Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 2 October 2009 at 09:56
Tags: Media Business, National Newspapers, Newspapers
Dissident shareholder Denis O’Brien is believed to have made fresh approach to the bondholders of Independent News & Media earlier this week in the hope of blocking the financial rescue deal put together for the troubled newspaper group by chief executive Gavin O’Reilly. (more…)
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 29 September 2009 at 10:49
Tags: Consumer Magazines, Customer publishing, Magazines, Media Business
Special interest magazine publisher Future said today it expected full year financial results to be at the ‘lower end of market expectations’ as its US business was likely to make a trading loss. (more…)
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 24 September 2009 at 09:14
Tags: Journalism, Law, National Newspapers, Newspapers, People
The Daily Mail and the London Evening Standard have paid ‘substantial’ damages and apologised to Metropolitan police commander Ali Dizaei after falsely claiming he was a bigamist. (more…)
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 23 September 2009 at 12:59
Tags: Mobile, National Newspapers, New Media, Newspapers, Online
The latest instalment of Paid Content’s poll into the attitude of news website readers toward paying for access has asked the big question: How much would you pay?
The answer: Very little. In fact, as close to zero as possible. (more…)
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 23 September 2009 at 09:52
Tags: Freedom of Information, Journalism, Newspapers, Regional Newspapers
Shadow justice secretary, Dominic Grieve, has been confirmed as a speaker at the Society of Editors conference later this year. (more…)
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 23 September 2009 at 09:32
Tags: National Newspapers, Newspapers, People
Guardian Media Group boss, Carolyn McCall, has resigned from the board of Lloyds Banking Group. (more…)
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 22 September 2009 at 15:43
Tags: Journalism, New Media, Newspapers, Online, People
Observer associate editor, Andrew Rawnsley, has today resigned as editor-in-chief of PoliticsHome.com after the site was sold to Lord Ashcroft, the deputy chairman of the Conservative party. (more…)
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 21 September 2009 at 14:33
Tags: Journalism, National Newspapers, New Media, Newspapers, Online
To pay or not to pay?
Once Rupert Murdoch follows through with his plan to charge for access to content on all the websites in his News Corp empire - including the Sun, Times and the soon-to-be-launched Sunday Times website - that’s the question all online news readers will be toying with.
Or perhaps not if the research Paid Content commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct is to be believed.
PC asked Harris to examine the public’s attitudes to paid-for online news content. The results were pretty damning.
If Rupert Murdoch thinks readers will pay to read his websites, maybe he should think again. Exclusive research commissioned by from Harris Interactive shows that most readers would run a mile. (more…)
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 15 September 2009 at 10:30
Tags: BBC, Mobile, National Newspapers, New Media, Newspapers, Online
Google has launched a new service aiming to make reading the news online feel like flicking through print pages and, significantly, help publishers generate revenue and readership.
Google Fast Flip has partnered with around 40 - mostly American - publishers including the New York Times, Washington Post, Salon, Newsweek and the BBC for the experimental project. (more…)
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 9 September 2009 at 09:12
Tags: Newspapers, People, Regional Newspapers
!!UPDATE 12:45: It’s happened…Former Scotsman editor Mike Gilson to edit Belfast Telegraph!! (more…)
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 8 September 2009 at 12:14
Tags: Consumer Magazines, Magazines
German Vogue is celebrating its 30th anniversary by this week publishing a celebration issue with a whopping 732 pages.
Unsurprisingly, Conde Nast is claiming it as the biggest consumer magazine ever produced in Germany. We have little reason to doubt it.
To ratchet up the razzle-dazzle, the publisher has split the print run allowing the magazine to carry three different covers. One each by Bruce Weber, Peter Lindbergh and local rag trade lad made good, Karl Lagerfeld.
Condé is printing 60,000 extra copies on top of its normal 140,000 circulation, such is the rush it’s expecting, and so much beauty will be on show across its 424 pages of advertising Basil Hallward would have to tear his own eyes out.
But pity those underfed Bavarian fashionistas (now that’s a line I never thought I’d write) it weighs in at a massive two kilograms - that’s four pounds and six ounces to you and me.
Haversacks not clutch bags this autumn, then?
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 7 September 2009 at 10:55
Tags: Journalism, Media Business, National Newspapers, Newspapers
Another weekend and another clutch of stories on the escalation of in-fighting at Independent News and Media. (more…)
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 3 September 2009 at 11:39
Tags: Free Newspapers, Media Business, Newspapers
In little over two weeks thelondonpaper is expected to cease publication.
The announcement last month that News International was closing its weekday freesheet because it had “fallen short of expectations” led many to assume Associated Newspapers would quickly follow suit and close its loss-making London Lite. (more…)
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 3 September 2009 at 08:38
Tags: BBC, Broadcast, Television
ITV and the BBC are crying foul over Sky News’ offer/threat to host Britain’s first US-style general election debate.
Writing in the Times yesterday, Sky News head John Ryley revealed that his channel had written to the three party leaders offering to host such a debate. And said he’d offer footage of the debate live and unedited to the channel’s competitors. (more…)
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 21 August 2009 at 15:46
Tags: Media Business, Mobile, National Newspapers, New Media, Newspapers, Online
Executives at Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation have been meeting with major news publishers with a proposition to form a consortium to charge for news distributed on the internet and portable digital devices, a report has claimed.
The success of the Wall Street Journal Online has spurred News Corp’s chief digital officer Jonathan Miller to position the company as the leader in a proposed consortium, the Los Angeles Times claimed today.
The New York Times Company, the Washington Post, the Hearst Corporation, and Tribune Company are all reported to have been appraoched.
A spokeswoman for News Corp in the UK declined to comment on the claims made by the LA Times.
Earlier this month, after seeing his media empire’s fortunes take a backward step by announcing losses of $3.4bn (£2bn), Murdoch decreed that he would shake up the newspaper industry by introducing charges for access to all his news websites, including the Times, the Sun and the News of the World, by next summer.
Charging for online content has become an increasingly hot topic in recent months. Journalism Online, a US company seeking to help publishers make money from online content, claims to have signed up more than 500 publications as partners to use its suite of online payment platforms.
The Financial Times is also in talks to revolutionise the online news culture by introducing a “pay-per-article” system inspired by the Apple iTunes store model.
The paper is believed to be discussions with a number of payment facilities companies to establish a simple “one-click” system to allow users to easily pay a small fee for each article with executives hoping to have the system in place by next year.
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 19 August 2009 at 11:39
Tags: Media Business, National Newspapers
Independent News & Media is in talks over a further extension to a ’standstill’ deal with its bondholders over its failure to repay a €200m (£172m) bond due in May, according to reports.
Proposals for a new extension will be discussed today between the company, its banks and bondholders, the Irish Times has reported.
INM has managed to cut a series of standstill agreements since the original repayment date of May 18 that saw the deadline pushed back into June, then July.
The current deal expires on August 27th, a day before INM publishes interim results. Any extension would likely run into September when the company is due to repay €50 million of bank debt.
According to the Irish Times, the current standstill had been seen as an effective deadline for a deal as INM’s position would weaken further if bank debt went overdue on top of an overdue bond.
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 18 August 2009 at 10:15
Tags: B2B Magazines, Magazines, Media Business
Business magazine publisher Incisive Media, whose titles including Computing and Accountancy Age, is preparing to execute a debt-for-equity deal led by its management.
According to MediaWeek, Incisive’s management, led by global chief executive Tim Weller, is set to buy an initial 10 per cent stake in the business, which could rise to 24 per cent.
The deal could be completed within the next three weeks, claims the report.
Incisive Media is currently 59 per cent owned by private equity firm Apax Partners, other shareholders include Ingenious Media and Caledonia Investors.
The move after an attempted takeover bid of Incisive by Critical Information Group last week was rejected by Incisive’s lender, the Royal Bank of Scotland.
In December last year, Incisive Media breached the terms of its £174m loan deal with RBS and asked its staff to take unpaid leave over Christmas, leading to takeover rumours.
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 18 August 2009 at 09:01
Tags: Consumer Magazines, Magazines, Media Business
The US publisher of Reader’s Digest magazine has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as part of a restructuring plan to help it reduce its 2.2bn (£1.35bn) debt by around 75 per cent.
The deal, which it has agreed with its lenders, comes as it struggles against a weakened advertising market.
The move will apply only at its US businesses and the American edition of the magazine will continue to be published.
Operations elsewhere will not be affected. The company’s international editions were said to have “adequate funding” to continue publishing.
Reader’s Digest Association said yesterday the deal would allow it to reduce its overall debt from $2.2bn to $550m.
Under the deal, Reader’s Digest has agreed to swap a large proportion of its debt for equity some of its lenders have also agreed to inject around $150m to see it through a restructuring while in bankruptcy protection.
Annual interest payments on remaining debt will also be reduced to less than $80m, from about $145m.
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 17 August 2009 at 09:54
Tags: B2B Magazines, Magazines, Media Business, National Newspapers, Newspapers
Financial publisher Capital Ideas has approached Guardian Media Group with an offer to buy the Observer, according to reports.
Capital Ideas, which publishes a number of financial magazines, newsletters and directories including Compliance Monthly and Investing for Growth, wants to buy the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper from GMG for a nominal sum.
It emerged last month earlier this month that GMG was mulling the future of the Observer with considerations including closing the title and changing it to a weekly news magazine.
According to City AM, Capital Ideas wrote to Derek Gannon, chief operating officer of GMG, earlier this month with the proposal.
Turing the paper into a weekly news magazine in the style of The Week, is also one option being considered by Capital. However, it plans to slim down the paper’s current staff considerably if any deal goes ahead.
GMG told City AM it had not yet received the letter. Its spokesman said: “It is not surprising, in the light of recent media coverage, that opportunistic and unsolicited approaches of this nature might be made.”
GMG is currently undergoing a strategic company review, details of whihc are expected to be revealed next month.
Posted by
Oliver Luft
on 17 August 2009 at 08:31
Tags: National Newspapers, Newspapers
The Daily Record has launched a new weekly lads mag-style supplement.
The first issue of the supplement, called The Brief, is out this week, features outgoing Doctor Who star David Tennant on the cover.
The eight page extra will be published every Wednesday.
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