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Week of February 1, 2010

UK Reviewing Libel Laws

The UK Justice Secretary has appointed a panel mostly made up of lawyers and

editors to review the UK’s libel laws. Journalists claim that current law has a “chilling effect” on freedom of expression. Not surprisingly the lawyers disagree. Their discussions should make for lively debate – too bad they won’t be televised.

Among the libel lawyers are two of the UK’s most prominent.  Andrew Stephenson, a partner at the feared Carter-Ruck just last week complained loudly when the government announced proposals that would limit lawyer fees against the defendant in a “no win no pay” action. Lawyers, if they won, had been able to charge the losers 100% of their fees (in addition to what they got from their own clients) and newspapers said the fear of such costs means they settle or don’t print a story in the first place. The government said the 100% bonus should be reduced to 10%. Also on the committee is Rod Christie-Miller, partner and chief executive at also-feared Schillings. He, too, came out against the government’s plan to reduce the bonus.

Among the media representatives on the panel are Robin Esser, executive managing editor at the Daily Mail (The Mail has been particularly vocal against current libel law), Sarah Jones, head of litigation and intellectual property at the BBC, Marcus Partington, chairman of the Media Lawyers Association and legal director of Mirror Group Newspapers; Gill Phillips, director of editorial legal services at Guardian News and Media and Sunday Times editor John Witherow.

The group is expected to report next month. UK general elections probably will be held in May.

Yahoo And AP Sign – But Where’s Google

The AP is desperate for increased online funds since its core newspaper client base, suffering dramatic advertising revenue losses, has wrung millions of dollars of concessions from the American news agency. So no doubt it has been engaged in some real hardball renegotiations with Yahoo and Google. Yahoo has now re-signed, but AP material has not been updated on Google for more than a month --   probably Google showing the AP (and perhaps the media in general) what really happens to page views if Google isn’t there to push readers their way.

Yahoo has had a very long relationship with news agencies – indeed one of its primary investors in the early days was none other than Reuters and ftm partner Phil Stone still remembers the day in Silicon Valley when Jerry Yang came to talk to an assembled group of Reuters media executives and he gave each his card which announced his title as “chief yahoo”. Now, that was culture shock.

The financial arrangements for the Yahoo-AP renegotiations were not announced. While AP has licensed its news for Yahoo use since 1998, the formal business relationship with Google didn’t get off the ground until 2006.

Gay Dating Super Bowl Ad Nixed, Same For GoDaddy Lingerie Model

It’s less than a week to US television’s highest rated program of the year – the Super Bowl – and even though CBS is not yet sold out it is still rejecting ads it considers to risqué for one reason or another.

It has rejected an ad from a gay dating web site. And as networks seem to do every year it has rejected an ad from the GoDaddy domain registrar which it deemed too sexy. But you will recall it has accepted an anti-abortion ad from Focus on the Family.

GoDaddy usually tries it on with large breasted near-naked women – well, 65% of the men in America are said to watch the Super Bowl -- but this year its entrant while luscious had on lingerie that would not make Victoria’s Secret blush and after all the Victoria’s Secret fashion show shows on CBS -- the 2009 one is still on its web site. The GoDaddy ad was tame by comparison. Go figure.

If You’re Looking For Store Bargains Which Media Do You Use First?

When Americans go looking for store bargains where do they research first? The Internet? No!! They go to print – newspapers and magazines – according to an Adweek Media/Harris Poll.

It says 23% of Americans believe the best bargains are found in print compared to 18% who believe online is the place to search. TV commercials got just 11%, radio commercials got an invisible two per cent with direct mail at 10% and catalogs at 12%.

But if you do the exercise via age instead of the whole then you’d get the result you expect --  Print drops down to 15% whereas online goes up to 22% when the poll is restricted to the 18-34 age group. And the older the age group the more they said they relied on print. So what happens when the old die?

Dogan Group wins tax judgment
Well, part of it

The tax judgment against Turkey’s largest media company Dogan Group has been set aside partially, reports Haber Türk (February 1).

Turkey’s authorities assessed a huge tax bill against Dogan Group, in part related to the sale of company stock owned by German publisher Axel Springer. Many media watchers in and out of Turkey have seen the €4 billion tax bill as a punitive gesture of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan against Dogan Group principal Aydin Dogan for critical news coverage. (See background here)

Dogan Group reported the tax court decision to the Istanbul stock exchange (February 1), which responded positively. The decision sets aside about €775 million in tax penalties. “Other cases are still continuing,” said the Dogan Group statement. (JMH)

Optimism or not
Publishers argue gross and net

Advertising figures and projections for the coming year there upon were a hot topic at Norway’s annual Mediedagen in Oslo (January 28). Some media leaders were happy, other less optimistic. It all depends on how one reads the numbers.

Quoting economic statistics, Trygve Hegnar took the optimistic side. “If all this is true and interest rates are stable and we do not get unemployment,” he said, “the media world will be good. Advertisers want to advertise more and we have higher incomes so TV 2 and Dagbladet may not have to shed jobs.” He said the 2009 advertising decline in Norway was “marginal” at 0.9%.

Hegnar, an economist, is founder, owner and editor of business bi-monthly magazine Kapital and daily business newspaper Finansavisen.

“I was amazed at what he said,” said VG CEO Torry Pedersen to Kampanje (January 29). Hegnar based his analysis on the non-discounted gross advertising placement showing, according to Pedersen, “there were higher discounts in 2009 than in 2008 as advertising revenues fell significantly last year.”

“This is just rubbish by Toory Pedersen,” retorted Hegnar to Kampanje (January 29). “I talked about AC Nielsen gross figures, the volume numbers. These are the numbers I know. The net figures for 2009, nobody knows yet. How can Torry Pedersen criticize me for talking about the net figure when I was talking about gross numbers.”

Norway’s GDP, stronger than the EU average, would boost ad spending, said Hegnar. Others attending were more skeptical that GPD alone would turn on the money taps for broadcasters and publishers.

“A big Achilles heel is that ten years ago I consumed one media channel at a time whereas now we consume more media channels simultaneously,” offered Nordea Bank marketing director Arne Lambech at the conference. “This is starting to increase and we need to ask ourselves which channels are doing the best job for our advertisers. One of the major advertisers in Norway asked me why it is the advertisers and not the media asking this.” (JMH)

Murdochs Shun Davos
Pain in the neck

For the first time  anyone can remember no member of Clan Murdoch graced the guilded podiums of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Not Rupert, not James, not Lachlan, not Elisabeth nor Wendi. Is it a sign?

Old-line media barons and their clans avoided the snow and cold of Switzerland’s playground of the rich, with few exceptions. The new media people have, figuratively and literally, arrived. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was there, joining other Web 2.0 founders in song, dance and Tweeting, probably enough reason for Rupert to stay away.

Bill and Melinda (Gates) were there, talking about giving away their money. Bill Clinton gave a big speech. Small wonder Rupert hurt his neck and couldn’t travel.

Ever-present WPP Chairman Martin Sorrell pronounced (January 29) a “less worse” ad climate in Western Europe. UK Conservative Party campaigner David Cameron, oft mentioned as Clan Murdoch’s choice for the Thatcher Memorial, said he will cut taxes for rich people to keep Sorrell from moving WPP headquarters to Ireland, Bulgaria or Fiji taking his ad spending with him.

Bertelsmann CEO Hartmut Ostrowski, one of few media barons visible, offered up his company as “a European model of corporate governance,” reminding those attending that “this crisis is mainly a crisis of leadership.”

As if a statement to the Web 2.0 set hobnobbing with bankers and politicians in Davos, the younger Murdochs were working. James Murdoch had to chair a BSkyB board meeting during a week that began with major News Corp investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al-Saud virtually anointing James as successor to Rupert.

At the other end of the planet Elisabeth Murdoch told television executives in Las Vegas for the NATPE convention to borderline piracy isn’t so bad. “Fans remain the best salesmen of our content, even if that behavior is on the borderline of piracy,” said the owner of TV producer Shine. Not exactly out of the family talking points but, as we’re fond of noting, things change. (JMH)

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