How the Eastern Daily Press and Norwich Evening News bucked the trend and increased circulation

Posted by Press Gazette on 1 September 2011 at 14:51
Tags: Journalism, Newspapers, Regional Newspapers

Yesterday we reported on the latest circulation figures for the regional press, and amid the general gloom two newspapers stood out: Archant Norfolk’s Eastern Daily Press and the Evening News.

They were two of only three daily newspapers that managed to increase circulation in the first six months of the year, with the Daily Press up 3.4 per cent to 19,161and its sister title the Evening News up 0.6 per cent to 59,490 (the other was DC Thomson’s Dundee Evening Telegraph, up 1.6 per cent to 23,631).

It was a similar story in the last six months of 2010 when the Daily Press was up 0.4 per and the Evening News was up 0.5 per cent to 18,923.

As highlighted on his blog yesterday, back in April Jon Slattery wrote a piece for the Press Gazette magazine on the regional newspaper groups that were bucking the trend of falling circulations.

In it he interviewed Dom Williamson, Archant Norfolk’s head of sales and audience growth, who said the rise was the result of work to build circulation going backwards several years and a change in status for his team.

(more…)

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11 new journalism jobs found today

Posted by Press Gazette on 1 September 2011 at 06:59
Tags: Journalism Jobs

Press Gazette has found 11 new jobs for journalists today. To view the daily archive of our journalism jobs search click on Journalism Jobs.

Times and Independent Series is looking for a senior reporter. You will have experience as a senior journalist with NCE/NCTJ qualifications.

Job location: London

Closing Date: 13 September

(more…)

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Media Trust and ITV news announce ‘Breaking Into News’ finalists

Posted by KimHeinz on 31 August 2011 at 08:09
Tags: People, Student Journalism

Six finalists have been announced for the ‘Breaking Into News 2011’ competition run by the Media Trust and ITV News.

The six were chosen from more than 300 entrants and will be mentored by experienced journalists from the ITV newsroom, including Richard Pallot and Charlene White, to develop their ideas into a news report, with the final piece considered for inclusion on the ITV News.

ITV News managing editor Robin Elias said:

Our six finalists have excellent ideas which we’ve started developing into pieces of news television.

The aim was to identify talent who wouldn’t normally find a way into somewhere like ITN. ‘Breaking Into News’ has opened that door for them.

(more…)

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Local newspapers could gain charitable status

Posted by Press Gazette on 31 August 2011 at 07:50
Tags: Newspapers, Regional Newspapers

The Government is being urged to allow newspapers to gain charitable status.

According to a report on the Third Sector website, a group of “journalists, academics and charitable funders” will ask the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to make it easier for charitable trusts and foundations to fund not-for-profit local newspapers.

They are due to meet with departments officials next month. According to Third Sector one of the ideas being considered is to ask the Charity Commission to make it easier for local newspapers to gain charitable status to “help them attract funding from trusts and foundations”.

At present the commission does not recognise the provision of news as a charitable activity, the report said.

(more…)

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Guardian: Media face pressure to hand over riot footage to Scotland Yard

Posted by Press Gazette on 30 August 2011 at 14:31
Tags: BBC, Broadcast, Journalism, Newspapers

News organisations are being pressured into handing over footage of the London riots by the Metropolitan Police ,according to The Guardian.

The paper claimed it was one of several newspapers and broadcasters asked to hand over pictures and video footage of the riots, including Sky News.

Media organsaiations that are resisting attempts to hand over footage also include the BBC, The Times and ITN, according to a report on The Guardian’s website.

(more…)

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Report: Murdochs to be questioned under oath, phone-hacking inquiry could be broadcast live

Posted by KimHeinz on 30 August 2011 at 11:22
Tags: Freedom of Information, Journalism, Law

Rupert and James Murdoch are to be questioned under oath at the High Court as part of Lord Justice Leveson’s inquiry into the News of the World phone-hacking scandal, according to The Daily Telegraph.

The paper claimed the inquiry will kick off at the end of next month with a series of seminars for senior journalists and “other interested parties” looking into “the law, ethics of journalism and the ‘practice and pressures of investigative journalism’.

They will also look at “how press regulation will protect the integrity, freedom and independence of the press, while ensuring the highest standards”.

(more…)

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BBC pays out £32.5m in ‘flexibility’ payments to staff

Posted by KimHeinz on 30 August 2011 at 10:15
Tags: BBC, Broadcast

The BBC pays out £32.5m a year to more than 8,000 staff considered to work “unpredictable” hours because they only get two weeks’ notice of their shift patterns.

The majority of staff are believed to be based in the BBC’s news teams, according to an article in The Daily Telegraph.

The payments are referred to as “flexibility allowance” and mean that staff at the corporation “can pocket an extra 10 per cent of their salary as a bonus if they are notified of their precise hours of work 14 days in advance, while those signed up to receive one week’s warning of their shifts receive an extra 20 per cent”, the paper claimed.

(more…)

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Tindle increases stake in regional rival Johnston Press

Posted by Press Gazette on 30 August 2011 at 09:33
Tags: Journalism, Newspapers, Regional Newspapers

Tindle Newspapers has increased its stake in regional newspaper rival Johnston Press to more than 4 per cent and become the company’s fourth biggest shareholder.

A report in The Guardian said Tindle had “seized on Johnston’s low share price” and increased its share of the company to 27.9m shares worth £1.39m.

The paper claimed the move “reflected the confidence of Tindle chairman and founder Sir Ray Tindle in the durability of the local newspaper market in the face of online competition”.

(more…)

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10 new journalism jobs found today

Posted by Press Gazette on 30 August 2011 at 07:10
Tags: Journalism Jobs

Press Gazette has found 10 new jobs for journalists today. To view the daily archive of our journalism jobs search click onJournalism Jobs.

Sport magazine is looking for a sub-editor. You will have at least two years of subbing experience on a weekly or daily publication.

Job location: London

(more…)

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The week ahead: Libya, football transfers, EDF, German election, Wootton Bassett

Posted by Press Gazette on 29 August 2011 at 12:00
Tags: Journalism

A journalists’ giude to the week ahead, courtesy of forward-planning service Foresight News.

Another Japanese prime minister, another resignation. Last week Naoto Kan took the decision to stand down after 15 months in office, amid fierce criticism over his handling of the tsunami and Fukushima nuclear crisis. Kan’s ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) selects its new head today, followed by the Japanese Diet on Tuesday, which will elect its country’s sixth leader in five years.

(more…)

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US freelance journalist escapes after six months in Tripoli prison

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 26 August 2011 at 07:16
Tags: Journalism, People

An American freelance journalist has escaped from a Libyan prison in Tripoli after being held in solitary confinement for six months.

Matthew VanDyke disappeared in March after travelling to Libya to chronicle the uprisings. He told the BBC: “I was in (the Libyan oil town of) Brega and I believe we were ambushed. I was hit in the head and I woke up in a room to the sounds of a man being tortured in the room above me. (more…)

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10 new journalism jobs found today

Posted by Press Gazette on 26 August 2011 at 06:59
Tags: Journalism Jobs

Press Gazette has found 10 new jobs for journalists today. To view the daily archive of our journalism jobs search click on Journalism Jobs.

There is a vacancy for a senior editor (£37-47K + excellent benefits package). You will have experience in a similar role working on commodities.

Job location: London

(more…)

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Herald Scotland to introduce metered paywall

Posted by Andrew Pugh on 25 August 2011 at 08:45
Tags: Journalism, National Newspapers, New Media, Newspapers, Online

Newsquest’s Herald & Times, publisher of The Herald and Sunday Herald, has announced plans to introduce a metered subscription charge for its online content later this year.

In an interview with The Drum, the company ruled out introducing a blanket paywall like The Times. Instead, users will be able to access a fixed number of news stories before they have to subscribe, while “rolling news, commercial content and national sports stories are also likely to remain open for view”. (more…)

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11 new journalism jobs found today

Posted by Press Gazette on 25 August 2011 at 07:47
Tags: Journalism Jobs

Press Gazette has found 11 new jobs for journalists today. To view the daily archive of our journalism jobs search click on Journalism Jobs.

BBC Magazines is seeking for a sub-editor/writer on a 12-month contract. You will have experience in the same role with subbing and proofreading skills.

Job location: London

(more…)

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Wikileaks set to release 30,000 more US embassy cables

Posted by Dominic Ponsford on 24 August 2011 at 09:48
Tags: Journalism

Whistleblowers’ website Wikileaks has announced that it is set to release 30,000 US embassy cables today.

Wikileaks has previously worked with media organisations like the New York Times, Guardian and Telegraph on big document releases. But it appears that it is releasing this latest batch of documents directly itself.

Huffington Post reports that some 4,000 Israeli government cables are also set to be released.

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12 new journalism jobs found today

Posted by Press Gazette on 24 August 2011 at 06:39
Tags: Journalism Jobs

Press Gazette has found 12 new jobs for journalists today. To view the daily archive of our journalism jobs search click on Journalism Jobs.

Bloomberg is looking for a newsletter editor. You will have a degree or equivalent work experience with excellent writing, editing and excel skills.

Job location: London

(more…)

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Journalists still stuck in Tripoli’s Rixos hotel amid reports of nearby mortar and RPG fire

Posted by Ivana Ivankovic on 23 August 2011 at 10:06
Tags: Broadcast, Journalism, New Media, Online, Television

While both the rebel and Gaddafi forces claim control over Tripoli, dozens of journalists are still understood to be trapped in the Rixos hotel in the city.

Among them is the BBC’s Matthew Price, who reported on Sunday that there were 35 journalists still in the hotel.

Speaking on Radio 4’s Today Programme , Price revealed how Gadaffi’s son Seif al-Islam had visited the hotel at 1.15am this morning - disproving widespread reports that he had been captured by rebel forces. (more…)

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Yorks strikers finally get a response from Johnston Press

Posted by Andrew Pugh on 23 August 2011 at 08:44
Tags: Journalism

The bitter dispute between striking journalists and Johnston Press management in South Yorkshire shows no sign of being resolved any time soon.

Throughout the industrial action Johnston Press has declined to answer questions about the matter or engage in negotiations with the strikers.

But, as highlighted on Jon Slattery’s blog today, NUJ members have finally provoked a response from management. (more…)

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