Media News - Friday, April 11, 2008

Le Monde staff to stop presses rolling

Staff at Le Monde, France's newspaper of record, will go on strike on Monday to protest against savage job cutting plans, threatening publication of the paper for only the second time in its 64-year history. Le Monde's management announced last week that 130 jobs would have to go, including two-thirds in the newsroom, which represents one in four journalists or about 87 staff. These cuts, which even Le Monde's new management accept are drastic, are part of plans to turn around the loss-making paper. The 24-hour strike on Monday, April 14, over job cuts could mean that Le Monde's Tuesday edition does not reach newsstands. Le Monde has been in crisis for several years. The paper had a daily circulation of about 358,000 copies in 2007, down from 398,000 in 2003. It lost EUR 15m in 2007, has not made a profit in seven years, and has accumulates losses of EUR 150m. Le Monde's difficult situation reflects that of the French press in general, with overall circulation and profits in decline. (The Guardian)

Bookmark this : | Listen to this article | Sphere: Related Content

Panel moves on Sarkozy’s plan to eliminate TV ads

Advertising on French public television could be phased out from 2009 to the end of 2011, a special commission set up by President Nicolas Sarkozy said Wednesday. Public broadcasters fear that an end to the advertisements could limit their resources, but Sarkozy has suggested taxes on ads on private television and new media like the Internet would compensate for the shortfall. The final proposals of the commission to the government would not be binding. The plan would be an ‘innovation without precedent’ for the audiovisual industry, resulting in ‘a cultural revolution in the public-television service,’ Sarkozy said in making the proposal. He also said it would ‘support French culture.’ The government might also introduce an ‘infinitesimal’ tax on Internet access and mobile communications to finance ad-free state TV, the president said. (International Herald Tribune)

Bookmark this : | Listen to this article | Sphere: Related Content

News Corp. in talks to join Microsoft on Yahoo bid

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is in talks with Microsoft about joining in its contested bid for Yahoo, according to people involved in the discussions. The combination, which would join Yahoo, Microsoft's MSN and News Corp.'s MySpace, would create a behemoth that would upend the Internet landscape. The talks are a surprising twist in the two-month-long takeover story that began when Microsoft made a USD 44.6 billion bid for Yahoo. Yahoo has resisted Microsoft's overtures, contending that it will not negotiate unless Microsoft raises its offer. Yahoo, which wants to remain independent, has been in a desperate search for white knights, holding conversations with Time Warner's AOL and News Corp. If News Corp. throws its weight behind Microsoft's offer, that could allow Microsoft to raise its bid, putting even more pressure on Yahoo and its shareholders. At the same time, the alignment of Microsoft and News Corp. would remove a possible alternative for Yahoo, leaving it with fewer opportunities to escape Microsoft's grasp. (International Herald Tribune)

Bookmark this : | Listen to this article | Sphere: Related Content

MySpaceTV lands global TV distribution deal

A company founded by Rupert Murdoch's daughter will help News Corp's MySpace distribute Web shows on television and DVDs outside the United States, as the world's largest social network seeks an audience away from the computer. The move is a play to make shows such as MySpaceTV's ‘Quarterlife’ or ‘Roommates’ available outside of the United States, or create localized versions of the shows, said Travis Katz, managing director of MySpace's international arm. The partnership with ShineReveille, the distribution arm of Elisabeth Murdoch-founded Shine Group, is one of News Corp's most ambitious plays to underscore MySpace as a media platform, distinguishing itself from fast-moving rival Facebook. Just last week, MySpace announced a deal with three big music companies to start an online music service, seen as a rival to Apple Inc's popular digital entertainment service iTunes. (Reuters)

Bookmark this : | Listen to this article | Sphere: Related Content

U.S. gets high marks for its Internet network

The Global Information Technology Report issued Wednesday found that the United States now ranks fourth in the world, behind Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland. Last year, the United States was seventh. The study showed a number of global trends. Five Nordic countries were reported among the world's top 10. South Korea posted one of the most significant improvements in the last year, rising 10 places to 9th, and China moved up five positions to 57th. The study, which has been issued annually for the last seven years, seeks to draw a more complete picture of national network readiness. The study was done by Insead, a French business school, on behalf of the World Economic Forum, a policy and conference group based in Switzerland. It used an index generated from 68 variables, including market factors, political and regulatory environment and technology infrastructure rather than just bandwidth capacity and data transmission speeds. The Insead assessment offers a stark contrast to other appraisals based on single measures that have portrayed the United States as both lagging and declining in the broadband boom. Last year, a range of statistics on global bandwidth use indicated that the United States was trailing other industrial nations in both broadband network consumption and penetration as a percentage of population. (International Herald Tribune)

Bookmark this : | Listen to this article | Sphere: Related Content

South African Human Rights Commission ruling on Forum of Black Journalists a ‘problem’

The South African Human Rights Commission this week that the Forum of Black Journalists' blanket exclusion of white journalists from its membership amounted to unfair discrimination and was therefore against the Constitution. The essence of the complaint was that the FBJ unfairly discriminated against white journalists by excluding them from its membership and activities. The complaint followed an incident in which the FBJ excluded white journalists from its re-launch, which was addressed by ANC president Jacob Zuma. The FBJ sent out invitations to black journalists only. The event was for its members or potential members who are black. The forum argued that it had the constitutional right to exist and organise black people with the objective of confronting the realities of racial discrimination that they continue to face in the media industry – 14 years into democracy. (Sowetan)

Bookmark this : | Listen to this article | Sphere: Related Content

• Home |
• Seminars  |
• Events |
• Media Landscape |
• Newsroom|
• Media News|
• Resources

Terms of service and Privacy policy.

Copyright © 1992-2007 European Journalism Centre. All rights reserved.

Valid XHTML and CSS.

European Journalism Centre

Sonneville-lunet 10
6221KT Maastricht
The Netherlands

Tel. : +31 43 325 40 30
Fax : +32 2 400 42 20

E-mail: info[at]ejc.net