MoS Sunday Tribune look-alike stunt ‘a bid to protect jobs’

Posted by Press Gazette on 7 February 2011 at 10:49
Tags: International, Journalism, National Newspapers, Newspapers

The Irish Mail on Sunday editor has defended his decision to publish a spoof wrap-around edition of his title as a look-alike to the Sunday Tribune.

It was evidently a bid by the Irish MoS (circulation 112,000) to scoop up some Sunday Tribune readers (circulation 54,400) while the Tribune is out of print.

According to the Irish Times, there were 25,000 copies of the look alike-edition  which carried the heading: “This paper is a special edition designed for readers of the Sunday Tribune”.

The Tribune is currently out of print after going into receivership, but a buyer is being sought.

Irish MoS editor Sebastian  Hamilton is quoted in the Irish Times today saying that his title employs 161 staff in Ireland, which he said was four times as many as the Sunday Tribune.

“We want to protect those 161 Irish jobs by persuading as many Tribune readers as possible to keep buying newspapers. If today’s marketing exercise encourages more people to buy a paper today, surely that is something we should encourage.

“The Tribune was shut down by its owners, who also own the Sunday Independent. We want to offer Tribune readers a genuine alternative.”

Amnesty fears for Google executive held in Egypt

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 7 February 2011 at 10:02
Tags: International, Journalism, New Media, Online

Amnesty International has warned that Google’s head of marketing for the Middle East and North Africa Wael Ghuneim is at serious risk of torture and other ill-treatment by Egyptian security forces after he was reportedly arrested in Cairo during mass protests.

Amnesty reports that his whereabouts are unknown after he was arrested by security forces on 28 January.

He was in Egypt on a business trip and attended a number of demonstrations including a protest in Tahrir Square, Amnesty reports.

Google and Twitter launched a new phone-based Twitter service last week in response to the Egyptian government’s internet shutdown (The Guardian). It is not known whether the Google executive’s detention is linked to this.

Press Gazette reported on Friday how government propaganda had led to an escalation in attacks on journalists in Egypt - with several British journalists among those attacked by mobs.

Here ABC News in the US has a detailed list of the many reported attacks against media workersin Egypt in recent days.

More from Amnesty here on its Protect the Human blog.

Egypt closes Al-Jazeera bureau as journalists come under increasing pressure

Posted by Press Gazette on 31 January 2011 at 09:20
Tags: BBC, Broadcast, International, National Union of Journalists, New Media, Newspapers, People, Photography, Television, press freedom

Egypt withdrawn the licence to broadcast of rolling news channel Al-Jazeera and shut down its Cairo bureau.

The state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported that the order took effect from yesterday.

Transmission ended around an hour after that announcement and as troubles escalated the BBC World Service condemned “deliberate assaults” on its journalists. (more…)

Ugandan gay rights activist killed following newspaper’s anti-gay campaign

Posted by Daisy Phillipson on 27 January 2011 at 12:52
Tags: International, Law, Newspapers

A Ugandan gay rights activist was beaten to death following a report in the country’s Rolling Stone newspaper revealing the identity of several people it named as gay, next to the headline ‘hang them’ - according to reports.

The BBC reports that police have confirmed the death but say they are investigating the circumstances. It has not been confirmed whether the death is directly linked to the Rollling Stone campaign, although the Sexual Minorities Uganda Group said Kato had been recieving death threats since his name, photograph and address were published in the title.

Press Gazette has previously reported how Sexual Minorities Uganda had secured an injunction against the newspaper publishing people’s details in its anti-gay campaign.

97 journalists killed worldwide last year

Posted by Alex Sharp on 13 January 2011 at 11:38
Tags: Broadcast, International, Journalism, Newspapers, People

An average of almost two journalists were killed each week last year as they went about their work, the International News Safety Institute has reported.

The INSI report that 97 journalists were killed in 2010, 85 of whom were murdered, while in the course of their duty.

While high, the total is down from 133 killed in 2009 when 32 journalists were killed in one incident in the Philippines. (more…)

Lords, academics and union leader fear News Corp’s BSkyB takeover

Posted by Alex Sharp on 10 January 2011 at 11:03
Tags: Broadcast, International, Journalism, Media Business, National Union of Journalists, Television

Lords, journalism academics and trade unionists united today to raise their fears about the proposed takeover of BSkyB by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.

In a letter to the Financial Times, Lord Fowler, Lord Puttnam and Professor Roy Greenslade joined others - including NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear - in urging Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt to refer the bid to the Competition Commission for further proper examination. (more…)

New Pilger film: ‘Journalists unwitting accomplices to Iraq war crime’

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 10 December 2010 at 08:33
Tags: Broadcast, International, Journalism, National Newspapers

John Pilger’s new film The War You Don’t opens on Tuesday with screenings at independent cinemas around the UK followed by a live question and answer with Pilger.

The film is described as “is a powerful and timely investigation into the media’s role in war, tracing the history of ‘embedded’ and independent reporting from the carnage of World War One to the destruction of Hiroshima, and from the invasion of Vietnam to the current war in Afghanistan and disaster in Iraq. As weapons and propaganda become even more sophisticated, the nature of war is developing into an ‘electronic battlefield’ in which journalists play a key role, and civilians are the victims.”

Writing in the Guardian today, Pilger describes how several high-profile journalists quoted in the film now regret the role they played in reporting the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and its aftermath.

Observer journalist David Rose, who has already admitted the extent to which he and other journalists were manipulated by Western intelligence in the run-up to the war, is among those quoted in the film Pilger reports.

Rose: “I can make no excuses . . . What happened [in Iraq] was a crime, a crime on a very large scale…”

Pilger: “Does that make journalists accomplices?”

Rose: “Yes . . . unwitting perhaps, but yes.”

Interviewed in Press Gazette in 2007, Rose revealed that he had considered quitting journalism because he was so dismayed at the way he had been misled by US intelligence sources in the run-up to the war in Iraq.

He said at the time: “I badly regret writing stories that have turned out to be completely untrue in the run-up to the Iraq war.”

Here is the trailer for The War You Don’t See:

The War You Don’t See trailer from John Pilger on Vimeo.

News Corporation to ‘disrupt’ educational publishing

Posted by Sam Francis on 9 December 2010 at 13:59
Tags: Agencies, International, Journalism, Media Business, National Newspapers

News Corporation signalled its intention to “disrupt” the education publication market, yesterday, identifying it as a key area for market growth.

According to The Times Chase Carey, News Corp CEO, told the UBS media conference in New York: “Education is stuck in an environment from 40 years ago, with Kids carrying around knapsacks of books that break your back. We think we can create some exciting new business there and we think we can be disruptive.”

These comments come after News Corp hired Joel Klein, who has run New York City schools system since 2002, and acquired a 90 per cent stake in Wireless Generation, an education technology company, for $360m (£228m) - The Times reports.

A move into educational publishing would put News Corp into further competition with Pearson, which owns the Financial Times. News Corp publishes US-based financial daily the Wall Street Journal.

BBC apologises for showing Nazi footage instead of weather

Posted by Sam Francis on 9 December 2010 at 13:56
Tags: BBC, Broadcast, International, New Media, Online

The Times: Is Wikileaks serious journalistic organisation or wrecking party?

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 7 December 2010 at 10:47
Tags: International, Journalism, National Newspapers, New Media, Newspapers, Online

The Times today condemned Wikileaks decision yesterday to publish a US embassy cable revealing a list of locations around the world considered vital to US security.

The Times reported the release of the cable yesterday, while the Guardian didn’t - prompting Guardian investigations editor David Leigh to post on Twitter: “Strange to see the Times publishing a sensitive Wikileaks cable which the Guardian declined to do. Murdoch is helping terrorists?”.

Today the Times said in its leader (paywall protected):

“Is WikiLeaks a serious journalistic enterprise or a wrecking party? The organisation had given the impression that it had been trying to be more responsible in the past month, after having been accused of endangering the lives of US troops and their helpers by releasing the Afghanistan war logs. But yesterday’s publication of a list of facilities deemed vital to US national security is a step back in the wrong direction.

“There is a dangerous nihilism in the refusal to distinguish between information that embarasses the powerful, and information that potentially puts lives at risk…

“Whether or not these installations are all genuinely vital to US security, publishing them is an open invitation to mischief — if not murder.”

Philippines: 100 journalist-killers still at large

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 23 November 2010 at 09:21
Tags: International, press freedom

One year after what the Ampatuan massacre of journalists in the Philippines more than 100 suspects remain at large - the World Association of Newspapers has warned.

Some 32 journalists and media workers were killed during a massacre of 57 people in the Philippines last year. According to WAN, at least 68 journalists have been killed in the Philippines since 1992 but only five people have been convicted.

In a letter to the Philippines president WAN said: “The failure to arrest and convict those responsible for the Ampatuan massacre is just the latest contribution to a widespread culture of impunity that surrounds the murder of journalists in the Philippines.

While welcoming the trials of 19 of 196 suspects now underway, the letter condemned the lack of action against other suspects and expressed concern at the “multiple instances of intimidation and violence against witnesses” that have surrounded the official investigation.

WAN-IFRA and the World Editors Forum called on president Aquino “to end the culture of impunity and provide an environment where journalists and media professionals can go about their daily duties without fear of violence”.

Society of Editors Conference: Full coverage on Press Gazette from Sunday night

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 12 November 2010 at 10:12
Tags: International, Journalism, Journalism education, Law, National Newspapers, Regional Newspapers, press freedom

Press Gazette will be relocating to Glasgow for the duration of the Society of Editors conference this weekend and bringing you blow-by-blow coverage from the biggest journalism conference of the year.

Highlights include:Independent proprietor Alexander Lebedev delivering the Society of Editors lecture on Sunday night; Martin Clarke from Mail Online on the strategy that has won his title 46.9m unique browsers a month (at the latest tally); and flamboyant former Mirror Group managing director Ellis Watson speaking at the Gala Dinner.

You can follow the action by looking out for breaking news on our home page: www.pressgazette.co.uk, following us on Twitter or by signing up for our daily email newsletter to get neat summaries of all the action, plus all the other breaking journalism news, sent at around midday each weekday.

Oh, and for in-depth coverage about what it all means - plus exclusive analysis by former Birmingham Mail editor Steve Dyson - check out the December edition of Press Gazette magazine, which is only nowadays available via subscription.

Website raises funds for injured photojournalist Joao Silva

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 12 November 2010 at 09:49
Tags: International, Journalism, People, Photography

Marie Colvin highlighted the terrible risks faced by journalists reporting from Afghanistan this week when she recounted the story of Joao Silva, the New York Times photojournalist who stepped on a mine whilst out on patrol with US soldiers on 23 October.

Friends of Joao have set up a website which showcases his work and enables people to buy prints or make a donation to help support him and his family through his rehabilitation. He lost both his legs in the explosion.

The site  notes that Silva made his name while covering the violent beginnings of a democratic South Africa. He was a member of the Bang-Bang Club, a group of photographers who documented the Hostel War during the last days of Apartheid.

It also quotes executive editor of the New York Times Bill Keller: “Those of you who know João will not be surprised to learn that throughout this ordeal he continued to shoot pictures.”

Colvin was speaking at the St Bride’s, Fleet Street, service for 49 journalists and media workers killed reporting on war for British news consumers in the last decade.

The story of Joao Silva highlights the fact that, as with the military casualties, there are many more journalists and media workers in addition to the 49 who have sustained terrible injuries because of land mines and IEDs.

Daily Mirror photographer Philip Coburn also lost both his legs below the knee after being injured in the explosion which killed his Mirror colleague Rupert Hamer while the pair were embedded with the US military in Afghanistan earlier this year.

BBC secures return of correspondent to report from Iran

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 10 November 2010 at 15:13
Tags: Broadcast, International, Journalism, Television

The BBC is to resume broadcasts from Iran nearly 18 months after correspondent Jon Leyne was ejected amid the protests that followed the country’s disputed presidential election in 2009, the Guardian reports.

It says an agreement was reached with the Iranian regime following secret talks led by BBC world news editor Jon Williams and that James Reynolds will report from Tehran.

According to the World Association of Newspapers, more than 100 journalists were arrested in Iran in the wake of the election protests and some 23 remain behind bars.

Shadrake Singapore sentencing delayed by a week

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 10 November 2010 at 11:01
Tags: International, Journalism, Law, People

British journalist Alan Shadrake is going to have to wait another week to find out what his sentence is after being convicted of contempt of court in Singapore.

Reuters reports that Judge Quentin Loh said he needed more time to decide on the penalty for the 76-year-old, who could face a jail term, fine or both.

Shadrake was convicted over his book,  Once a Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice in the Dock, which discusses Singapore’s use of capital punishment and alleges that well-connected defendants, particularly in drugs cases, often get off relatively lightly while the poor and less well-connected are sentenced to death.

Trial of Bahrain blogger Ali Abdulemam could be watershed for Middle East press freedom

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 28 October 2010 at 17:41
Tags: International, Journalism, New Media, Online

The trial of blogger Ali Abdulemam, due to start this week in Bahrain, is being seen as a potential watershed moment for press freedom in the Middle East.

The digital dissent on his blog bahraineonline.org had been seen as a sign that the kingdom was opening up. His arrest is seen by many as state retaliation for his publishing critical articles.

Perhaps more tellingly for the Bahrain authorities, the repressive arrest of Abdulemam could destroy the state’s self-styled image as “a great place to do business” as the Wall Street Journal notes in this detailed report.

This rather far-fetched sounding report from the Bahrain News Agency suggests that the Bahrainonline.org blog was funded by a London-based terror mastermind.

Former City University head of journalism Adrian Monck told me today that he had conversations with the Bahraini authorities about journalism education (in the context of becoming a more open society) several years ago.

He said: “His case is but one of many, however he stands for what many people hoped blogs and the digital revolution might achieve, his imprisonment is a testimony to another broken utopian promise, and he deserves better.”

Daily UK journalism news email from midday Mon-Fri - sign up here

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 12 October 2010 at 10:40
Tags: Advertising, Agencies, B2B Magazines, BBC, Broadcast, Consumer Magazines, Customer publishing, Free Newspapers, Freedom of Information, International, Journalism, Journalism Jobs, Journalism Technology, Journalism education, Launch Pad, Law, Magazines, Media Business, Media Metrics, Mobile, National Newspapers, National Union of Journalists, New Media, Newspapers, Online, PR, People, Photography, Radio, Regional Newspapers, Student Journalism, Television, awards, press freedom

To receive a free daily email summarising the latest news in UK journalism simply send us your email address using this online form.

The Press Gazette daily email typically provides summaries of the top ten stories from www.pressgazette.co.uk and around the web. It also includes our daily summary of the latest journalism jobs advertised in the UK.

For busy journalists who are often on the move, it’s the perfect way to stay in touch with what is going on in your industry with an at-a-glance summary and links through to the full version of each story.

We’ve been providing a daily email for several years now, but have just introduced a new sign-up process and switched to a different delivery system - hence this blog post.

Sky News and Channel 4’s Dispatches win International Emmys

Posted by Press Gazette on 29 September 2010 at 14:02
Tags: Broadcast, International, Television, awards

A series of reports from Sky News and a Channel 4’s Dispatches programme each focusing on The Taliban in Pakistan have scooped International Emmy awards for news and current affairs.

Sky News won in the news category for its Pakistan - Terrors’ Front Line reports, from March last year, which detailed the increasing control taken by the Taliban.

The similarly-themed Dispatches documentary, Pakistan’s Taliban Generation, produced by October Films, collected the current affairs award for its investigation on how the war on terror is creating a generation of child terrorists.

Sky and Channel 4 fought off tough international competition to collect prizes from the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences at a ceremony in New York on Monday.

Mexican newspaper agrees to stop drugs-war coverage after killing of photographer

Posted by Alexandra Zeevalkink on 20 September 2010 at 12:32
Tags: International, Journalism, Newspapers, press freedom

The biggest newspaper in Mexico’s most violent city has said it will restrict its drug war coverage after the killing of its second journalist in less than two years, Associated Press (AP) reports.

In a front-page editorial on Sunday, El Diario de Juarez spoke directly to the drug cartels:

“Leaders of the different organizations that are fighting for control of Ciudad Juarez: The loss of two reporters from this publishing house in less than two years represents an irreparable sorrow for all of us who work here, and, in particular, for their families,” the editorial said. “We ask you to explain what you want from us, what we should try to publish or not publish, so we know what to expect.” (more…)

Egyptian daily doctors pic to put leader centre stage at Middle East peace talks

Posted by Alexandra Zeevalkink on 17 September 2010 at 12:26
Tags: International, Journalism, National Newspapers, Newspapers, Photography

Al-Ahram, Egypt’s state-run newspaper, has come under attack for altering a photo to place president Hosni Mubarak at the front of a group of world leaders at Middle East peace talks instead of US president Barack Obama.

The altered photograph ran last Tuesday alongside a feature called The Way to Sharm el-Sheikh, the BBC and others report. (more…)