News

Can journalists be objective on social media?

Recent warnings in Kenya to journalists using social media sites highlight the power of these online forums, and the growing difficulties faced by journalists as the boundaries between personal and professional life are blurred online. As social media sites become increasingly influential and increasingly accessed, issues of objectivity and professional codes of conduct are called into question.

Reuters cancels ‘Next’

The decision of Reuters to cancel its forward-looking direct-to-client news interface, called ‘Next’, has been met with surprise.

Press regulation update: Cameron calls for compromise

British Prime Minister David Cameron used an appearance in front of the Commons Liaison Committee to call on fellow party leaders to reach a compromise on press regulation. While Mr Cameron’s new glasses fascinated at least one news outlet reporting on the event, the PM’s address to members of parliament could have significant consequences for Britain’s press.

The Economist live debate highlights growing emphasis on reader/publication interaction

The Economist’s live debate and Facebook coverage on Friday about the upcoming German election raises interesting questions about the way in which journalists are trying to connect with their readers – and how developments in social and digital media are accentuating the differences between print and online journalism.

No news is good news for South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma

In an address to journalism students visiting Parliament from Tshwane University of Technology, South African President Jacob Zuma bemoaned the “overly negative” image of the country portrayed in the media, suggesting it deterred foreign investment and painted a stay-away image. Citing a trip to Mexico as deputy president, he lauded the “patriotic reporting” that kept bad news out of the country’s press. What President Zuma failed to acknowledge is that the Mexican media has been under constant violent attack for its attempts to cover the ongoing consequences of the “War on Drugs”, and that the silence he so praised is a desperate sign of the country’s democratic failings.

Breathe new life to content archives at Media Hack Day in Berlin

Berlin’s credentials as a creative city, particularly for media, technology and startups, make it an ideal place to harness the imagination and ideas of the tech community and invest this in the future of news media.

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.

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.