Author Archives: Rachel Bartlett

About Rachel Bartlett

Rachel Bartlett is editor of Journalism.co.uk

Rumour mill cranks up over upcoming New York Times ‘paywall’

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Rumoured details of the yet-to-be-launched New York Times ‘paywall’ are starting to emerge, with the Wall Street Journal reporting today on possible subscription plans, such as $20 a month for a digital bundle package or less than half of that for a web-only deal.

Under the new system, expected to be rolled out next month, the Times will sell an Internet-only subscription for unlimited access to the Times site, as well as a broader digital package that bundles the Times online with its application on the iPad, according to a person familiar with the matter. Subscribers to the print edition of the paper will get full online privileges at no additional cost, Times executives have said.

Speaking at the World Editors Forum last year, New York Times Company president and CEO Janet Robinson said the site will remain part of the “open web ecosystem” and will have millions of users referred to it by third-party sites by employing a “first click free” strategy, where readers can view one page on the site for free before being prompted to register or subscribe.

Director of public prosecutions issues new statement on phone hacking

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The director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC issued a statement last night via the Crown Prosecution Service blog to say that evidence relating to recent allegations of phone hacking, as well as new “substantive” allegations, should be subject to “the same rigorous assessment as Alison Levitt QC is applying to material already in the possession of the Metropolitan Police Service”.

I have asked Alison Levitt QC (who has had no previous involvement in the case) to take a robust approach with a view to advising whether the Metropolitan Police Service should carry out any further investigation or deciding whether any prosecutions can be brought.

This builds upon the previous request by the MPS to the CPS to assess all the material relevant to phone hacking.

Earlier this month the CPS announced that it will conduct a “comprehensive assessment” of evidence held by the Metropolitan Police.

Last night’s statement followed allegations that phone-hacking scandal was “endemic” throughout Fleet Street by lawyer Mark Stephens, and reports that lawyer Mark Lewis has been instructed by four clients with complaints against other national newspapers.

BBC Internet Blog: Domains earmarked for closure by the end of the year

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The BBC Trust published a report yesterday which revealed that up to 360 posts within BBC Online are to be cut by 2013, as part of a 25 per cent budget reduction within the division.

The Trust’s report included reference to detailed plans to halve the number of ‘top level domains’ (TLDs), e.g. bbc.co.uk/xxx.

Following the announcement managing editor of BBC Online, Ian Hunter, has published a post on the BBC Internet blog outlining progress in the restructure so far, such as decisions on how best to manage legacy content from sites which have become out of date.

You can read more here, where Hunter also provides a useful link to a list of TLDs which are earmarked for closure before the end of the year.

NUJ condemns Jeremy Hunt’s delay in BSkyB bid decision

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National Union of Journalists general secretary Jeremy Dear has condemned Jeremy Hunt’s decision to delay a referral of News Corp’s bid for BSkyB to the Competition Commission.

Hunt said today that he intended to refer the bid but would first allow the merging parties to sumbit further “undertakings” which they feel might mitigate the bid’s threat to media plurality, outlined by Ofcom in its report.

The NUJ, which has been part of an ongoing campaign against the bid, issued the following statement from Dear:

Hunt has not just shifted the goalposts in considering the Murdoch plan to damage media plurality. He has allowed Rupert Murdoch to take the goalposts home, to return when he feels he’s more likely to win the game.

News Corp’s BSkyB bid: a timeline

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Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt announced today that he will delay his decision over whether to refer News Corporation’s BSkyB bid to the competition commission. Hunt said that he is “minded” to refer the bid, but will hear undertakings from the merging parties before making his decision.

See the full Journalism.co.uk report on today’s announcement at this link, and a timeline of events related to the bid below:

BSkyB bid – a timeline on Dipity.

Spanish judge to travel to Iraq to visit scene of cameraman’s death

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The BBC reports today that a Spanish judge will travel to Iraq to visit the scene where cameraman Jose Couso was killed by tank fire, at Baghdad’s Palestine Hotel, a base for journalists during the invasion of the country.

Journalism.co.uk reported in July last year that an investigation into the death of the Spanish journalist had been reopened.

Another journalist, Reuters reporter Taras Protsyuk, from the Ukraine, was also killed by the tank shelling at the Palestine Hotel on 8 April 2003.

The BBC report today says that a prosecutor has warned that evidence gathered may not be admissable in court but that investigating magistrate Santiago Pedraz said that “visiting the scene of the cameraman’s death was a crucial part of proceedings”.

He will travel to Baghdad with four journalists who witnessed what happened, and three lawyers.

Alan Rusbridger on Coulson resignation: ‘This is not the end of the story’

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Editor in chief of Guardian News & Media Alan Rusbridger released a statement today following the resignation of former News of the World editor Andy Coulson from his position as director of communications for Downing Street.

Coulson said in his resignation statement the “continued coverage” of the phone-hacking scandal at the News of the World made it difficult for him to give the “110 per cent” needed for the job.

Rusbridger credited Coulson’s resignation to the work of Guardian reporter Nick Davies:

From the moment he revealed the secret pay-out to Gordon Taylor in July 2009 it was obvious that Andy Coulson’s position was untenable. But this is not the end of the story by any means. There are many outstanding legal actions, and uncomfortable questions for others, including the police.”

Channel 4 News extended to cover Coulson resignation and Blair testimony

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Tonight’s Channel 4 News will be extended to an hour following the resignation of David Cameron’s director of communications Andy Coulson and Tony Blair’s appearance at the Iraq Inquiry.

Coulson resigned over continued coverage of phone-hacking that took place under his editorship of the News of the World.

Presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy announced the extended bulletin on Twitter, following a previous comment that there was to be “an unusually exciting Friday night’s channel 4 news ahead”.

Meanwhile, following Coulson’s resignation, Guru-Murthy’s co-presenter Jon Snow alleged that he believes his own phone was hacked with the involvement of another, unamed, newspaper.

BBC CoJo: Working with user-generated content

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The latest edition of the ‘Inside BBC Journalism’ series, on the BBC College of Journalism website, looks at the role of journalists working with user generated content (UGC).

Trushar Barot, a senior broadcast journalist in the UGC Hub in the BBC’s London newsroom says he thinks the future of journalism is going to be much more about journalists who work with social media becoming trusted editors of UGC, he says.

We are the ones that have the skills, hopefully, to be able to analyse what’s coming in, give it the context and then report that context.

So a lot of the work we do at the hub in the newsroom is not just about taking content, getting permission and putting it on air, but it’s about trying to authenticate it as well.

PPA changes name to reflect ‘increasing variety’ among membership

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The PPA announced a name change today to acknowledge the increasing use of a variety of platforms by its members.

The PPA, which previously stood for Periodical Publishers Association will now be called the Professional Publishers Association. In a release Barry McIlheney, chief executive of the PPA said:

Today’s PPA members are professional publishers of immersive, high-quality content. In recent years their businesses have changed dramatically as they deliver this content across an increasing variety of platforms.

We have changed our name to acknowledge this development, and to reflect our commitment to serving our members’ needs and representing their interests as their businesses continue to evolve.