Made redundant? Blogging firm wants to help

Posted by Paul McNally on 25 November 2008 at 07:39
Tags: New Media, Online

The firm behind blogging platforms Typepad and Movable Type has launched a promotional offer for redundant journalists looking to dip their toe into the world of independent online publishing.

Sixapart says it’s received a “flood” of sign-ups for the “Journalist Bailout Program” – offering a free blog, web hosting and access to paid-for advertising to any journalist who’s been laid off.

“We’re offering a platform to publish your work and profit from it,” the firm says on its website. “We know that for a lot of working journalists, one of the biggest obstacles towards independence can be just trying to figure out where to start. Now you’ve got an answer.”

Sixapart vice president Anil Dash explains the publicity stunt thoughtful gesture here.

Heffer and Liddle star in Telegraph politics show online

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 19 November 2008 at 13:38
Tags: National Newspapers, New Media, Online

Telegraph TV has launched a new political show starring Simon Heffer and politican pundit Rod Liddle.

The weekly show will be available on telegraph.co.uk and will offer comment and debate on a range of topics including politics and economics.

The show has been designed specifically for the internet and will only be about 5 minutes long.

GetLippy.com gets interactive

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 17 November 2008 at 14:53
Tags: Consumer Magazines, Magazines, New Media, Online

Online partner to NatMag’s Company magazine, Getlippy.com, has had a redesign to include more interactive content.

The style, beauty and celebrity website from Hearst digital (a division of NatMag) now offers an interactive city guide called City Spy which provides information on places to eat, dance, drink and shop in cities around the UK, with users able to submit their own content.

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Newsquest online continues to grow

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 17 November 2008 at 13:07
Tags: New Media, Online, Regional Newspapers

Regional publisher Newsquest Media Group has seen its ABCe increase by 21 per cent to 5.16 million unique users a month.

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Holy Moly! set for global expansion

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 12 November 2008 at 10:46
Tags: New Media, Online, People

Following a relaunch and the addition of video earlier this month, UK-based celebrity and gossip website Holy Moly! is planning a global take over.

The website, which claims to to have 750,000 unique users a month, is set to launch a number of international sites.

The site’s founder told Media Guardian that a number of markets had already been identified. He said: “Getting the product firmly established as the biggest celebrity property in the UK is the first priority, then we will role it out internationally.

“Next year we are looking at Mumbai, Russia, Latin America and Australia for new sites.”

Mirror launches new cashback money-making scheme

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 12 November 2008 at 10:43
Tags: Media Business, National Newspapers, New Media, Newspapers, Online

The Daily Mirror has launched a new online money-making scheme called Mirrorcashback.com.

It works like a loyalty shopping scheme by giving readers money back if they shop through the new site to buy goods from retailers including Tesco, Boots, WH Smith and Asda.

The new site is being promoted on Mirror.co.uk and with an eight-page supplement in the print edition.

The rate of “cashback” on offer varies from retailer to retailer.

Emap Inform to scrap charges online

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 11 November 2008 at 10:01
Tags: B2B Magazines, Magazines, New Media, Online

B2B publisher Emap is to scrap subscription charges on a number of its website next year.

The move will apply to the Emap Inform division, which includes Health Service Journal, Retail Week and Drapers.

Emap chief executive David Gilbertson said: “We are in the process of going free-to-view across our sites and we have to deliver to our digital advertisers.

The group has also poached Claudia Arney from b2b rival Informa to take on the role of digital managing director for Emap Inform.

The company was acquired by Guardian Media Group and private equity firm Apax for earlier this year when former media giant Emap sold of its consumer, b2b and radio arms seperately.

Holy Moly relaunches with video

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 31 October 2008 at 10:37
Tags: New Media, Online

Celebrity gossip website Holy Moly! has relaunched to include video content and a weekly presenter-led show.

The new-look site also now features a photo gallery featuring content from Holy Moly paparazzi, and has retained popular sections including user-sharing Mole Hill.

The site is in partnership with video ad network Perform, which will provide display and video advertising.

The site was created in 2002, and claims to attract more than 700,000 unique users a month.

A spokesman said: “Video is very much the way forward for us and we were aware of the implications of updating the new site, ensuring our loyal users and the Holy Moly brands’ integrity were at the forefront of this process.”

New mobile website for relaunched tabloid Birmingham Post

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 23 October 2008 at 10:55
Tags: Journalism, Mobile, New Media, Newspapers, Online, Regional Newspapers

The Birmingham Post today became the first of Trinity Mirror’s regional newspaper titles to benefit from the new mobile phone website format which has already been launched for the Daily Mirror.

The move comes as the morning daily relaunched its print edition in tabloid format this week - and it has also announced a new web-first editorial strategy.

In the coming months new mobile sites will be rolled out across Trinity Mirror’s regional newspaper titles.

The changes come as the Post is integrated into a new shared newsroom with sister title the Birmingham Mail - a move which is leading to 65 out of 300 journalists at Trinity Mirror Midlands losing their jobs.

The Birmingham Post as a daily circulation of 12,795 according to ABC, of which only two-thirds are paid-for sales.

Orwell Prize adds blogging category

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 23 October 2008 at 10:27
Tags: Journalism, New Media, Newspapers, Online

The Orwell Prize has added a special prize for political blogs to coincide with the Orwell Diaries blog going online.

The Orwell Prize – awarded for political writing – is now taking entries, the other categories being books and journalism.

The awards are for those “who come closest to achieving George Orwell’s ambition to make political writing into an art”.

Hellomagazine.com gets a new look

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 21 October 2008 at 09:31
Tags: Consumer Magazines, Magazines, New Media, Online

Celebrity weekly Hello has revamped its website.

Hellomagazine.com now offers a “spacious, contemporary look” with a new horizontal navigation foe easier navigation. There is a new picture gallery presenting the latest stories in rotation, and the lifestyle section has been given greater prominence.

Website editor Verity J Smart said: “The new design allows us to present even more news on the home page, looks clear and uncluttered and means our images even larger than before – always a plus on a photo-driven site.”

Future overhauls TotalFilm.com website

Posted by Paul McNally on 21 October 2008 at 07:57
Tags: Consumer Magazines, Online

Total Film has hired George Walter from GamesRadar.com to oversee the relaunch of the TotalFilm.com website.

According to BrandRepublic.com, the newly overhauled site includes more interviews, a database of film trailers and a series of features ahead of the release of the new James Bond movie.

Gannett blogger seeks donations from readers

Posted by Paul McNally on 15 October 2008 at 07:28
Tags: New Media, Online, Regional Newspapers

The former Gannett employee behind a revealing blog on the goings-on at the Newsquest parent company has warned the site might be scaled back in the new year unless funding can be found.

Jim Hopkins, who left USA Today earlier this year, is looking to raise $24,000 (£13,000) a year from readers to keep the site going - and is using his fundraising experiment to illustrate “the brutal economics of online journalists”.

“Based on the long odds, I’ll probably fail,” Hopkins said. “At some point, I’ve got to start making money again. That could mean work that allows less time for Gannett blogging.”

Google marketing head joins Telegraph Group board

Posted by Paul McNally on 14 October 2008 at 17:44
Tags: National Newspapers, New Media, Online

Google’s European vice-president for marketing, Lorraine Twohill, has joined the board of Telegraph Media Group as a non-executive director to provide advice on the publisher’s online work.

Financial news help site opens up to all journalists

Posted by Paul McNally on 14 October 2008 at 17:08
Tags: Online

An online resource for personal finance journalists has opened its doors to reporters in the general news media covering money stories.

HeadlineMoney.co.uk - which provides press announcements, statistics and contact details for financial experts - is offering free access to any journalist for a limited period.

Web searchers turn to Robert Peston for the latest

Posted by Paul McNally on 14 October 2008 at 16:42
Tags: New Media, Online

The global financial crisis has provided a traffic boost to financial news and information sites, according to Hitwise figures reported by Marketing.

According to the Hitwise data, traffic to Yahoo Finance UK is up 48 per cent year on year. Web searches for Robert Peston rose 37 per cent in the same period.

Former Guardian boss joins BBC online archive project

Posted by Paul McNally on 14 October 2008 at 11:36
Tags: Journalism, Mobile, New Media, Online, Television

The former controller of BBC Internet, Tony Ageh, has joined former BBC2 controller Roly Keating to begin work on the corporation’s new online archive project, which aims to make vast amounts of the BBC’s audio and video content available on-demand.

Ageh is a former creative director at Guardian Newspapers and helped create the BBC iPlayer, which this week was rolled out to mobile phones.

Gawker founder Nick Denton on The Daily Beast launch

Posted by Paul McNally on 9 October 2008 at 10:59
Tags: Magazines, Online

The founder of US blog network Gawker Media, Nick Denton, has raised doubts about how successful veteran magazine editor Tina Brown’s new web venture, The Daily Beast, will become.

Denton told the International Herald Tribune he felt the site, unveiled this week, was too cluttered and “has to be simpler to work”, and added: “I’ll definitely read [it], but I don’t think there are that many of me.”

The Daily Beast went live on Monday. One of its first exclusives was an interview with actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, which was reported to have been spiked by a magazine.

TheBusinessDesk.com in second rival staff poaching

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 9 October 2008 at 10:20
Tags: New Media, Online, Regional Newspapers

The business media battle in the north rages on as recently launched business news website TheBusinessDesk.com poaches a second journalist from a rival, reports How-Do.

Crain’s journalist Joanne Birthwhistle has taken the role of deputy editor at TheBusinessDesk.com.

Last month the website’s founder David Parkin enticed the MEN’s business editor, Chris Barry, who now edits the website.

New York Times to launch global edition of website

Posted by Paul McNally on 9 October 2008 at 08:21
Tags: National Newspapers, Online

The New York Times is to launch a global edition of its NYTimes.com website next spring, bringing together content from the US daily and its sister title the International Herald Tribune.

According to PaidContent, initial reports that IHT.com would close entirely are unfounded. IHT stories already appear on the NYTimes.com website via http://iht.nytimes.com.