News

Why Google Now add-on could be an ideal hyperlocal news solution

Google is beta testing a hyperlocal news card for its Now app, according to an exclusive report by Quartz. This add-on could build on the ruins of hyperlocal news sites, including EveryBlock, Guardian Local, Village Soup, TBD, Bayosphere, and, by the end of 2013, possibly Patch, to revive hyperlocal news. Other outlets’ failures only demonstrate how Google is perfect for this niche.

Guardian Notifications allows readers to follow authors, series by email

The Guardian quietly launched Guardian Notifications, which allows readers to subscribe to favourite authors and series by email, on 15 July. While still in beta testing, this innovation underscores the importance of journalists’ personal brands, increasingly rivaling those of their own publications.

Sun paywall launches today, but editor assures ‘we are not becoming digital-first’

Sun+ launches today, making The Sun the first national British tabloid and the last of News UK’s titles to erect a paywall. Despite revamped apps and other offerings to entice new subscribers, Digital Editor Derek Brown promised, “We are not becoming digital-first.”

Twitter abuse case echoes news orgs’ comment moderation dilemma

Twitter’s pointed passivity in the Caroline Criado-Perez rape threat case is about more than just the cost of policing tweets. The site is clinging to its critical yet unstable distinction as a communications platform, not a publisher, to shirk legal responsibility for offensive and unlawful tweets. News organizations are tiptoeing this same line as they develop their commenting policies: While many think moderation is “essential,” passivity sometimes better protects them.

Il Fatto online is Italy’s third most-visited news site

The Italian news title has found a lot to celebrate during the first six months of 2013. Not only did an Audiweb survey show that ilfattoquotidiano.it’s homepage was the third most-visited of all of Italy’s general news homepages, the publication was also voted Italy’s most independent online news source, according to a Human Highway poll.

Business Insider gives sponsor limited content control; is it ethical?

Business Insider’s “The Future of Business” section gives underwriter SAP limited editorial control, raising ethical concerns. Though SAP can’t shoot down headlines or specific language, the company has ultimate veto power for all posts published on the blog it sponsors, Ad Age reported. This prevents BI from covering any of SAP’s competitors for “The Future of Business,” which mixes staff-written pieces with others by SAP.

Axel Springer sells its regional papers to Funke Mediengruppe in 920 million euro deal

German publishing houses Axel Springer and Funke Mediengruppe said yesterday (25 July) they have reached an agreement whereby Funke will acquire Axel Springer’s regional newspapers, TV program guides and women’s magazines.

WSJ: Interactivity will become the norm

Though The Wall Street Journal’s interactive, first-person point-of-view video on the Affordable Care Act generated lots of buzz earlier this month, such features will soon become the norm at the newspaper, Neal Mann, multimedia innovations editor, told Journalism.co.uk.

ABC emulates BBC with links to commercial news sites

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) will pilot a new service designed to funnel its online audience to other news media sites. Managing director of the ABC Mark Scott will unveil the plans in a speech to the Australia American Chamber of Commerce in Sydney, reports The Australian, which managed to get an advanced copy of Scott’s announcement.

What Google’s just-announced Chromecast means for news orgs

Google’s recently-announced Chromecast dongle will bring Internet video to TV for just US$ 35, giving traditional news organizations a chance to establish themselves as video providers and better compete with broadcast news.