And finally - last Trevor McDonald bulletin tonight

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 20 November 2008 at 11:20
Tags: Broadcast, Television

Sir Trevor McDonald will present his last News At Ten bulletin tonight.

McDonald originally retired from ITV’s flagship new bulletin three years ago, but was brought back on a temporary basis at the beginning of the year when ITV relaunched the show to go head to head with the BBC.

Trinidad born McDonald joined ITN as a general reporter 35 years ago and has carried out a number of high profile interviews, including the first British television interview with Nelson Mandela after his release

He said: “I’ve tremendously enjoyed the opportunity to help re-establish News at Ten over the last year … but I’ve made no secret of the fact that I cannot be in the presenter’s chair forever.”

“Anchoring ITV News’s live coverage of a hugely exciting and historic U.S. election seems the opportune moment to leave on a high.”

Mark Austin will replace McDonald.

Murdered Russian journalist trial closed to public and media

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 20 November 2008 at 11:01
Tags: Journalism

The judge presiding over the trial of three men accused of involvement in the murder of the Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya has done a u-turn and ruled that the trial will done in secret.

The decision, which has caused outrage from colleagues, friends and family of Politkovskaya, was made because jurors were afraid that their lives would be in danger.

Activists have suggested that the ruling was part of a campaign to cover up the murder of Politkovskaya, who was strongly critical of  Kremlin’s policies in Chechnya in her career, before being shot outside her flat in Moscow two years ago.

Mullin: Daily and Sunday Independent titles will not merge

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 20 November 2008 at 09:45
Tags: National Newspapers

Independent on Sunday editor John Mullin has said that although there will be some integration between his paper the daily in the latest cost cuts at Independent News & Media, the two papers will not be merged.

Earlier this week the Independent News & Media announced it would be axing 90 jobs, including 60 journalists, from the two papers.

Mullin told Media Guardian said: “As part of the cost-cutting review, there will be some integration between the Independent and the Independent on Sunday but Independent on Sunday will remain a distinct editorial voice with a distinct staff.”

“It is of course a very difficult situation that we find ourselves in but I fervently believe in the Independent and the Independent on Sunday and what we are fighting for.”v

News International rethinks Wapping redevelopment plans

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 19 November 2008 at 14:02
Tags: National Newspapers

After scrapping plans to sell News International’s Wapping site and uproot all staff to a new location, James Murdoch has now said that the publisher has had to delay the revelepment of Wapping.

Media Guaridan reports that Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive of News Corporation Europe and Asia, told staff that the planned redevelopment of Wapping site has been delayed because of the economic downturn.

The redevelopment of the east London site - home to The Sun, News of the World, The Times and Sunday Times - was announced in September when Murdoch confirmed he had had abandoned plans to sell Wapping and instead was planning a “campus for UK businesses” that would include shops.

The redevelopment was planned to be ready by 2012 and would see staff relocated for three years until it was finished. Murdoch said that although design plans were going ahead, the relocation of staff and start of the construction has been put back till the economy improves.

Murdoch’s memo to staff said: “For the News London project, we will continue designing the new building, decommissioning and removing the old presses and working to gain planning permission.

“We will however, delay the immediate decamp and the start of the construction programme planned for next summer, which would involve significant expenditure.

“With the low level of visibility we have of the medium term for the business, this is the right thing to do. We will advise you of the likely new timescales when visibility improves.”

Heffer and Liddle star in Telegraph politics show online

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 19 November 2008 at 13:38
Tags: National Newspapers, New Media, Online

Telegraph TV has launched a new political show starring Simon Heffer and politican pundit Rod Liddle.

The weekly show will be available on telegraph.co.uk and will offer comment and debate on a range of topics including politics and economics.

The show has been designed specifically for the internet and will only be about 5 minutes long.

The RBI dilemma: Accept a low price, or call off the sale

Posted by Paul McNally on 19 November 2008 at 09:31
Tags: B2B Magazines, Magazines, Media Business

Reed Elsevier could call off the sale of its B2B magazine division, Reed Business Information, after offers fell to $1bn – about half the original asking price.

According to Bloomberg, there are at least two bidders left in the running – Bain Capital and a consortium made up of TPG and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners.

If Reed chief executive Sir Crispin Davis decides to settle for one of the lower prices on the table, a sale could be wrapped up by Christmas, the report says.

He is understood to be keen to offload RBI before he retires in March.

thelondonpaper threatens to quit NRS over low sampling

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 18 November 2008 at 12:25
Tags: Free Newspapers

News International-owned freesheet thelondonpaper is to quit the National Readership Survey following the paper repeatedly trailing its Associated rival London Lite, reports Media Week.

Thelondonpaper distributes 100,000 more copies than London Lite, but according  to NRS data for October 2007 to September 2008 London Lite has a readership of 1,058,000 - 69,000 more than thelondonpaper.

Whilst the Audit Bureau of Circulations figures reveal the number of copies distributed, the NRS uses a survey of a panel of 36,000 people to calculate how many readers a publication has.

Managing director of thelondonpaper Ian Clark said: “The NRS is misleading and increasingly irrelevant for the free papers when sample sizes remain ridiculously low. There were 312 respondents for thelondonpaper for the last six-month survey, during which time more than 30 million papers were distributed.”

Clarke said he is waiting for a new chief executive to be appointed at NRS before making a final decision whether to withdraw or not.

Managing director at London Lite Steve Auckland said it was “typical of News International”. He said: “If the sample does not fit, they just want to change the currency”.

Reed Business Information chief executive steps down

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 18 November 2008 at 10:34
Tags: B2B Magazines, Magazines

The chief executive of B2B publisher Reed Business Information Gerard van de Aast is to step down next month ahead of parent company Reed Elsevier’s sale of the business publisher.

Van de Aast will surrender his positions on the boards of both RBI and Reed Elsevier and from 15 December, when RBI’s UK chief executive Keith Jones will become acting chief executive for the division worldwide “pending resolution of the current divestment process”.

Van de Aast has been dealing with the attempted auction of RBI, which, due to the current economic crisis, has been delayed and seen the value of the business reduced.

Two new launches show signs of resistance in consumer magazine industry

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 18 November 2008 at 10:25
Tags: Journalism

The consumer magazine industry can breathe a sigh of relief – whilst closures and redundancies are flashing up elsewhere, two big consumer publishers have announced new launches.

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Times: Zac Goldsmith mulled bid for Independent

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 18 November 2008 at 09:08
Tags: Media Business, National Newspapers, Newspapers

Conservative parliamentary candidate Zac Goldsmith came close to buying The Independent this summer, according to The Times.

According to The Times the Independent “is under such financial pressure” that it is considering all options.

Goldsmith’s family owns The Ecologist magazine.

The Times reports that the Indy is expected to lose £10m this year and will announce major editorial cuts this week.

Earlier this month The Times predicted that the Independent titles would lose up to £28m this year.

And James Robinson, writing in The Observer, suggested that DMGT might buy the Independent titles for £1.

In September The Independent raised its cover price to a £1 - making it the most expensive national title bar the FT - in a move which suggested drastic action was needed to offset drops in advertising.

PA Sport swaps snooker strings for website

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 17 November 2008 at 15:15
Tags: Agencies

From December PA Sport will stop taking copy from its regular snooker stringers from early next month and will instead its in-house reporters and the website of the sport’s governing body, World Snooker.

Media Guardian reports that the agency said that will use quotes, statistics and match reports from World Snooker, with some additional reporting.

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GetLippy.com gets interactive

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 17 November 2008 at 14:53
Tags: Consumer Magazines, Magazines, New Media, Online

Online partner to NatMag’s Company magazine, Getlippy.com, has had a redesign to include more interactive content.

The style, beauty and celebrity website from Hearst digital (a division of NatMag) now offers an interactive city guide called City Spy which provides information on places to eat, dance, drink and shop in cities around the UK, with users able to submit their own content.

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Newsquest online continues to grow

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 17 November 2008 at 13:07
Tags: New Media, Online, Regional Newspapers

Regional publisher Newsquest Media Group has seen its ABCe increase by 21 per cent to 5.16 million unique users a month.

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Glamour editor on size matters

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 17 November 2008 at 12:00
Tags: Consumer Magazines, Magazines

Editor of Glamour Jo Elvin has hit back at those who said her magazine was merely a gimmick because of its compact size.

Elvin told The Independent that she has seen off the critics who said her magazine was all smaller style and no substance. She said: “All of our competitors do their traditional size and this size. I knew that would happen and I welcomed it. People used to say it was just because of the size, but it hasn’t had the great gain for others that it has for us.”

Glamour recorded an average monthly circulation of 551,351for the first half of 2008, compated to Cosmopolitan’s 470,735 and Marie Claire’s 316,765.

Job cuts announcement expected on DMGT results day

Posted by Paul McNally on 17 November 2008 at 10:32
Tags: Media Business, National Newspapers

The true extent of Daily Mail and General Trust’s job-cutting plans will become clear on Thursday when the publisher publishes its end-of-year results, with analysts predicting a 10 per cent drop in local advertising and a similar decline in group pre-tax profit.

According to the Observer, savings of up to £30m a year could be announced - and that could mean up to 300 people losing their jobs at the Mail, Mail on Sunday, Metro, Evening Standard and London Lite.

Sir Ray Tindle on BBC local video: A fight we must win

Posted by Rachael Gallagher on 17 November 2008 at 10:30
Tags: Broadcast, Newspapers, Regional Newspapers, Television

Proprietor of Tindle Newspapers Sir Ray Tindle has joined the fight against the BBC’s plans for local online video.

Tindle, who claims that his business has pre-tax profits of £7m and is debt free, said that even he is not immune against the economic downturn or the BBC.

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