Metro to launch quarterly travel supplement in London

Posted by Press Gazette on 18 March 2010 at 14:44
Tags: Advertising, Newspapers

Associated Newspapers freesheet Metro is to launch a quarterly travel supplement for London commuters.

From next week, the glossy Metro Journeys will be available with editions of the morning paper distributed in the capital’s mainline stations, tube stations across zones one-to-three and some stations in zone four.

Metro, which distributed an average of 735,492 newspapers each day in the capital last month, said 250,000 copies of the supplement will be distributed over five days.

The supplement, which has been produced and guest-edited by Sarah Baxter of Wanderlust Magazine, will feature two focus destinations, a pull-out-and-keep European summer travel calendar, a UK destination spread and a celebrity travel interview.

Scottish plan to allow councils to cease press ads abandoned

Posted by Press Gazette on 18 March 2010 at 08:59
Tags: Advertising, Newspapers, Regional Newspapers

Public notices will continue to be published in local and regional newspapers in Scotland after ministers dropped plans to shift advertising to the internet.

Scottish finance secretary, John Swinney, said yesterday that opposition to the plan aimed at saving councils around £4m each year by removing their obligation to place notices in the press had proved too great.

The move was welcomed by the Scottish Newspaper Society, which highlighted how the decision reflected a recent vote against the proposal taken during a debate in the Scottish Parliament. (more…)

Stephen Glover: Guardian offering editorial influence for cash

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 8 March 2010 at 08:51
Tags: Advertising, Journalism, National Newspapers, Newspapers

Independent media commentator Stephen Glover today criticises The Guardian for inviting advertisers to pay money to influence editorial in sponsored supplements.

He has received a copy of a letter sent out by Wendy Miller, public sector manager of the Society Guardian supplement, offering sponsorships of a supplement on the future of public services at £15,000 each.

She says that the sponsors would get “significant branding space as well as input into the editorial direction and content of the project”.

The Guardian’s editorial guidelines for sponsored supplements state: “The sponsor will have input into the planning (ie synopsis) for the supplement; they will be able to suggest themes, angles and information that they would like to see highlighted; recommend experts for interview; and request certain information be included. The commissioning editor will consider all such suggestions but is not obliged to accept any.”

Glover suggests that “someone should look into the practice of public bodies buying editorial content”.

The Guardian tightened up its editorial guidelines after a row in 2007 when its own columnist, Simon Jenkins, condemned the paper over a supplement about Housing Market Renewal Partnerships. He said the paper was taking government money to portray “public relations as journalism”.

Journalists who take money for editorial not only step into an ethical mine-field, they can also fall foul of the Advertising Standards authority - which has repeatedly rapped the Express over the knuckles for this.

Daily Mail to launch £10m ad campaign with TV ads

Posted by Press Gazette on 28 January 2010 at 10:29
Tags: Advertising, Journalism, National Newspapers, Newspapers, Television

The Daily Mail is to launch a £10m advertising campaign with six different TV commercials in a bid to win over more women aged 35+. (more…)

NME censured for carrying ad featuring a gun

Posted by Press Gazette on 27 January 2010 at 09:21
Tags: Advertising, Consumer Magazines, Magazines

Music magazine NME has been criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority for running an ad for a fashion brand that featured a man putting a gun to the head of a second man. (more…)

Archant hails staff as ‘best in the industry’ at its annual awards

Posted by Press Gazette on 26 January 2010 at 11:10
Tags: Advertising, Magazines, Newspapers, People, Regional Newspapers, awards

Regional newspaper and magazine publisher Archant hosted its annual awards last Friday to recognise the achievements of its staff. (more…)

Bellwether: Advertisers more optimistic for 2010

Posted by Daniela Queen on 18 January 2010 at 10:29
Tags: Advertising, Media Business, Newspapers

The Financial Times reports that advertisers are setting higher budgets for 2010, a sign that the downward trend for advertising revenue may have reversed.

Out of the 300 companies surveyed for the Bellwether report, two-thirds answered that they were preparing to increase their advertising budgets this year although the amounts involved were “relatively lacklustre by the historical standards of the Bellwether survey”, the FT said.

Newspapers suffered the worst fall in advertising compared to other industries with some sectors, such as property adverts, falling 60 per cent over two years.

However, the companies involved in the survey said they were “the most optimistic about the financial outlook for their industries in almost five years”, advertising trade body the IPA said in a press release

Sun kicks off its cheap holidays promotion with TV ad campaign

Posted by Press Gazette on 8 January 2010 at 16:37
Tags: Advertising, National Newspapers, Newspapers

The Sun launches the 20th year of its cheap holidays promotion this Saturday - the accompanying TV campaign starts tonight.

Economist targets Facebook and Twitter users

Posted by Emma Day on 21 December 2009 at 11:53
Tags: Advertising, Journalism, New Media, Online

.The Economist is hoping to attract 500,000 fans on Facebook and 750,000 followers on Twitter in the next six months, reports the Financial Times.

Following in the footsteps of braodcasters such as Sky and ITV, as well as publishers like The Guardian and New York Times, The Economist is looking to online social media to bring in new readers and increased web traffic, by offering users the opportunity to post comments on the site through their Facebook pages.

Ben Edwards, publisher of Economist.com, told the FT: “We have a mission online of being the foremost destination for global discussion and debate, which is a social proposition.” The site, which currently has 180,000 Facebook fans, intends to acquire new readers and develop “a deeper sense of engagement” with existing ones.

The changes are expected to be introduced within four months.

Newspaper “story link tax” referred to copyright tribunal

Posted by Emma Day on 18 December 2009 at 12:30
Tags: Advertising, Journalism, Journalism Technology, Law, New Media, Newspapers, Online

The news clipping service Meltwater has referred the Newspaper Licensing Agency to the UK’s Copyright Tribunal over its proposed “story link tax”, Paid Content reports.

It is a move that would force online news clippings agencies to pay for providing links to newspaper stories from 1 January.

The NLA claims the move will regulate companies that profit from selling links, stating: “This is not about links: it is about profiting from someone else’s intellectual property without paying your fair share of the cost.”

Norway-based Meltwater Group CEO Jorn Lysegge says “This fee is not only unjust and unreasonable, it is contrary to the very spirit of the internet.”

In a statement on the Meltwater website Francis Ingham, director general of the Public Relations Consultants Association, said: “This is an absurd tax which we believe has no legal justification. We are delighted Meltwater is taking a stand against the NLA and will examine whether we can intervene to strengthen their case in the interest of our members. It is ludicrous for organisations to need a licence to receive links to coverage that is freely available to view online.”

The UK Copyright Tribunal has not yet announced if they will call a hearing.

Miami Herald asks readers for donations

Posted by Press Gazette on 17 December 2009 at 15:40
Tags: Advertising, International, Media Business, New Media, Online, Regional Newspapers

Faced with the prospect of rapidly vanishing profits, the Miami Herald is asking readers for donations. (more…)

FT investigates claims of advertisers influencing editorial – says report

Posted by Press Gazette on 1 December 2009 at 09:02
Tags: Advertising, National Newspapers, National Union of Journalists, Newspapers

The Financial Times is investigating allegations that its advertisers paid for editorial articles in its specialist magazine division. (more…)

Dharmash Mistry: National newspaper websites need just 5% of readers to pay

Posted by Press Gazette on 3 November 2009 at 11:40
Tags: Advertising, Media Business, National Newspapers, New Media, Newspapers, Online

National newspapers need to convince less than five per cent of their current online readers to pay for access to content to make a move away from an advertising revenue model successful, a private equity financier told the Guardian. (more…)

Councillor: Local authority’s newsletters complement press. MPs: Newsletters are propaganda

Posted by Press Gazette on 28 October 2009 at 11:51
Tags: Advertising, Journalism, Media Business, Newspapers, PR

A councillor yesterday claimed local authorities helped sustain, rather than kill off local newspapers.

Liberal Democrat Gerald Vernon-Jackson told a select committee hearing looking at the future of regional media that Portsmouth Council’s paper Flagship complemented the city’s privately run newspaper. (more…)

Dennis Publishing to launch Monkey iPhone app

Posted by Gary Neale on 9 October 2009 at 09:24
Tags: Advertising, Customer publishing, Journalism, Magazines, Media Business, Mobile, New Media, Online

Dennis Publishing’s online magazine Monkey is set to get it’s own iPhone app which it will sell for £1.79 - Android and Blackberry versions are expected soon. (more…)

European news channel explosion puts their futures in doubt

Posted by Gary Neale on 8 October 2009 at 12:20
Tags: Advertising, Broadcast, International, Journalism, Media Business, Mobile, New Media, Online, Television

The number of European news channels has doubled in the last five years with over 160 channels available across the EU, according to AFP.

But as the internet becomes a more and more popular form of receiving quick news bulletins, and the credit crunch squeezes advertising revenue, the future of these channels is in doubt - the agency says in a report from the MIPCOM trade fair in Cannes, France.

AFP reports that the massive competition in this sector means the channels often make losses - with half the smaller broadcast media groups reporting losses in 2007 and 2008.

Andre Lange, head of markets and financing at the European Adiovisual Observatory, said: “We can expect some channels to go bust in the next few years. The big groups, however, have a certain obligation to their viewers to provide news channels. And for some it will almost certainly be politically important.”

AFP suggests news channels could find greater profits by targeting mobile phone news.

Internet overtakes TV as UK’s leading ad sector

Posted by Roberto Barros on 30 September 2009 at 10:29
Tags: Advertising, Broadcast, New Media, Online, Television

For the first time advertisers in the UK are spending more money on the internet than on TV ads, a report by the Internet Advertisement Bureau has shown.

Spending on internet advertising reached £1.7bn in the UK during the first six months of 2009 - growing 4.6% year-on-year growth, according to a report released today by the IAB. (more…)

Monocle hits newsstands with bumper size issue

Posted by Roberto Barros on 25 September 2009 at 11:28
Tags: Advertising, Consumer Magazines, Magazines, Online

Monthly global affairs and culture magazine Monocle will publish its biggest ever issue in October a 30 per cent increase on the same time last year.

The magazine was founded by Wallpaper editor Tyler Brûlé in 2007. The title beefed up its online service last week by launching a new daily new bulletin sponsored by Blackberry.

London Press Club Ball embraces ‘austerity’ theme

Posted by Helen Potter on 7 September 2009 at 16:41
Tags: Advertising, Broadcast, Journalism, National Newspapers, Newspapers, People, Radio, Television

Austerity is the theme of this year’s London Press Club Ball.

BBC Breakfast presenter Kate Silverton will host the event and Bargain Hunt’s James Braxton will conduct the auction where a special edition Mini Cooper Mayfair car will be the top prize.

Organisers of the ball have acknowledged the economic climate by cutting ticket prices with the aim of maximising funds for the Journalists’ Charity. (more…)

Trinity Mirror makes 10 redundant at sales house Amra

Posted by Conrad Quilty-Harper on 25 August 2009 at 08:08
Tags: Advertising, Journalism, Media Business

Trinity Mirror has made 10 sales staff redundant at Amra, its national sales house responsible for selling advertising on 180 regional newspapers and 300 websites, MediaWeek has reported.

Six staff from the firm’s London office and four from the Manchester office accepted voluntary redundancy after a period of consulation. Associate director Sue Kemp and account director Nigel Joyce are among those to go.

This round of redundancies comes as the Trinity Mirror reported a loss of 34.5 per cent year on year in revenue from advertising on its regionals division in the first six months of 2009.