Al Jazeera launches first-of-its-kind predictive analytics platform

Al Jazeera English recently launched an analytics platform that tracks stories’ traffic and social media reception to predict audience interest. The first-of-its-kind initiative, Forecast and Analytics of Social Media and Traffic (FAST), is the result of a partnership with Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI), Zawya reported.

As NYT prepares for global growth, WSJ censored in China

The New York Times’s decision to rebrand its international sister publication, the International Herald Tribune, is the latest step in the paper’s plans to present the NYT brand as a truly international entity. By relaunching the Paris-based title as the International New York Times, the New York Times Co. hopes to bolster the title’s world-wide audience figures by stressing its ability to produce internationally pertinent content. But as the Wall Street Journal saw its Chinese-language site censored by China’s government over the weekend, questions abound as to how successful attempts at true global reach will prove to be for Western news organisations confronted with radically different media markets.

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.

For the El Tiempo publishing house in Colombia, alliances are the key

Jon Ruiz, CEO of Casa Editorial El Tiempo, editor of Colombia’s leading national newspaper and many other publications, joined the company in 2004, having worked for Unilever for five years and Philip Morris for 15 years. On October 30-31, he will give a presentation at the WAN-IFRA Digital Media Latin America 2013 conference in Bogotá. We spoke to him before the event to get an idea of ​​the challenges that a successful Latin American publisher faces in the Internet age.

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.

OC Register goes against all reason

How can a newspaper succeed that, according to the prevailing opinion in the industry, acts in contrary of all rules of rationality – and this just in the U.S.? The Orange County Register shows how.

Report: Thomson Reuters plans radical restructuring project

Thomson Reuters, the international press agency specialising in financial news and coverage, may soon implement a radical shake-up of its services, if reports from website The Baron prove to be accurate. Run by former Reuters journalists, this site claims to have seen documents mapping out proposals for two alternative five-year economic plans for the press company.