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English Doesn’t Swing It For East European Search
That Google was far ahead in the latest ComScore data for European search engine market share was no surprise, but what was interesting was that in Eastern Europe if the search engine isn’t in the local language then that’s a big problem.
The survey showed that in Poland and Russia in particular local search engines were gaining market share. And the future? “With Russia’s online population now the fastest growing in Europe, it is likely that some of these local search engines will continue to gain traction and market share,” according to Jack Flanagan, ComScore EVP.
UK Newspaper Ad Revenue On The Way Down Again
The word in UK newspaper circles was that advertising was picking up, or at least stable, but Trinity Mirror has put an end to that spin by announcing that advertising revenues were down 4.3% for the first four months of the year compared with the same period last year. And the company said it expected such volatility to continue for the rest of the year.
Its nationals – Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and People, were down 2%, doing far better than the regional press where ad revenue was down by 4.9%. The added problem at the regionals was that March and April’s performance was worse than the first two months of the year.
Like in the US, the rising cost of energy and food plus the credit crunch are blamed for the uncertain economic situation. “These market conditions are adversely impacting consumer confidence and spending with the effect that businesses are curtailing marketing budgets to offset the prospect of slowing revenues,” the company said in a statement.
Everybody answers to Randy Michaels
…who’s surprised?…
Tribune Company CEO Sam Zell appointed Randy Michaels the company’s Chief Operating Officer, announced in a statement late last night (May 7). Randy and Sam have a long history (read that story here) and this is no surprise. After an ownership change, incumbent senior executives tend to spend all their time playing for the bosses’ favor. That ends today. (JMH)
BBC journalist deported by Burma
…blacklisted…
BBC journalist Andrew Harding was deported by Burma shortly after his arrival from Thailand Monday (May 5), reported by AFP citing the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper. Harding “broke visa rules and regulations,” said the source, entering on a tourist visa. And he’s a repeat offender, blacklisted for entering Burma on a tourist visa in 2006 and 2007.
With the international community standing by to bring aid to the cyclone-ravaged region, the military junta steadfastly refuses to issue press visas to foreign journalists, said Reporters sans Frontiers (RSF). In addition to Harding, two Asian reporters were denied entry, said RSF, although a CNN crew apparently gained access.
Burma’s state media has been roundly criticized for delaying warning of the storm’s approach as well as under reporting the destruction. (Read background on Burma and its media here) (JMH)
Harry Potter Author Wins Privacy Appeal
Harry Potter author JK Rowling has won an Appeal Court ruling in her long-running battle to protect the privacy of her son. She had asked the Appeals Court to overturn a judgment last August that it was okay for paparazzi to shoot pictures of her then 18-month-old child and her husband with a long range lens. She wants an injunction against further publication of the picture and financial damages.
The court ruled that under the European Convention on Human Rights that a case could be made that the pictures breached her son’s right to privacy. (Although we shouldn’t say “we told you so”, we told you so – that was our specific point when we first wrote that Rowling had lost her initial court action). The court ordered a new trial, unless there is a settlement beforehand with the photo agency. The Sunday Express newspaper that had originally run the pictures had settled earlier.
Richard Spearman, Rowling's lawyer, had told the appeals court, "This claim is not about the rights of adults, this is about the rights of the child." But paparazzi lawyer Mark Warby said Rowling has never been able to show any way in which her child had been hurt by the taking and publication of the pictures.
The original trial judge had ruled, “I have considerable sympathy for the claimant’s parents and anyone else who wishes to shield their children from intrusive media attention. But the law does not in my judgment allow them to carve out a press-free zone for their children in respect of absolutely everything they choose to do.”
Murdoch Believes His Newsday Deal Is All Wrapped Up
News Corp has announced a tripling of its third-quarter profit, primarily because of the sale of its stake in DirecTV Group Inc. to Liberty Media and also from increased advertising from ``American Idol'' and the Super Bowl on his Fox Network, but it was Rupert Murdoch’s confidence that he is going to win Newsday – perhaps in just a few days -- that caught even more attention.
He has bid $580 million for Newsday in a joint venture tax deal that sees Tribune retaining 5% of the newspaper and thus avoiding some $200 million in taxes for an outright sale. Murdoch told analysts during a conference call Wednesday that he doesn’t believe Zell is going for the higher $650 million bid from Cablevision Systems Corp. "No, I don't think Cablevision will prevail. Just be patient a couple of days," Murdoch said.
Murdoch said he expects Newsday would add $100 million to News Corp. cash flow. "This is a great market and this will give us a very powerful position," he said, adding he does not expect problems with Federal Communications Commission approval. “That's something which would be handled when our licenses come up for renewal on TV and we're confident we'll get through that, even if we have to go to court," he said.
He indicated the deal could be wrapped up within a week. "We see Newsday continuing to be a very important local newspaper covering two of the greatest counties in America and wealthiest counties in America and the (New York) Post covering basically the City of New York, a paper with a very different character," We're not putting them to be one newspaper. But there are great savings in printing and distribution and normal back office (functions). There's a lot we can do together and we'll pursue that. We're very optimistic for both papers. “
Zell is anxious to do more business with Murdoch – for instance printing the Wall Street Journal at one of his Florida newspapers and also in Los Angeles which is why he may forego the higher priced Cablevision bid. Zell and Murdoch are said to get on well together. "I trust Mr. Zell absolutely. He's famous for being a man of his word. We think everything's in hand," Murdoch said. Both recently were named to the Associated Press Board of Directors.
Super Bowl 2009 Ads Start At $3 Million
The Wall Street Journal says NBC’s starting price for a 30-second ad for Super Bowl 2009 is $3 million – that’s $300,000 more than Fox charged for 2008 although as that game drew closer and available ad slots were few and far between it also got $3 million for some spots.
And will the advertisers pay that type of money? If it’s a Super Bowl matchup similar to 2008 there’ll probably be a waiting line, but to commit before knowing who’s playing who? The 2008 game was watched by some 97.4 million viewers – the biggest TV audience for any US sporting event.
Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, said at a symposium last week that he believes within 15 years broadcast television will be mostly live events such as big sporting events and award shows.
Just How Loud Was That Commercial?
For about as long as there have been commercials on TV viewers have been complaining that when the ad comes on the volume seems to go way up. TV stations deny that they raise the commercial volume to ensure your attention (instead they get your aggravation) but now British regulators are doing something about the practice.
New rules, effective this summer, require that ads not be “excessively noisy or strident", and that the sound level of ads must be consistent with the level of the programs they interrupt.
Shahriar Coupal, spokesman for the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice, said, "We were acutely aware of the frustration that excessively loud or seemingly noisy ads were causing consumers.”
Amen!
Controversial Georgian TV channel back on air
…no news, just movies…
Imedi TV returned to the airwaves (Monday May 5) after a 130 day hiatus. The station and all of its alleged owners have been linked to deep controversy and dark conspiracies. The stations’ director told RIA Novosti full services would return in September. For now, no news.
Exactly who or what owns or runs Imedi TV has been the subject of considerable speculation since the untimely death of previous owner Badri Patarkatsishvili in February.All Russian sources refer to Ioseb Kakalashvili, also known as Joseph Kay, as the current owner. Other sources say Patarkatishvili’s heirs are disputing that claim. Somewhere in this mix of intrigue is News Corporation, once, maybe, a part owner. (See earlier article on Imedi TV)
The Georgian Times (April 15) reported that Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidzeoffered News Corporation US$500 million to take the channel off the air. (JMH)
How Many Trees Are You Holding In Your Daily Newspaper?
How many trees does it take to print one day‘s newspaper? That’s like asking how big is a piece of string – it depends on size, number of pages and the like. But having said that our eye was caught by an item in the Montreal Gazette that gave this statistic –the newspaper uses 15,000 tonnes of newsprint each year which it says is the equivalent of 186,816 trees – 12.45 trees per tonne. The paper didn’t source how it arrived at that number.
Housing Foreclosures A Big Boost To Newspapers
We wrote last week about how government entities are trying to save money by doing away with laws that require they post their legal advertising in newspapers of general circulation with many entitles looking at free newspapers, shoppers and the Internet as cheaper alternatives.
But in the meantime it seems newspapers, which are in the doldrums with much of the real estate and auto classifieds disappearing, have hit a real bonanza with one particular type of legal notice – housing foreclosures. It seems that many local governments are required to advertise housing foreclosure sales.
The Washington City Paper reports that “On March 13, the Washington Post's classifieds section totaled 22 pages, approximately 14 of which were devoted to what are technically known as ‘trustee's sales’."
Bad side to that, of course, is that those homes are no longer subscribing to the newspaper.
Bahrain ends prison terms for press law violations
…completely repeals…
Amendments to the press law were approved at a Council of Ministers meeting (Sunday May 4). Still needing approval of the Parliament, the proposed amendment “completely repeals prison sentences against journalists,” said a statement by the government press agency Bna.
Under the current press law, journalists and “others appearing with criticism” could be fined or receive prison sentences for insulting the King or Kingdom, risking national security or insulting Islam. (JMH)
Nielsen reports 2007 ad market growth
...fast moving in Asia Pacific...
All sectors increased spending in the Asia Pacific region, according to a Nielsen report on the ad business in 2007. Trade and consumer durables lead spending in Europe, Middle East and Africa while fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and financials led spending in North America, where all other sectors spent less. Worldwide, ad spending by automotive and media sectors declined.
Television ad spending was up 5.2% world wide, compared with 4.7% growth in all ad spending. Radio advertising also grew above the industry average. Magazine advertising grew 4.4% and newspapers 3.8%.
Advertising in China, India, Europe, Africa and the Middle east grew at 4.9% while ad spending in North America declined 0.5%. (JMH)
Publisher on plane out of paradise
…Shut Up…
Sometime in the night (Thursday) Fiji authorities escorted Fiji Times publisher Evan Hannah to a Korean Air flight bound for Seoul, South Korea. Military authorities deported Hannah suddenly despite a Fiji High Court order for his appearance in chambers Friday morning (May 2). Because of the court order Air Pacific refused to issue a ticket for an earlier flight to Sydney, Australia.
Radio New Zealand reported a second airline also refused to cooperate and issue a ticket for the deportation. Thursday night the Fiji High Court granted a delay in Mr. Hannah’s deportation at the request of the Fiji Times.
A Defense Ministry spokesperson told Fiji TV, reported by AFP, the deportation was ordered because of articles written in the Fiji Times threatening national security. Russell Hunter,publisher of the Fiji Sun, was deported in February. Both Hannah and Hunter hold Australian citizenship and Fiji immigration authorities have cited work permit violations.
“We Won’t Shut Up” is the lead editorial in this mornings’ Fiji Times.
The Fiji Times has been published for 135 years and is owned by News Corporation. (JMH)
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