French press to pay higher postal tariffs due to government funding cuts

The French government has announced that it will eliminate its 32.5 million euros of annual funding to the national postal services in response to increasing pressure to reduce public spending, hereby forcing the press industry to pay higher postal tariffs, reported Les Echos.

Japan’s biggest mafia group launches magazine for its members

If reports in several Japanese newspapers are correct, the printed press may have found an unlikely advocate in the form of one of Japan’s most notorious mafia organisations, the Yamaguchi-gumi. The criminal group is said to have created an 8-page magazine named Yamaguchi-gumi Shinpo (The Yamaguchi Clan Gazette) that is distributed exclusively amongst its approximately 28,000 members.

Press+ takes its meter subscription model global

RR Donnelley’s Press+, which provides a digital subscription metering solution for publishers, recently announced it is expanding globally and has added London-based John Michael Hull as business development director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Hull was previously the business development manager for Piano Media.

New York Times, Telegraph colonise Kindle Fire market

The New York Times and The Telegraph recently launched Kindle Fire apps, looking to further tap into the Android market. Other publishers may consider following suit: Though the device represents a limited share of the tablet market, Kindle Fire owners are among the most voracious news consumers.

Corriere della Sera launches social news site Passaparola

Launched in beta on Tuesday morning, Passaparola is Corriere della Sera’s new social news platform. Italy’s biggest-selling national newspaper introduced its latest project as “a new way to read the news and interact with readers” that aims to “promote the flow of content, debate, a connection between readers with similar interests and the generation of vertical communities around [news] content.”

Twitter won’t replace newswires, study suggests

Despite perceptions that “Twitter is the newswire now,” as Mathew Ingram declared in 2011, a new study showed that newswires tend to break stories before Twitter, though the micro-blogging site covers events news outlets neglect.

Libération marks its 10,000th issue with front-page only edition

Libération, France’s iconic left-wing daily newspaper, celebrated its 10,000th edition on Tuesday with a special collector’s copy composed entirely of ‘front pages’. Covering news events and stories that broke on 9th July 2013, an accompanying article is found on the reverse side of each of the forty front pages – one for every year of Libération’s existence.

The Dallas Morning News rewards employees for revenue-generating ideas

In a drive to encourage innovation within the organisation, the Dallas Morning News has begun offering financial rewards of up to $25,000 to employees who come up with lucrative business ideas which generate revenue for the newspaper. This “Innovative Idea Share” program, which has already been running for a year, is designed to incentivise the seeking out of creative opportunities for the newspaper to diversify its pool of revenue sources.

French press announces support for Lescure Report tax

Somewhat unsurprisingly, last weekend the French press stated its approval of and support for a tax on smartphones, computers and tablet devices proposed by the recently published Lescure report.

Independent to cut 27 editorial staffers to combat losses

Independent Newspapers will layoff 27 editorial staffers, mostly reporters, to further its loss minimization strategy.