The New Yorker launches ‘Strongbox’ to protect privacy of sources

On Wednesday (15 May), The New Yorker launched ‘Strongbox’, a new way to share information with the magazine’s writers and editors that provides “a greater degree of anonymity and security than afforded by conventional e-mail.” The formation of this anonymous information-sharing platform means that members of the public need not hesitate about sharing sensitive information, given that their identities will remain protected from magazine staff.

French newspapers catch on to ‘augmented reality’

“Augmented reality” is a digital concept that the news industry has been familiar with for some time now. Already tried and tested by a host of national newspapers in the US and UK including The Independent, The Times, The Telegraph and The Los Angeles Times to name but a few (see previous Editors Weblog article on the varying ways in which these newspapers have been using AR), the past few weeks have seen a flourish of French newspapers hopping on board, embracing this new technology as a useful way to bridge the gap between their print and online content.

Paywall imminent for Axel Springer’s Bild.de

Germany’s Axel Springer publishing house, which in December instituted a metered paywall for mainstream title Die Welt, will follow up with a paid-content offer for Bild.de by the end of May, according to media site Horizont.net.

UK’s Sun to introduce paywall for online content… but will people pay?

In a move which completes News International’s strategy of placing all of its national newspapers behind paywalls, The Sun will begin charging £2 per week for its online content in August this year. The imposing of a weekly charge follows the newspaper’s £30 million deal to gain rights to all Premier League matches, meaning that paid subscribers will have access to Premier League clips as well as a number of “exclusive offers and promotions.”

AP: US Justice Department secretly accessed phone records

The US Justice Department is being accused of carrying out “a serious interference with AP’s constitutional rights to gather and report news” by secretly obtaining two months’ worth of telephone records of the Associated Press’ reporters and editors. As some are seeing it, that infringes on the news cooperative’s rights to maintain the confidentiality of their sources and newsgathering operations.

El País: how to keep a focus on quality journalism in tough times

2012 was a difficult year for El País, which cut a third of its newsroom staff due to financial pressures. For some weeks at the end of the year, journalists were counting to 129 before the evening editorial meeting each day, to remind editors of the 129 colleagues who had to leave.

Google set to charge subscriptions for special YouTube channels

Since January this year, the media industry’s rumour mill has been aflutter with suggestions of the impending possibility of paid-for subscriptions for certain YouTube channels.

Press aid in France: online press to pay same low taxes as printed press

The reduced level of VAT that currently benefits the printed press in France thanks to a government aid program is due to be extended to the nation’s digital media publications as well, following demands from Spiil (Syndicat de la presse indépendante d’information en ligne).

The Free Press Principle

3 May is a day to celebrate hard-won press freedoms, but also to recognise how fragile those victories remain.

Twitter on the hunt for ‘Head of News and Journalism’

It would appear that Twitter is looking to solidify its relationship with the news media following a new job advertisement posted online for a ‘Head of News and Journalism’, hereby announcing their search for somebody to “shape and drive the next growth phase of Twitter’s partnership with the news industry.”