBC, Newspaper Club, printing price, public service media

Advertising round-up: Ad recession to hit new low; ASA predicts and behavioural ads

July 6th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Laura Oliver in Advertising, Editors' pick

The global advertising recession will a new low point in the second half of 2009, dropping by 8.5 per cent this year, according to a new report from ZenithOptimedia, reports MediaGuardian.co.uk.

Western Europe and North America will be most affected, suggests the forecast, which can be downloaded in full at this link.

Elsewhere in the industry, Guy Parker, chief of the UK’s Advertising Standards Agency, has predicted a greater number of complaints relating to fewer campaigns in 2009.

In 2008 ASA received 26,433 complaints about 15,556 ads, but 2009 could see more than 30,000, says Parker.

Across the pond Broadcasting & Cable reports that four major US ad associations have joined forces to issue a set of guidelines on behavioral advertising – most significantly a ruling requiring internet service providers and desktop app software, such as web browser tool bars, to ask a user to opt-in before engaging in behavioral ads.

Tags: advertising recession, ASA, behavioral advertising, Chief, desktop app software, Guy Parker, Internet Service Providers, major US ad associations, MediaGuardian.co.uk, North America, UK's Advertising Standards Agency, United States, web browser tool bars, Western Europe, ZenithOptimedia

Why Nick Denton wouldn’t set up shop in UK

July 3rd, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Judith Townend in Editors' pick, Newspapers, Online Journalism

From Politico: a report on a panel at the Institute’s Ideas Festival in Colarado, asking ‘What’s the News Worth to You?’

For us Brits, this is the interesting part:

“During the panel’s Q&A, Gawker Media’s Nick Denton sarcastically thanked the American newspaper industry for being so unaggressive, making it possible for ‘thugs’ like him to succeed.

“Conversely, Denton said he’d never set up shop in England. ‘Every single day, those editors get up and try to kill each other,’ said Denton. Not so in the U.S.”

(Hat-tip: Martin Stabe)

Tags: Brits, Gawker, gawker media, Martin Stabe, Nick Denton, politico, United Kingdom, United States

Malcolm Coles: re-thinking newspapers and RSS feeds

July 3rd, 2009 | No Comments | Posted by Judith Townend in Editors' pick, Online Journalism

“OK, newspapers shouldn’t turn off RSS feeds… I was wrong,” writes Malcolm Coles. After a little reflection on comments received about his post ‘ Newspapers: Turn off your RSS feeds‘ [also pasted on the Online Journalism Blog and his own blog] he concludes that link-bait headlines are dangerous… His fuller explanation is at this link…

Tags: malcolm coles, Online Journalism blog, RSS

Let your mind wander: the Economist’s new campaign

July 3rd, 2009 | 1 Comment | Posted by Judith Townend in Advertising, Editors' pick, Magazines

In case you haven’t yet seen it, here’s some more free publicity for the Economist – the publication’s new advert asking us to let our minds wander (or legs, perhaps, to the newsagent.)

In June FoliMag reported that the Economist’s profits were up 26 per cent for the last fiscal year.

“The London-based company, which publishes its namesake magazine, reported approximately $92 million in operating profit, up 26 percent over the previous 12-month period. Revenue was up 17 percent to roughly $514.2 million.”

“The Economist’s worldwide circulation grew 6.4 percent during the period to 1,390,780, the company said. Ad revenue at Economist.com was up 29 percent while page views were up 53 percent.”

The Guardian, however, reported that overall advertising was down:

“Chris Stibbs, the Economist Group’s finance director, said that advertising across the company first turned negative in the final quarter of its financial year, between January and March 2009, and has continued to show a year-on-year decline since then.”

It attributed the profit-rise to recent job cuts:

“[T]he group has remained profitable thanks to a cost-cutting programme that has seen around 130 jobs cut – roughly one in 10 of the company’s global workforce – and leaving it with a staff of 1,100.”

NB: The Economist calls itself a newspaper, not a magazine: see the website for a lengthy description of its history.

Tags: Chris Stibbs, director finance, Economist, finance, London, overall advertising, the Economist, the Economist Group, The Guardian, USD

Oh the irony… were the Australian’s subs trying to tell us something?

July 3rd, 2009 | 3 Comments | Posted by Judith Townend in Editors' pick, Newspapers

Australian newspapers aren’t finding it as tough as many of their US and UK counterparts, John Hartigan, the chairman and chief executive of News Ltd, claimed in a speech on Wednesday. Roy Greenslade picked up on the Murdoch-owned Australian newspaper’s report that the nation’s print publications are ‘holding up well’.

But we feel he missed the best bit. As Crikey.com.au flagged up in its daily newsletter, there was something a little odd about a print headline in the paper on July 2 (helpfully highlighted here by Mumbrella.com.au – hat-tip @BlackAdder). This, courtesy of Crikey:

aus

Also see Crikey’s comments on the speech / report here (registration required):

And links and commentary from Mumbrella here.

Oh, and you can ‘Marc the deth of newpapers with this stilish Crikey tee shiort. Avilable now fom the Crickley shop.’

Tags: chairman and chief executive, Crikey, Crikey.com., john hartigan, Mumbrella.com., newpapers, News Ltd, Newspapers, Roy Greenslade, the australian, typos, United Kingdom, United States

Made-up news bylines: does it matter?

July 3rd, 2009 | 1 Comment | Posted by Judith Townend in Editors' pick, Newspapers, Online Journalism, Press freedom and ethics

Martin Moore, director of the Media Standards Trust, picked up a Private Eye story mentioning that seven regular sports journalists for the Telegraph are fakes.

Using the opportunity to plug the MST’s recently updated Journalisted.com as a research tool, he reckons ‘it would appear to be true.’ Read Moore’s post in full for his thoughts and concerns:

“Even if one accepts that, in an age of print, this was a common and recognised inside practice, does that make it justified? And, in the age of blogging, linking, transparency, and of the importance of cementing the brand of your journalists? Isn’t it time it stopped?”

But does it matter and what’s new about that, a couple of the commenters ask, below the piece.

What are the pros and cons of bylines? Is a byline a helpful mechanism in the checks and balances process anyway? Does a legit byline help decrease the level of agency-lifted copy? Some of the UK’s best journalism is un-bylined after all (the Eye, the Economist etc.).

Tags: bylines, director, Economist, Martin Moore, Media Standards Trust, Private Eye, regular sports journalists, telegraph, the Telegraph, United Kingdom

The Washington Post and the cancelled lobbyist event

July 3rd, 2009 | 1 Comment | Posted by Judith Townend in Editors' pick, Online Journalism, Press freedom and ethics

The original Politico story:

“Washington Post publisher Katharine Weymouth said today she was canceling plans for an exclusive ‘salon’ at her home where for as much as $250,000, the Post offered lobbyists and association executives off-the-record access to ‘those powerful few’ – Obama administration officials, members of Congress, and even the paper’s own reporters and editors.”

Full story at this link…

And also read about it here:

The Atlantic: ‘Should journalists be entertainers?’

Washington Post: ‘Post Co. Cancels Corporate Dinners: Journalistic Boundaries Brought Into Question’

WashingtonMonthly.com: ‘Wash. Post selling access?’

A video from Politico showing the Whitehouse press secretary Robert Gibbs answering a question about the ‘salon’:

Tags: Congress, Katharine Weymouth, lobbyist, lobbyists, Obama administration, politico, Robert Gibbs, The Washington Post, USD, Washington, Washington Post, Whitehouse press secretary