US industry news website Editor & Publisher has removed the paywall from its website. Says its publisher:
Paywalls in name alone connote a psychological negative, which is one reason we have never been big believers. [Former owner] Nielsen had been using one for a number of years, but nothing during the past year has changed our opinion about them. We have removed it to build more traffic and make more of our original content available to our visitors.
A useful post from journalist Ed Walker about how to appeal against and overturn a section 39 order – issued by courts to protect children involved in cases from being identified – from Ed’s first-hand experience of fighting a ruling banning the reporting of the name of a child in a murder case
From magCulture, a bold ploy by a Polish newspaper to prompt its readers to resubscribe.
The Guardian has published a series of editorials from the editors of the newspapers who have worked alongside the Guardian in publishing parts of WikiLeaks’ latest release, the cables sent by US embassies across the globe.
George Mascolo, editor-in-chief, Der Spiegel
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/10/wikileaks-cables-spy-hunt-germany
Bill Keller, executive editor, the New York Times: “The reader response has been huge. Millions of page views.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/10/wikileaks-cables-new-york-times
Sylvia Kauffman, executive editor, Le Monde: “The arguments against us didn’t last long – people soon accepted this wasn’t totalitarian absolute transparency but that we had been selective in what we published.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/10/wikileaks-cables-french-reaction-diplomacy
Javier Moreno, editor-in-chief, El Pais: “All in all, it’s been the biggest story I’ve had in my five years as editor of El País, without any doubt. And measured by its international impact, it’s probably the biggest story this newspaper has ever been involved with.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/09/wikileaks-cables-huge-impact-spain
What is the typographers’ trap and why do other print journalists need to know about it? A thoughtful post on skills, careers and a changing industry from BetaTales:
It describes how a group by wrongly trying to save the jobs of its members at the same time destroys its own profession.
Typographers used to hold an important position in editorial newspaper production. In the old days this was the group typesetting the newspaper pages.
Then the production process was digitalised. Suddenly anybody with basic design and computer skills could do the tasks the typographers used to have a monopoly of doing.
In fact the need for typographers in newspaper production was more or less wiped out in a very short time frame. As a result the profession disappeared in most countries.
A look at the Future of Journalism study released by Australian industry group the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, which suggests that despite 700 job losses in the metropolitan news industry in the country since 2008, morale is still relatively high amongst working journalists.
Great video explaining how the Guardian has organised the database of US embassy cables released by WikiLeaks, including how sensitive information is handled and sources protected.
An update from Press Gazette on the libel fight of freelance journalist Hardeep Singh, which reports that the freelancer is being represented by high-profile law firm Carter-Ruck – better known for its work elsewhere…
Singh was sued by His Holiness Sant Baba Jeet Singh ji Maharaj, the head of a fringe Sikh religious institution, for an article published in the Sikh Times in 2007. The piece written by Singh called Jeet Singh “an accused cult leader” and alleged that his teachings were not in line with mainstream Sikh doctrine.
The case was thrown out by Justice Eady in May 2010, who ruled for a permanent stay with no right to appeal. In May Singh said the case had already cost him “in excess of £90,000”.
A curious strategy from German publishing group Axel Springer – the publisher is reportedly blocking access to the website of its tabloid Bild from iPad browsers so that users can only access the title by downloading a paid-for app.
Emily Bell on how WikiLeaks and cablegate is forcing journalists and news organisations to assess their stance on the leaks and where coverage of it fits into their news agendas:
The idea that this is the first real battleground between the political establishment and the open web is very arresting. It also forces journalists and news organisations to demonstrate to what extent they are now part of an establishment it is their duty to report. Some like the Guardian, which has a long tradition of free speech attached to it, has been at the heart of disseminating WikiLeaks cablegate information.
…It is an excellent exercise for students (and editors) to think through what they would do. Many diplomatic and overseas correspondents one suspects already had a defacto access to the essence of the cables through their relationship with diplomats. Otherwise how are we so unsurprised by their content.
WikiLeaks has ignited a debate about the rights and responsibilities attached to freeing information.It has illustrated that Governments, however well intentioned, do not have the best judgement in terms of what it is right for citizens to know. It has shown that the established media no longer necessarily gets to make that call either, and forces us all to think about the consequences of that shift.