Media News - Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Irish Times removes subscription barrier and launches free-to-use website

The Irish Times has dispensed with its subscription-based online edition and launched a new free-to-use website, Irishtimes.com. The previous website Ireland.com, full access to which was limited to only fee-paying readers, has been relaunched as an events, listings and information destination for the Republic. The Irish Times was one of the first newspapers in the world to have a web presence when it launched in 1994, but until now it has primarily focused on a business model that relied on readers paying fees. It relaxed the service partially in 2006, allowing free access to its breaking news. However, the vast majority of its content remained open only to online subscribers. The Times said the launch and adoption of a fee-to-use model was, in part, to appeal to a growing international web readership and to make navigation between stories and related topics easier. The Irish Times follows the New York Times in opening access to all its content to all web users. NYTimes.com removed its TimesSelect pay barrier last autumn. Online readers will now have access to the previous 12 months of The Irish Times content free of charge. The revamp follows changes to the print edition. In February the broadsheets' Saturday edition was relaunched as a 'weekend paper' with a greater variety of news and supplements. (Journalism.co.uk)

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Sweden: ‘Reduce sponsorship of public broadcasting’

The commission examining the future of public broadcasting in Sweden has proposed a drastic reduction in outside sponsorship, according to a report submitted to the Minister of Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth on Monday. 'Sponsorship is a direct exception from the advertising prohibition [on public broadcasting] and restraint is required. The current scope of sponsorship is too large. During 2007, there were 50 sponsored events and 400 broadcasts which had sponsors' signs. It's important that the possibility for sponsorship exists for large athletic events, for example,' said commission head Rose-Marie Frebran of the Christian Democrats. 'I propose a maximum of 20 sponsored sporting events per year, which is less than half the number today.' The report, entitled 'Continuity and Change', also proposes that Sweden's three main public broadcasting entities, Sveriges Television, Sveriges Radio, and Utbildningsradio, the public broadcasting educational programming division, continue to function as before. The three bodies should also continue to be financed through a fee, finds the report, although the fee is to now be called a public service broadcasting fee rather than a TV-licence fee. The report also called for the elimination of a rule which stipulates that at least 55 percent of public programming production take place outside of Stockholm. Such a detailed level of regulation isn't appropriate, and the companies would be better served by choosing themselves how they wish to reflect the country, according to the commission's report. (The Local)

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Publisher appeals to Medvedev

The publisher of the muckraking weekly magazine The New Times has asked President Dmitry Medvedev to grant Russian citizenship to journalist Natalya Morar, a Moldovan national barred from entering Russia. Morar, 24, was refused entry into the country in December just days after publishing a story that claimed the presidential administration used a secret multimillion-dollar fund to finance parties during the State Duma elections. Authorities later said she was denied entry because she was a threat to national security. In an open letter published in Monday's issue of The New Times, publisher Irena Lesnevskaya asked Medvedev to give Morar a passport and 'put an end to this lawlessness.' Morar applied for Russian citizenship last July after graduating from Moscow State University, Lesnevskaya wrote. By law, authorities should have granted or rejected Morar's application by April, but there has been no official response, she wrote. Morar is one of more than two dozen journalists refused entry over the past eight years. (Moscow Times)

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Vodafone seeks budding music reporters

Vodafone has joined forces with MySpace to launch a new interactive mobile music platform. Vodafone Music Reporter will be run as an interactive MySpace community in the UK, Italy, Spain and Germany. Members will be able to 'share music experiences' by uploading and downloading content, including pictures and videos related to Vodafone Music Unlimited events. The sites will also include a blog featuring regular updates on Vodafone Music Unlimited activities. Community members will be able to enter a competition to demonstrate their reporting skills and win the chance to become part of an MTV episode online and on mobile. Budding reporters will have to upload a photo and video review of a recent gig and entries will be voted on by members of the community. Winners from each round will be showcased on the site and the ultimate winner will be awarded the opportunity to join the MTV crew for a day at an event or festival. (VNU Net)

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Indigenous broadcasters will hold first interim council meeting

A network of indigenous broadcasters will hold its first ever interim council meeting in Ireland from August 5 to 9. The decision to hold the council meeting was an outcome of the World Indigenous Television Broadcasting Conference (WITBC 2008) which was hosted in Auckland, New Zealand this past March. Participants of the WITBC 2008 drafted a plan for a World Indigenous Television Broadcasting Network (WITBN) to help promote higher levels of indigenous broadcasting worldwide and develop closer relationships between broadcasters. Goals for the WITBN include developing a network and council structure, proposing activities, capacity and capability building opportunities, establishment of a WITBN Web site, and schedule and action plans for future meetings. For more information, visit http://witbc.org/news/June_16.htm. (International Journalists Network)

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Controversial tiger photos faked

China has fired a number of government officials and arrested a man in connection with a set of fake photographs that local authorities had said was proof of the existence of a highly endangered tiger. In October, forestry officials in Zhenping county in northern Shaanxi province published photos of a tiger in a forest setting, saying they were proof of the existence of the South China tiger. A local farmer who produced the photos was paid a CNY 20,000 (EUR 1,850) reward. Nine months later, officials admitted the photos were faked, state media said, citing sources at a press conference held by the Shaanxi province government. Thirteen local officials, including Zhu Julong, deputy head of the province's forestry bureau, and its top wildlife official Wang Wanyun, were sacked, Xinhua said. The scandal has captivated local media and many Chinese who have viewed the saga as symbolic of common people's lack of trust in local authorities. China has been rocked by a number of major scandals involving official endorsement of photos of rare wildlife in recent years. In February, the chief editor of a Chinese newspaper quit after one its photographers faked a prize-winning photo of endangered Tibetan antelopes appearing unfazed by a passing train on the Qinghai-Tibet railway. (Reuters)

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