Author Archives: Paul McNally

Delayed Kindle edition for Herald set to launch soon

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The Herald in Glasgow is expecting to launch an edition for the Amazon Kindle within the next few weeks, following a disagreement with Amazon about delays in the approval process.

The publisher says on its site:

We will be launching a Kindle edition of The Herald soon and are currently going through the approval process with Amazon.

You may have seen our previous notice on this page where we said that Amazon had told us they were putting on hold the launch of any further newspaper publications on the Kindle. We’re delighted to say though that they have now agreed to get The Herald edition up and running as soon as they can.

The Herald previously said that Amazon had stopped approving newspapers for the Kindle – but this claim was denied in a statement to PaidContent:

We are not always able to immediately launch every publisher who contacts us using our more heavyweight integration method. For publishers that want to add their newspaper onto Kindle in self-service fashion, they can also do so via the Amazon Appstore for Android.

Salford move for BBC Breakfast confirmed for 10 April

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BBC Breakfast news will be broadcast from MediaCity in Salford for the first time on Tuesday, 10 April, after the long Easter weekend, the corporation confirmed today.

The transfer north for the flagship morning programme on BBC One completes the broadcaster’s current move of some news output to Salford. BBC Radio FiveLive has already moved, as have the children’s department and some parts of BBC future media and technology.

BBC director of news Helen Boaden said in a release:

Breakfast completes our current moves of news output to Salford. The move means we now have 400 journalists based in Salford reporting locally, regionally and nationally, helping us find new emerging stars and better reflect our audiences right across the country.

From local radio to national current affairs this will be a lively creative hub for journalism bringing extra depth and richness to our reporting.

No change to newspapers’ VAT tax break in budget

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Newspapers are to remain zero-rated for value added tax – despite moves by the government in the budget to remove other similar tax breaks.

Chancellor George Osborne told parliament yesterday that a number of loopholes in the way VAT is applied would be closed, but that the government remains committed to a zero per cent rate for the press.

He said in the budget speech: “We’re publishing our plans today to remove loopholes and anomalies, but we keep the broad exemptions on food, children’s clothes, printed books and newspapers.”

The majority of EU countries levy VAT on newspapers. Complications arise in the UK when newspapers sell digital editions (which are charged VAT at 20%) and bundle their print and digital subscriptions together.

Independent: UTV could sell television business to focus on radio

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UTV Media, which owns the Channel 3 television licence in Northern Ireland as well as national radio station TalkSport, could be interested in selling its television arm to focus on radio and online.

The Independent quotes UTV director Scott Taunton as saying: “If that was something they [a buyer, presumably ITV] were interested in, we’d have a conversation. Less than a quarter of profits come from TV now. We’re essentially a radio business.”

UTV’s end-of-year results, published yesterday, revealed the group makes 70 per cent of its profits from radio.

Digital news editor @fieldproducer leaving Sky News

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Sky News’s digital news editor Neal Mann, known to 43,000 people on Twitter as @fieldproducer, has announced he has decided to leave the broadcaster.

Mann announced on Twitter on Friday night:

Another Sky colleague, former social media correspondent Ruth Barnett, is also leaving to become head of communications for Android app producer SwiftKey. She wrote on Friday:

Sky News introduced new guidelines for journalists about the use of Twitter last month, including the line: “Do not retweet information posted by other journalists or people on Twitter. Such information could be wrong and has not been through the Sky News editorial process.”

Reuters’ Anthony de Rosa commented at the time:

These new rules will hamstring Neal and make it difficult, if not impossible, for him to continue to do what he did to garner so much appreciation from people like me. I suspect Sky will come to their senses and realize the error of their ways. If not, they’re going to lose one of their best ambassadors in Neal, and I would suspect many people working at Sky may wonder if they’re working for an organization that is writing policies that will drive them into obsolescence.

Leveson inquiry has cost £2m so far

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The Leveson inquiry into press standards has cost £2 million to run so far, figures made public on the inquiry website reveal.

By 31 January, the inquiry, which was set up last July, had spent £1,992,600 and had sat for 35 days. About a third of the spending (£682,100) goes on the secretariat, and another quarter (£536,100) on counsel to the inquiry.

£82,000 has been spent on deputy judges to cover the Court of Appeal while Lord Justice Leveson chairs the inquiry. IT and broadcasting costs add up to £214,700 so far.

The full details can be found on the Leveson inquiry website.

Evening Standard: Suicide fears at News International

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The ongoing investigations and recent arrests at News International have prompted two senior journalists there to consider suicide, the Evening Standard reported last night.

The paper says the reporters “were checked into hospital at the expense of News International on the orders of Rupert Murdoch”.

It says:

Sources said other journalists inside the Wapping HQ look “terribly stressed and many are on the edge”. It is understood the company’s offer of psychiatric help is available to any journalist who feels under pressure.

The tragic developments happened after News Corp’s Management and Standards Commitee, a branch of the empire that reports directly to independent board directors in New York, passed evidence to Scotland Yard.

The MSC is co-operating with the Metropolitan police investigations into allegations of phone hacking, computer hacking and payments to police and other public officials. Eleven people from the Sun have been arrested in recent weeks as part of Operation Elveden and released on police bail without charge.

Media release: NME magazine to launch in India

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Consumer magazine publisher IPC Media has signed a partnership deal with an Indian publisher to launch a local version of NME online and in print.

www.nme.in will contain content tailored to the Indian music scene and a dedicated Indian edition of the magazine will follow.

NME publishing director Emily Hutchins said in a release:

“NME has a strong presence in India, but with such a vibrant music scene and such passionate music lovers it would be madness not to provide the country with their own edition of the magazine and 24/7 music news online. NME in India will be tailored to India’s favourite home-grown artists as well as featuring the very best from the UK and beyond. It’s a very exciting time for the NME brand.”

New £2,000 prize on offer for talented arts journalists

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The Observer and the Anthony Burgess Foundation are offering a £2,000 prize for promising new arts journalists, in memory of the prolific novelist and composer who was writing arts reviews for the New York Times, Independent, Times Literary Supplement and Observer right up until his death in 1993.

The prize will be for the best writing on brand new work in the arts which has not previously been published, whether in print or on the internet.

The winning essay might take the form of an interview or profile of a writer, artist or musician; a piece on a new artistic movement or venture; or a review of a book, film, a concert, a ballet or a stage play.

The Observer says:

“When choosing the winner, the judges will be looking for imaginative, original, and thought-provoking arts journalism that would be suitable for publication in the Observer.

“They will be looking for emerging talent, innovative approaches and writing from outside the mainstream, and they are especially keen to read entries from those who have not previously had work published by major media organisations.”

As well as earning a £2,000 prize, the winning entry will be published in the Observer and on the International Anthony Burgess Foundation website.

There is a 1,500 word limit, a £10 entry fee and the closing date is 15 September.

More details can be found on the foundation’s website – and there is more info about Burgess’s work here.

Video: New Guardian TV ad retells story of ‘The Three Little Pigs’

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The Guardian last night unveiled a new television advertising campaign, retelling the classic fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs” to illustrate the paper’s new “open” model of journalism.

“Open Journalism creates many new opportunities to engage with our audience – to celebrate and communicate this we have invested in a major new brand campaign which will run on TV and through Outdoor, digital media and various press channels,” the paper says.

Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger adds:

“Our approach recognises the importance of putting a newspaper at the heart of the open eco-structure of information so that you can then harness different voices and link to an array of other sources… we can harness, aggregate, curate and report, which is a distributive model of journalism that has a richness and diversity of content.”

What do you reckon? Here’s the full video: