News

Quartz reaps the rewards of its forward-thinking strategies

Any avid observer of news trends will have noticed that in 2013 the biggest pieces of ‘news news’ have been mobile-first strategies and sponsored content. Quartz magazine, launched a year ago, foresaw the potential of both of these trends and now seems to be reaping the rewards of being one step ahead of the curve.

Libération’s website relaunch prepares paper for digital future

Libération, the French national daily founded forty years ago by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July, has a new look online. Summer 2013 has seen the paper’s editorial team revamp Libé’s digital products, both as a means of capitalising on the title’s recent growth online and on mobile devices and to compensate for the title’s 17 per cent drop in newsstand sales.

Telegraph Media Group appoints new editor-in-chief as part of focus on digital

In the latest step in its journey to become “the foremost English-language multimedia news and content provider,” The Telegraph Media Group has recruited the services of PBS’s general (digital) manager Jason Seiken, the Guardian reports.

Transformation at the Deseret News: separate teams and redefined focus

While the recent tendency for newspaper publishers has been to integrate their digital efforts into their traditional operations, Clark Gilbert has become known for challenging conventional logic. Having joined the Salt Lake City, Utah-based Deseret News Publishing Co. in 2009, he is now president and CEO of this company and of Desert Digital Media. Gilbert was formerly a professor at Harvard Business School and elsewhere and a consultant on innovation and disruption.

Bright start for Axel Springer startup accelerator

“More recently we did a little investment in Dropbox” – Saeed Amidi, CEO, Plug and Play Tech Center

Le Figaro looks to magazines to raise revenue

Le Figaro, one of France’s top-selling national newspapers, is dedicating a lot of energy to its magazine output – and with good reason.

Rise of adblock technology could prove troublesome for online news titles

Even as digital news consumption begins to grow online, news titles have yet to solve the puzzle of boosting their revenue. Released in March, Pew Research Centre’s 2013 State of the Media report reveals that news publications are failing to monetise their growing digital audience. Though digital advertising grew by 17 percent in 2012, the revenue generated in this sector increased by only 3 percent. Now, as the popularity of adblock technology continues to grow, newspapers find themselves faced with fresh online challenges.

New Editor-in-Chief at Helsingin Sanomat, while Sanoma begins redesign of media operations

Helsingin Sanomat has a new editor-in-chief, Kaius Niemi, Sanoma announced. 2013 has so far been an exceptionally eventful year at Finland’s largest daily, while news from the newspaper’s publishing company Sanoma speaks of a need for a wider restructuring.

Q&A with Stampen Chairman Tomas Brunegård

Former Stampen Media Group CEO Tomas Brunegård is embarking on a new yet familiar journey: As the company’s new Chairman of the Board, he will continue to play a vital role in defining Stampen’s strategic vision, but he also will dedicate his time to fulfilling his new role as WAN-IFRA President, and other issues close to his heart.

As Kochs rule themselves out of Tribune purchase, who could be next to step into the fold?

When Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post, the acquisition was widely heralded as a return of the traditional news ownership model: the “rich sole proprietor.” Ever since, many factions in the news industry have been in a state of low-level frenzy, attempting to guess which heritage title will be up for grabs, and which wealthy individual will be the next to “do a Bezos.” Now, as certain key figures rule themselves out of buying some of America’s most prestigious papers, and others throw their hat into the ring, we’ve compiled a quick rundown of the principal interested parties.