What’s in a newspaper’s name? Well, quite a lot if you follow the case currently being fought over the title of Zimbabwean newspaper NewsDay. Two publishers who used the name 15 years ago for their title are attempting to prise the name, or compensation, away from new owners Alpha Media Holdings.
Volkswagen is running an ad in two Indian newspapers, the Hindu and the Times of Indian, that talks to readers, Sans Serif writes. A light-sensitive speaker has been added to the paper from which an advertising message is broadcast when triggered.
In some ways its a fairly basic addition, but as Sans Serif points out:
[T]his must be the first time daily newspapers of the size and reach of ToI [Times of India] and Hindu have done it at a time when American newspapers like the New York Times and Washington Post are just about coming to terms with the reality of advertisements on the front page.
Thanks to Stephen Keable from the Eastern Daily Press for alerting us to the title’s use of Foursquare after we reported on Metro’s deal with the location-based service.
The EDP already has a Foursquare presence. When users of the service check in to many locations around Norfolk, the EDP provides restaurant reviews, mobile downloads and information on where to buy a copy of the paper locally. It seems there’s only been a couple of check-ins so far, but as if Foursquare user numbers grow the title will already have itself represented on the network.
Let us know if your title is using Foursquare and how in the comments below.
Former News of the World editor David Montgomery has announced he will retire from Mecom, the European publishing group he founded in 2000, after coming under pressure from shareholders to quit.
According to a report by Reuters, current CEO Montgomery will leave the company – which owns more than 300 printed titles and 200 websites – in January in response to the concerns of shareholders who are “fed up with ongoing high debt levels and falling sales”.
Montgomery slashed costs and jobs as he sought to drive his local-newspaper businesses in the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Poland into the digital age in the face of the industry’s worst-ever recession.
In a statement on Mecom’s website confirming Montgomery’s move, the chief executive was said to have the “complete confidence of the board”. It added that a search process will be conducted by the board to find his successor.
From last week, but a good-looking infographic that takes gives an overview of the state of the print industry as a whole, from books to newspapers and magazines. Who knew the death of print could be so colourful?
(Hat tip to @ianbissell. Full sources for the information in the graphic are available on Sketchee.com)
pC has a report on figures from retail analyst Mintel, which suggest that UK newsagents’ revenue from newspaper sales has fallen by 14 per cent over the past decade.
The figures also forecast a future drop of 44 per cent in money from newspapers between 2010 and 2015.
Revenue from the sale of magazines has grown over the past decade, but Mintel says that specific audience sectors, such as lads’ mags, are expected to shrink in the long term.
Local news organisations are reminded they can now apply for accreditation to cover the 2012 Olympics in London in a release from the Newspaper Society.
Companies wishing to send journalists and photographers to the games must apply to the British Olympic Association (BOA) by the final deadline of 15 October.
The Society says it has held talks with both the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) and BOA to remind them how “uniquely placed” local media are to cover the event.
The NS has re-iterated that it is vital that the organisers of the Games should take full account of the particular role and needs of the local and regional press both in terms of those applying for full accreditation and in respect of non-accredited journalists, including as regards access to local venues and facilities to follow and report on particular athletes’ progress. The NS has also raised the issue of balancing broadcast rights against the needs of legitimate reportage on newspapers’ own websites, including blogs.
Applications for accreditation must be made using the downloadable form on the BOA website. According to the NS, accreditation for non rights-holding broadcasters is managed by the International Olympic Committee with application forms available in March next year.
American’s confidence in television news is at its lowest since 1990, according to the latest figures from Gallup.
The organisation interviewed 1,020 adults for its annual Confidence in Institutions survey. Only 22 per cent of respondents said they had a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in television news; 25 per cent said the same for newspaper news.
While the figures have remained pretty stable from 2007 onwards, confidence in television news 10 years ago was at 36 per cent and newspapers 37 per cent.
Newspapers and television news were in the bottom half of the rankings for the 16 institutions in the Gallup poll: newspapers came in 10th and television news 12th, above only “big business”, “organised labour”, “congress” and “Health Maintenance Organisations”.
With nearly all news organizations struggling to keep up with the up-to-the-minute news cycle and to remain profitable in the process, Americans’ low trust in newspapers and television news presents a critical barrier to success. The Pew report asserts that 80 per cent of new media links are to legacy newspapers and broadcast networks, making clear that traditional news sources remain the backbone of the media. But so long as roughly three in four Americans remain distrustful, it will be difficult to attract the large and loyal audiences necessary to boost revenues.
American’s Confidence in Newspapers and Television News by Age
(% “great deal”/”quite a lot”)
The NUJ has spoken out against reported pension scheme cuts at Newsquest.
According to a report by the union, the scheme, which is already restricted to existing staff, could now be cut. Staff were apparently informed by letter over the weekend.
Journalism.co.uk has attempted to speak to Newsquest about the allegations, but has so far been unable to get a response and told those who can comment are unavailable.
The NUJ statement follows an ongoing dispute with the BBC over the broadcaster’s proposed changes to its pension scheme.
A Thai newspaper has become the first in the country to produce a 3D photo edition of its newspaper, according to the Shaping the Future of the Newspaper blog.
The Bangkok Post, an English-language daily, published the special edition to celebrate its 64th anniversary.
The three-dimensional effect was also applied to the advertisements and to a special section called Our Pride, published in celebration of the newspaper recently winning the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers’ (WAN-IFRA) Best Overall Design award in Asia-Pacific and Middle East.