Media News - Tuesday, November 04, 2008

EU to review public service broadcast rules

Public service broadcasters in Europe could get more freedom to charge for services and build up reserves to expand their activities under proposals due to be unveiled by Brussels this week. But the European Commission is also suggesting that there should be tight controls on these activities, and urging so-called PSBs to separate clearly their public service and non-public service activities, both in accounting terms and at an organisational level. The Commission's proposals come in a revision to the 2001 guidelines for applying EU state aid rules to public service broadcasting. These have become increasingly outdated as technologies have changed. With more distribution options available - from mobile TV to video on demand - broadcasters generally have been keen to diversify. But that has led to a rise in complaints to Brussels from commercial operators about some of the activities of the PSBs. Issues of cross-subsidy, and the alleged use of public funds - or state aid - to fund online ventures have been particularly prevalent. Disputes have arisen in several countries, including Germany, Ireland, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands. On Tuesday the Commission is due to unveil its proposed revamp of the rules - which, in turn, will open the way for public consultation and the adoption of new guidelines next year. According to a draft of the proposals, seen by the Financial Times, Brussels is suggesting that PSBs should be able to charge directly for services, as part of their social remit, in certain limited circumstances. (Financial Times)

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French weekly censored in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria for ‘attack on Islam’

Morocco's communications ministry announced a ban on distribution of the international edition of the French weekly L'Express for an 'attack on Islam'. Algerian and Tunisian authorities followed suit three days after the 31 October Moroccan decision, the US news agency Associated Press reported Monday. The 30 October to 5 November 2008 issue of l'Express had a cover page headlined 'The shock: Jesus-Mohammed: Their journey, their message, their vision of the world'. A ten-page article inside presented portraits of the founders of Christianity and Islam days ahead of a meeting in Rome of Muslim and Catholic dignitaries on the initiative of Pope Benoit XVI, to 'promote dialogue' between the two monotheist religions. The Moroccan authorities used Article 29 of the press code that authorises banning of publications 'when they strike a blow at the Islamic religion, the monarchy, territorial integrity or respect for the king and public order'. (Reporters Without Borders)

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Seattle Times announces third staff cut this year

The Seattle Times on Monday announced plans to cut its staff by 10 percent through a combination of layoffs and buyouts. The cuts of 130 to 150 jobs are the third staff reduction announced by the 112-year-old, family owned newspaper this year. The company hinted in an e-mail to staff Monday morning that there could be further cuts as the 2009 budgeting process continues. The newspaper told its employees that the tough economy and dropping advertising revenue are forcing the layoffs. In January, The Times said it would cut 86 jobs, mostly by not filling existing openings. In April, it said it was eliminating another 200 jobs, including about 45 newsroom employees. The company currently has nearly 1,600 full- and part-time employees. The Times, the largest daily newspaper in Washington state, is run by the Blethen family, which holds a 50.5 percent stake in the company. The rest is held by McClatchy Co. Last month, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported that the combined weekday circulation of 507 newspapers across the country dropped 4.6 percent from a year earlier. The Seattle Times saw average weekday circulation decline 7.7 percent to about 199,000, while the Sunday edition, which bears both The Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer mastheads, fell 9.1 percent to 382,000, the bureau reported. (AP via Komonews.com)

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Google, Yahoo send revised ad deal to Justice Dept: report

Yahoo and Google have sent a revised version of their proposed advertising partnership to US Justice Department anti-trust regulators, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The newspaper, citing 'people familiar with the matter,' said the Internet powers had added 'a number of new provisions designed to limit the scope of the deal' in a bid to get a green light from the Justice Department. The Journal said the new plan, submitted over the weekend, shortens the original agreement to two years from 10 years and caps the revenue Yahoo can generate from the deal to 25 percent of Yahoo's search revenue. It would also allow Google advertisers to opt out of having their ads displayed on Yahoo sites. The Journal said the revised proposal came after the companies and the Justice Department 'had reached somewhat of a stalemate.' Google and Yahoo, respectively number one and number two in the Internet ad market, announced on October 3 that they were delaying the start of the alliance until at least October 22 to give regulators more time. That date came and went, however, without the companies implementing the agreement, which would put Google technology to work targeting search ads on Yahoo pages. Software giant Microsoft, advertisers and regulators have raised objections to a tie-up between Google and Yahoo, claiming it would allow Google to tighten its grip on online advertising and restrict competition. (AFP)

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Media groups turn on Web for election coverage

Major media organizations expect record-breaking traffic on their websites as they follow results in the race between Republican John McCain and his Democratic opponent Barack Obama. TV networks' plans for heightened Web coverage would seem to serve their audiences well. This past Friday, TV trackers at Nielsen Media released a study suggesting Web surfing and watching TV go together. Thirty percent of online activity at home happens while users are watching TV, the study found. Among major news services, CNN predicts more than 1 billion page views on its Web site, and has planned a 'Your Races' feature where users can get updates on even the most remote races, from Congressional contests to state ballot measures. The New York Times is asking its Web site visitors to take pictures of their polling places and upload them, providing an election day snapshot of the nation. The news sites will also have the up-to-the-minute election maps. Election day will be an experiment at the cable channel Current TV, which is run by Democratic former Vice President Al Gore and businessman Joel Hyatt. Through a partnership with social networking sites Digg and Twitter, the channel will rely on Internet users to provide its news content that day. The channel's TV screen will be a crowded and sometimes disconnected 'dashboard' of text and video created or chosen by Internet users, Hyatt said. (Reuters)

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Army of global journalists descends on US for election

An army of global journalists is descending on the United States to cover Election Day, November 4, in a reflection of unprecedented worldwide interest in the American presidential election. Democrat Barack Obama's campaign has accredited 1,500 journalists for an Election Night event at campaign headquarters in Chicago, home base of the 47-year-old Illinois senator seeking to become America's first black president. Due to media fascination with the most prominent African-American candidate to date, as well as polls that show Obama leading his Republican rival John McCain, more journalists have chosen to base themselves in Chicago than in Phoenix, Arizona, where McCain serves as senator. Some reporting teams are making the rounds of the United States to try and capture everyday realities in the country. The daily Clarin newspaper out of Buenos Aires has sent reporters along the legendary Route 66, which cuts across the country, to 'meet people, go inside towns and post Internet photos, videos and blogs' about their experiences, said chief international editor Marcelo Cantelmi. (AFP)

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