Media News - Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Google launches free music site in China

Chinese internet users will be able to download more than 1m music tracks for free after Google launched a new web service with the world's four largest music labels. Pulling the L-plates from a service that launched in trial mode a year ago, the downloads service marks an aggressive move by Google to take on the Chinese search site Baidu.com, which has more than twice the market share of the California-based technology giant. Users looking for artists and song titles on Google's search site in China will be able to browse an extensive catalogue of artists on Warner Music, EMI, Universal Music and Sony BMG. Tracks can also be searched by mood, tempo and genre, and Google also says it is working on a voice search technology for the site. The site is a partnership with the popular Chinese music site Top100.cn, co-founded by Chinese basketball star Yoa Ming, and music labels will share related advertising revenue with Google. Google accounted for 16.6 percent of China's search market in 2008, according to the Chinese Internet Network Information Centre, while Baidu has a 76.9 percent share. But illegal music accounts for a significant amount of traffic to Baidu and, until now, Google has not been able to compete. (The Guardian)

Disney/ABC deals with YouTube

Just days after word leaked that Disney was in talks to join the Hulu online video service, the conglom's Disney/ABC TV Group and ESPN have sealed a separate deal with YouTube. Under the pact, YouTube will launch several channels featuring shortform programming from both ESPN and Disney/ABC. Disney Media Networks will sell its own advertising inventory on the channels in a revenue-sharing arrangement with YouTube parent Google. The deal serves the interests of both sides, as Google is looking to squeeze more revenue out of its Internet vid titan while Disney/ABC is looking for wider Web distribution of its exclusive program content. YouTube has a similar pact with CBS. Talks to partner with NBC Universal and News Corp. on Hulu are ongoing and unrelated to the YouTube pact. Disney has said that it's looking to expand beyond its own media player and onto more ad-supported Web streaming platforms. For Google, the deal gives it additional content for YouTube - and showcases the site as a destination that can be easily monetized - in the wake of rapidly growing rival upstarts like Hulu. At launch, advertising will consist of display ads and YouTube's 'in-video overlays.' But the channels are expected to eventually start utilizing pre-roll advertising. (Variety)

US: Tribune Co. combines newspaper, TV ops in Connecticut

Tribune Co., a newspaper publisher and television station owner that operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, said Monday that it has combined a newspaper and two TV operations in Connecticut in a bid to become more efficient and cut costs. The move puts the operations of The Hartford Courant and WTIC-TV and WTXX-TV in Hartford under one roof, an unusual pairing, and places a TV executive in charge of both. The company said Monday that Richard Graziano, the general manager of the two TV stations, will become the publisher of Courant. The TV stations, the only two local stations in Hartford, will broadcast news from a new studio to be constructed in the paper's newsroom. They each plan to add two half-hour broadcasts, at noon and 6 p.m. 'This is the future of media,' said Randy Michaels, Tribune's chief operating officer, said in a statement. 'Whether in print, over the air, or online - the delivery mechanism isn't as important as the unique, rich nature of the content provided.' (Boston.com)

Detroit newspapers offer one-time free editions

The publishers of the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News offered free copies of their newly slimmed-down editions on newsstands today, looking to jump-start a bold experiment in the economics of the newspaper industry in which both papers will be delivered to subscribers only three days a week. Gannett Co. and MediaNews Group Inc., the companies that publish the newspapers in partnership, said more than 500,000 copies were distributed free for the first time in their history. MediaNews Group Inc. owns the Pioneer Press. On Tuesday, the Free Press and the News will begin selling for their regular retail price. But home delivery has been cut to Thursday, Friday and Sunday, the most popular editions among advertisers. The strategy is aimed at slashing production and delivery costs while retaining enough print ad revenue to sustain newsgathering operations in the midst of a deep recession and an ongoing shift toward digital media. Both papers have added new features, but will be kept to about 32 pages on the four days they don't deliver, meaning less editorial content. (Twincities)

IHT redesigns newspaper, merges website

The International Herald Tribune on Monday unveiled a redesign of its print edition and merged its website with that of its owner, The New York Times. The new front page features a new streamlined nameplate using a typeface that more closely identifies the Paris-based English language daily with the New York Times editions. Each section has been reshaped with cleaner layouts emphasizing bolder treatments of photos and section headings, said a note to readers by IHT editor Martin Gottlieb. The new website was described as a 'global home page' for combined copy from the IHT and the New York Times from more than 40 bureaus worldwide, and edited in New York, Paris and Hong Kong. There had been speculation that the IHT's days were numbered after The New York Times announced last year that it was shutting down the website. But IHT publisher Stephen Dunbar-Johnson said in October that the Times was committed to the IHT, which has been based in Paris since 1887. (AFP)

Arabic Web site dedicated to the environment launched

A Web site that features stories about the environment was recently launched in Arabic by Iraqi reporter Omar al-Mansoury. The Web site is considered the first of its kind in Iraq. It features a variety of topics related to climate change, the environment in Iraq and a worldwide view of how to 'go green.' Journalists, writers and researchers from Iraq and around the Arab world are invited to publish their environmental reports on the site. Al-Mansoury is currently working for the independent Iraqi newspaper Azzaman and pursuing his Master's in Environmental Journalism in Iraq. Before working for Azzaman, Al-Mansoury worked for APTN and Radio Monte Carlo. To access the Web site, visit www.omaralmansoury.com. (International Journalists Network)

More recent Media News:

• 30/03/09 - EU to investigate threats to privacy of internet users
• 30/03/09 - Huffington Post launches journalism venture
• 30/03/09 - Danish prime minister finally moves to shut down Roj TV
• 30/03/09 - Egypt releases detained blogger
• 30/03/09 - Deutsche Welle opens news unit in Dakar News
• 30/03/09 - US: 8 hours a day spent on screens, study finds
• 27/03/09 - NY Times, Washington Post to cull staff
• 27/03/09 - Last edition of Christian Science Monitor
• 27/03/09 - Papers join forces to free Swedish journalist
• 27/03/09 - Portuguese Web site examines access to information in Brazil
• 27/03/09 - When stars Twitter, a ghost may be lurking
• 27/03/09 - Britain could allow abortion advice, condom ads
• 26/03/09 - Emergency call on EU to save journalism
• 26/03/09 - US: Bill introduced to help ailing newspaper industry
• 26/03/09 - Canadian Broadcasting Corp slashes 800 jobs
• 26/03/09 - LA Times, Chicago Tribune merge foreign operations
• 26/03/09 - German court: OK to reprint Nazi-era newspapers
• 26/03/09 - Tasty newspaper ads might cut red ink
• 25/03/09 - Anti-Pyongyang radio stations get backing
• 25/03/09 - YouTube confirms website blocked in China
• 25/03/09 - Two WSJ reporters launch new company
• 25/03/09 - Google makes changes to search results
• 25/03/09 - EU travellers to get cheaper mobile messages, calls
• 25/03/09 - Last.fm radio to charge outside U.S., U.K., Germany

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