• J-Source

    Why newspapers don’t innovate

    Newspapers have come under a lot of criticism for not being innovative enough in transitioning from dead-tree to digital and social media. A new survey of editors by the Associated Press Managing Editors (APME) group may help explain why newsrooms find it challenging. Asked what stood in the way of change, 67.7 per cent of respondents said they didn’t have the staff and…

  • J-Source

    The future of news: Two perspectives

    Here’s something to ponder: Two new investigations into the future of news that couldn’t be more different.   1. Moving Into Multiple Business Models: Outlook for Newspaper Publishing in the Digital Age. This report authored by PriceWaterhouseCoopers asserts that newspapers must keep on reducing costs, increase outsourcing of “generic editorial” functions, further centralize newsrooms and ad salesforces and continue consolidating ownership while putting more emphasis…

  • J-Source

    Google introduces News Timeline

    The ceaselessly clever innovators at Google Labs have launched a new application that could prove useful to anyone using current or recent news reports in their research. News Timeline marries the topic/phrase searchability of Google News with a graphical timeline presentation of search results. It’s worth checking out. (Try “swine flu” or “pandemic” as search terms for starters.)

  • J-Source

    Online journalists most jailed last year

    For the first time ever, the number of online journalists jailed last year exceeded than those working in print, the Committee to Protect Journalists reports. Of 125 journalists in jail worldwide as of Dec. 1, 2008, 55 worked online, 53 worked in print and 17 worked in broadcast media or film. China continues to be the world leader in…

  • J-Source

    Internet “most useful” source for swine flu info

    People followed the swine flu story closely last week. Although most “learned something” about the flu from local TV news and, to a lesser extent, cable news, the Internet came out on top when people were asked which medium was “most useful,” according to a Pew research survey.

  • J-Source

    Circulation up slightly for many Canadian newspapers

    Paid daily circulation increased slightly for many Canadian newspapers during the six months ended March 31, according to the latest report by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. Circulation at the Montreal Gazette rose 13 per cent over the same period last year. However, circulation at the National Post dropped 20 per cent.

  • J-Source

    U.S. print journo jobs slashed at a record rate

    U.S. newspapers hacked 5,900 jobs from their newsrooms last year, the largest round of print journalism job reductions since the American Society of News Editors started counting in 1978. The cuts, representing 11.3 per cent of the workforce, left about 46,700 journalists still working in U.S. newsrooms, down from a peak of 56,900 in 1990.

  • J-Source

    Local TV news: More hours, produced by fewer people for less pay

    Local television stations provided more hours of weekday news last year despite cutting staff and reducing salaries, according to a study released at the annual Radio-Television News Directors Association convention. Member stations reduced staff levels by about 1,200 people (4.3 per cent) while average salaries declined by 13.3 per cent for reporters, 11.5 per cent for news anchors, 9.1 per cent for…

  • J-Source

    In Journal: Foxifying British TV news, community journalism and newsroom change

    Selected articles from the April 2009 issue of Journalism of possible interest to the journalism community: Towards a `Foxification’ of 24-hour news channels in Britain?: An analysis of market-driven and publicly funded news coverage, by Stephen Cushion and Justin Lewis Making good sense: Transformative processes in community journalism, by Michael Meadows, Susan Forde, Jacqui Ewart, and Kerrie…