MEDIA MARKET DATA - World Association of Newspapers

SFN Flash March-June 2006Monthly update on World Press TrendsWorld Association of Newspapers in Paris, FranceJune 15, 2006No 2, Volume 4Distributed by email to WAN/WEF MembersAlso available on SFN website www.futureofthenewspaper.comFor more details, please contact Tatiana Repkova at trepkova@wan.asso.fr MEDIA MARKET DATAMedia Markets & NewspapersChinaThe annual sales revenue from China’s newspapers and magazines exceeded RMB 30 billion,announced Yu Changxiang, director of Newspaper and Magazine Division of GeneralAdministration of Press and Publication. Currently, there are 9,500 magazine titles and 1,900newspaper titles in China. The newspaper and magazine industries have become one of thefastest growing industries in China. Within the 1900 titles, about 50%, or some 1,000 of themare dailies a rise from the 20% in 1990. According to statistics from World Association ofNewspapers, there were 6,580 daily newspaper titles in the word in 2004. Chinese dailynewspaper titles accounted for 14.5% of them, ranking first among all countries. China’s dailynewspaper circulation amounted to 98.6 million copies in 2004, an increase of 6.6% overprevious year. http://www.chinaknowledge.com/news/news-detail.aspx?id=2512; March 27,2006FinlandFirst-quarter profits at SanomaWSOY Corp., the Nordic region's largest media group, fellslightly on increasing sales, but the company predicted that strong growth will continue andprofits will improve. Net profit in the three months through March 31 fell to euro28.9 million(US$36.5 million), from euro34 million in the same period in 2005, while revenue grew 5percent to euro612.5 million (US$773 million) from euro582 million a year earlier,SanomaWSOY said. Chief Executive Hannu Syrjanen described the three-month period astraditionally "challenging." "The first quarter has always been a challenging one for us.However, due to the nature of our business it does not have a strong effect on our full-year1

esults," Syrjanen said. The company's share price fell 2.6 percent to euro20.12 (US$25.40) inlate afternoon trading in Helsinki. Sanoma-WSOY predicted that sales would increase by 4percent during 2006 and that profits would improve, based on forecasts of strong economicgrowth in its main markets in the Nordic region and eastern Europe. The Helsinki-basedcompany also said that media advertising was expected to grow by some 1-5 percent inwestern Europe and by as much as 13 percent in the Czech Republic and 17 percent in Russia.Last year, SanomaWSOY's magazine division acquired Independent Media Holding B.V., aleading Russia-based publisher of glossy magazines, including local editions ofCosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, FHM, Russian-language business daily Vedomosti andthe English-language newspapers The Moscow Times and the St. Petersburg Times. It alsolaunched several magazines in Russia during the first quarter, including SmartMoney and"Gloria, a woman's weekly. In 2001, the Finnish group bought the magazine operations ofDutch publisher VNU NV for euro1.25 billion (US$1.5 billion). Syrjanen noted that almosthalf the company's net sales come from outside Finland and said SanomaWSOY will continueto increase its foreign operations. In March, the company acquired a majority holding in LangKiado es Holding Zrt, a leading Hungarian educational publishing group, and bought a 51-percent stake in AAC Global, a provider of language training and translation services inFinland and Sweden. SanomaWSOY is one of the five largest magazine publishers in Europewith 220 titles and operations in 12 countries. It was formed in 1999 with the merger ofFinland's leading newspaper publisher, Sanoma Corp., and the country's biggest publishinghouse, WSOY. Besides magazines and books, SanomaWSOY publishes several newspapers,including the Nordic region's largest broadsheet, Helsingin Sanomat, with a daily circulationof some 430,000. It also has strong assets in electronic media, and employs some 17,600people -- an increase of 11 percent on last year.http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060504/finland_sanomawsoy.html; May 4, 2006IrelandIndependent News & Media magnate Sir Anthony O'Reilly increased his personal stake in thepublicly quoted company, amid speculation he is trying to ward off an approach from anotherIrish millionaire, Denis O'Brien. O'Reilly, the chief executive of INM, now owns 26.39% ofthe company after exercising around £3m worth of share options to acquire 2.7m shares. INMwas surprised back in January when it was revealed that O'Brien had built up a 3% stake inthe company. He had bought 22.6m shares for an outlay of £40m since November. The twomen have a history of business rivalry, which developed into bad blood. Five years ago, theywere on opposing sides in the takeover of Irish telecommunications company Eircom, withO'Reilly winning the day. In 2003, O'Brien complained in an interview with The Irish Timesthat O'Reilly's newspapers had made "outrageous allegations against me and my companies".O'Brien, who owns a Caribbean mobile telecommunications business called Digicel andstakes in radio stations in Dublin and Europe, has refused to comment on his reasons forbuying into INM.http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/media/article/553654/independents-oreilly-upspersonal-stake-rivals-move/;April 13, 2006JordanAl Ghad newspaper is the first independent and private daily in Jordan. It was launched inAugust 2004. Eighteen months later, according to Ipsos Stat Jordan, it is one of the country'sleading newspapers, with a circulation of more than 55,000. Almost 70 per cent of its readersare subscribers; an unusual figure for papers in the region. “We chose to employ a uniqueapproach to penetrate the market, so instead of having readers buy Al Ghad off newsstands,they can now find it on their doorstep every morning before any other newspaper,” says Ala’a2

Qassim, General Manager of the newspaper. But how did a new daily manage to obtain such ashare of subscriptions in a country where newsstands are the preferred method to buynewspapers? Attracting potential subscribers with appealing offers and catering forsubscribers' needs are two of the keys. Al Ghad launched a full-scale multi media teasercampaign before it hit newsstands, and offered complimentary one-month subscriptionsacross the kingdom to introduce the newspaper to readers. Al Ghad took advantage of anotherpublication of the group, Al Waseet, to reach the biggest number of households in Amman. AlWaseet is a free advertising weekly-distributed door to door in within the capital. Al Ghadused its database to reach potential subscribers. After the first month, the daily started atelemarketing campaign offering annual subscriptions for JOD 30 (USD 42). “In the firstthree months we registered 6,000 subscribers and after a year we had achieved 21,000,something surprising in a country were the rest of the dailies' subscribers combined togetherbarely make up 8,000” says Qassim. The price was a main reason for that success. Itrepresents almost a 60% reduction compared to a daily purchase during a year. Othernewspapers charge JOD 75. “If the reader is paying in advance we have to add value tohis/her investment,” he says. A prize drawing of a luxury car every month for three monthsreinforced the telemarketing campaign. The paper decided to offer three luxury prizes ratherthan a big quantity of small tokens. But, to keep attracting mass audience to the newspaper,Al Ghad bought air space in a local TV station and broadcasted a quiz show directly related tothe content of the newspaper for ten months. ‘Ainak Ala Al Ghad’ (keep your eye on AlGhad) offered prizes to those who answered correctly to questions about the newspapercontent. To retain subscribers, Al Ghad relied on a fundamental strategy: building up theirloyalty. For its first anniversary, the paper offered them a book by one of its more popularcolumnists and a travel life insurance. Al Ghad has over 35,000 subscribers and the numberkeeps increasing by about 1,500 each month. Copy sales and renting its printing facilities forcommercial catalogues and newsletters represents 40% of the paper’s total revenue.Advertising represents the other 60% and it is increasing, says Qassim. “You have toadvertise in Al Ghad because of subscriptions. This is a confirmed clientele base everyday.”Al Ghad is a 60-page broadsheet. It has 40 full-color pages. It is printed in a high quality 52grams web white paper with brightness of 8%. “The quality of the paper and the layout is oneof the main reasons of our success for both the reader and advertiser,” says Qassim. The dailyhas its own building with printing facilities and created its own distribution network.Although the biggest share of subscribers is in Amman, the paper reaches all the major citiesin the Kingdom. The paper has a staff of 285 of which about a hundred in the editorial. Theaverage age of the employees is under 26. Owned by four Jordanian shareholders, Al Ghad isabout to break even, says Qassim. “This is an outstanding result for a newspaper that has beenin the market for a year and a half.” http://www.arabpressnetwork.org/articles.php?id=578New ZealandThe New Zealand Herald has maintained its position as the country's biggest selling dailypaper in the latest ABC circulation figures. In the six months to March 31 the Herald sold anaverage of 200,309 copies a day - more than the next two biggest papers put together. Theresult is down slightly from 201,254 at the last audit to September last year and 204,549 ayear ago. The Herald on Sunday edged up by 2117 papers from six months ago to acirculation of 93,193. The result 12 months ago was 101,355 which included special offersduring the period of the paper's launch. The Weekend Herald is not separately audited butremains New Zealand's largest single paper both in sales and readership. In the second half oflast year, Nielsen Media Research reported 532,000 weekend newspaper readers in Aucklandaged 15 and over and of those, 85 per cent read the Weekend Herald and Herald on Sunday.3

Other results saw Wellington's Dominion Post record 98,251, up 19 papers from a year ago,the Press, Christchurch, stable at 92,465 and the Otago Daily Times down slightly at 43,246.The Sunday Star-Times fell about 2700 from 12 months ago to 200,991 and the Sunday Newswas down nearly 6000 to 95,546.http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10381423; May 12, 2005NorwaySchibsted ASA (Nachrichten) said it continues to focus on expansion through organic growthin 2006, and it still plans investments of about 300-400 mln nkr this year. The comment cameafter the group posted first-quarter operating profit of 278 mln nkr, down from the 401 mlnposted a year ago, but above the forecasts of analysts polled by TDN Finans, who hadexpected operating profit of 247 mln. The group said increased investments in new projectsaffected earnings by 64 mln nkr in the quarter, compared with 20 mln nkr a year ago. Sales inthe quarter were 2.557 bln nkr, up from 2.432 bln a year ago and again higher than analysts'expectations of 2.466 bln. EBITA was 167 mln nkr, down from 194 mln. The analysts hadseen 142 mln. Pretax profit also fell from last year, to 262 mln nkr from 385 mln, but wasagain above analysts' forecast of 232 mln. The Norwegian media group still expects acontinued strong growth from its internet activities in the future. Schibsted also seesinteresting growth possibilities outside Norway and Sweden and it will continue to use itsstrong position and unique experience to develop online concepts elsewhere in Europe. It saidthese developments will primarily occur on the basis of the group's free newspapers, possiblyin cooperation with local newspaper publishers. Schibsted added that planned initiatives to cutcosts of 100 mln nkr at its VG newspaper will be carried out in 2006 and 2007. The group isalso negotiating to buy the remaining 50 pct ownership in Sandrew Metronome from thefoundation that holds the shares.http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2006-05/artikel-6416607.asp; May 11, 2006PolandPolish media group Agora said its net profit sank to 0.8 million zlotys in the first quarter from43.3 million a year ago due to the high costs of a newspaper war with Germany's AxelSpringer. Earnings were far below an average forecast of 11 million zlotys ($3.67 million) ina Reuters poll of analysts as the group suffered from an ill-fated daily newspaper project andpromotions to defend its flagship title Gazeta Wyborcza. Revenues inched up 1.5 percent to295.1 million zlotys, roughly in line with market expectations of 294 million zlotys. Agora,which also owns several radio stations and an outdoor advertising business, is also seen underpressure in the months ahead after Springer launched its new Dziennik daily in mid-April,targeting Wyborcza as its rival. Agora in February pulled the plug on its Nowy Dzien dailyafter just three months of operation, citing poor sales in an increasingly costly battle withSpringer for supremacy in the newspaper market. Last month it also cut the cover price ofGazeta Wyborcza -- the country's second-top selling newspaper with daily sales of 415,319 inFebruary -- by 46 percent to 1.5 zlotys to bring it into line with Springer's Dziennik. The warwith Springer, whose first daily launched in Poland in 2003 and quickly overtook GazetaWyborcza as the best-selling newspaper, prompted Agora to boost spending on promotionand is seen continuing to weigh on its results.http://today.reuters.com/business/newsarticle.aspx?type=media&storyID=nL11726274&imageid=∩ May 11, 2006RussiaNorwegian publisher Schibsted is preparing to launch an independent community newspaperin Moscow this fall, modeling it after a publication it recently acquired in St. Petersburg.4

Schibsted, which owns the largest newspapers in Norway and Estonia as well as successfulpapers in France and Spain, bought 66.7 percent of St. Petersburg's Moi Raion newspaper inMarch. http://www.moscowtimes.ru/stories/2006/05/23/012.html; May 23, 2006South AfricaThe phenomenal growth of the Zulu-language tabloid Isolezwe - 32% year-on-year since the2002 launch date - continues unabated with average daily sales of 100,000 now well withinrange. Latest AMPS figures show the paper attracts just under 600,000 readers daily whilesales average around 89,500 (they were 34,000 in the second half of 2002). The Durban-basedtitle in the Independent Newspapers' stable has entrenched itself in the middle market,appealing to an upwardly mobile audience. And significantly, Isolezwe appeals to womenwho comprise 43% of its readers. Isolezwe readers are very proudly Zulu and passionateabout their culture. But, that doesn't mean they hold on to the past without embracing modernlife. Readers are keen consumers of modern technology, stylish clothes, fancy cars,sophisticated drinks, and the like. http://www.biz-community.com/Article/196/90/9244.html;February 13, 2006ThailandMass-circulation daily newspapers are considering raising their prices for the first time inseven years to between Bt10 and Bt13 in March from the current Bt8 to offset increasingcosts of paper and transportation. A source from a newspaper agency said that large masscirculationnewspapers, including Thai Rath Daily News and Kom Chad Leuk were havinginformal talks, and are ready to increase their prices. All other papers are waiting for ThaiRath, which has the largest circulation, to make the first move. The source said that manymagazines including Praew, House and Garden, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s OrSor Tor, have already adjusted their prices since the end of last year. In the middle of January,semi-weekly business newspapers Thansetthakij and Prachachart Thurakij raised their retailprice to Bt25 from Bt20, similar to weekly business newspapers such as Krungthep Thurakijand BizWeek. Manager Weekly will raise its copy price in the next two to three months.“They [major mass-circulation daily newspapers] suggested a maximum price of Bt15 afterthe adjustment. The price increase will meet the continuous increase of raw material costs,particularly paper, as well as transportation costs. The price adjustment may be announced inMarch,” said the source. Another source from a mass-circulation newspaper said thatpublishing firms had been meeting since January to discuss how they should deal with coststhat have been increase for more than a year now. Since the end of 2004, paper prices haverisen from US$550 (Bt21,634) per tonne to $640, while transportation costs jumped by 50 percent thanks to increasing diesel prices. “It is widely accepted that both small and majornewspaper firms have been affected severely by the increase in paper and transportation costs.It depends on the financial strength of each publication whether and how long that they canbear increasing costs,” said the source. He added that price increases might affect the sales ofpublications. Se-Education Plc, a local book store chain, yesterday issued its publicationsurvey “The Best in Newspapers and Magazines 2005”. The survey of more than 430publishing outlets, found that 96 new magazines were launched last year, compared with 85magazines in 2004. Of the new magazines last year eight were women’s magazines, eightentertainment, eight education, seven tourism, seven automobile, six high-tech products, fourmarketing and four teenage girls variety magazines. For the mass-circulation dailynewspapers, the top five sellers of 2005 were the same as 2004: Thai Rath, Daily News, KomChad Leuk, Khao-sod and Matichon. The best selling daily business newspaper in 2005 wasManager Daily, up from the third place in the previous year, followed by Krungthep Thurakij(140,000 copies) and Post Today (80,000 copies). According to the survey, Manager Daily5

has enjoyed skyrocketing sales of between 40 and 60 per cent since September 2005 after itsfounder Sondhi Limthongkul shifted the newspaper’s content to be more critical as part of hisanti-government campaign. The paper saw its daily circulation increase to 280,000 copies aday, compared to 180,000 copies two years ago. Thansetthakij is the most popular semiweeklybusiness paper, followed by Prachachart Thurakij. Matichon Weekender is the mostpopular weekly news analysis magazine, followed by Nation Weekender. Cleo remains themost popular magazine, the same as last year, followed by TV Pool, Or Sor Tor, Gossip Star,Spicy, Ku Sang Ku Som, Elle, FHM, Seventeen and Cosmopolitan. Although five of the top10 magazines are local editions of foreign magazines, some closed down last year after a oneyeartrial period. It is expected that this segment will grow by 10 to 15 per cent this year asoperators are likely to import more foreign magazines to Thailand. In 2005, Watcharapol Ltd,which publishes Thai Rath, had the most revenues of all publishing companies with Bt4.8billion– a rise of 12.4 per cent. Nation Multimedia Group (Plc), which publishes The Nation,logged revenue of Bt3 billion, a 9 per cent rise; Se-Education reported Bt2.8 billion, a 17.6per cent rise; Si Praya Printing (Daily News) reported Bt2.4 billion, a 13.9 per cent rise; PostPublishing logged Bt1.8 billion, a 24.1 per cent rise; Siam Sport Syndicate (Plc) reportedBt1.6 billion; and Amarim Printing and Publishing Lyd (Plc) logged Bt1.3 billion.http://nationmultimedia.com/2006/02/15/business/business_20000891.phpUnited KingdomThe Observer's Berliner relaunch has proved a resounding success as its sales soared by morethan a quarter from December, passing the half million mark to reach almost 550,000 copiesin the January newspaper ABC figures. The newspaper market powered back into life in theNew Year, with the tabloids energised by price cuts and promotions, and the quality marketshrugging off price rises. With every daily and Sunday title increasing circulation, the re-sizedObserver eclipsed The Guardian's earlier relaunch with a 25.95% sales increase to 542,075copies. Guardian Newspapers will be doubly cheered by seeing The Guardian up 3.74% to394,913, despite adding 10p to its cover price early in the month to take it to 70p. TheIndependent also increased its price to 70p, a rise of 5p, and still sold 258,387 copies, up3.27% on December. The Times did better, up 3.58% to 685,081, while The Daily Telegraphachieved a more modest rise of 2.19% to 917,043 copies. The Financial Times lagged with amere 0.52% increase to 441,840. However, the real gains came at the other end of the market,with the red-tops' collective sales up 5% to 6.32m. The Sun led, after a massive DVDgiveaway, with a 6.4% surge to 3.319m copies, while the less freebie-happy Daily Mirrornotched up 2.9% more copies at 1.728m. Richard Desmond's bold price cuts from 40p to 30phelped the Daily Star to grow 5.2% to 820,070, and the mid-market Daily Express by 6.1% to849,001. The Daily Mail's millionaire competition helped it put on 3.37% to reach 2.389m.In the quality Sunday market, The Independent on Sunday, which went compact in October,was The Observer's nearest rival. It put on a very healthy 10.21% to reach 241,414 copies,well above its figures during 2005. The other recently made-over title, The Sunday Telegraph,put on 6.3% to reach 682,739 copies, but this is a way off its post-relaunch November high of714,992. Under pressure, but still up, The Sunday Times managed the smallest increase, up3.34% to 1.357m. In the mid-market the Sunday Express and The Mail on Sunday managedneck-and-neck increases of 8%. The former sold 877,101 and the latter 2.405m. The DailyStar Sunday led the red-tops with a 14.87% rise to 439,067, but the News of the World put onmore than 200,000 copies with its expose of England football coach Sven-Goran Erikssonachieving a 7.98% increase to 3.789m. The Sunday Mirror trailed its rivals with a 4.01% riseto 1.574m, echoing its sister paper's comparatively subdued performance, and providing morefood for thought for investors hoping for Trinity Mirror to sell off its nationals.6

http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/media/article/540695/berliner-relaunch-proves-bighit-observer-leaps-25-/;February 10, 2006United KingdomThe Sun and The Mirror hit new lows as the red-top daily market fell below 6m copies inMarch's ABC national newspaper circulation figures. The red-tops were the worst performingmarket sector, down 1.21% from 6.04m copies in February to 5.97m in March. The DailyMirror's plight worsened after it lost 1.33% of its circulation over the month to reach a newlow of 1,634,584. However, there is also cause for concern at News International, which sawThe Sun's relative resilience fade. The tabloid fell 1.09% to 3,110,999 copies, its lowest levelfor since January 1974. A fall of 1.06% to 783,511 for Richard Desmond's Daily Star addedto the category's overall decline. In the mid-markets the Daily Mail suffered a 1.7% drop to2,397,768 copies, but remains above the levels it has shown in recent months. The DailyExpress inched up to 831,923 with a 0.49% rise. In the quality market The Independent wasthe only paper to show a marked swing, as it fell 3.84% to 255,849 copies. The Guardian felljust 0.81%, but its monthly figure of 379,835 is the lowest since its major relaunch inSeptember, when it managed to sell 404,187 copies. The only paper to have a good monthwas the Financial Times, up 1.17% to 445,986. The Times and the Daily Telegraph werehardly changed, both up 0.04% to 669,973 and 901,491 respectively. The News of the World,which last month failed to ensnare George Galloway MP in one of its infamous fake sheikhscams, saw the biggest slump for a Sunday newspaper. The News International Sundaytabloid was down 4.76% during March, a drop from 3,630,176 in February to 3,457,436,marking a continuing downward trend in sales, with the latest figures adding to a year-on-yearfall of 1.87%. Mirror Group Newspapers rival the People also performed poorly, down 3.99%in March to 849,123. Other popular Sunday titles the Daily Star Sunday and Sunday Mirrorheld steady, with only marginal falls. The Daily Star Sunday was down 0.25% to 385,741 andSunday Mirror was down just 0.32% to 1,447,150. Runaway middle market leader, the Mailon Sunday, experienced a dip of 0.64% to 2,270,874, while rival Sunday Express performedbetter with a 3.64% increase to 894,364. The Independent on Sunday was the worstperforming Sunday national broadsheet, slumping 4.54% during March to 233,193, whichwill come as a blow to the title that had managed to achieve a year-on-year increase of 11.8%.Elsewhere among the broadsheet Sundays, The Observer was down 2.19% to 473,732, theSunday Times was down 1.13% to 1,356,042 and the Sunday Telegraph was up by 0.85% to689,572. http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/media/article/553982/tabloid-marketpressure-sales-fall-below-6m/;April 13, 2006United KingdomThe Audit Bureau of Circulations has released circulation figures for national newspapers forApril 2006. National morning popular, total: 6,026,742 (up 0.93% month-on-month and down4.26% year-on-year); national morning mid-market, total: 3,203,595 (down 0.81% month-onmonthand down 3.11% year-on-year); national morning quality, total: 2,781,920 (down0.44% month-on-month and down 0.65% year-on-year); national morning sporting:Racing Post: 81, 228 (down 6.01% month-on-month and down 4.55% year-on-year)The Sportsman: 21,819 (first ABC result); London evening: Evening Standard: 315,800(down 2.57% month-on-month and down 8.01% year-on-year); Standard Lite: 78,895 (up0.81% month-on-month and no change year-on-year); Metro: 1,111,583 (up 7.30% month-onmonthand up 1.76% year-on-year); national Sunday popular, total: 6,887,051 (up 1.26%month-on-month and down 5.57% year-on-year); national Sunday mid-market, total:3,220,213 (up 1.74% month-on-month and down 3.91% year-on-year); national Sundayquality, total: 2,910,070 (up 0.70% month-on-month and up 2.05% year-on-year).7

http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=details&nNewsID=558916United KingdomThe Financial Times is apparently in the pink circulation wise – boasting an 8.3 per centincrease year-on-year to 462,235. This was by far the best performance of any national dailyand a turnaround from the FT’s steady decline of recent years. A closer look at the datareveals, however, that the FT’s core UK and Ireland sale is continuing to decline – down to132,699 from 137,287 a year ago. And this is despite several thousand more give-awaycopies, or bulks, on the UK figures than a year ago – these now total 32,370. The FT’s growthis coming from its overseas editions – about which we have less detailed audit information.Circulation of the US edition has increased to 147,437, compared with 125,104 a year ago,and the Asia edition has gone up from 35,242 to 46,602. Elsewhere, the daily newspapers hada tough month. The red-top market declined by 4.26 per cent year-on-year to a total sale of6,026,742; the mid-market titles by 3.11 per cent and the quality mornings by 0.65 per cent.The Guardian’s berliner size relaunch last September may have won it a string of awards –but sales wise the benefits are now drying up. It slipped back 1.38 per cent month-on-monthand was up just 1.93 per cent year-on-year to 374,580 – a long way short from its historic400,000 bedrock sales figure. In the Sunday market, the heavily promoted Independent onSunday and Observer stand out with remarkable double-digit growth performances: the IoSwas up 22.92 per cent year-on-year to 258,368 and The Observer just above the half millionmark thanks to a 11.12 per cent increase. The Sportsman, Britain's first new national dailynewspaper in 20 years, achieved a launch circulation of 21,819. Sportsman chairman JeremyDeedes said: "We are encouraged by April's sales figure in a month when sales were asecondary concern to promotion and visibility. "Now we know exactly where we are, we canembark on sales beyond the newsstands themselves — like the foreign gambling centres,corporate hospitality and direct to the racing and betting industry as we gear up for the allimportantWorld Cup. We are also steadily improving the distribution of the paper." Sales ofestablished betting daily, the Racing Post, were down 4.55 per cent year-on-year to 81,228.http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/article/120506/us_financial_times_newspaper_circulation_pink; 12 May 2006United States of AmericaMedia-entertainment giant News Corp. said its most recent quarterly profit more than doubledto 820 million dollars, led by strong growth in its Fox television and cable operations. Theresults were also boosted by a gain on the sale of its investment in Mexican satellite entityInnova, which reaped 206 million dollars. The New York-based company, formerlyheadquartered in Australia and headed by Rupert Murdoch, said net income in the third fiscalquarter to March 31 amounted to 26 cents a share. Analysts had expected on average a profitof 20 cents per share excluding special items. Revenue rose 3.3 percent from the same perioda year ago to 6.20 billion dollars. News Corp. said operating income in the cable unit rose 23percent on increased affiliate revenue at the Regional Sports Networks and advertisingstrength at Fox News Channel. In broadcast television, operating profits rose 29 percent onimproved ratings at the US-based Fox network and advertising growth at Asia-based STARTelevision. In film entertainment, including Twentieth Century Fox Studios, profits dippedslightly to 225 million dollars, reflecting the record strength a year earlier of homeentertainment sales of film and television titles. Murdoch said he was optimistic aboutInternet properties, including the recently acquired MySpace social networking website. "Thisquarter also saw accelerated progress in our new media evolution," he said. "MySpaceexpanded to over 70 million registered users, solidifying its prominence as one of the fastestgrowing sites on the Internet. We also launched Mobizzo, a comprehensive new destination8

for mobile content, putting us in the vanguard of this exploding new platform." Print businessoperating income declined nine percent as double-digit growth in magazines and inserts wasoffset by the absence of TSL Education business, sold in October 2005. News Corp. is theumbrella company for an empire chaired by Murdoch that includes the Fox studios andtelevision operations, London-based satellite TV company BSkyB, newspapers including TheTimes of London, New York Post, The Australian and other publishing and media operations.Murdoch and his relatives control about 30 percent of News Corp. common shares. AFP; May10, 2006United States of AmericaThe New York Times Co. said that it expects lower profits in the first quarter and reporteduneven advertising results for February amid weakness at its New England media group,which includes The Boston Globe. The company, which also publishes the InternationalHerald Tribune and a group of regional newspapers, forecast net income of 22 cents to 24cents per share, which includes estimated costs for job cuts of 3 cents to 4 cents per share.Excluding the charges, analysts polled by Thomson Financial had expected earnings of 29cents per share. In same period a year ago, the company had net earnings of 76 cents pershare, which included a special gain of 46 cents per share from the sale of its currentheadquarters and another property. The company also said it was reviewing its joint-ventureinvestments and might have to take an impairment charge in the first quarter, which wouldfurther lower earnings. The Times said that advertising trends in February were uneven acrossits properties, with gains at its flagship paper and regional papers as well as its onlineproperties, but weaker trends in New England, where print advertising suffered fromconsolidation among its advertisers and "spotty" economic growth in the Boston area.Overall, advertising revenues across the Times company rose 3.7 percent in February, whiletotal company revenues rose 3.4 percent compared with the same month a year ago.Excluding About.com, which the Times acquired in March 2005, ad revenue edged up 0.6percent in February, and total company revenue increased 1.2 percent.http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060322/new_york_times_outlook.html; March 22, 2006United States of AmericaGannett, the largest U.S. newspaper publisher, said its earnings fell 11 percent in the firstquarter as advertising revenue dropped at its newspapers, including the flagship USA Today,and expenses rose alongside high newsprint costs. Gannett, which also publishes about 90other daily newspapers and runs 21 television stations, said net profit for the first threemonths of the year fell to $235.3 million from $265.7 million a year earlier. "It's a toughmarket," said Tom Russo, partner at Gardner, Russo & Gardner, a fund manager based inPennsylvania. "Newspapers have to work hard to sustain their traditional share of advertisingbecause there are more alternatives today." Revenue rose 6.5 percent to $1.88 billion, Gannettsaid. The sales increase was mainly due to the consolidation of The Detroit Free Press, whichGannett acquired from Knight Ridder in August. But revenue growth was undercut by higherreported operating expenses, which increased 10.8 percent with the higher newsprint coststhat have taken a toll on much of the industry. Gannett is among the first of the major U.S.newspaper companies to report earnings, after a quarter in which the industry continued to behurt by advertising money moving to the Internet, declining circulation, and higher costs forenergy and newsprint. Gannett said that advertising revenue at its flagship USA Todaydeclined 4.2 percent in the first quarter. Paid advertising pages totaled 1,020 compared with1,101 in the comparable quarter of 2005.http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2006/04/12/business/gannett.php; April13, 20069

United States of AmericaMedia General, a publisher of 25 daily newspapers in the southern United States, swung to aprofit in the first quarter but said stock-option expenses and lower profit in its publishingdivision offset gains in its broadcast and Internet divisions, Reuters reported from New York.Net income for the quarter ended March 26 was $6.7 million, compared with a loss of $316.2million a year earlier, which included a one-time accounting charge of $325 million. Thecompany, which publishes The Tampa Tribune and owns 26 television stations, said revenuerose nearly 4 percent to $226.4 million. It recently agreed to buy four more NBC-owned and -operated TV stations for about $600 million. In its broadcast division, the company benefitedfrom $3.9 million in advertising revenue from the Winter Olympics. It previously saidOlympics revenue was 15.3 percent higher in 2006 than in 2002. Advertising for the SuperBowl, the U.S. football championship, on its three ABC stations also helped.http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2006/04/12/business/gannett.php; April13, 2006United States of AmericaFirst-quarter net income was cut in half at Knight Ridder Inc., the soon-to-be-sold newspaperchain that includes the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News. The chain that isbuying Knight Ridder, The McClatchy Co. (MNI) of Sacramento, Calif., plans to sell off theInquirer, the Daily News and 10 other Knight Ridder papers because they are not in growingmarkets. In a statement, Knight Ridder Chairman Tony Ridder said a downturn in operatingprofits was largely caused by "particularly weak" results at the Philadelphia papers and theAkron Beacon Journal. Knight Ridder said it was hurt by weak advertising at the trio ofpapers as well as costs associated with finding a buyer for the company, higher interestexpenses and costs for stock-based compensation. Knight Ridder of San Jose, Calif. -- whichis being sold for $4.5 billion in a deal that includes $2 billion in assumed debt -- said Mondayit earned $28.4 million, or 42 cents per share, down from $60.5 million, or 79 cents per sharein first-quarter 2005. The company said the 42 cents per-share figure included costs of 5 centsper share in stock-based compensation, and 6 cents per share in costs associated with findinga buyer. In the same period last year, the company saw 4 cents per share in profits frompapers in Detroit and Tallahassee, Fla., which the company doesn't own anymore. Revenuerose 3.9 percent to $739.9 million, although the result included three newspapers inWashington and Idaho that the company didn't own in the same period a year ago. A group ofPhiladelphia investors -- including Bruce Toll, vice chairman of home-builder Toll BrothersInc. (NYSE:TOL) of Bensalem, Pa. -- and Los Angeles-based investment firm Yucaipa Cos.are reportedly interested in buying the Philadelphia papers from McClatchy.http://philadelphia.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2006/04/17/daily9.html; April 17,2006United States of AmericaDow Jones & Co. Inc. said first-quarter earnings rose, helped by stronger advertising at TheWall Street Journal, its flagship newspaper, but results fell short of analysts' expectations.Net profit totaled $61.5 million, or 74 cents a share, compared with $8.2 million, or 10 cents ashare, a year earlier. Revenue rose 9.7 percent to $452.2 million. Excluding one-time items,quarterly profit rose to 14 cents per share from 11 cents a year ago. Analysts polled byReuters Estimates on average expected 16 cents a share. First-quarter earnings at thecompany, which also runs Dow Jones Newswires, Barron's, MarketWatch and the Ottawaycommunity newspapers, were lifted by stronger advertising at the Wall Street Journal.Advertising lineage at the U.S. Wall Street Journal, including Weekend Edition, increased10

14.9 percent. Ad sales at the unit rose 18 percent. While the company continues to battle highnewsprint expenses, it has also undertaken several cost-cutting measures in the past year.Chief Executive Richard Zannino, who took over the position earlier this year, has alreadychanged the company's structure and announced about 20 executive job cuts. The structuraloverhaul is expected to save about $14.5 million annually. The company has also redesignedits European and Asian editions of The Wall Street Journal, making them tabloid size to trimcosts. Looking ahead, the company said it expects second-quarter profit per share, excludingone-time items, to be in the low-to-mid 30 cents per share range, below analysts' averageestimate of 38 cents. Second-quarter profit will include losses of about 6 cents per share fromthe Weekend edition, 2 cents per share from interest expenses from a legal settlement, and 1cent per share from stock-based compensation.http://abcnews.go.com/Business/print?id=1854186; April 18, 2006United States of AmericaOn July 1, if all goes as planned, the McClatchy chain will swallow Knight Ridder andbecome the nation's second-largest newspaper company, with 32 dailies stretching fromMiami to Anchorage. Among the 20 newspapers it would acquire: The Olympian and TheBellingham Herald. The mammoth takeover would reshape the newspaper landscape,nationally and locally. It was a hot topic, at the podium and in the hallways, as the country'stop editors gathered Tuesday in Seattle for the annual convention of the American Society ofNewspaper Editors. The transaction would push the number of daily papers McClatchy ownsin Washington from two to four, solidifying its position as the state's No. 2 newspaperpublisher in daily circulation. It also would give the Sacramento-based company a big stake inNo. 1: McClatchy would inherit Knight Ridder's 49.5 percent share in The Seattle Times Co.,which owns two Eastern Washington dailies in addition to its namesake. Altogether, nearly500,000 copies of newspapers in which McClatchy has an interest would fly off Washingtonpresses each weekday. That's almost half the combined daily circulation of all the newspapersin the state. McClatchy officials aren't offering many details about their plans while theKnight Ridder deal undergoes federal antitrust review. But, from what they have said,newspaper readers and advertisers probably won't notice much difference when the company'sNorthwest footprint expands. Robert Weil, the vice president who oversees McClatchy'sNorthwest operations, said last week there's no plan from Sacramento to consolidate anynews, advertising or production operations at its Washington newspapers. "The decisions areall going to be made locally," he said. "That's really a hallmark of McClatchy." Weil also saidMcClatchy intends to be "a passive, minority investor" in The Times Co., leavingmanagement decisions to the local Blethen family, owner of the remaining 50.5 percent.Knight Ridder Chief Executive Tony Ridder chafed in that role, contending the Blethensignored him, mismanaged the company and didn't make enough money. McClatchy and theBlethens, in contrast, are saying nice things about each other. "We really admire the Blethens.Family ownership is something we value," said Maloney, a major shareholder and great-greatgrandsonof McClatchy's founder. McClatchy was founded 149 years ago by a disciple ofnewspaper pioneer Horace Greeley who came west during the California Gold Rush. He andhis descendants imbued their Central Valley newspapers with a passion for scrappy,enterprising journalism. McClatchy still enjoys a reputation for quality. "I have not known ofa paper they acquired that they did not improve," said Ben Bagdikian, retired dean of theGraduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. McClatchy wentpublic in 1988, following the lead of several other newspaper chains.http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002953673_mcclatchy26.html?syndication=rss11

United States of AmericaFor the six-months reporting period ended March 31, 2006, Chicago Tribune's Monday-Friday individually paid circulation (home delivery plus single copy) was up 2.1% to 547,257.Home Delivery was a key factor behind this growth and was up 3.3 percent. Total averagepaid circulation Monday-Friday was 579,078, up 0.9 percent from the same period last year.Sunday individually paid grew 0.4% to 915,405, also driven by home delivery growth, up 2%.Total average Sunday paid circulation was 957,212, up 0.4 percent from the same time lastyear. In addition, Saturday individually paid was up 0.9%, driven by single copy growth. Allcirculation information is according to Publisher's Statement figures filed by the newspaperwith the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), subject to audit. The newspaper also reportedthat readership of the Chicago Tribune among adults in the market is approximately 2.7million readers on Sunday and 1.7 million on weekdays. The Chicago Tribune credits theimproving trends in circulation to editorial innovations, as well as increased investment insales and marketing and product enhancements. The paper's news and feature reportingemphasizes content readers can't get anywhere else - including exclusive Tribuneinvestigations, profile stories bringing more people and personality, and an across the boardfocus on utility for the reader. Examples of these enhancements are: * Expandedentertainment coverage and features - every day of the week - including Thursday's At Playsection, the popular On the Town section on Fridays and the Metromix Planner, a daily guideto events and best bets. * More color pages in the newspaper as a result of pressenhancements. * Hard-hitting Tribune investigations such as "Pipeline to Peril," a two partaward-winning series that exposed forced labor and human trafficking in privatized U.S.military support operations in Iraq; and a three-part investigative series into high mercurylevels in fish; as well as "What's Your Problem?," a new, twice-weekly feature that providessolutions to challenges faced by local readers, emphasizes our newsroom's strongcommitment to public service journalism. * Subscriber Advantage, a loyalty program forsubscribers, continues to provide members unique benefits such as exclusive access to contenton chicagotribune.com, special discounts from advertisers and VIP access to local events andperformances. Since its launch in January 2005, Subscriber Advantage has gained amembership base of more than 125,000.http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2006-05/artikel-6392872.asp; May 8, 2006United States of AmericaNews Corp boss Rupert Murdoch says the group's newspapers in Australia and Britain face "adifficult slog" amid slumping advertising markets. The weak performance of News Corp'sprint media assets was the only black mark in the conglomerate's strong third-quarter result,reported after the close of US trading and before the Australian market opened. Net profitmore than doubled to $US820 million ($A1.06 billion) on strong earnings from the cable andtelevision divisions, underpinned by the ratings success of American Idol and Fox News, aswell as a turnaround at satellite TV business Sky Italia. Operating profit for the quarter topped$US1 billion for the first time in the company's history. But it was a different story inAustralia and Britain. "It's just hard work in both those places because there is not the growthin newspaper advertising that we've experienced in the past," Mr Murdoch told analysts."The telecommunications industry has cut back on advertising without being replaced byanything else. But we are holding on well and certainly improving our competitive positions."Shares in News Corp jumped 74¢ to $25.06 on the strong result and the announcement thatthe company had decided to double the size of its share buyback to $US6 billion. So far thecompany has bought back $US2.5 billion worth of shares. "We've been aggressive buyersbecause of the value we see in acquiring the stock at such depressed levels," Mr Murdochsaid. "There's frankly been no better use of our cash during this period than investing in new12

shares, particularly because we continue to trade at such a discount to our immediate peersand to the overall market." News Corp said it was comfortable with previous guidance thatfull-year operating profit would grow 12 per cent from $US3.56 billion last year. But someanalysts believe the guidance is conservative as News Corp flagged better than expectedprofit from the film Ice Age 2, which has already generated $US600 million at the box officesince the end of March. News Corp expects television earnings to benefit from strong ratingsof shows such as House, Prison Break and the fifth season of 24. It is also looking atlaunching a new business channel, although it will make sure it has wide distribution beforespending the money to set it up. "We believe News Corp is entering a period whenfundamental trends and increased stock buybacks are beginning to drive the stock again asopposed to non-operational issues," Goldman Sachs JBWere analysts said in a note to clientsyesterday. Mr Murdoch said he was "optimistic" that an agreement with Liberty Media's JohnMalone, who is sitting on an 18 per cent stake in News, would be reached soon. He alsoplayed down reports of his support for Hillary Clinton. Mr Murdoch is hosting a fund-raiserfor Senator Clinton, which has raised eyebrows because the two are at different ends of thepolitical spectrum. "It's no big deal," he said. "It's got nothing to do with anything other thanher Senate re-election. She's been an effective and good senator."http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/murdoch-tips-tough-times-for-his-printempire/2006/05/11/1146940675293.html;May 12, 2006Newspaper LaunchesMiddle EastFormer Observer business editor Frank Kane is heading over to Dubai to edit a new Englishlanguagedaily newspaper for the Middle East. Kane is the first big signing by Andrew Neil inhis role as non-executive chairman of ITP – a company which publishes Dubai editions ofUK-based titles including Time Out and Campaign, and a magazine called Arabian Business.The paper is to be called The Arabian Business Standard and will be available in Dubai andAbu Dhabi from the autumn. It could then roll out to other nearby countries such as Qatar,Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Kane is likely to be starting his new role in the next few weeks. Herevealed last month that he was stepping down as Observer business editor after five years inthe job to write across the newspaper. Kane worked under Neil when he was editor of theSunday Times, notably as head of the Insight investigations team. The pair also workedtogether on the Sunday Business, where Neil was publisher and Kane was news andinvestigations editor. Kane has also been City editor of The Guardian and number two on theSunday Times business desk to Jeff Randall. Neil said: "I'm delighted Frank Kane hasaccepted the post of editor of Arabian Business Standard. He brings formidable experienceand reputation as a business journalist and business editor and we look to him to create aworld-class daily business newspaper for the UAE and the wider Gulf Region." In March,when Times city editor Patience Wheatcroft was made editor of the Sunday Telegraph, Kanetold Press Gazette that few City editors go on to become editors. He said: "There aren't thatmany that have gone in that way. There was Andreas Whittam Smith, who was City editor atthe Daily Telegraph, who then went on to become editor, founder and demi-god of TheIndependent. Now we have two. It's a very healthy trend."http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/article/190506/frank_kane_itp_andrew_neil_newspaper_dubai;19 May 2006AfghanistanA third independent daily hit newsstands in the western Herat province. Nazir Ahmad Raha,editor of the newly-launched daily Siasat (Politics) hoped their publication would become the13

most circulated in the province. He said the four-page newspaper was launched to providefresh and factual information to readers on daily basis. He said the daily circulation of thenewspaper would be 800. Eleven staffers have been appointed to run the paper. Speaking toPajhwok Afghan News, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Fawad Masiha said starting of anindependent and neutral newspaper was necessary for promotion of democracy in the warshatteredcountry. He said price of the paper had been set at five afghanis per copy. DailiesRooz and Pagah are the other newspapers published from Herat. Hailing the launch of thenew daily, chief of the Information and Culture Department Wali Shah Bohra said about 30publications, including dailies, weeklies and monthlies had been published from the province.He said media had a great role in informing and educating the people.http://www.pajhwak.com/viewstory.asp?lng=eng&id=12855; February 4, 2006BahreinA new Arabic newspaper, Al Waqt (The Time), was launched in Bahrain. Published by TimeMedia House and edited by Ibrahim Bashmi, Al Waqt is the eighth Arabic newspaper inBahrain. In the inaugural essay by the editor, the newspaper is described as having nopolitical allegiances. "We believe in the independence of the Press, individual freedom, andthe principles of tolerance and equality. We reject sectarianisms of all kinds," the essaydeclared.http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2006/February/middleeast_February750.xml&section=middleeast&col; 24 February 2006BhutanTwo new private newspapers, Bhutan Times and Bhutan Observer will begin publication byApril this year, according to an announcement from the information and communicationministry. The Bhutan Times will be published by Bhutan Media Services (BMS), a privatemedia service firm based in Thimphu and the Bhutan Observer will be published by KMTprinting press based in Phuentsholing. Bhutan Times will be circulated on Sundays andBhutan Observer on Fridays. Bhutan Observer will publish their newspaper both in Englishand Dzongkha and Bhutan Times will publish in English only. However, within a year fromits launch, Bhutan Times will also have to publish in Dzongkha, said an official from theministry of information and communication. A selection committee formed under the ministryselected the two private firms after going through about 10 variables including professionalcompetency, public service agreement, editorial independence from ownership, frequency ofpublishing, coverage density plan, and diversity of content among others. Speaking toKuensel the information and communication minister, Lyonpo Leki Dorji, said that theprivate newspapers will be solely owned by Bhutanese and published in Bhutan. “They arefree enterprises and there is no government commitment or subsidies,” Lyonpo Leki Dorjitold Kuensel. “The two private newspapers will encourage competition among newspapercompanies, and like in all other services, customers will benefit from better services andvalue,” he said. “Newspapers will play an important role once the draft Constitution isendorsed in 2008,” he said, adding that the media was indispensable in educating andinforming people after the change in the political system. “Private newspapers are encouragedto improve coverage,” said Lyonpo Leki Dorji. Meanwhile, the draft Media Act will besubmitted in the forthcoming National Assembly session in June for endorsement.http://www.kuenselonline.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=6504; February1, 200614

FranceAxel Springer said it is mulling the launch of a tabloid newspaper in France. 'The market inFrance is being sounded out', Financial Times Deutschland quoted chief executive MatthiasDoepfner as saying. Axel Springer, which owns Germany's best-selling 'Bild' tabloid, couldexpect a similar project in France to generate annual sales in the three digit mln eur range, thenewspaper added. Doepfner added that the company is also due to decide on the launch of anewspaper in Poland by next month.http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/afx/2006/03/09/afx2582029.html; March 9, 2006MalaysiaUtusan Melayu, the 66-year-old Jawi newspaper which was discontinued in January this yeardue to rising cost and declining revenue, will be revived with government financial support.Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, who announced this Monday,said the ministry was providing a special allocation to publish the paper. He said the ministrywould work together with the ministries of Education, Higher Education and Information onthe project aimed at conserving the unique centuries-old Malay script based on the Arabicalphabet and popularising it. "The ministry will support the paper until it is again accepted bythe entire community. We want the paper to become as popular as newspapers published inChinese and Tamil," he told reporters after opening a conference and exhibition on Jawiwriting at Muzium Negara here. Utusan Melayu, published by the Utusan Melayu mediagroup, first appeared in 1939 as a daily but dwindling readership forced the paper to goweekly in 2003. Its publication was discontinued altogether on Jan 29 this year. Dr Rais saiddiscussions were being held with the Utusan Melayu group as the publisher and he expectedthe paper to make its reappearance this year. He said the Utusan Melayu group was chosen topublish the paper as it held the licence to the Jawi publication. At today's function, Dr Raisalso witnessed the signing of an agreement between the government and Kolej UniversitiTeknologi dan Pengurusan Malaysia (KUTPM) on the study and acculturisation of the Jawiscript. http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=184151; March 6, 2006MalaysiaKumpulan Karangkraf Sdn Bhd plans to publish a newspaper called Sinar Harian in earlyJune, focussing on current developments in the East Coast and various aspects of the people'slife. The 48-page compact daily would have its office in Pengkalan Chepa, said KarangkrafGroup Editor-in-Chief Abd Jalil Ali. Fifteen journalists would be stationed in Kelantan andsix in Terengganu while the operations in Pahang would begin as soon as possible, he toldBernama at his office here Sunday. He said the company's management had decided topublish the daily because many aspects of the East Coast had not been fully exploited."Our studies have shown that people in the East Coast like to read based on the sales ofpublications especially in Terengganu compared to those in areas like the Klang Valley," hesaid. Kumpulan Karangkraf Sdn Bhd was set up in 1977 and to date, it has published 31reading materials including magazines and tabloids.http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/state_news/news.php?id=191979&cat=et; April 16,2006PolandGerman media giant Axel Springer will most likely launch a new upper-market dailynewspaper in Poland soon after April 17, industry sources said. The newspaper is designed tocompete with popular Gazeta Wyborcza daily owned by Polish media group Agora and15

oadsheet Rzeczpospolita controlled by Norway's Orkla. "Springer is ready to start a mediacampaign in the second half of next week and the new daily should hit the newstands afterEaster holidays," one media business source familiar with Springer's plans told Reuters.Another source confirmed the Polish version of Die Welt was expected to be launched aroundApril 18. The Polish branch of Springer declined to comment. The new title will be Springer'ssecond newspaper in the biggest central European market after tabloid Fakt, which waslaunched in 2003 and quickly became a best-selling daily. Media analysts have been split onwhether they think Springer's new project could be successful after Agora recently shut downa loss-making daily Nowy Dzien after just three months. But many say that with its hugepromotion budget and a team of experienced journalists lured away from leading titles inPoland, Springer may grab a solid foothold on the market. Sources earlier said the Germancompany originally planned to start the newspaper at the beginning of April, but delayed itslaunch, waiting for Orkla to decide on the future of its media business, including its stake inPoland's Rzeczpospolita. Orkla was expected to disclose details of its media assets by the endof March but so far has not announced any plans. "You cannot wait too long because you canlose. This is a good time for Springer. There's a chance to begin building a readership basebefore the start of the summer holiday season, when newspaper sales tend to fall," the sourcesaid. http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArticle.aspx?type=media&storyID=nL07660794;April 7, 2006SamoaThe first copies of the newest daily newspaper in the Pacific Islands, the American SamoaTribune, have gone on sale in American Samoa. The bilingual (English and Samoan)newspaper is being compiled and printed from a new production centre set up at Tafuna,American Samoa, by the Samoa Observer Newspaper Group. The group's flagship is the 27-year-old Samoa Observer, a bilingual daily newspaper printed at its headquarters in Vaitele,in suburban Apia, Samoa. Previously copies of the Samoa Observer were also flown fromSamoa to American Samoa each morning. Publisher Muliagatele Jean Malifa said of thegroup's setting up in Tafuna and launching the American Samoa Tribune: "We want to thinkthat we can help enhance the good relationship being enjoyed by the two Samoas, and worktowards making it even better. "Because despite being separated politically by a quirk ofhistory, we are still one. We share the same language, culture, customs and traditions, andmost important of all we're linked by blood." Editor-in-chief Savea Sano Malifa said in aneditorial in the first American Samoa Tribune: "We promise to do the best we can to serveAmerican Samoa." Last year the Samoa Observer Newspaper Group also launched a NewZealand edition of the Samoa Observer. It compiles and prints this at a production centre ithas established in South Auckland. A team of journalists and production and advertising stafffrom both the Samoa headquarters and New Zealand production centre have been inAmerican Samoa with Savea and Muliaga helping launch the Tribune.http://www.pacificislands.cc/pina/pinadefault2.php?urlpinaid=19973; February 1, 2006SpainA new business daily, El Economista, was launched in Spain on February 28. It is publishedfive days a week, from Tuesday to Saturday, with a print run of 250,000, and the cover price1€ for an average of 40 pages. Published by Editorial Ecoprensa SA, it was launched underthe leit motiv “delivering a new concept of financial journalism”. elEconomista.es, the digitalversion, starts on March 31. The company’s equity is 20 million euros, distributed among 18shareholders. The main investor, with a 15% share, is the Italian business newspaper Il Sole24 Ore, Europe’s biggest financial daily. Twenty five percent of the voting rights –which16

include both the employee’s and the promoter’s shares - are syndicated.http://www.eleconomista.es/quienes/somos.php; ANIMA Newsletter, February 20, 2006United KingdomThe Sportsman, the UK's new national newspaper that launched on March 22, is reporting anaverage daily circulation of around 65,000 copies for its first week. The new title, which is thefirst national daily newspaper to appear in the UK for 20 years, is targeting bettingenthusiasts. It is up against Trinity Mirror's Racing Post, which has an ABC circulation of75,908. Earlier today The Sportsman told Brand Republic that it was estimating the figure tobe around 60,000. It has now revised this up and said that first day sales exceeded allexpectations, even when stripping out sample copies. The figure easily beats bearish targets of50,000 with the exact figure being available next week. The 65,000 full sale figure is sure todrop, with The Sportsman team hoping it will settle at around 40,000, the paper's breakevencirculation. Ed Pownall, head of PR at The Sportsman, said: "We're actually reporting figurescloser to the region of 60,000. We think our circulation won't decrease dramatically fromreaders who will only buy it a few times to give it a try." He said the paper was confident ofits circulation because, unlike a traditional national newspaper launch, The Sportsman isdifferent with its niche sports and betting focus. He said: "The Sportsman has a more selectivereadership. We're confident our circulation will either stay the same or increase." TheSportsman has also reported widely varying regional circulation figures for its first week."It's been interesting looking at the regional differences in sales, which have been huge. Salesin Kent have been pretty low but Scotland, Liverpool and Newcastle have seen a particularlyhigh circulation," Pownall said. The Sportsman has backed its launch with a £2m marketingspend, with a campaign created by Vallance Carruthers Coleman Priest.http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/media/article/549273/the-sportsman-claims-dailycirculation-65000/YemenThe Yemen Female Media Forum (YFMF) have joined hands to launch a new newspaper forthe organization. Al-Raidah, which means ‘The Pioneer’, is 16 pages long and is issuedmonthly. It covers the state of women working in the media and the obstacles they face. In thefirst issue YFMF published a summary of the situation of Yemeni women in the media andthe severe conditions they face in practical work and in society. It is considered as one of firstof such studies to be done in the Arab world, and as such is seen as breaking new ground.In another article, Bilqees Hanash, one of the staff, questions why Yemeni women working inmedia are under the men's leadership, even though they are qualified enough to be decisionmakers. Is sexism the criteria for gaining ascendancy or is it qualification and skills, she asks.The impressive accomplishments that YFMF achieve give a tremendous sense of fulfillmentto all those working in the media. http://www.yobserver.com/cgibin/yobserver/exec/view.cgi/22/9411;February 2, 2006Newspaper Closures / AbsorptionsPolandThe Management Board of Agora SA informed that it made the decision to cease publicationof the daily Nowy Dzien. The last issue of the daily appeared on February 23, 2006. NowyDzien started publication on November 14, 2005. In accordance with the businessassumptions, the daily needed to achieve average copy sales of 250,000 for the project to beprofitable. In 2005, copy sales of Nowy Dzien were below 200,000 and showed a declining17

trend. In 2006, despite editorial changes and new promotional activities, copy sales declinedfurther. The Management Board concluded that the reversal of the negative trend andreaching the target copy sales levels was not possible and hence further expendituresconnected with the continued publication of the daily were not in the interest of the companyand its shareholders. http://www.agora.pl/agora_eng/1,66652,3176726.html; February 21,2006South AfricaThe publication of Nova, the four-and-a-half-month-old daily newspaper from the Media24stable based in Johannesburg, is to be suspended, a statement from Red Ink Publishing onbehalf of Nova said. Nova was aimed at young, high-income urban professionals. Althoughpositive comments were received on its editorial content, sales figures were not up toexpectations. Its publisher, Deon du Plessis, said: " In terms of content and style, the paperwas well received; it was seen as innovative. Research showed that most people in the targetmarket enjoyed it when they got it. Some advertisers were beginning to value the paper. Butcirculation remained flat. "As to distribution, we had not yet succeeded in reaching sufficientnumbers of people in the niche. Converting our target market of high-income non-newspaperreadingmetro people to a regular newspaper-reading habit proved difficult." Staff members ofNova (in circulation, advertising, administration or editorial departments) will be affected, butmost will be placed elsewhere in the group, the statement said. "We want to make a specialgesture towards those subscribers and advertisers who joined us in this experiment. To showhow much we valued their custom, we will refund their full contributions," said Du Plessis.In an interview with the Mail & Guardian Online in September last year, Nova editor MinetteFerreira said: "[Nova will survive because] the launch of Nova is very much part of Media24'swhole strategy of exploring newspaper readers. If you look at, for instance, the launch ofDaily Sun and the launch of Die Son, they went for a market that was not previously readingnewspapers, and both of them are now amazingly successful. Ferreira said Nova would be"really happy if we start with doing 40 000 to 50 000 [copies] in the first few months"."Nova is an integral part of that whole strategy of Media24. This means that we've got the fullsupport of Media24 and they are [our] financial back-up. What comes with Media24 are aninfrastructure and the knowledge of years and years and years of experience in the newspapermarket. They have got the distribution channels and the printing capabilities, all of that," shesaid. "It is a mixture of us and the ideas that we got [with] the back-up that we get fromMedia24. It's a recipe for success.http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/&articleid=263708; February 8, 2006TaiwanThe Chinese-language Central Daily News (CDN) will temporarily suspend publishingstarting on June 1 after its owner, the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), decided to stopinjecting new funds into the financially-bleeding paper. The CDN, founded in China almost80 years ago, was once Taiwan's most influential and largest newspaper by readership. Butthe daily paper has become deficit-ridden in recent years due to growing competition fromother print media and cable TV news for advertisers. KMT Deputy Secretary-General ChangCho-shen explained yesterday that the newspaper is to fold temporarily and that the KMT isseeking a buyer in the hope that the veteran Chinese-language daily will continue to exist in adigital form on the Internet. Chang revealed at KMT headquarters that the newspaper hasbeen operating at an average monthly deficit of around NT$9 million (US$281,000) for a longtime, while carrying millions of dollars worth of debt. Since the KMT is also beset withfinancial difficulties, the party can no longer sustain the paper's heavy financial losses. The18

party's policy-making Central Standing Committee passed a resolution recently to stopprinting the paper at the end of May. It will settle accounts and deal out severance paymentsfor its more than 70 editorial staff at the same time. The CDN was founded in February 1928in Shanghai and relocated to Taiwan in 1949. During the 1928-1949 period, it was regardedas the official mouthpiece of the KMT-run government of the Republic of China. KMTChairman Ma Ying-jeou has expressed deep sorrow over the decision to suspend publishingof the historic paper. But he said the decision was a pragmatic one. As a stop-gap measure, asmall team of the CDN staff will try to maintain the electronic edition of the daily until a newbuyer or investor is found to inject new capital to revive the print edition, according to asource close to the CDN.http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/detail.asp?ID=83160&GRP=B; May 30, 2006Broadcasting CompaniesFranceFrance's television dream of mounting a challenge to CNN and the BBC has suffered anembarrassing setback after claims that the new channel would broadcast most of its output inEnglish. Starved of realistic funding for a 24-hour news station, CII is due to be launched inDecember for transmission initially to Africa, the Middle East and Europe. Its annual budget,met by the French taxpayer, will be £50 million, about an eighth of CNN's. President JacquesChirac promised a "CNN à la française" in the 2002 election campaign and is committed to astation that will "spread the values of France and its global vision throughout the world". Itwas always known that part of the channel's output would be in English and Arabic butchampions of the French language were appalled at suggestions that its output in the languagebe less than four hours a day. The satirical weekly Le Canard Enchainé quoted Jean-PierrePaoli, right-hand man to CII's head, Alain de Pouzihac, as saying: "It could be half in English,half in French or a different proportion." But it added that CII executives told counterparts atthe state-owned France Televisions, a partner with the private TF1 network in the venture,that French language transmissions would be limited to three hours each morning. The rest,Le Canard Enchainé said, would be "in the language of Shakespeare". Mr Paoli was reportedto have defended the proposal on the grounds that English was a universal language, adding:"We are hardly committing an act of high treason." Marc Favre d'Echallens, of theAssociation for the Defence of the French Language (DLF), expressed outrage that a stationdesigned to give a "French vision" of world affairs would contain so little in French. "Aftercelebrating Trafalgar with the English and making light of our own great victory of Austerlitz,it probably follows that a publicly-funded French television channel should end upbroadcasting in English," he said. "If all we get is a poor man's version of what is alreadyavailable, what is the point of doing it at all?" A spokesman for the new channel said: "Eightyper cent of our target audience will be anglophone. If we want pluralism in the field ofinternational television news, we cannot ignore this. Our viewers will be opinion formers,journalists and people who travel a lot, and the language most common to them is English."http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=B0V01YUXE2SUNQFIQMGSFGGAVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2006/03/16/wcnn16.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/03/16/ixworld.htmlPoland-BelarusAn EU-funded radio broadcaster began beaming news, music and information into Belarus onFebruary 26 to counter state-controlled media three weeks before a tense presidential election."We are putting out truthful and current information about events in Belarus and abroad. Weare for freedom and objectivity," said a written statement on the European Radio for Belaruswebsite. The Vilnius-based Baltic Waves service broadcasts on short wave from the nearby19

Lithuanian capital and is staffed by Polish and Belarussian journalists, with the latter usingpseudonyms. Broadcasting on FM (frequency modulation) is due to begin shortly. The radiostation's first broadcast included an opposition leader's call for President AlexanderLukashenko to resign and reported on plans to open an office for the Council of Europe rightsorganisation in the Belarussian capital. "We welcome the start of this project. In Belarus, theauthorities keep total control of the information space," said the head of Belarus's Associationof Journalists, Zhanna Litvina. The broadcasts are part of a wider two million euro (2.4million dollar) package provided by the European Union to support journalists and the mediain Belarus, officials in Brussels said earlier. The EU has stepped up efforts against theLukashenko who has ruled since 1994 and is aiming for a new five-year term at the March 19election. Brussels and Washington have encouraged anti-Lukashenko activities inneighbouring Lithuania and Poland which joined the EU in 2004 after breaking fromcommunist rule in 1991. "It's not propaganda. It's about making possible access to free,independent and neutral information," a spokeswoman for EU external relationscommissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said. On February 22, another Belarussian-languageradio service was launched in the northeastern Polish city of Bialystok with funding by thePolish government. Lukashenko, whose regime is dubbed by the US "the last dictatorship inEurope", earlier called on his defence and interior ministries to counter "attemptedinterference in our internal affairs from the West" during the election campaign. Oppositionpoliticians have warned of street protests if the vote is tainted by irregularities. AFP; February26, 2006 ADVERTISINGAdvertising ForecastsGlobalTop ten contributors to annual advertising expenditure growth 2004-2008 (US$ million,current prices)Contribution toglobal advertising growth(2004-2008)US$m% of globaladvertising2004USA 29,814 42.7 40.8China 7,890 2.2 3.5Russia 5,362 1.0 2.0Japan 5,213 10.7 9.7Brazil 4,671 1.2 2.0UK 3,909 5.5 5.2Indonesia 3,108 0.7 1.2India 2,211 0.8 1.1Saudi Arabia/Pan Arab 2,068 0.7 1.0Spain 1,908 2.0 2.0Source: ZenithOptimedia; ANIMA Newsletter, April 24, 2006% of globaladvertising200820

United KingdomThe Financial Times reports that the internet will this year overtake UK national newspapersto become the third biggest advertising medium by spend, according to authoritative forecasts.By the end of 2007, internet advertising will close the gap on regional newspapers, thenumber two medium, but will still be well short of television, the biggest outlet in the £12bna-yearmedia advertising market. The projection, seen exclusively by the FT, underlines thepace of growth in internet advertising and the challenge to businesses reliant on traditionaladvertising revenue. Excluding internet spending, total media advertising would be inrecession with television, national and regional press reporting revenue falls this year, it said.The FT says that the report comes from GroupM, a WPP holding company which drew ondata from the group’s media buyers, MindShare, Media-edge:cia, MediaCom and MAXUS,which buy and plan more than 30 per cent of global media advertising. It estimates theinternet will take 13.3 per cent of the total media advertising market – excluding areas such asdirect mail, public relations and market research – in 2006. National newspapers will take13.2 per cent. http://www.finfacts.com/irelandbusinessnews/publish/article_10006025.shtml;May 29, 2006United States of AmericaThe Newspaper Association of America's "Outlook 2006" forecasts newspaper advertisinggains near 3 percent for print and closer to 4 percent when online is included in 2006. Thisshould be at least a slight improvement from 2005, a year that did not meet most observers’expectations. The full forecast is available on the NAA web site athttp://www.naa.org/Presstime/PTArtPage.cfm?AID=7378; Newsletter for Directors of WANMember Associations - N ° 34 ; February 2, 2006Advertising StatisticsAsiaCompanies spent a record 68.6 billion US dollars in advertisements across the Asia Pacificregion in 2005, an industry report said. Last year's record spending on newspapers, televisionand magazines represented a 15 percent jump from 2004 and was fuelled by growth in ninemarkets, Nielsen Media Research said. "Buoyed by strong growth markets includingAustralia, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and China particularly, the overall expenditure in2005 reflects how important this region is becoming as an advertising economy," it said. Thereport singled out the fast growing Indian economy as having tremendous potential for theadvertising sector. "Fuelled by the rapid rise in the retail sector starting mid-2003, the IT(information technology) and real estate boom, the potential for the advertising market issimply huge," said Richard Basil-Jones, the regional managing director at Nielsen MediaResearch. The report tracking 12 economies showed China accounted for 57 percent ofadvertising spending in 2005. South Korea and Australia shared joint second spot at eightpercent, Hong Kong was next at seven percent followed by India and Indonesia at fourpercent each. The Philippines was at three percent, Malaysia and New Zealand eachaccounted for two percent while Singapore and Taiwan were at one percent. AFP; March 28,2006ChinaAfter growing at a breakneck pace for the past decade, the Chinese newspaper industry'sprofits plummeted last year for the first time ever as advertisers cut back or redirected21

spending to the Internet. "Starting last year, a lot of people in the traditional media industryhave grown concerned about the future due to profits of newspapers being diverted to theInternet," said Mr Long Xinmin, director of General Administration of Press and Publication,which regulates China's print media. He was speaking at the China Media Forum 2006 heldhere yesterday. Since China began loosening restrictions on media in the early 1990s,hundreds of local newspapers catering to China's growing middle class have sprouted up tooffer sports news, entertainment news and other alternatives to staid Communist Party-ownednewspapers such as the People's Daily and Guangming Daily. For the past decade or so, thesemetropolitan newspapers' have grown exponentially, thanks to China's rapid growth. Between1998 and 2003, the country's newspaper circulation rose by 35.69 per cent while advertisingrevenues grew by 87 per cent. Now, the world's largest newspaper market is facing its biggestchallenge ever. A joint study by Qinghua University and the Chinese Academy of SocialSciences found that Chinese newspaper advertising turnover has dropped by more than 15 percent since last spring, the first time ever the industry has seen a decline in advertising. Asadvertising accounts for more than 70 per cent of most Chinese newspaper revenues, the dropin advertising income has eroded their profit margin. However, figures illustrating the declinein profitability are harder to come by because most newspapers are privately owned by localgovernments. Last week, the Hong Kong-listed Beijing Media Corporation issued a profitwarning for its 2005 earnings, citing a slowdown in advertising revenue, particularly fromreal estate companies. It is the advertising arm of the Beijing Youth Daily and the only listednewspaper company out of 1,922 newspaper companies in China. The government's measuresto cool down the overheating economy, starting in 2003, targeted the real estate andautomobile industries which are major advertisers. "Since the macroeconomic controls policycame out, our advertising from real estate companies and automobile manufacturers havefallen," said Nanfang Daily Group CEO Fan Yijin. Also, Chinese newspapers are not immuneto the shift to Internet advertising which has clouded the outlook of newspapers around theworld. While spending on newspaper advertising has dropped, spending on China's Internetadvertising rose 78.4 per cent to 4.17 billion yuan (S$842 million) last year, according toiResearch market research firm. At the forum yesterday, more than 260 newspaper andmagazine executives wrestled with how to adapt to this new business environment whereyounger readers prefer to get their news online for free. Most industry experts agreed that theInternet's growing popularity does not necessarily mean that newspapers will be driven toextinction, as Microsoft founder Bill Gates once predicted. Unlike blogs or most otherInternet companies, newspapers have the resources necessary to send journalists into the fieldto report the news. "Baidu will not manufacture its own content. Our primary responsibility isto help people find the information they are looking for," said Mr Liang Dong, vice-presidentat China's largest search engine Baidu, which has benefited from the growing Internetadvertising market. http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=44054; April 25,2006JapanDentsu Inc., Japan’s largest ad agency, on Feb. 20 released its annual advertising sales reportfor 2005. The report says total ad spending, covering all sectors, rose 1.8 percent from 2004,hitting 5.9625 trillion yen in a second consecutive year-on-year increase. Breaking adspending down by category, each of the four categories of newspapers, magazines, radio andtelevision suffered declines in ad sales, dropping 0.7 percent in total. Ad spending innewspapers fell 1.7 percent to 1.0377 trillion yen, reversing the first year-on-year gain in fouryears registered in 2004. Newspapers' share of total ad spending fell 0.6 percentage points to17.5 percent. Ad spending on television fell just 0.1 percent in its first year-on-year drop inthree years. However, ad spending on the Internet continued to climb, surging 54.8 percent.22

Search-engine-linked advertising continued to lead among advertisers seeking maximum costeffectiveness,with demand for this kind of advertising soaring among Internet ads. Accordingto the report, ad spending was up from 2004 as part of a general recovery in the Japaneseeconomy. The Aichi World Expo in the first half of the year and the general election in thelatter half were also major factors in the increase. Nevertheless, the rate of the increase wasless than that recorded the year before. As the Japanese economy continued to recover, adspending in newspapers showed marked improvement toward the end of the year, in part dueto the general election. But total ads sales in newspapers were down from 2004, when salesrose for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. By type of newspaper, ad spending in localnewspapers, sports dailies and evening newspapers were all somewhat weak compared to thatin national newspapers. Ten out of the 21 major industries spent more on newspaper ads. Inparticular, the “foodstuffs,” “cosmetics/toiletries” and “home electric appliance/audio-videoequipment” industries respectively spent 13.3 percent, 8.3 percent and 15.0 percent more onads. Cosmetic and health-food makers, personal computer makers and advertisers usenewspapers for direct and mail-order sales to boost credibility among customers. Ad spendingfor “automobiles/related products” in newspapers plunged 14.5 percent, while falling only 4.9percent for all four main media together. Ad spending for “beverages/cigarettes” was down8.5 percent in a reaction to a surge in 2004 due to an unusual heat wave.“Information/communications” ads sales were down 8.0 percent due to a lack of popularitems for sales promotions. A decline in ad spending by these major industries worked to curbthe growth in aggregate ad spending in 2005. Ad spending by “governments/organizations”was up 5.3 percent due to the general election. http://www.pressnet.or.jp/newsb/, March 2006Advertising ForecastsGlobalAdvertising Market Growth Forecast2005 2006France +2.2% +3.0%Germany +1.4% +2.7%Italy +2.8% +4.0%Spain +8.1% +6.4%U.K. +3.1% +3.6%USA +3.5% +4.4%Japan +2.0% +3.0%China +18.4% +15.1%Russia +31.2% +23.6%Source: Ad Barometer – Mars 2006 – BIPE/Interdeco/OMD France; ANIMA Newsletter,March 20, 2006JapanDentsu Inc. issued a prediction that nationwide ad spending will rise 2.1 percent in 2006, to6.0883 trillion yen. It predicted that ads would rise on the continued increase expected incorporate earnings for a wide range of industries amid the generally strengthening economy.It predicted that capital investment will keep rising as production expands and outmodedfacilities are upgraded. Dentsu also predicted that the market for IT- and digital-related goodsis likely to keep growing. There are several major sporting events taking place 2006, rangingfrom the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.They and other factors should all contribute to higher ad sales. Dentsu predicted that23

advertising spending in newspapers would increase marginally as the economy keepsimproving. In particular, it predicted that ad spending will rise in the“information/communications” and “home electric appliances/AV equipment” industries dueto progress in ground-based digital broadcasting and “number portability” for mobile phoneusers, as well as in the “finance/insurance” industry amid corporate realignments.Dentsu also predicted that ad spending by the “foodstuffs” and “cosmetics/toiletries”industries, which grew markedly in 2005, will keep rising in 2006, but at a slower rate.http://www.pressnet.or.jp/newsb/, March 2006Online Advertising Statistics / ForecastsUnited States of AmericaAdvertising on blogs, podcasts and RSS feeds could generate as much as $49.8 million forAmerica's alternative media industry this year, according to a new report. Confirming theincreasing power and commercial potential of independent online media, publisher of thereport and media research firm PQ Media estimated that advertising on user-generated mediaplatforms generated around $20.4 million in the US for 2005 but predicted 144.9 per centgrowth for 2006. Blog advertising accounted for 81.4 per cent of that revenue and is expectedto rise to $36.2 million for 2006. Podcasting is a huge growth area and is predicted to begin tooutstrip blog advertising and be worth $327 million by 2010. The number of podcasts in theUS has doubled since 2005 to more than 25,000. Advertising in RSS news feeds only becamesignificant in mid-2005 but had generated $650,000 by the end of the year. The sector isexpected to grow to £129.6 million in 2010. Technology, media and automotive brandsaccount for more than half the advertising in user-generated media. "Blog, podcast and RSSadvertising are being driven by some of the same factors boosting the growth of the overallalternative media sector: continued audience fragmentation, the perceived ineffectiveness oftraditional advertising, and the elusive but coveted 18 to 34-year-old demographic," saidPatrick Quinn, president of PQ Media. "Blog, podcast and RSS advertising have demonstratedan ability to reach younger demographics as well as influentials, and the media tend to behighly engaging. These are attractive trends to brand marketers that are focused on return oninvestment." Mr Quinn said that user-generated media will grow at triple-digit rates over thenext five year as technology and measurement techniques improve. PQ Media's 'Blog, podcastand RSS advertising outlook' is the first of five reports that follow six months' research intoalternative media in the US. http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/story1807.shtml; April 12,2006Product PlacementAustriaThe Austrian Newspaper Association has added its voice to the critics of efforts to liberalizetelevision advertising by revising the European "Television Without Frontiers"' directive. Theassociation wrote to the Austrian government -- which holds the Presidency of the EuropeanCouncil for the first half of 2006 -- saying the proposal is contradictory to the separation ofadvertising and editorial content. The association is concerned that the liberalisation ofadvertising, particularly product placement, will transfer revenue away from the press.Contact: Walter Schaffelhofer, gs@voez.at; Newsletter for Directors of WAN MemberAssociations - N ° 34 ; February 2, 200624

GermanyHeads of Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavaria, Klaus Oettinger and Edmund Stoiber, said theproposed loosening of regulations on product placement was not acceptable and should berevised. The newly appointed Minister for Culture, Bernd Neumann, asked for a strictseparation between advertising and editorial content in the media. The German newspaperassociation BDZV has also expressed its opposition to the proposal. Contact: Dietmar Wolff,wolff@bdzv.de; Newsletter for Directors of WAN Member Associations - N ° 34 ; February2, 2006Legal / Company AnnouncementsHong KongAfter years of study, the stock exchange has finally decided to end its requirement thatcompanies buy newspaper advertisements to notify investors of significant news that mayaffect share prices. As a result, several English and Chinese-language newspapers, includingthe South China Morning Post, Standard and Hong Kong Economic Times, are expected tosuffer a significant loss of advertising revenue, while investors will have to turn to the web foraccess to company announcements. The move, which will also mean the routine suspensionof trading that accompanies many company announcements will no longer be needed, bringsthe Hong Kong market into line with reporting requirements long observed by most othermajor markets around the world. "Compared with other markets, Hong Kong's stock market isvery outdated and lagged behind in terms of using electronic ways to distribute information toinvestors," Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing chief executive Paul Chow Man-yiu saidyesterday in a speech to the Chamber of Hong Kong Listed Companies. The changes will takeeffect in the second half, a bit earlier than originally expected. The exchange also made iteasier than originally proposed for companies to post their announcements on the internet bypermitting them to use third-party providers if they do not maintain their own websites. Asubstantial minority of the 1,140 listed companies have no internet presence. Starting in thesecond half, Mr Chow said, companies would only need to buy headline notices innewspapers to alert the investors that certain kinds of announcements had been filed with thestock exchange and posted on the internet. If the information was not available on the websiteof the exchange or the company, or a third-party website, the company would have to publishthe announcement in full in a newspaper. After six months, even the headline advertisementswill not be required. "The paid-advertisement newspaper requirement is very expensive forissuers," Mr Chow said. "It also leads to the companies frequently suspending their sharespending announcements printed on newspapers the following day." The changes "will allowinvestors to enjoy faster release of company information and less frequent suspension ofcompany shares". Brokers will also have to adapt to the new system. The AMS/3 stocktrading system will only give an alert rather than provide the full text of companyannouncements. They will have to turn to the web for further information. In addition, MrChow said he would like to end the requirement that announcements must be pre-approved bythe exchange's listing division staff. He would prefer to have company announcementspoliced after the fact by the exchange and the Securities and Futures Commission. "To allowcompany announcement to be disseminated without pre-vetting at any time during a day willmake it much quicker for a company to announce news and to further reduce the need forcompanies to suspend their shares," he said. Ultimately, Mr Chow also wants to permitinvestors to subscribe to new share offerings and vote on shareholder resolutions over theinternet. http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=45733; May 17, 200625

Classifieds – GenerallyGlobalClassified advertising is now moving to the next stage, one in which free classified ads willserve as content opposite targeted, paid-for display ads, much like any other form of content,such as news or feature stories, according to a new report from Jupiter Research. In theprocess, major national sites will emerge to dominate classifieds using this new model,sapping them away from traditional local classified vehicles, such as daily newspapers,predicts the study. “New competitors will use networked classifieds to do to classifiedadvertising what the web did to content,” says the report. And as these new competitors,which will include the likes of Microsoft and Google, wrestle for control of the classifiedmarketplace, it will have an enormous impact on local papers. “They are going to getremade,” says Barry Parr, lead author of the Jupiter Research report, referring newspaperclassifieds. “You won’t see online killing them right away. But you clearly would seerevenues decline, and you could see more creativity in the way they are presented.” In thereport, called “Classified Advertising: Seizing Opportunities during a Second Wave of MarketDisruption,” researchers forecast that the online classified market will grow some 60 percentover the next five years, for a compound annual growth rate of 10 percent. While that’s notquite as fast as the 79 percent they are forecasting for search marketing over the five-yearperiod, classifieds are expected to hold their share of the online advertising market, currently22 percent. But the forecast for a static market share belies the huge changes as what has longbeen a local business falls increasingly under the control of a small number of nationalcompanies. These companies will be able to use information learned about someone searchingthe classifieds, such as where they live, what sort of job they do or where they are interestedin buying a house, to help deliver highly targeted paid display ads. Already Google andMicrosoft are in the early stages of pushing in and reforming the market. And Parr expectsCraigslist and Yahoo to enter too. “This is really early on in the market. It’s not as if you havethree or four major operators duking it out for control of the majority of classified advertising.But a year or a year and a half from now it could look a lot different,” says Parr. Already outthere is a site called Simply Hired, which was developed by a small company for jobclassifieds. It follows what Parr sees as the new model. It spiders the web for job ads fittingthe user’s search and presents these opposite targeted, paid-for display advertising. The bonesof the new world are also in Microsoft’s Windows Expo Live, currently a beta version offeredin Seattle. The product gives away classified advertising but aims to make money by upsellingfeatured listings to advertisers and selling targeted contextual advertising against theclassifieds. Another expected competitor is Craigslist, which despite shaking up the marketinitially, has not yet made the jump into using its site to sell display advertising against theclassifieds. The potential for such a system is also present in Google’s Google Base, a productthat attempts to build a universal database that can store all information. While currently mostof this potential is unrealized, Parr believes Google will develop this application. As this newmarket develops it will have a great impact on newspapers, believes Parr, who says those thatdon’t have a relationship with a national online classifieds partner are at a competitivedisadvantage relative to the national players. The new world will force changes in newspaperprint classified sections. While it is as yet unclear exactly what form they will take, Parranticipates print classifieds may take on more of a display advertising quality, moving towardbrand advertising. “I don’t think that it will all shift online,” says Parr. “But it may becomeunrecognizable as classifieds.”http://www.medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_4606.asp; May 9, 200626

ZambiaThe overwhelming success of a new classifieds supplement has turned it into a major revenuegenerating tool for ‘The Post’ newspaper in Zambia. A unique design, clever brandinginitiatives, and a far-reaching distribution network have contributed to the success of thesupplement, aptly called Sangwapo, which translates into ‘the place to be’. ‘The Post’launched the classifieds supplement to carry personal announcements such as anniversariesand marriage announcements in June 2005. The supplement, originally a four-page pull-out,proved so popular that six months after its launch, the newspaper decided to increase thenumber of pages to twelve. Today, it is looking to grow the number to a total of 16 pages. Thesupplement also carries advertising space for small enterprises that cannot afford to buytraditional ad space in the rest of the newspaper, and in doing so, has also increased theoverall revenues from advertising. This has not led to a loss of traditional advertising for thenewspaper. In fact, the main advertisers are doubling the space they are buying because theirsmaller competitors are advertising in the supplement so they want to appear there as well.Fifty percent of the newspaper’s sales are to readers in the capital of Lusaka. The Copper Beltregion makes up ten percent its sales and the remaining forty is distributed through Zambia’sother provinces. Circulation for ‘The Post’ is approximately 40,000, but this numberfluctuates with sales being higher during the week. Forty percent of the newspaper’s revenuescomes from advertising and sixty from sales. It is the highest circulation newspaper in thecountry. The RAP 21 Newsletter No 4/2006, February 27, 2006Real Estate Advertising OnlineUnited States of AmericaForSaleByOwner.com announced it has partnered with USATODAY.com, one of the nationslargest newspapers to provide a newly launched buy owner real estate center onUSATODAY.com giving millions of online newspaper readers the tools to buy and sell realestate without having to pay a broker commission. The deal is ForSaleByOwner's firstalliance with a media company. Under terms of the partnership, USATODAY.com will directits more than 9.8 million monthly visitors to an exclusive, jointly branded site offering the fullrange of ForSaleByOwner.com services including listing packages, homes for sale by owner,city profiles and school reports as well as detailed information and tips that outline every stepof the home selling process. Based on a broker's standard commission of 6%, a person sellinga home for $250,000 could save as much as $15,000 using ForSaleByOwner.com. In additionto property listings, ForSaleByOwner.com provides a comprehensive set of services includingcity comparisons, school district reports, moving company finders and cost of livingcomparisons that are invaluable for consumer who are relocating or buying vacationproperties. According to industry estimates, currently one in four homes are sold directly bytheir owners, and it is also reported that more than 74% of buyers look at homes online beforeviewing properties in person.http://finanzen.net/news/news_detail.asp?NewsNr=372631; February 13, 2006Advertising Design / Creativity / Campaigns / AwardsAustriaThe Austrian Newspaper Association is joining the European-wide "Best Y.E.T." advertisingcompetition to help promote newspaper advertising among young creatives. The associationis, for the first time, organizing a national competition to start in mid-February, with the twowinning teams to enter the European Best Y.E.T. event. Contact: Walter Schaffelhofer,27

gs@voez.at; Newsletter for Directors of WAN Member Associations - N ° 34 ; February 2,2006Print As an Advertising Medium / Ad Effectiveness /MetricsAustraliaAustralia's leading metropolitan, regional and community newspaper publishers – NewsLimited, Fairfax, Rural Press, APN News & Media and West Australian Newspapers – haveagreed to establish a new high-powered marketing body to promote newspapers as Australia'snumber one medium. The new body will be operational by the middle of this year. Anindustry-wide search for a high-calibre CEO begins this week with the recruitment targeted atsenior industry figures with strong backgrounds in marketing and agency environments. Thenew organisation will be located in Sydney. The chairmanship of the new body will alternatebetween the CEO's of the member companies. The inaugural chairman, News LimitedChairman and CEO, Mr John Hartigan, said the primary role of the new body will be to helpdemonstrate the reach, influence and value of newspapers as Australia's number one medium."Newspapers are a contemporary and creative medium and still the most preferred singlesource of news, information and entertainment for Australians. They continue to reach thebiggest audience more cost-effectively than any other media," Mr Hartigan said. Mr Hartigansaid the new body would develop a range of strategies aimed at promoting the effectivenessof newspapers, raising their profile as a medium and encouraging more creative use ofnewspapers among advertisers and agencies. "We reject the notion that newspapers are "oldmedia". Newspapers deliver much better reach for advertisers than any other media and arethe most influential media among consumers. Newspapers also offer untapped potential as acreative medium. "However, as the media market fragments and competition for ad revenueand "eyeballs" intensifies, it is more important than ever that the value of newspapers as acategory is researched and marketed professionally," said Mr Hartigan. Fairfax CEO MrDavid Kirk, said the new body will also give publishers one voice on issues of commoninterest and importance. "For example, it is important that the industry does a good job ofexplaining any impact of the impending changes to the way circulation is audited. At the sametime, we will be able to work more effectively with the advertising industry on issues ofmutual concern," Mr Kirk said. The new newspaper marketing body will be led by an eightperson board including the CEOs from each major publisher – John Hartigan (News), DavidKirk (Fairfax), Brian McCarthy (Rural Press), Brendan Hopkins (APN) and the incomingCEO of West Australian Newspapers (WAN). Independent regional, rural and communitynewspapers will also be invited to join the new organisation. The new organisation also plansto work collaboratively rather than in competition with other newspaper industry bodies suchas PANPA, the Australian Publishers Bureau and the Publishers National EnvironmentBureau which perform specific functions. Mr Hartigan said the new body hoped to becomeaffiliated with the Newspaper Marketing Agency (NMA) in the UK and the NewspaperAssociation of America (NAA).http://moora.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=local&story_id=461348&category=general%20news&m=2&y=2006; 23 February 2006United KingdomAccording to independent research published by the Newspaper Society in the UnitedKingdom, advertising avoidance is not an issue in the regional press. The research offerscompelling new evidence that advertising in local newspapers is noticed, relevant, acted upon28

and, above all, "wanted," heralding a new direction in the marketing of the medium. Thestudy found: * People rarely skip over the ads in a local newspaper. Ad avoidancewas most common with TV (47%), followed by national newspapers (27%), theinternet (25%) and magazines (23%). Local newspaper and radio ads were onlyavoided by 17% of respondents. * Regional newspaper advertising was noticed more thanadvertising in all other media, and national brands have a huge resonance. * Four out of fivelocal press readers act on the advertising, including the highest income groups. There is asimilar level of action across all ages. Newsletter for Directors of WAN Member Associations- N ° 36, April 24, 2006United States of AmericaThe Newspaper Association of America has launched a 50-million-dollar advertisingcampaign designed to "surprise advertisers with the truth" about how consumers are deeplyengaged with newspaper advertising. The campaign will also remind advertisers of the reachof newspaper media in all its forms -- print, online, niche publications, wireless, kiosks andeven podcasts. The campaign's print and online advertising, aimed at media planners andbuyers, is being placed in newspapers across America as well as trade magazines and online.You can view the ads at http://www.naa.org/advertiser. Newsletter for Directors of WANMember Associations - N ° 35, March 15, 2006United States of AmericaA retail study, for the third consecutive survey, reveals that advertising insert readershiplevels are consistently at 85 percent or above. Additionally, the Vertis proprietary CustomerFocus® 2006 study finds Web savvy individuals still rely on advertising inserts, as 88 percentof Sunday newspaper readers surveyed via the Web said they read Sunday newspaper inserts,while 79 percent of those surveyed by phone read them. The study finds consumers useadvertising inserts of all forms to help decide where they shop or to learn about availablesegments. More specifically, 52 percent of those surveyed by phone and 71 percent of thosesurveyed via the Web use inserts to decide where they buy groceries. Additionally, 29 percentof those surveyed by phone and 41 percent surveyed by Web use inserts to decide where toshop for health and beauty care products, while 28 percent and 39 percent, respectively, usethem for office supply decisions. The Vertis Customer Focus® 2006: Retail study, whichsurveyed respondents for the first time via both the telephone and Web, shows the followingadditional findings, which provide insight into the purchasing trends and importance ofadvertising inserts across a variety of retail sectors.http://webfiles.vertisinc.com/webfiles.nsf/GraphicsLU/AD6E94C1A73EC5788525710200704642/$FILE/060126PR_VCF_Retail_Survey.pdf; January 26, 2006 CIRCULATIONWeekend / Sunday Editions / SupplementsSouth AfricaSouth Africa's BDFM publishing business, jointly owned by Johnnic Communications and theUK's Pearson Group, is to launch a Saturday broadsheet newspaper aimed at the top end ofthe market, it said. BDFM, which publishes South Africa's main financial daily Business Dayand weekly magazine Financial Mail, said it would launch "The Weekender" in March andhoped to fill a gap in the market for a highbrow Saturday paper. Business Day editor Peter29

Bruce said the 32-page paper would target the politically and financially aware readers of thedaily version, and would be modelled on Pearson's Financial Times with a news and reviewsection. "We already have an established market for our journalism during the week and wewant to follow our readers home," Business Day Editor Peter Bruce told Reuters, addingBusiness Day tended to be read at the office. Independent News, South Africa's biggestnewspaper group, prints a Sunday broadsheet aimed at the top end of the market, andJohncom prints the bigger selling Sunday Times. But on Saturday only the Independent'spopulist Saturday Star and Caxton's Citizen are published. The paper will feature twosections, with the first half covering news and a run-down of Friday's markets, and a secondsection focused on leisure, TV, analysis and personal finance. BDFM hopes The Weekendercirculation will reach around 30,000 over the next few years and Bruce said the paper willcost 9.80 rand (US$1.58). South Africa's tabloid market has exploded in recent years aspublishers tailor papers to the sprawling townships, where increased affluence and literacy areboosting sales. But Nigeria's ThisDay launched a highbrow broadsheet in South Africa inOctober 2003 which was meant to exploit a gap in the market. It shut down a year later afterbig losses. Bruce said The Weekender would fare better since costs were much lower, withBusiness Day staff providing much of the content and only 8 new journalists being hired. Itwould cost about 25 million rand to launch the paper, he added. Reuters; February 13, 2006Special Supplements / Sections / Editions / Titles /Websites; Tailored / Localised / RegionalCongoThe state-owned La Nouvelle Republique newspaper in Congo has launched a fortnightlysports edition following readers’ demands. The decision to launch La Nouvelle RepubliqueSportive was the result of a readership survey that showed a significant interest in havingmore extensive sports coverage. After the disappearance of Le Stade, the only sportspublication in the country, young readers in particular considered the single pageBrazzaville’s newspapers generally devoted to sport to be insufficient. The 12-pagenewspaper has a print run of 1,000 copies and is distributed in the capital city of Brazzavilleand neighboring regions. The RAP 21 Newsletter No 6/2006, April 28, 2006GeorgiaThree thousand copies of the new Azeri-language ‘The Georgian Times’ have been printed,said Malkhaz Gulashvili, President of the media holding The Georgian Times. With theexception of Tbilisi, the newspaper will be distributed in Kvemo Kartli region where a largenumber of Azerbaijanis live. Gulashvili says ‘The Georgian Times’ in Azeri will bedistributed in Azerbaijan as well. The publisher stated that the initiative of publishing anAzeri version of the paper came from Azerbaijanis. "If the Armenians living in Georgiaexpress the wish to have an Armenian version of our newspaper, we will publish that too,"Gulashvili said. Until now, ‘The Georgian Times’ was published in three languages: Georgian(30,000 copies), English (5,000) and Russian (8,000). Another Azeri-language newspaper inGeorgia, the four-page ‘Gurjistan’ has a small circulation. About 400,000 Azerbaijanis and300,000 Armenians live in Georgia. http://media.ge/eng/news_detailed.php?id_numb=517Morocco – Middle EastMorocco’s leading publishing group will invest for the first time in the Gulf. Moroccan dailyLe Matin will have a Gulf edition, the newspaper announced. Othman al-Omeir, the Saudipresident of publishing group Maroc Soir, has reportedly met the king of Bahrain Hamad al-30

Khalifa to discuss the editorial plan. The daily reported that the project aims to initially attract500,000 readers, the number of francophone residents in the Gulf. After the meeting, the kingof Bahrain gave instructions to the information ministry to ‘facilitate the publication inManama of the francophone daily,’ the paper reported on Monday. Othman al-Omeir, aformer journalist who used to publish the London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat, an Arabiclanguage daily, bought the group in 2004 for MAD 150m (over EUR 13m). The publishinggroup owns French language daily Le Matin, Arab language paper Assahra al-Maghribiya andSpanish daily La Manana, as well as the internet paper Morocco Times, published in English.Maroc Soir was the last paper thus far opened by the group, in November 2005. AKI News;http://blog.newspaperindex.com/2006/03/30/moroccan-publishing-group-maroc-soir-toexpand-in-the-gulf/;March 30, 2006Russia – United States of AmericaThe International Herald Tribune has become the first international daily newspaper to beprinted in Moscow. As of the beginning of February, the newspaper is being printed anddistributed in alliance with Independent Media Sanoma Magazines, an affiliate ofSanomaWSOY, the Finnish media conglomerate. Independent Media publishes The MoscowTimes, an English-language newspaper that appears Mondays through Fridays and has areputation for hard-hitting news and feature stories often not covered by the Russian press,which has come under increasing Kremlin pressure. "This will be the first time in Russianhistory that an international newspaper like the IHT will be published daily in Moscow,providing Russians and expatriates alike with global news at a time when freedom of speechis hotly discussed in Russia," Derk Sauer, chief executive of Independent Media, said in astatement. Michael Golden, publisher of the IHT, said in a statement, "This is only the latestsign of the IHT's strengthened focus on and commitment to covering Europe, includingEastern Europe." The IHT, which is part of The New York Times Co., is printed daily incooperation with local dailies in countries ranging from Israel and Germany to South Koreaand Lebanon. The New York Times already has a foothold in Russia. Since last year, Izvestia,the former newspaper of the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. and now a respected generalinterestdaily, has been publishing a weekly English-language section of selected featurearticles from The New York Times. Other Independent Media publications include The St.Petersburg Times and Vedomosti, a business newspaper that is published jointly with TheWall Street Journal and The Financial Times, supplementing original articles with translatedarticles from the foreign publications. Independent Media also has glossy magazines, like theRussian versions of Cosmopolitan and Harper's Bazaar, Yoga Journal, Harvard BusinessReview and the Robb Report, reflecting the wealth of some Russians and the increasingaffluence of many others. A number of Russian publications have some level of cooperationwith foreign publications. Profil, a business weekly, used to reprint translations of articlesfrom Business Week until a Russian edition of Business Week was started. Now Profil offersreprints from Der Spiegel. Gazeta, a daily newspaper, is a syndication partner with The DailyTelegraph and The Sunday Telegraph of London.http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/02/05/yourmoney/moscow06.php; February 5, 2006South AfricaSouth Africa’s business daily, Business Day, is introducing a monthly supplement that willfocus on the tourism industry. The Tourist hits the news stands on 5 May 2006. The Touristwill be published on a monthly basis as an insert to Business Day. Its focus will be on tourismas an economic sector, incorporating news, views and interviews with key role players in theindustry. Peter Bruce, editor of Business Day, says: “Business Day is expanding its coverageto include news worth knowing about the business of tourism. Investors, policymakers,31

entrepreneurs and tourists – both visitors and Gautengers – will find The Tourist a valuableand interesting read.” This joint initiative between Business Day and the Gauteng TourismAuthority will promote Gauteng’s unique and, to a large extent, unheralded leisure andheritage destinations, and provide a deeper understanding of the economic impact of thesector at macro and micro level. Although its primary focus will be on Gauteng, this eightpagetabloid publication will circulate nationwide and cover national tourism issues as well.http://www.biz-community.com/Article/196/90/9954.html; April 23, 2006SudanSudanese independent English language daily newspaper, the Khartoum Monitor, hasannounced that it will begin publishing a weekly Arabic language edition of the paper on 18May. In an advertisement appearing on its Monday 15 May edition, the newspaper says, withthe Arabic publication, it "hopes to reach those who do not read English so that its message ofa Sudan of justice, balanced development, equitable distribution of power and resources reacheveryone in Sudan." Many Sudanese from the Sudanese marginalized regions do not speakEnglish, as result of intensive arabization of the curricula in the Sudanese school. A foreignobserver who visited Sudan two weeks ago said “Southerners are speaking now Arabic aswell as northerners and wearing the same clothes, to hear Southerners abroad and southernersinside the country you feel a real gap between them”.http://www.sudantribune.com/article_impr.php3?id_article=15682; 16 May 2006United States of AmericaThe Wall Street Journal Europe is to launch a style magazine aimed at high-incomeexecutives with former Esquire editor Peter Howarth at the helm, as the financial paper triesto draw in luxury goods advertisers. With a working title of Style Journal, the magazine is tobe published by Howarth's contract publishing business, Show Media, and will be launched inApril. Howarth said: "Style Journal will unashamedly talk to executives who wear the bestsuits, drive the best cars and drink the best wines." The 64-page launch issue will bedistributed with The Wall Street Journal Europe with content focusing on fashion andaccessories, fine food and wine, travel and motoring. The launch sees the WSJ follow in thesteps of rival the Financial Times, which has long published a similar title called How toSpend It. Jon Housman, managing director of The Wall Street Journal Europe, denied that itsattempts to attract luxury goods advertisers were linked to a drop in advertising from otherareas such as IT, telecoms and financial services. Housman said: "It's not that we're trying tocompensate. In fact, our fourth-quarter numbers are way up. We just feel that we are in aunique position because our reader demographics boast a high concentration of seniormanagement. Style Journal will provide luxury goods advertisers with a new platform toreach this highly desirable audience." Housman said that Style Journal would be differentfrom the FT's magazine by focusing on grown-up men's style rather than being a pure fashionmagazine. The grown-up approach will, according to Howarth, see men over 40 featureregularly on the front cover. "It is one of only very few magazines in the world to feature menover 40 on the cover," he said.http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/media/article/542607/wsj-targets-affluent-men-newstyle-magazine/;February 23, 2006Free Newspapers & Pick-Up PublicationsCameroonMessage d’Afrique is the country’s first general interest newspaper that hit the streets free ofcharge in December 2005. Its publisher, Pierre Jules Njawe, wants to appeal to potential32

eaders who cannot, or are not willing to pay for news. The newspaper is distributed in allpublic places - restaurants, hotels, department stores and markets. Message d’Afrique iscurrently a monthly publication but the publisher’s goal is to publish it bi-weekly or evenweekly. Average distribution of the newspaper is 15,000 copies per issue. The number ofpages varies depending on the number of advertising pages. Thus far, issues have fluctuatedbetween 8 and 16 pages. The newspaper employs three editorial staff. WAN - The RAP 21Newsletter No 3/2006, February 7, 2006CanadaThe youth-market free newspaper Dose is going out of print because it had poor prospects ofbeing profitable, the CanWest MediaWorks Income Fund announced. The Monday-to-Fridaynewspaper was launched in April 2005 and targeted readers aged 18 to 34 in Vancouver,Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Ottawa. The publication will continue its run online andmobile editions, which will be a better fit for the product and its market, said Peter Viner,president and CEO of CanWest MediaWorks. "In this very competitive newspaper market, wefeel the printed publication will not produce the financial results we expect over the longterm, however, we see a growing product in the Dose online and mobile offering which wewill continue to develop," Viner said. "Going forward, we plan to keep the best elements ofDose and weave these into our web, mobile and general content strategies." The companysays about 50 people are affected by the move and 10 will be retained. "The Dose team is avery dedicated and talented group and we regret the impact on the staff which has invested agreat deal in the project over the past year," Viner said. "However, we must continue tomanage our business to ensure we demonstrate a strong value proposition to our customers,advertisers and investors." A former employee who asked not to be named said thenewspaper's staff was shocked by the announcement, saying it came after a one-yearanniversary party just a week ago. "(The news) came totally out of nowhere. It seems very,very strange to me that we would throw a huge party . . . a week before this happens," he said."And that's a party where clients come and all kinds of deals are made." CanWestMediaWorks is indirectly owned 74 per cent by CanWest Global Communications Corp.(TSX:CGS.A) and 26 per cent by the CanWest MediaWorks Income Fund.http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/17052006/2/business-canwest-stop-printing-free-newspaper-doseavailable-online-cellphones.html;May 17, 2006Czech RepublicOne month after the launch of the afternoon free daily newspaper Kuryr, the owners of thepublication continue to remain anonymous — but they’ll show their faces within severalweeks, their representative promised. Jan Hamacek, head of the Kuryr project, said that theowners of Iditara, the company publishing the daily, are “a group of Czech individuals whodon’t want to disclose their identity for now because they’re involved in other acquisitions,some of them in the media.” Hamacek vehemently denied any connections between themysterious owners and political circles. “I’m not a politician and there’s no point in beingclose to political parties,” he said. “It’s true that [the ruling Czech Social Democrats] CSSDought advertising in our newspaper, but they paid for it. That doesn’t mean that they own us.”Hamacek added that the opposition Civic Democratic Party (ODS) didn’t buy advertisementsin the paper because they don’t distribute their budget evenly and prefer to spend it all onMladá fronta Dnes, the second-largest newspaper in terms of paid circulation. “Does thatmean that [ODS party leader Mirek] Topolánek and [head of the party’s political and pressoffice Marek] Dalík own Mladá fronta Dnes?” he asked rhetorically. Hamacek said thatKuryr, the fourth free daily newspaper on the Czech market, which launched April 20, is asound business project. The newspaper targets “all the people willing to read,” with ages33

etween 25 and 50, the middle class, and those with higher income who spend a fair amountof leisure time at home. “Even businessmen want to read something straightforward whenthey come home; [something] short, bringing condensed and consistent information,” saidHamacek, who until April 2005 was the CFO of the Czech unit of Swiss publisher Ringier,which runs the tabloid Blesk, the daily newspaper with the largest circulation. Despitecutthroat competition on a newspaper market where 11 dailies fight for readership, Kuryrfound its niche, they claim. Unlike the other free dailies, which are distributed in the street,Kuryr is an afternoon publication distributed to mailboxes. The newspaper’s initial print run is300,000, which is the optimum amount to cover Prague, according to Hamacek. “Dependingon the success of the newspaper in Prague, we hope to expand to the other regions within thenext seven years,” he said. Hamacek said that the initiators of the newspaper worked on theproject for almost a year. Hamacek was brought in to launch the newspaper under aconsultancy agreement via his own company, JH Finance. So far, the newspaper concludedsome unexpectedly fat ad contracts with companies such as majority state-owned powerutility CEZ. “We were lucky with CEZ,” Hamacek said, explaining that the energy operatorhad some hefty cash available for ads promoting their partnership with the basketball FinalFour European league tournament that took place in Prague from April 28-30. “Our goal wasto lure the greater public, and mostly those people who don’t buy daily media, to come watchthe event,” said CEZ spokeswoman Eva Nováková. The company decided to advertise inKuryr because the newspaper was new on the market and “naturally it stirred larger interest,”she added. Kuryr hopes to start making a regular profit within 16–18 months, according toHamacek. He forecasts hard times for traditional print media. In his opinion, they have tobecome “more reader-friendly” as they are “too thick, and difficult to read,” he said. “Look at,for example, Mladá fronta Dnes. You have to spend half an hour searching for theinformation you need. The newspapers have to offer enough information in a good shape, ona reasonable amount of paper.” Hamacek said he thinks that the traditional media will survive,“but they’ll have to adapt to the faster life.” http://www.cbw.cz/phprs/2006052217.html; May22, 2006Czech RepublicOn January 9, two editions of Metro were launched in the Czech Republic, covering one thirdof the country. A further expansion (South Moravia & West Bohemia) is anticipated. Theseeditions were delayed several times. The Moravia and Bohemia editions (150,000 circulation)differ from the Prague edition (circulation 200,000). 24 Hodin is published in Prague sinceNovember (by Ringier) while Mafra (Dnes) is also thinking about launching a free paper oftheir own. Czech Business Weekly; FDN Newsletter No. 14, February 2006DenmarkThe Icelandic company Dagsbrún, the parent company of of 365 Media which publishesamong other things Fréttabladid, will publish a paper in Denmark this fall. Planning is wellunderway, the paper will be distributed for free into all homes in Denmark similar to thedistribution of Fréttabladid in Iceland. In December, it was reported that Dagsbrún wasconsidering purchasing Orkla Media, a subsidiary of the Norwegian conglomerate Orklawhich publishes the Danish newspapers BT, Urban and Berlingske Tidende but there has beenno additional news on that front.http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16567&ew_0_a_id=185170;February 16, 200634

* * * * *Plans by Icelandic media house Dagsbrún to break into the Danish market with a free dailydelivered to people's doorsteps have been greeted with plans by one paper to increase itscirculation by 25 percent. The newspaper, Søndagsavisen, itself a free weekly, is already oneof the most widely distributed in Denmark. It said yesterday that increasing its circulationfrom 2 million to 2.5 million would allow it to reach all post districts and help it fend off thecompetition posed by the Dagsbrún newspaper when it hits the streets this autumn. The newscomes after Dagsbrún announced earlier this year that it intends to turn the Danish newspapermarket on its ear with the introduction of a free, 48-page omnibus newspaper with a focus onquality journalism. Their move was greeted with scepticism by established newspapers.However, a similar newspaper's success in Iceland has publishers concerned about the impactthe new newspaper will have on advertising and subscriptions and left them scrambling tofind a way to secure their market share. Søndagsavisen said its new strategy should help itmeet the challenge with a head of steam. 'We expect our 'national reach' strategy to win us asignificant market share in a market that is already very competitive,' said Gorm WesingFlyvholm, Søndagavisen's general manager. http://www.cphpost.dk/get/95152.html; April 19,2006* * * * *Two of the country's major newspapers have announced plans to publish a free daily,becoming the latest media house to cast their hat in the free media ring. The media group incharge of two leading daily newspapers, Jyllands-Posten and Politiken, announced Tuesdaythat it will produce a free newspaper delivered directly to reader's mailboxes. The group'sdecision offered a counterattack to the free newspaper under development by Icelandic mediahouse Dagsbrún. The freesheet wave began in Denmark in 2001 when MetroXpress, a MetroInternational publication, and Urban, the free version of daily newspaper Berlingske Tidende,were introduced. The addition of another free newspaper could radically change the mediamarket, said Per Lyngby, the chairman of the national newspaper association. 'Circulationshave fallen for 15 years,' he said. 'That tendency will most likely be reinforced, especially inthe areas where the free newspapers will be delivered to people's homes.' Anker Brink Lund, amedia professor at Copenhagen Business School, predicted that the country was only bigenough for one free daily. 'The winner will be the newspaper that can document that it reachesthe entire country and - just as importantly - is actually read. The new paper, on the other,hand will be able to compete with the strongest media to date, TV2.' The Copenhagen Post;http://www.denmark.dk/portal/page?_pageid=374,610572&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&ic_itemid=924311; 24 May 2006GermanyNorwegian 20 Minutes publisher Schibsted announces that it has shelved its project to launcha free paper in Germany, the top newspaper market in Europe. The launch of a Germanversion of 20 Minuten was expected before the football World Cup. It appears that thepublisher was unable to convince any of its potential local partners to participate in a jointventure. Also Metro is reported to have given up on its German projects. ANIMA Newsletter,April 3, 2006IndiaWhy are there no free newspapers in India? ‘Mumbai Mirror’ is distributed free along withthe main edition of ‘The Times of India’ (‘TOI’). Similarly, the Mumbai based daily, ‘DNA’,35

was distributed free in the city’s air-conditioned buses for the first few months of its launch.And, of course, you can pick up some of the major dailies for free at domestic airports. A fewyears ago, even Mid-day had tried its luck with a free daily, when it launched a communitynewspaper, Metro, which were distributed free in different localities in Mumbai with aseparate edition for each place. This was launched with an aim to bring in small timeadvertisers, who couldn’t make it to the main edition. But leaving aside these few instancesand the fistful of small-time local players such as ‘Neighbourhood Flash’ and ‘OntrackSuburb’, India is still to get a full-fledged free daily. Estimates suggest that there are around25 million copies of free dailies being distributed around the world. The lack of freenewspapers is especially surprising when you consider that Indian newspapers are thecheapest in the world – cheaper by far than any newspaper in the developed world or evendeveloping countries like Pakistan. In fact, many English dailies are sold for as low as Re 1 orRs 2 – practically free, you could say. The initial subscription offers of ‘DNA’ and‘Hindustan Times’ (‘HT’) in Mumbai, during their launch period, further reduced the cost ofthe newspaper to around 50 paise for an average issue. When Indian newspaper publishers areoffering their dailies dirt cheap, why is that till date, we haven’t got a full-fledged free daily?According to Lynn D’Souza, director, Lintas Media Group, the current model of low-priceddailies is a result of competitive pressures, rather than a deliberate attempt to develop a uniquebusiness model. D’Souza says, “The model in India is to charge a low subscription cost and totie up with advertisers for good consumer promotions, plus to offer huge incentives to thetrade.” She points out that the free dailies that exist abroad genuinely operate on a differentbusiness model, from the type of editorial they cover to the costs they incur on reportage, etc.Indian media experts are unanimous in the belief that the quality of newsprint and theeditorial content of the free dailies in Europe and North America are poor in quality, whichmight not be acceptable to either Indian readers or advertisers. Other senior media plannerssuch as Ravi Kiran, CEO, South Asia, Starcom MediaVest Group, are of the opinion that themindset of Indian advertisers and media planners work against free vehicles when it comes tonewspapers and magazines. Kiran cites the example of magazines such as ‘Filmfare’, whichhave been badmouthed by the industry in the past because they offered a premium the valueof which compared with the cover price of the magazine. “This mindset is really sad sincethey do not apply the same logic to free to air TV or radio!” exclaims Kiran. It is said that freedailies do well in markets where the cost of a newspaper is at par or more than a can of softdrink. It also works in markets where the retail and classified sectors are well developed. NDBadrinath, director, client services, AC Nielsen, which is into media research, concurs withthe same. He says, “The ratio of advertising and subscription revenue for an Indian newspaperpublisher is 80:20. And this 20 per cent subscription revenue needs to be compensated byadvertising revenue, which can come from a rise in classified advertising.” But he says,“Classified advertising is still to pick up in India. Indian consumers still rely more on word ofmouth rather than classified advertising, unlike the trend in other developed countries.” Butdoes this mean India cannot sustain a free daily model? Bhaskar Das, executive president,‘TOI’, doesn’t see it happening in the next five years, not even in the case of ‘MumbaiMirror’, which is being distributed free now with the ‘TOI’. Das points out that it wouldn’t becorrect to slot ‘Mumbai Mirror’ as a free daily. Rather, ‘Mumbai Mirror’ complements the‘TOI’. Above all, it is also sold as a standalone newspaper at the newsstands. The biggesthindrance for a ‘free’ business model, according to Das, is the existence of the ‘raddi’ (scrap)market. He explains, “Unlike other developed countries, there is a value for ‘raddi’ in India.Keeping copies of free dailies at pick-up terminals such as a railway station or a bus terminuswill not ensure that the dailies reach the readers. And having our own distribution network toensure that the dailies reach the readers’ homes is not financially viable.” “This in turn makesit difficult to identify the readers of a free daily, which will again create the wrong illusion for36

advertisers. That’s why such a business model has a huge logistical problem in India.” Dasadds, “By distributing the ‘Mumbai Mirror’ free along with the ‘TOI’, we can at least ensurethat the daily is reaching the existing ‘TOI’ readers.” “It’s a strategic decision,” he quips.But not everyone is so pessimistic, at least not those on the advertising front. Kiran ofStarcom is hopeful that there is a potential for free newspapers in India. “As the establishednewspapers stagnate or shrink in their readership, and as key audience segments such as theyouth are lost to other media, newspaper publishers will be forced to launch free titles toappeal to the non-readers of traditional dailies.” According to him, there is a lack of properfuture focus among publishers. Currently, many publishers are boosting their revenue bylaunching additional editions and increasing their ad rates periodically. But very soon, asKiran of Starcom, says, these two initiatives will stop working. D’Souza of Lintas is positivethat India could have some free dailies a few years from now, especially in the metros andmini metros. She is of the opinion that the growth of the retail sector will drive the growth infree dailies in India. She says, “These free dailies will be supported by these growing numberof shopping malls both in terms of advertising revenue and solving the logistical problem ofbeing a distribution centre of free dailies as opposed to the current news agent system.”http://www.agencyfaqs.com/news/stories/2006/05/29/15136.html; May 29, 2006IrelandThe Irish Daily Mail was launched nationwide on February 6, 2006. The paper is being givenaway free on its first day as a promotional measure, and will cost 30 cent for the rest of thisweek. Executive Editor Paul Drury, speaking on RTÉ Radio, would not say what the paperwould cost after that but said it would be 'aggressively priced'. The publication describes itselfas a modern newspaper for a modern Ireland and will have an initial print run of 200,000copies. This is the latest in a run of investments into the Irish market by AssociatedNewspapers. The British newspaper group already publishes Ireland on Sunday and, inOctober last year, it launched a Dublin edition of its commuter freesheet, Metro.http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0206/dailymail.html; February 6, 2006LithuaniaNordic publishing house Schibsted ASA (Nachrichten) has bought a 99.99 pct stake in thefree Lithuanian daily paper 15min for an undisclosed sum, the BNS news service reported.'High ambitions for growth in the Lithuanian market and Schibsted's experience make theacquisition of 15min a natural step for our company,' Schibsted Baltics CEO Mart Kadastiksaid in a statement. Launched on Sept 1 last year, 15min is published five days a week and isdistributed in Vilnius and the second-biggest city of Kaunas. The newspaper has a circulationof 85,000. In Lithuania, Schibsted already holds a 67 pct stake in the magazine publishinggroup Zurnalu Leidybine Grupe, and a 51 pct stake in the LT newspaper.http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2006-03/artikel-6215918.asp; March 30, 2006LithuaniaLithuanian free daily 15min will launch editions in second city Kaunas (circulation 35,000)on February 1 and in third city Klaipeda (circ. 25,000) in March. The new editions will havesome specific local content. Total circulation of 15min will be 110,000 after both launches.FDN Newsletter No. 14, February 2006MexicoMetro International SA will start a new edition of its free Metro newspaper in Mexico Citythrough a joint venture with two local partners. Metro and Mxshares SA de C.V. will have a37

35 percent stake each in the new company, while 30 percent will be owned by ImmobilariaTorraco SA de C.V., Metro said in a Hugin statement today. London-based Metro said it hasan option to increase its shareholding in the future. Metro International, led by ChiefExecutive Officer Pelle Toernberg, expanded into Russia, Ireland and Spain last year andpublishes 61 editions across Europe, the Americas and Asia. Metro said in December itsglobal daily readership had risen 22 percent from a year earlier to 18.5 million. The newedition of Metro will be launched in Mexico City ``during spring,'' the company said today.Metro International was spun off by media company Modern Times Group AB, Sweden'slargest publicly traded media company, in 2000 and posted its first quarterly profit as a listedcompany in the fourth quarter of 2003.http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000086&sid=a3See4S1HHWY&refer=latin_america* * * * *Metro International has launched a new edition in Mexico City. It means Metro now has 69editions in 93 major cities, 21 countries and 19 languages. Mexico City is the world’s secondlargest urban area with a population of over 19 million. Some 130,000 daily copies are beingdistributed under the name Publimetro. Metro CEO Pelle Tornberg said: “Publimetro, with acirculation of 130,000, is the number one daily newspaper in Mexico City, based on nationalcirculation figures for Mexico.”http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/article/180506/metro_intenational_mexico_launch; 18 May2006SingaporeSingapore Press Holdings Ltd. said it will launch a free Chinese language morning newspaperon June 1. The city-state's dominant publisher said the paper, distributed free of charge, willinitially be available from Tuesday to Saturday. It will be distributed at Singapore's subwaystations, offices, tertiary institutions, and selected households and shopping centers. Themedia group publishes more than 10 newspapers, including The Straits Times, and carriesmore than 70 magazine titles. The company also holds a 40 percent stake in MediaCorp PressLtd., which publishes the Today newspaper.http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060308/singapore_new_paper.html; March 8, 2006SingaporePeople go for more in-depth editorial news in a paid newspaper, and for fast and snappy newsin a free paper. This is the view of BBDO Singapore chief executive officer SeshadriSampath, a leading international media specialist. He said the reader’s frame of mind, thetime spent reading and actual involvement, are different between the two types ofnewspapers. “It is not that one is inferior to the other. Consumer needs are different betweenthe two newspapers,” he said. “A free newspaper is like the Internet on the go. Paidnewspapers are something you grow with over time and begin to respect the editorialcontent.” Seshadri, who recently spoke to the Malaysian Media Congress 2006 in KualaLumpur, likened free newspapers to fast food and paid newspapers to fine dining. “There is amarked difference between fast food and fine dining as it is with free newspapers and thosepaid for,” he told The Star. “Consumption is very different and so should the advertisingmessage be. A paid newspaper and a free newspaper satisfy different needs,” said Seshadriwho presented a paper on issues pertaining to the separation of the media department from theagency and the ways to address it. Seshadri has come full circle, having worked in a fullserviceagency, and has been running a creative agency for over four years. However,Seshadri acknowledged that some free newspapers were successful in Europe. “Newspapers38

are brands as well. They depend on credibility and it grows over time,” he said. “A strongbrand image for a newspaper brings more advertising revenue which can be invested back forstrong editorial content and which will bring in more loyal readers. It is a virtuous cycle.”http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/4/9/business/13735744&sec=business;April 9, 2006SpainMetro’s Spanish national edition expanded to 15 more cities in January and is now availablein 37 of the 48 provincial capitals. Circulation, however, will not be increased, whichprobably means that the copies of the national edition distributed before the new launch werenot picked up in full. Metro International; FDN Newsletter No. 14, February 2006SpainAfter 20 Minutos, Metro and Qué!, ADN will be the 4th national Spanish free daily. ADN islaunched in Madrid, Barcelona (in both cities also as ADN2 in the afternoon), Valencia,Castellón, Bilbao, A Coruña, Huesca, Málaga, Palma de Mallorca, Pamplona, Sevilla, Teruel,Vigo and Zaragoza. The print run of the paper is 1.1 million – comparable to 20 Minutosand higher than Metro and Qué! The paper will be published by the Planeta group (Barcelona)together with local publishers Grupo La Información (Diario de Navarra), Grupo PromotorSalmantino (La Gaceta Regional de Salamanca), Grupo Joly, Grupo Serra (Última Hora),Heraldo de Aragón and La Voz de Galici. In Pamplona free daily Vivir Pamplona isconverted to an ADN edition. Headquarters will be in Barcelona with a staff or 30, inMadrid 15 people will be working and in Valencia 10; the other editions will have a staff of 6people or less. With El Mundo moving to free weeklies (see left), the only major group notinvolved in free papers is Prisa (El País). It is no suprise that rumors are spreading about ElPaís also exploring this market. Total free paper circulation is 4.7m, meaning more than 50%of total circulation in Spain is free. PRNoticias, El Mundo, AND; FDN Newsletter No. 15,March 2006SpainAnother free daily, Dicen, is to be launched in Madrid and Barcelona, according toPeriodistaDigital. Distributing a total of 200,000 copies between the two cities, the 24-pagecolorful paper claims to be the first Spanish free daily to cover “themes of the heart.” It willbe distributed using traditional freebie methods, at metro stops, hair stylists and supermarkets.Although the editorial staff has not yet been chosen, the new daily plans to launch inSeptember. PeriodistaDigital (in Spanish) Via Editorsweblog;http://blog.newspaperindex.com/2005/05/13/another-free-newspaper-in-spain/; May 13, 2005SwedenMetro Sweden has expanded their national (Riks) edition, the paper is now distributed in 67cities. The national edition raised its circulation by 50,000 to 180,000. According to the latestOrvesto audit Metro is now the best-read paper in Sweden. FDN Newsletter No. 14, February2006SwitzerlandThe second free daily ‘20 Minutes’ was launched in French-speaking Switzerland (west),competing directly with ‘Le Matin Bleu’, another free newspaper launched last October. ‘20Minutes’ is the French version of ‘20 Minuten’, a German language free daily launched fiveyears ago by the Zurich press group Tamedia. The new newspaper is printing 120,000 copies,39

the same figure as its competitor. Both newspapers of the same small format and the samenumber of pages are distributed near public transport, targeting the young active urbanpopulation. ‘Le Matin Bleu’ was launched by the Lausanne group Edipresse, which owns thethree best-selling paid-for dailies in French-speaking Switzerland (24 Heures, La Tribune deGenève and Le Matin), as well as 41% of the newspaper Le Temps. AFP, March 8, 2006SwitzerlandSwitzerland, home to one of Europe's most important financial centres, is poised for thelaunch of its first purely economic daily newspaper later this year. But the launch of the freejournal Cash Daily in the autumn will add pressure to its sister weekly newspaper Cash in analready highly competitive market, according to media observers. Project leader Hans Ott toldswissinfo that it is about time Switzerland had a daily journal dedicated to its financialcommunity. Cash Daily will initially be launched in the German speaking part of the country."Switzerland is the only country in central Europe with no daily economic newspaper. Wehave been thinking of doing this for many years because Switzerland has a very strongeconomic market," he said. "Nobody knows precisely why Switzerland has not had one yet,but one reason may be that the readership is too small. We did not think there were enoughpotential readers for a paid edition." Switzerland has three weekly economic newspapers incirculation; Finanz und Wirtschaft, Cash (weekly) and Handelszeitung as well as a monthlymagazine called Bilanz. And with stiff competition from the free morning newspaper, 20Minutes, Roger Blum, director of Bern University's Media and Communications Institute,believes something will have to give. One of the most likely casualties is the weekly editionof Cash, he believes. "The launch of Cash Daily may be the death of Cash weekly becausethere is not enough room in the market for everyone," he told swissinfo. "Cash weekly hashad problems in recent years attracting advertising like many other newspapers. Cash Dailymay be the answer to these problems. However, Ott argues that the new daily edition of Cash,far from damaging its weekly stable mate, will boost readership of the weekly newspaper."Cash Daily will give a surface view of the days' economic stories. Readers will go to theweekly to get the background and a more in-depth insight, so the daily will promote theweekly edition." Ott also believes the new journal will be sufficiently different from its mainrivals to avoid a circulation war. "There will be more competition with 20 Minutes becauseboth are free, but we expect only a small overlap with readers. Cash readers are a bit bettereducated and we don't want to alienate them." Blum thinks Cash Daily should avoid being toohighbrow to avoid a clash of styles with the prestigious Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ)newspaper. "The NZZ economic section is very serious with a lot of details. Most people inthe financial markets use NZZ for their analysis. Cash Daily will be a more popularconsumer-directed newspaper," he said. Cash Daily will be available at train and tramstations, street distribution points and sent to companies on demand all over Switzerland. Buta major part of the Cash Daily project will be the simultaneous launch of an accompanyingwebsite. Publisher Ringier has set a target of around one million weekly contacts (circulation,viewers and hits) for the Cash family of weekly and daily newspapers, television channel andwebsites – around double its present benchmark. Ott is confident that the paper can reach100,000 readers with the website making up the bulk of the contacts. "We want to make thenewspaper of the future not just tied to the printed version, but also using the internet," hesaid. "The Cash readership is the youngest of the economic newspapers and is verytechnology minded. Most of our readers will have a computer on their desk with a broadbandinternet connection."http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/front/detail/Tight_squeeze_for_first_financial_daily.html?siteSect=105&sid=6619492&cKey=1145339804000; April 18, 200640

UkraineIn March, Dutch publisher TMG will relaunch the free newspaper Obzor it had acquired inUkraine at the end of 2005. The newspaper will have the same format as TMG’s Dutch freedaily Sp!ts, but will keep its former name. Obzor will be published three days a week with aprint run of 61,000 copies. ANIMA Newsletter, February 27, 2006United KingdomThe Argus Lite in Brighton will be aimed at the 35,000 commuters who travel from the cityinto London each day, and its publishers hope it will also help attract new readers to the mainpaid-for paper. The free title will hit the streets for the first time on Monday, February 20 and10,000 copies will be given away each morning between 6.30 and 8.30 before the main paperis on sale. Newsquest (Sussex) managing director Martyn Willis said the target audience wasvirtually all non-Argus readers so there should be no adverse reaction to the Argus sale, andinstead it was hoped it would draw more people to The Argus. He said: "The transient natureof the population of Brighton & Hove means that there is a vast number of people who moveinto the city and commute to London, without having the benefit of engaging with theircommunity. "The Argus Lite is designed to gently integrate them into Brighton and Hove citylife and introduce up to 35,000 new readers to The Argus brand." He added that the Litewould also bring a new audience to advertisers, claiming that businesses in the city currentlyhave no reliable advertising medium through which to reach this potential market. He said:"The Argus Lite will provide up to 35,000 new potential customers to retailers, restaurateurs,entertainment venues and a whole host of others. "With the introduction of The Argus Lite,The Argus portfolio with theargus.co.uk website and core title The Argus itself will see thebrand as an advertising medium go from strength to strength." The Argus Lite will contain amix of national news and sport along with a local "lite bite" of news and entertainment whichcan be read easily in a one-hour train journey. It is currently looking for staff, including subs,and details can be found in our jobs section. A team of distributors will initially hand out theLite on routes leading to the stations of Brighton Central, Hove, Brighton, Preston Park,Hayward's Heath and Burgess Hill every morning and it is hoped that further locations will beadded later in the year. The Argus has a circulation of 36,854 (ABC Mon - Fri, Jan to June2005), a drop of 10.9 per cent year-on-year.http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/news/2006/02feb/060208arg.shtml; February 8, 2006United KingdomAssociated Newspapers Ltd, a unit of Daily Mail & General Trust PLC, has agreed to give upits exclusive distribution rights on the London Underground and at London train stations bymid April, paving the way for a new afternoon or evening paper in the capital. The Office ofFair Trading said it had accepted commitments given by Associated, which owns the Metrofreesheet and the Evening Standard, to open its distribution racks in train and Undergroundstations to rivals, giving "reasonable space and prominence" to competing titles. Associatedhas agreed to give up its exclusive rights to the afternoon or evening distribution slots withLondon Underground and Network Rail by 12 April, said the competition watchdogfollowing a lengthy investigation. "We welcome the commitments given by AssociatedNewspapers, (which) opens up the market for competitors potentially to provide Londoncommuters with additional afternoon or evening newspapers," said Vincent Smith, OFTDirector of Competition Enforcement in a statement. Last April, Associated pledged to giveup its exclusive rights to distribute Metro via London Underground and rail stations followinga near two-year probe by the OFT. The watchdog had found that the 24-hour exclusivity ofAssociated's deals with Tube and train operators "went beyond what could be objectivelyjustified", especially considering that Metro is only distributed in the morning. This morning's41

news follows a period of consultation with other interested parties by the OFT, which said ithad wrung some extra commitments out of Associated.http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=5568493&subject=companies&action=article; March 2, 2006* * * * *Media groups were last night (March 2) considering launching a free evening newspaper forLondoners after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) ended its dispute with the owners of theDaily Mail over distribution on the Tube. Last year, Daily Mail & General Trust's Associatednational newspaper division had offered to waive its rights to exclusive distribution of freepapers at London Underground stations, in order to close a regulatory investigation into thedistribution deal. Yesterday, the OFT accep-ted the arrangement, paving the way for a freerival to the London-based Evening Standard, which is also owned by Associated.http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article348989.ece; March 3, 2006* * * * *Associated Newspapers has emerged as the frontrunner in the battle for the distribution rightsfor London's proposed new free evening newspaper, according to bookmakers. Paddy Powerhas given the Metro and Evening Standard publisher odds of 8/11 ahead of its rivals.Transport for London kickstarted the tender earlier this week by putting a notice in the OfficeJournal of the European Union, stating that publishers have until April 21 to register theirinterest in the distribution rights for the proposed title. According to Paddy Power, AssociatedNewspapers has emerged as the favourite, despite the Office of Fair Trading requiring it toforfeit its exclusivity rights agreement with TfL for the morning's Metro newspaper, becauseof its urgency to protect the Evening Standard's London monopoly. Other bidders in the frameare Richard Desmond's Northern & Shell at 10/3, News International at 4/1 and Trinity Mirrorat 8/1. Desmond's wish to launch an evening title for London is no secret, given hecomplained to the OFT in May 2003 about Associated's exclusive deal with LondonUnderground. The success of Metro, which is now available in 15 UK cities, has provenbeyond doubt the viability of a free London paper, with Guardian Media Group also amongthe contenders at 10/1. TfL, which has already confirmed it has received a "significant amountof interest from publishers", now has less than 10 days to register interest from all of theinterested parties. http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/media/article/553533/associatedemerges-favourite-free-london-paper/;April 12, 2006* * * * *News International is considering going it alone in launching a free London eveningnewspaper, regardless of whether it wins the forthcoming Transport for London tender,sparking a battle with Associated Newspapers. According to report in Media Week, NewsInternational is looking to distribute a new paper outside of Tube and train stations in Londonbefore any agreement is made on the Tube contract, giving it a headstart on any future newlaunch. News International had previously looked at the idea of launching a free Londonevening paper, but it abandoned the idea four years ago in 2002 after a distribution deal withRailtrack failed to materialise. Transport for London intends to send out tenders by late June,and a final decision on who gets the contract could be made by the autumn. It is believed thatNews International is waiting for "the green light" from Rupert Murdoch before it makes anyfurther announcement. There is speculation over how much the contract for a new afternoonLondon paper will cost, with Ken Livingstone indicating he expects the bid to be around£4.6m, comparable with the Metro deal. However, others believe that figure will be closer to£1m. If you have an opinion on this or any other issue raised on Brand Republic, join the42

debate in the Forum. http://www.brandrepublic.com/bulletins/media/article/557976/murdochset-go-alone-free-london-newspaper/;May 9, 2006United KingdomThe Manchester Evening News, one of the country’s biggest regional evening newspapers, isto distribute free of charge in Manchester city centre. The rest of the industry will be watchingto assess the impact of the move, already being labelled one of the great turning points in thehistory of the regional press. Bosses say the change will shore up circulation and allow betterforward planning. The decision was made in response to the downturn in the economy andshifts in advertising income. There will be a daily distribution of 50,000 copies to offices,newsagents and also by hand in the heart of the city centre in the middle section of eachweekday. It will take the circulation up to 180,000 copies a day, as it taps into the 150,000commuter population, making it the largest regional daily newspaper in the UK. The existingMEN Lite edition, launched in November 2004 to distribute 10,000 copies each weekday tooutbound commuters from the city centre, will close. Lite’s first readership research showedthat the title was read by 80 per cent ABC1 audience and achieved an average readership timeof 24 minutes. Guardian Media Group regional division chief executive Mark Dodson said:"Evening newspapers have been in full circulation decline for over 40 years. "After a longperiod of reflection we have decided to use the lessons we have learned from Metro and MENLite and take a more radical approach to the problem. "We want to take control of our futureand believe that a part free, part paid MEN is the future for this great newspaper." Editor PaulHorrocks added: "Every newspaper needs volume and every newspaper is struggling with adecline in ABC figures. "We have already shown that a real and valuable market exists withthe test of our Lite edition last year. It has given us the confidence to go for a bigger and morebold free model in the city centre. Lite’s readership was young, upmarket and rarely bought anewspaper. "We have proved that their loyal readership exists and we plan to develop thiswith the enhanced offer of a MEN providing all of our readers with the same service of newsand information throughout the day." He anticipated that journalists as well as advertisingwould reap the benefits, with stories more widely read, as long as editorial independence andeditorial ratios were not cut. The distribution of the city centre copies starts at the beginningof May and will run each weekday. ABC auditing will put the MEN in the bulk sales categoryalongside Associated’s UK Metro, which will show clearly if the new strategy is paying off.There are more than 40 media products available from the owners of the Manchester EveningNews, which was founded in 1868. These include the paid-for evening paper, the freeevening, a paid-for Sunday, eight paid-for weeklies, 12 free weeklies, seven nichepublications, 21 websites and a television channel. The company announced in February thatit was cutting 27 editorial posts - more than a fifth of the total - as part of changes "to thrive ina digital future". Features and news subs' desks are being merged. A new weekly paid-for fullcolourcompetitor, the North West Enquirer, is due to launch this week, with a team ofexperienced senior regional newspaper journalists and executives at the helm. The new title isaimed at people who live and work in the North West - and at advertisers who wanted toreach a wider audience than that offered by "more localised titles", according to the launchteam. Paul Horrocks said: "This plan has been in the making for six months and is not aresponse to anyone but a response to the continuing erosion of circulation."http://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/news/2006/04apr/060424free.shtml; April 24, 2006United KingdomMetro UK (Associated Newspapers) adds editions for Liverpool (March 7) and Cardiff(March 14). Both editions have a print run of 25,000. Metro is also increasing circulation inLondon from 500,000 to 550,000 - total UK circulation will be 1.1 million. Trinity Mirror43

(Liverpool Echo & Daily Post and South Wales Echo) participates in both new operations.Brand Republic; FDN Newsletter No. 15, March 2006United States of AmericaSpanish language paper Al Día, launched in 2003 by Belo (Dallas Morning News), wasconverted to a free daily on January 23, following the example of Hoy in Chicago, L.A.and New York. The paper has circulation of 36,500 and is published Monday to Saturday;a substantial part of the circulation was already free. Belo also publishes free paperQuick in Dallas. In the Dallas area also La Estrella (Knight Ridder) is distributed for freeTuesday to Saturday. Editor & Publisher; FDN Newsletter No. 14, February 2006Readership & Marketing Research / SurveysEuropeEuropean Leaders’ Readership: Top 10 Press Titles, EMS Winter 2005EMSRegular*EMSSelect**Universe 000 39,582 8,2741 National Geographic Local editions 31.3% 37.1%2 TIME 17.6% 27.0%3 Financial Times 16.2% 32.4%4 Reader’s Digest Local Editions 16.0% 16.1%5 National Geographic English version 15.1% 21.6%6 Newsweek 12.2% 21.3%7 The Economist 10.5% 20.3%8 USA Today 8.2% 15.1%9 International Herald Tribune 7.6% 15.0%10 Business Week 5.6% 13.5ù* Main income earner in Households with top 20% of income** 6+ int’l air trip, € 80,000+, Senior managers in companies of 10+ employeesCountries: Austria, Belgium/Luxembourg, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland,Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK,Source: EMS Winter 2005 - Interview NSS; ANIMA Newsletter, February 6, 2006AustraliaRival newspaper publishers News Limited and John Fairfax Holdings have joined forces tohit back at magazine industry claims that newspaper magazines fail to build strongrelationships with their readers. A survey commissioned by Fairfax and News, publisher ofThe Australian, found newspaper magazines absorb readers more deeply than newsstandrivals and build up greater trust and loyalty. Phil Barker, managing director of NewsMagazines, News's magazine arm, said the survey of 700 readers also found there was roomfor growth in the newspaper magazine segment. Four new newspaper magazines have beenlaunched in Australia over the past 12 months, swelling the ranks to 16. The survey,conducted by Hemisphere Group and Ipsos in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, foundnewspaper magazines scored higher marks among readers for value, credibility, relevance andinspiration, the newspaper publishers said. Mr Barker said the results dispelled claims by theMagazine Publishers of Australia that newspaper magazines had a weaker relationship with44

eaders than traditional magazines. Key findings included: * 73 per cent of readers go throughat least half of a newspaper magazine in detail. * 63 per cent of newspaper magazine readersread most current issues, compared with 54 per cent of other magazine readers. * Newspapermagazine readers spend more time per page than newsstand magazine readers (53seconds v40 seconds). * Newspaper magazine readers are loyal, with 48 per cent reading each of thefour most recent issues; the comparative figure for other magazine readers is 32 per cent.Fairfax General Magazines director Karim Temsamani said the study shows newspapermagazines had a competitive edge as a prime advertising platform. However, MPA executivedirector Helen Kingsmill said that many of the survey's claims "aren't plausible". "To arguethat consumer magazines are less relevant and inspiring for their readers than free newspaperinsertedmagazines goes against all that we know about why people pay substantial coverprices for magazines," Ms Kingsmill said. She said if newspaper magazines were moreimportant to readers, "Why not charge a cover price for them and see how many people buythem?" http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19170212-7582,00.html; May18, 2006IndiaAccording to the IRS 2006 Round 1 statistics, the readership of any English daily hasincreased by 2.24 per cent in comparison to the previous round of the IRS (Round 2, 2005).The current readership of any English daily stands at 17,396,000. However, the study revealsthat there are fewer takers for our national language. The readership of any Hindi daily hasdeclined marginally by 0.28 per cent from 62,883,000 to 62,710,000. The difference inreadership between the last two rounds is around 173,000 readers. Among the regional dailies,the highest growth has been attained by the Assamese dailies. The readership of anyAssamese daily has increased 11 per cent from 2,340,000 in Round 2, IRS 2005, to 2,600,000readers in Round 1, 2006. However, in terms of absolute numbers, the highest growth hasbeen achieved by the Gujarati dailies. The readership of any Gujarati daily has increased by838,000 readers. As per IRS 2006, Round 1, the readership of any Gujarati daily today standsat 12,582,000. http://www.agencyfaqs.com/news/stories/2006/04/07/14665.html; April 7,2006United States of AmericaA new Outsell, Inc. survey of 2,800 consumers’ news habits shows most Americans get theirnews from television, and that newspapers continue to cede readership to the Internet.Outsell’s HotTopics report, The Future Of News: Latest Reader Study Shows NewsPublishers Caught Between TV And Internet reveals how the interactivity and personalizationafforded by the Internet has not only cut into newspaper readership, but in addition hasweakened the link between reading and shopping, costing publishers revenue opportunities.Consumers also prefer the Web as the best route to news and information about health,personal finance and travel, topics that allow for both deeper exploration and sponsoredcontent. Among the survey’s key findings: * Television is top choice for national news* Local remains a stronghold for newspapers * News Companies Losing their Central Place inCommerce * Web Now First for Health, Wealth and Travel.http://www.outsellinc.com/outsell/press%20room/pr_release/pr20060228_01.htm; February28, 200645

Online Audience Research & MeasurementInternationalAbout one third of South Koreans or 34 percent consider the Internet as their primary sourceof news, according to an international poll. The figure is considerably higher than the 9percent world average and the second-ranked U.S., where 14 percent choose to go online first.Using interviews conducted between March 10 and April 4, the BBC/Reuters/Media Centerpolled 10,230 people in 10 countries to survey issues of trust in and of the media. The pollresults were announced in London on Wednesday. Among countries polled were the UnitedKingdom, the United States, Egypt, Germany, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and South Korea.The poll indicates a strong demand for news and an increasing awareness of the use ofInternet news sources, which are becoming particularly popular in South Korea. About 56percent of those surveyed said TV news is the most important sources of news. Newspaperscame second with 21 percent, followed by the Internet and radio with 9 percent, respectively.Concerning blogs among the online sources, only a few respondents trusted in their content,according to the poll. Some 25 percent of those polled said they trust blogs, while 23 percentdistrust them. Just 3 percent of all respondents said blogs are their main news source.However, South Korea with 17 percent trusting blogs is the only exception as the nationboasts a soaring popularity of online news. When asked which media is the most importantnews source, 41 percent of South Korean respondents chose television, followed by theInternet with 34 percent, the highest proportion of the 10 countries. Newspapers followedwith 19 percent, then radio with 4 percent in South Korea. Asked which specific news sourcethey consider most trustworthy, 18 percent of South Koreans chose KBS television, 13percent the Web site NAVER, 10 percent Chosun Ilbo and 9 percent MBC television.The survey indicates South Korea is the only country where Web sites enjoy hightrustworthiness. National TV got the highest trust numbers of any media on the planet at 82percent, followed by newspapers, public radio, and international satellite TV. The poll alsoshows 48 percent of the respondents across the 10 countries selected the BBC as the mosttrusted global news brand, while 44 percent backed CNN. About 61 percent said they trustedthe media, compared to 52 percent who said they believe government’s explanations more.Some 88 percent of Nigerians said they trust journalists with 34 percent trusting thegovernment. In Indonesia, 86 percent said they trust journalists, while 71 percent replied theytrust the government. Among U.S. respondents, the most trusted media were Fox News andCNN with 11 percent of respondents naming each, followed by ABC and NBC each with 4percent, NPR 3 percent, CBS with 3 percent, Microsoft/MSN, USA Today and the New YorkTimes, each with 2 percent, and CNN.com and Time Magazine each with 1 percent.http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=44785; May 4, 2006FinlandAccording to TNS Gallup, Finnish tabloid Iltalehti's online newspaper had 824,049 readers inweek 4 of 2006 representing an all time record for online newspapers in Finland. The secondmost popular online newspaper was tabloid Ilta-Sanomat with 790,636 readers, and third wasonline newspaper Helsingin Sanomat with 590,751 readers. (Ilta-Sanomat and HelsinginSanomat are published by media group SanomaWSOY's Sanoma.)http://e.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=47379; February 6, 2006GermanyThe Federation of German Publishers (VDZ) has run a survey of 700 Internet users. Resultsindicate that sites from print media are more popular to web users than those from TV46

channels (+8%) or even Internet portals (+11 %.) News from these sites benefit from astronger brand image than these from TV channels. VDZ concluded that publishers couldcharge more for advertising on their sites due to better quality content. This could help tofinance the sites on a longer term. ANIMA Newsletter, April 24, 2006SwedenIn a unique cooperation project, 170 Swedish newspapers have decided to work together todevelop the national market for mobile e-paper-based e-readers. The project is running forthree years and is coordinated by the Swedish Newspaper Publishers’ Association. TheAssociation has studied the potential of mobile e-readers since 2003, and estimates that thecoming three years are crucial for influencing and initiating solutions for the media industry.The e-reader project aims to better understand the potential market to determine the right timeto launch products and services. Market research, in the form of focus groups and field tests,is included in this project, as well as collaboration with a recently initiated project ondesigning media services at the Swedish University College of Halmstad. Newsletter forDirectors of WAN Member Associations - N° 37 ; May 30, 2006United States of AmericaNewspapers' online audiences are growing rapidly, according to a new industry study,highlighting a key growth area that newspapers are seeking to exploit as print circulationcontinues to be challenged. A study by the Newspaper Association of America, a trade group,found that one in three Internet users - 55 million - visit a newspaper Web site every month.Also, unique visitors to newspaper Web sites jumped 21 percent from January 2005 toDecember 2005, while the number of page views soared by 43 percent over the same period.The study coincides with the NAA's annual convention in Chicago. Top of mind for thepublishers attending was the looming sale of 12 Knight Ridder Inc. newspapers by TheMcClatchy Co., which is acquiring the storied publishing company in a $4.5 billion deal thatwill reshape the landscape of American newspapers. Strategies for coping with the rapidtransformation of consumers' news consumption habits due to the Internet was also a big topicat the three-day conference, which began Sunday. Andrew Swinand, executive vice presidentat Starcom Worldwide, a major advertising-buying agency, said during a panel discussion thatnewspapers could do more to harness their presence online, such as getting more participationfrom audiences. AP;http://www.forbes.com/business/businesstech/feeds/ap/2006/04/03/ap2640792.html; March 4,2006Promotion to Increase Circulation / Games / GiftsLebanonWith readership figures seemingly in terminal decline and in an attempt to stem the tide,Lebanese newspapers launched a nationwide campaign on Monday to publicize the uniquenews features they offer. The campaign followed month long meetings between the editors ofLebanese print publications and will run adverts both on billboards and television.According to the Lebanese journalism syndicate, 110 newspapers and political magazine arelicensed to publish. Amongst them are 14 daily newspapers, including three in a foreignlanguage: English, French and Armenian. Despite this record number of publications, salesand readership figures are worrying, leading many to express concern for the future ofLebanese newspapers. In light of the absence of transparency and the lack of official figureson the number of readers of each newspaper, it is estimated that 80 thousand to 100 thousandnewspapers are sold everyday in Lebanon. Readership figures range between 320,000 and47

400,000. If we consider that each paper is read by four people, only 3% of Lebaneseindividuals buy a newspaper and only 8% read one, out of a total of 4 million. Perhaps itsuffices to consult the statistics published by Arab Ad, a monthly magazine focused on thelatest developments in the field of communication and business, in its February 2005 issue,examining the number of advertisements featured in Lebanese newspapers between 1997 and2004, in conjunction with IPSOS STAT. The study showed a worrying decrease in adrevenues from $36 million to $28 million. Experts disagree on the causes of this downturn,with some blaming the newspapers themselves for the public’s lack of confidence in printpublications as they follow the example of Lebanese politicians and forge alliances motivatedby financial gain, thereby hurting their credibility. Others believe the crisis is caused by thepopulation’s boredom and the lack of loyalty to newspapers. During the golden age ofnewspapers in Lebanon, before the civil war started in 1975, newspapers used to sell 400thousand copies a day, according to Naji Tueini, deputy general manager of An Nahar. Heblamed the dismal economic conditions in Lebanon and the pressures of modern life for thedecline in newspaper readership, with many working longer hours. Tueini recalled a timewhen An Nahar used to print more than 110 thousand copies, or more copies that all 14newspapers put together! Issam Rahil, head of advertising at al Mustaqbal, agreed withTueini’s diagnosis but added another dimension to the crisis: the entrenchment ofsectarianism in Lebanon . He indicated that no national newspapers existed in the country;instead, newspapers spoke on behalf of a sect or a region inhabited by a sect. For example, inthe Shiaa south, As Safir was popular while in Sunni Tripoli, al Mustaqbal was the preferreddaily and in Christian areas, An Nahar was the best-selling newspaper. This, he added, wasnormal due to Lebanon ’s sectarian make-up. For his part, Sami Mashaqah, director ofdistribution at As Safir, said the political orientation of a newspaper can, at times, correspondto that of the population in a certain area, citing As Safir’s popularity in south Lebanon , theBekaa valley, Beirut and Tripoli , compared to eastern Beirut and Kesrwan. All three officialsagreed that the internet and specialist television channels had not affected the popularity ofnewspapers in Lebanon . Mashaqah said consumers could not afford the latest technologiesand Rahil added that it was difficult to read a newspaper online because the reader wouldhave to focus at his or her screen for a prolonged period of time. TV news channels played apositive role because they encouraged viewers to consult a newspaper to find out the detailsof a political event, according to Tueini. Ibrahim al Amni, who is about to publish his ownpolitical daily, said he was conducting studies in order to overcome the difficulties faced byother newspaper. It was useful, he added, to consider the example of Sada al Balad, publisheda few years ago. Between the realities of the Lebanese press and the ambitions of its editors,newspapers have realized the depth of the problem and launched this preliminary campaign.Newspapers find themselves faced with a critical test: can they survive? Only time will tell.http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=5&id=4948; May 15, 2006Subscription / LoyaltyKorea, Republic ofThe Chosun Ilbo remains Korea’s favorite newspaper, a government survey released Mondayfinds. The Local Press Committee said a survey of households subscribing to newspapersshowed that the biggest group or 13.6 percent took the Chosun Ilbo. The JoongAng Ilbo camesecond with 11.1 percent, followed by the DongA Ilbo with 10 percent, the HankyorehShinmun and Maeil Business Newspaper with 2 percent each, and the Busan Ilbo with 1.8percent. Out of total circulation delivered to doorsteps nationwide including homes that tookmore than one paper, the Chosun Ilbo took 25.8 percent. It was followed by the JoongAng48

Ilbo (21.2 percent), DongA Ilbo (19.1 percent), Hankyoreh (3.9 percent), Maeil BusinessNewspaper (3.7 percent), and Busan Ilbo (3.4 percent), the only local newspaper on the list.The survey was conducted on 10,247 adults nationwide by phone from Nov. 22 until Dec. 3last year by Korea Gallup at the behest of the committee. The confidence level was 95 percentand margin of error 3.1 percent. This is the first time a government agency has surveyednewspaper subscription rates.http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200603/200603150028.html; March 15, 2006Audit Bureaux of Circulation / StandardsMiddle EastThe London-based global media audit firm Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC UK)announced to newspapers through a letter dated 30 March that would stop running audits inthe Gulf region for lack of adequate resources to conduct direct auditing, Gulf News reported.In a letter to newspapers, ABC UK argued that there was an increasing number ofpublications being launched and a greater demand for audits, and that the company has tofocus its main services in the UK market. ABC UK said the Gulf market should control itsowns regulations and adopt its own standards, Gulf News reported on 4 April. “TheInternational Federation of ABCs is willing to assist the Gulf countries in establishing theirown auditing bureau,” the non-profit body said in a statement. The decision comes two weeksafter Gulf News announced they had applied for audits with both ABC and BPA Worldwidein an attempt to offer “end-to-end transparency.” The paper challenged other Englishspeakingpublications in UAE to take steps in the same direction. Gulf News called forcomprehensive “end-to-end” audits, including details of newsprint imports and consumption,circulation numbers and circulation revenue. These fully transparent audits should check andconfirm newspapers' claims of circulation in neighboring countries, said the newspaper. In1993 Gulf News dropped from ABC after three years of running audits while questioning thecredibility of circulation claims by newspapers using ABC figures. The ABC withdrawalfrom the Gulf “confirms our belief that the previous audits offered by ABC could not stand upto intensive scrutiny,” said Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Managing Director of Al Nisr Group,publishers of Gulf News. Among the five English-language dailies in the UAE, just two –Emirates Today and Gulf Today – have not yet applied or undertaken an audit while none ofthe seven Arab-speaking have done so. APN Newsletter No 13/2006, April 11, 2006Newspaper WarsHong KongThe seven-month Chinese-language newspaper price war will come to an end this weekendwhen Oriental Press Group's the Sun raises its cover price to $4. The paper blamed the 33 percent price rise on a surge in the cost of newsprint and oil. In a front-page notice announcingthe increase, the paper said it was mainly due to "the surge in the oil price which is expectedto be sustained for a long time. The operating costs of the newspaper such as newsprint andink are also under pressure". Oriental Press' share price was not affected yesterday, closingunchanged at $1.69 but Apple Daily publisher Next Media was up 6.1 per cent at $4.35. HongKong Economic Times Group, the publisher of financial daily Hong Kong Economic Times,rose 3.16 per cent to $2.45. The Sun sparked the price war among Chinese-languagenewspapers in October last year when it cut its cover price from $6 to $3 to celebrate thedaily's seventh anniversary. The price-cut strategy helped propel the Sun to the No2 spotahead of Apple Daily and claimed an average daily circulation between 300,000 and 400,000copies. Oriental Daily News is the best seller with more than 400,000 copies daily. Both49

Oriental Daily News and the Sun also boosted their circulation by issuing cash coupons forsupermarkets and restaurants. Apple Daily's circulation suffered most in the price war, fallingan average 11 per cent to about 300,000 copies a day. "We don't think that the price rise willhave any impact on us, and we need to take three to four weeks to observe the marketresponse on it," said a source close to Apple Daily. BOC International also says Apple Dailyhas performed worse than expected in the competition, adding that the daily would need toboost marketing expenses to follow rivals in their coupon campaigns. "The price cut shouldnot be a long-term strategy as the cost pressure is increasing," said a newspaper publishingexecutive, citing newsprint costs which had risen to about US$620 a tonne. The Sun last yearcut its cover price when two new free dailies entered the crowded newspaper market lastsummer. "The market competition remains fierce as the free dailies' circulation is going up,"said free daily am730 marketing director Agnes Chan. She said the three free dailies -- MetroPublishing Hong Kong's Metro, Sing Tao News Corp's Headline Daily and am730 -- hand outa combined 1.2 million copies. "Advertisers will allocate more budget for free dailies thisyear," said Ms Chan. Free dailies now account for about 8 per cent of local newspaperadvertising budgets. http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=45085; May 9, 2006Distribution Ways & ChannelsGeorgiaThe Press Distribution Service decided to close down the booths selling the newspapers andmagazines due to the changes made to Georgian Tax Code. Head of Tax Department KobaAbuladze made comments in connection with that issue on February 8. The persons carryingout economic transactions should register the receiving of monetary sums through cashregister. This rule concerns press booths too. Management of Tax Department called upon thenewsstands to purchase cash registers otherwise they will be fined from March 1, the amountof the fines will vary from 1000GEL to 5000 GEL. Internews Georgia;http://media.ge/eng/news_detailed.php?id_numb=405* * * * *Ten leading Georgian newspapers made a joint statement in which they call upon theParliament to correct the mistake in Tax Code due to which the newsstands have been closedfor four days now in Tbilisi. According to 2004 Tax Code the distribution of newspapers andmagazines as well as their selling are exempt from income taxes and VAT. Therefore, usageof cash registers in newsstands is absolutely unnecessary. The Georgian parliamentariansdon’t deny that the newly made changes indeed include that mistake and they say they’reready to correct it. http://media.ge/eng/news_detailed.php?id_numb=421* * * * *On February 17 the Georgian Parliament approved an amendment to Tax Code with 133 votesagainst 1, according to which the newsstands will not have to have cash registers installeduntill January 1, 2007. The decision concerns only those newsstands that sell newspapers andmagazines only. http://www.media.ge/eng/news_detailed.php?id_numb=451JapanMembers of the Japanese Newspaper Association NSK adopted an unprecedented emergencyresolution on 15 March demanding that the Fair Trade Commission maintain the newspaperindustry's protected trade status. The resolution, the first of its kind ever adopted by thegeneral membership, criticized the FTC moves to review the so-called "specific designation"50

status warned that they might destroy the industry's retail price maintenance scheme. Theresolution says that ending the protection would disrupt newspaper distribution through pricecompetition that could destroy the nationwide home delivery system. Newsletter for Directorsof WAN Member Associations - N ° 36, April 24, 2006Korea, Republic ofThe Ministry of Culture will go ahead with a plan to establish 50 newspaper distributioncenters in the Seoul area and five other major cities with a budget of W10 billion (US$10million). According to plans announced on February 13, a total budget of W75 billion isearmarked for newspaper-related projects under widely condemned new press laws. Thatincludes W25 billion for a Newspaper Development Fund and W40 billion in a RegionalNewspaper Development Fund. Critics say both will be used to reward loyalty to thegovernment. The office that runs the operation plans to set up 45 of the centers in the capitaland one each in the five other major cities, despite the fact that there is little interest. “Fornow, no newspaper firms are formally taking part in the service. Six media companiesincluding the Seoul and Hankyoreh Shinmun are expected to take part in future,” a ministryofficial said. The centers are ostensibly designed to provide better access to a variety ofnewspapers in less developed areas, but incongruously they are all in Seoul and other citiesthat already have a well-developed distribution infrastructure. Vice Culture Minister YoonJin-ryong admitted there was “some sense” in the criticism, but he said this was only the firstphase, and the program “will be implemented with prudent review in the course of carrying itout.” Altogether the Information Ministry plans to set up 700 such centers by 2010 for a heftyW100 billion. There is also controversy over letting the taxpayer foot the bill of distributingprivately owned newspapers. Culture Minister Chung Dong-chea said last year newspapercompanies should share the cost, but that plan evaporated “because all the media companieswe contacted were reluctant to participate in a matching fund,” according to an official.http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200602/200602130027.htmlUnited Arab EmiratesPublishers in the Middle East and North Africa who are interested in increasing their mediaoutlet’s distribution can turn to a new marketing company owned by the Arab Media Group(AMG). AMG launched Tawseel, the new media distribution division, on May 31. Tawseelplans to offer marketing assistance, consultation services, distribution strategies and logisticalsupport to news media organizations. AMG is a private media company based in the UnitedArab Emirates. http://www.ameinfo.com/87604.html; June 8, 2006Postal Issues / TariffsAustriaPostal rates for newspapers in Austria have risen more than 300 percent in the last five years,and the Austrian Newspaper Association is demanding a reduction. The impact onnewspapers has been serious: subscriptions delivered by post have fallen from 20 percent oftotal subscriptions to just 13 percent. Contact: Walter Schaffelhofer, gs@voez.at; Newsletterfor Directors of WAN Member Associations - N ° 34 ; February 2, 2006United States of AmericaPostal rates could rise nearly 25% for in-county newspapers in May 2007 if the United StatesPostal Service has its way, and further annual increases are in store, the National NewspaperAssociation (NNA) revealed. USPS announced this morning that it intends a larger rate hike51

for local newspapers than for virtually any other mail class, NNA declared. The proposedincrease is the highest in more than a decade. The announcement came with the filing ofproposed rate increases for all mail, including a 42 cent first-class stamp. Rates would beexpected to go into effect around May 2007. "National Newspaper Association vigorouslyopposes this increase," Jerry L. Reppert, NNA president and publisher of the Anna (IL)Gazette-Democrat, said in a statement. "This has to be one of the saddest days in the historyof community newspapers and the Postal Service, which has always been one of our strongestpartners. USPS seems to be saying our mail is no longer desirable because newspapers areshaped like newspapers and have to be transported in containers that the Postal Service nolonger wants to use. "I don't know what choices we have," Reppert said. "Newspapers cannotbe mailed on pallets, as a rule. We must use sacks or trays for transporting bundles throughthe mail system. And short of throwing out our printing presses and putting newspapers ontidy little sheets of typing paper, or dispensing with mail delivery altogether, we are limited inwhat responses we can make to these price signals. Our product is pretty much unchanged --except for being a little smaller and a lot more colorful -- since Benjamin Franklin waspostmaster general. It is the Postal Service that has changed, and as it has constructedautomation and transportation systems that have been largely unfriendly to newspapers, itseems to be making strategic decisions that we have become dispensable." NNA PostalCommittee Chairman Max Heath, vice president of Landmark Community Newspapers, Inc.,said NNA had a long history of working with USPS to improve mail efficiency and timelydelivery, and would continue to do so, but that he was prepared to fight against the sizeablerate increase. “We faced a similar shock in 1994, when the Postal Service thought our costshad gone up nearly 34 percent. NNA fought that, and with the Postal Rate Commission's helpand a cooperative spirit within the Postal Service management, we were able to turn back aterrible increase before it hit newspaper mailers. Circumstances are different now, but weintend to examine the causes for this proposal, and work hard to avoid this magnitude of a ratehike,” Heath said in a release. "I have to believe that the planners for this rate case do notfully appreciate the damage they will inflict upon community newspapers, and therefore uponlocal communities, if they continue in the direction they seem to be headed."http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002462939;May 4, 2006 PRINTING & PRODUCTION SYSTEMSBroadsheet / Tabloid FormatsNetherlands, TheDutch publisher Wegener plans to convert its seven daily newspapers to tabloid format with astandardised formula, cutting 327 jobs. The newspapers serve the eastern and southern partsof the Netherlands with a daily circulation of more than 800,000 copies, Wegener said in astatement on Wednesday. Wegener's Eindhoven paper will introduce the new format first, inOctober, with the other dailies to follow in 2007. The company said it expected therestructuring to lead to annual cost savings of 25 million euros ($31 million). Wegener said itwould take provisions to cover the reorganisation and transition costs this year, but did notgive an amount.http://today.reuters.com/business/newsarticle.aspx?type=media&storyID=nL26653247&imageid=∩ April 26, 200652

United Arab EmiratesIn December 2005, The Emirates Evening Post went tabloid and changed the entire designand the treatment of stories. As a result, work methods had to change and the staff had to getused to the new concept and develop new skills. “It was conveyed to me that the newnewspaper would be significantly different from the existing, not just in shape but in spiritand tone and, to some extent, content,” says Ron Reason, the American newspaper designercharged with the re-launch. The priority of the newspaper was to ensure a more readerfriendlystructure and layout. The Post decided to become “slicker” with shorter stories. Thelong-term vision of the daily is to have a unique position as a commuter’s paper with theopening of the UAE’s rail network scheduled for 2008. Reason created the new design fromthe ground-up: front-page, typography, color and navigational structures. New changesdemanded new ways of working for a maximum of efficiency, what forced the staff to adaptthe new concept and methods. “I insisted on improved planning, communication, andcollaboration among reporters-editors-paginators to make a less stressful process while morecreative and efficient at the same time,” says Reason. A tool for improved coordination andplanning has been a tailored-designed style manual created by Reason. Editor-in-Chief SairaMenezes says the manual sets a blueprint that all departments can follow. “Now, with theattending design and copy guidelines in place, the desk and graphics team work closely witheach other; and often times, even serve as checks for the other,” she says. APN Newsletter No12/2006, April 4, 2006United States of AmericaThe front page of the nation's second most widely read newspaper will shrink soon. WallStreet Journal Managing Editor Paul Steiger, who was in Naples on Feb. 21 to address theYale Club, said each page will be 20 percent smaller when a redesign is completed later thisyear. Until now, the 2-million circulation daily has held off following a decade-old newspapertrend of reducing the width of a page to save newsprint. For instance, the Daily News andmost other dailies in Florida have a page that is 121⁄2 inches wide. A page in The Wall StreetJournal is 15 inches wide and 23 inches deep. If you trim an inch or two here and an inch ortwo there, you can save millions and millions of dollars a year in newsprint. Steiger also saidhis newspaper has saved millions in newsprint the past few years by reducing the number ofstock listings — from 15 pages daily to seven. This upset some readers, but his newspapercouldn't justify the expense now that detailed stock listings are available in real-time on homecomputers and even cell phones. Steiger, a Yale grad, concluded his speech by listing the topfive goals for his news room: 1. Focus on what the Journal does best. It gets scoops, he said."Scoops of facts and scoops of ideas." 2. Remember that while most customers go online eachday for information, not all do. 3. Improve navigation with an index to people and an index tocontent, making it easier for the reader to find information in each day's edition. 4. Smart,graceful, tight writing. 5. Maintain a reputation for fair and accurate reporting. No. 5, Steigersaid, is the most important.http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/mar/05/phil_lewis_wall_street_journal_plans_cut_down_widt/?perspective; March 5, 2006Newsprint – EnvironmentBelgiumOne of the major Flemish press groups in Belgium - De Persgroep – has invested 100 millionEuros to build a new Eco Print Center, applying the latest ecologically friendly printing andpackaging technologies and waterless offset printing presses. It is among the first newspapergroups in the world to use the new waterless technology. Its De Morgen newspaper, which53

has a new design by Mario Garcia, has been printed on the new presses since April 24.Newsletter for Directors of WAN Member Associations - N ° 37, May 30, 2006United States of AmericaMetro New York launched its newspaper recycling program at Grand Central Terminal onMay 1 morning, and succeeded in recycling roughly 1,000 copies. For riders whose commuteends at Grand Central, Metro promoters are available to collect the read copies, clean themand redistribute them to new readers during the lunchtime hours. Metro’s aim is to recycle40,000 newspapers every month, with the intention of expanding the program throughout theyear and open more stations across the city. “The first morning was a huge success and ourreaders really responded well to our initiative,” said Jeremy Bryant, circulation director ofMetro New York. “We recycled 1,000 papers on day one, which is very promising.”http://ny.metro.us/metro/local/article/Metro_launches_newspaper_recycling_program_in_city_/2357.html; May 2, 2006 ONLINE / DIGITAL PUBLISHINGElectronic / Online Newspapers / EditionsUnited States of AmericaMicrosoft and The New York Times have introduced software that will allow readers todownload an electronic version of the newspaper and view it on a portable device. WithWindows Vista, which will be available in January, virtually any newspaper, magazine orbook can be formatted into an electronic version and read online or off. The software willallow The Times to replicate its look - fonts, typeface and layout - more closely than it doeson its Web site. Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, and Arthur Sulzberger Jr., publisher of TheTimes, presented the prototype Friday at the annual meeting of the American Society ofNewspaper Editors. Newspapers have been trying to develop a stronger online presence asreaders and advertisers continue to move to the Internet. The new software is intended tomake it easier to read an electronic version of a paper and allow readers to download multiplepapers and magazines to take with them. The Times said that it would charge advertisers toappear on the new version of the newspaper, Times Reader, but that it had not decidedwhether to charge readers for the service. For the demonstration on Friday, The Times wasdownloaded onto small tablet computers, about the size of a hardcover book. But this printlikeversion of the newspaper could also be downloaded onto a home computer or a laptop. Theelectronic paper is displayed in columns, and it formats itself to fit any size screen.http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2006/05/01/business/paper.php; May 2,2006E-PaperJapanE-paper developed by Fujitsu requires so little power that the colour image can be changed bythe energy from a wireless signal, the company has revealed. Wireless power is not in itselfnew: smart cards using active RFID chips, like those in Oyster cards used by Transport forLondon, are powered wirelessly by the machine reading them. But screens are usually thesingle most power-hungry component of a portable device and a frugal, usable display wouldconstitute a major advance - paper, after all, draws no power at all. PCW previewed the screen54

last year but Fujitsu has shown a prototype for the first time in Britain at an InnovationsForum in Windsor this week. Fujitsu puts it under the heading of e-paper because it isbistable, which means it retains its image between rewrites without drawing power, and isfairly flexible. The prototype at Windsor was in a rigid frame but judging from Fujitsu'spictures it can be bent round an arc of about 3in radius - not tight enough for use as a scrolloutscreen in a pocket device, which is one suggested application of flexible screens.The brightness and colours fell far short of what you would expect from paper; butpresumably the quality will improve. The screen is reflective, and so does not require thepower-hungry backlighting of most LCD screens. It is also, says Fujitsu, more efficient in itsuse of light because it does not use adjacent RGB filters that reject two thirds of the light thatfalls on them (green and blue light falling on a red filter is wasted). The fact that the screenscan be updated wirelessly does not mean that they will be. Smart cards have to be very closeto their wireless power source, and the available energy drops off rapidly with the square ofthe distance. http://www.pcw.co.uk/personal-computer-world/news/2150137/paper-powerwireless;February 10, 2006Mobile Telephony & NewspapersGlobalMobile technology firm Refresh Mobile has launched a new service, called Mobizines, thatlets magazine publishers distribute their content to mobile users. Following a pilot scheme, anumber of media houses including Condé Nast and ITV have signed up to the service, toallow consumers access mini versions of their content. Mobizines allow mobile phone usersto receive ‘snack sized’ versions of their favourite magazines rich format. The firm said theservice is available to all mobile users, regardless of operator, and can be read without anetwork connection once downloaded. The customer can pay per edition along with a one offfee to download the software reader. The cost per edition varies by network but on averagecosts between 3 and 10p. To download Mobizines to the handset, the consumer texts 'Mobi'followed by the name of the Mobizine (e.g. TimeOut) to 63333 and follows the instructions todownload. Mobizines are typically made up of 4 sections and each of these sections contains5 stories. For example, the TimeOut Mobizine sections are Films, Restaurants, Music and TipOf The Day. At the bottom of each story a user will find links to other stories, downloadablecontent or other relevant merchandising pertinent to that particular brand. The consumer canread each Mobizine as often as they like at no extra cost. This edition automatically getsupdated when the next edition is published. Content partners that feature in the currentportfolio of Mobizines are Condé Nast (GQ and Glamour), OK!, TimeOut, ITV, Daily Snack,TV Genius and sports news from TeamTalk. Refresh Mobile CEO Scott Beaumont, said:“Until now, neither brands nor advertisers have been able to take advantage of the intimaterelationship that consumers have with their mobile. “At the same time, advertisers can beginto target their customers directly and build a relationship through contextual adverts which aremeaningful to the reader,” Beaumont added.http://www.netimperative.com/2006/02/06/mini_magazines; February 6, 2006United KingdomT-Mobile has just launched what it is billing as the first newspaper for phone users. Slated tocost £6 per month, although it is free until October, the News Express service features news,sports and entertainment gossip along with regional weather maps of the UK. The news isactually pushed to phones (there are two editions one in the morning and one in the evening)and stored on them. So unlike Wap pages you don’t have to go on line to access it, which55

makes it great for places with no mobile coverage like the tube.http://www.techdigest.tv/2004/07/tmobile_launche.html; March 24, 2006Weblogs / BlogsUnited KingdomTelegraph.co.uk has produced an editorial style guide for its growing band of bloggers. Thenews site launched its first blog in 2005 and now boasts 14 journals following a relaunch ofits blogs commentary portal in April. Now the editorial team has launched a style bible, adocument common to most newsdesks, to ensure consistency of output in the new medium."Many of our journalists wanted to start a blog but were new to the medium," news editorShane Richmond told journalism.co.uk. "They wanted to engage more with readers, to shareobservations and thoughts about their work and the field in which they operate as reporters -but they needed a little guidance. "The style guide sets the parameters for our blogs and offersa few pointers about how to approach this new medium. What it doesn't do is specify worduse or set a standardised structure for blog posts." The publication encourages staff to maketheir message clear in the first three paragraphs of a post and to frequently direct readers tobackground posts on other blogs using hyperlinks. It suggests using personal opinions,anecdotes, backgrounders and replies to readers as fodder for new material. The guide will bedistributed to new writers as a Microsoft Word document, but was also published on thenewsroom's public blog, Upload, to give readers an insight into the processes behindproduction. "I wanted to show it to readers to invite comment on our in-house practices," MrRichmond added. "After all, there is far more collected experience of blogging 'out there' thanthere is 'in here'. "And also to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to transparency, of whichthe Upload blog is a key component." Telegraph.co.uk is expected to build on its multimedianewspaper ambitions, having recently advertised more vacancies for podcast production staff.http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/story1863.shtml; May 23, 2006PodcastingSwedenSwedish tabloid Expressen on February 1 launched a series of vodcasts, or pod-tv feeds. SVTannounced earlier this week that it will launch pod-tv on Monday, but Expressen managed tobeat SVT. Four local daily shows will be available for video mp3-players or for viewing on aPC: Stockholm, Göteborg, Skåne region and Östergötland region.http://www.kullin.net/arkiv/2006_02_01_mc.html#113897131622235008United KingdomMore than half of publishers surveyed said their business intends to launch a podcast in thenext 12 months. Of the polled delegates of the Association of Online Publishers recentconference, some 35 per cent said their businesses had already taken advantage of theopportunity to engage with their audience via the podcasting platform. More than half (52 percent) said their business intended to launch a podcast in the next 12 months to enable theirbrands to reach consumers on the move – anytime, anyplace, anywhere. The remaining 13 percent of delegates indicated that their businesses would not be experimenting with podcastingand cited factors such as the perceived cost of entry; a lack of relevant skills within thebusiness and the lack of a clear business model as the key barriers to entry.http://www.ukaop.org.uk/cgi-bin/go.pl/research/article.html?uid=843; February 10, 200656

EDITORIAL CONTENTImage & Credibility & Perception of NewspapersGermanyGermany's prestigious news magazine Der Spiegel, famed throughout decades for rooting outcorruption and the vagaries of errant politicians, admitted Saturday some of its staff had beenworking for the government intelligence service. In an article in the next edition on Monday,released in advance, the celebrated weekly -- considered a watchdog of press and democraticfreedoms in post-war Germany -- said one staff member in a regional bureau had beenworking for the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) as recently as last autumn. Another filingfrom war zones around the world had likewise been providing information to the BND on acolleague working for Focus, a rival weekly German news magazine. The BND, Germany'soverseas intelligence-gathering agency, has in effect admitted to committing "mistakes,"thereby appearing to confirm indirectly that it had been spying on German journalists. Therevelations appeared Friday in the quality Munich newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung. Quotingfrom Spiegel's own article, it said the BND had kept several journalists under surveillance forsome years in order to find out the source of leaks from the BND to the press. Former BNDchief Volker Foertsch has also admitted that journalists had sometimes been used asinformers. "The aim of the contacts was to prevent publication of prejudicial articles and findout where the journalists were getting their information from inside the BND," he was quotedby another newspaper, the Berliner Zeitung, as saying. Der Spiegel, founded in 1947, becamewidely read as West Germany developed post-war democratic institutions. It achieved itsgreatest moment of fame in 1962 when its publisher Rudolf Augstein and top editorial staffwere temporarily taken into police custody on suspicion of treason after the magazinepublished damaging details of results of a NATO military exercise. All were later releasedwithout charge and Der Spiegel's reputation was secured as a pillar of press freedom in a postwarsociety ultra-sensitive about the probity of political institutions. AFP; May 13, 2006United KingdomBritons are more likely to believe a news story they read on a website than if it appeared in anoffline publication such as a newspaper, new media research reveals. In its annual audit ofmedia literacy, Ofcom found levels of trust in news portals (63 per cent) has now surpassedthat of newspapers (46 per cent). News broadcast via the radio continues to trump newswebsites in terms of its trustworthiness, but marginally loses out to the most trusted newsmedium of all – television. Ofcom said the big screen remains the most accessed, familiar andpopular media platform for people to choose, with most respondents understanding itsfunction, including the watershed, and financing. Yet understanding of the capabilities oftelevision post-millennium is at best nascent, given one in three consumers is unaware ofdigital services, via the TV or internet. The remaining 77 per cent admitted to knowing aboutdigital services but just 30 per cent used them, suggesting television is mainly used in‘traditional terms,’ Ofcom said. Take up and usage of digital platforms among minority ethnicgroups is higher than the UK average, but the regulator said this was partly because this grouphas more young people than the population as a whole. Among these respondents, levels oftrust in news, knowledge of funding and regulation of the media platforms is collectivelylower than the UK average. Overall awareness of media platforms, a central indicator ofmedia literacy, is lowest among the over-65s, Ofcom said, adding that this age group rarelyaccesses the internet anywhere other than in their home. Conversely, one in three UK adultsof younger ages, spend more than 15 hours a week online, making them ‘heavy internet users’57

in Ofcom’s eyes. Most people using the internet said they do so to access information, while75 per cent of these said they will check e-mail once a week. However concerns about identitytheft, spam and viruses troubles one in three users, while concern about online content ishigher online than any other than media platform. By contrast, just one in ten UK adults areconcerned about content on TV, most often due to material they deem offensive. Despitewoes about content, the highest area of interest for many of the 3,000 respondents waslearning how to use the internet. A further third of participants said they preferred to learnmore about digital platforms and services, whether they are available through their TV orcomputer screens. The wider findings on the UK’s media literacy level can be viewed below,with further in-depth reports on literacy among minority ethnic groups, older people and thosein devolved nations expected to follow later in 2006: www.ofcom.org.uk. March 6, 2006http://www.freelanceuk.com/1602.shtmlJournalism AwardsUnited States of AmericaThe New York Times and The Washington Post were the top winners as this year’s PulitzerPrizes for journalism were announced at Columbia University. In an unusual event, therewere two winners in two categories, including the coveted Public Service slot -- shared by theTimes-Picayune in New Orleans and the Sun Herald in Biloxi, Miss. The Post won four prizesand the Times won three. The Times-Picayune had not been named one of the three finalistsfor Public Service by the judges--but was elevated into a winner by the Pulitzer Board, asallowed in the procedure. Sig Gissler, Pulitzer administrator, said today it was only the fifthtime there were double winners in Public Service and the sixth time in national reporting."It is quite unusual for a Public Service winner to win in another category for essentially thesame entry," he said, referring to the Times-Picayune also winning for Breaking News.Here is the list of winners in the journalism categories, selected by the Pulitzer Board fromthree finalists in each category picked by judges. The finalists follow. (If you are keepingscore at home, E&P's leaked list of Pulitzer finalists, which we posted last month, turned outto be accurate in all 14 categories.)http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002345286; April 17, 2006Do-It-Yourself / Citizen JournalismRepublic of Korea – JapanOne of the most successful citizen journalism ventures, Korea’s OhmyNews, said it hadreceived an $11-million investment from Softbank. Softbank’s cash infusion gives the Tokyobasedfirm 12.95 percent of OhmyNews’ outstanding shares. Six-year-old OhmyNews, whichhas previously said it is profitable, will use the investment to launch a Japanese news site, thefirst “stepping stone” of the soon-to-be-formed OhmyNews International. It also plans todevelop its video journalism arm and improve its English-language edition. OhmyNews CEOOh Yeon Ho has built a team of almost 40,000 citizen reporters who are compensated fornewsworthy pieces. At a gathering of OhmyNews contributors last summer, he told them“You have made one-way journalism into two-way journalism. Citizens are no longerspectators. A new era has begun in which regular citizens can become reporters wheneverthey so desire, and by doing so contribute to public opinion.” ‘Asian participatory anything isjust way ahead, whether it’s Japan or Korea.’ A team of editors maintains the site, whichreportedly has more than 500,000 visitors a day, and contributes a small portion of its content.58

http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=15825&hed=Citizen+Journalism+Gets+%2411M;February 22, 2006Business & Financial ReportingUnited States of AmericaBeginning June 20, The Boston Globe will stop publishing daily stock and mutual fundlistings and will offer enhanced online investment tools and market news as well as a newMoney & Markets page in the paper. The newspaper will replace its Tuesday throughSaturday tables with a one-page package of stories, graphics, and photos highlighting themost significant market events of the day. The Globe will continue to publish weekly stockand mutual fund listings on Sundays. The Globe's online partner, Boston.com, will offer anew, more robust package of interactive tools and market information that includespersonalized e-mail alerts about stocks and mutual funds. The Globe also will continue tooffer access to up-to-the minute price quotes on stocks and mutual funds by telephone. Ineliminating daily publication of stock and fund listings, the Globe joins a growing number oflarge newspapers, including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune,that have moved those tables from the newspaper to other platforms to reduce costs andprovide a more compelling package of financial news and information. ``Readers have beenturning to the Internet at an accelerating pace for stock and mutual fund quotes," said MartinBaron, editor of the Globe. ``That has prompted many newspapers like ours to shift awayfrom spending heavily on pages of financial tables in favor of enhanced Web-based investorservices." In print, the new daily package will include stories and graphics describing marketactivity and highlighting five companies whose stocks moved significantly. Tables will showlocal and national stocks that were most actively traded and gained or lost the most on apercentage basis. Additional graphics and tables will show the movements of major overseasexchanges; trading in major world currencies; and data on markets that affect regularconsumers, such as mortgage rates, oil prices, and gold prices. The Globe's Stock Quote line -- 617-822-5722 -- will continue to operate, providing stock and mutual-fund prices 24 hours aday. Online at www.boston.com/business, financial offerings will be significantly enhanced.Users will be able to create a personalized portfolio of stocks and funds they are interested inand request daily e-mail updates or alerts when news occurs in stocks they have specified.A comprehensive package of news, data, and information will be available for all companies,integrating regulatory filings with news from the Globe and other sources onto one Web page.Mutual fund data will be greatly improved, including ratings from Lipper Inc. and lists ofeach fund's top five stock holdings. ``The planned upgrade in Boston.com will allow readersto get easy, customized access to a vast array of useful investment data while a page in theBusiness section will focus on the market trends that are making news," Baron said.http://www.boston.com/business/markets/articles/2006/05/30/globe_to_shift_stock_data_to_its_website/; May 30, 2006Graphic Design / InfographicsGlobalThe Society for News Design has named two “nearly perfect” dailies as World’s Best-Designed Newspapers in the 27th annual The Best of Newspaper Design CreativeCompetition. Meeting at Syracuse University in New York, five judges reviewed 389newspapers from 44 countries to decide the 2005 winners: The Guardian, London, U.K. daily,circulation: 395,000; and Rzeczpospolita, Warsaw, Poland, daily, circulation: 180,000.59

The competition, co-sponsored by SND and Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School ofPublic Communications, recognizes excellence in newspaper design, graphics andphotography. The judging takes place in two stages over two weeks in February at theNewhouse School in Syracuse, N.Y. Entries received in January numbered 14,610 in 19categories and almost 200 subcategories.http://www.snd.org/about/news_archive.html?sk=&sn=121; February 20, 2006Redesigning / RestructuringBelgiumDe Morgen, a Belgian broadsheet, redesigned and switched to Berliner format. Mario Garcia,who did the paper's last redesign in 1994, headed up the project with De Morgen art directorMartin Huisman and Christian Fortanet of Garcia Media's Spain office. The newspaper, whichin 2004 won Europe's Best Designed Newspaper in the category 'national newspaper,'invested €100 million in a new printing plant that is capable of "waterless" printing, whichsupposedly makes for better reproduction. The press is also capable of printing color on everypage, which Garcia took advantage of. http://www.newsdesigner.com/archives/002520.php;April 25, 2006Gay / Lesbian IssuesCameroonCameroon tabloid newspapers have alleged dozens of prominent politicians, entertainers andeven religious figures are gay, stirring a storm in a country where homosexuality is illegal.Many of those "outed" by the gutter press have strongly denied the allegations and some aretaking legal action, while blaming rivals for spreading the charges. The fortnightly La Meteosparked the scandal in its last edition with a feature on homosexuals in the west Africancountry. It was followed by two other papers not known for their ethics, Nouvelle Afrique andL'Anecdote, which proceeded to name names with abandon. They quoted unidentified"reliable sources" as saying that government ministers and other officials, artists and evenchurch dignitaries have had relations with people of the same sex in order to gainadvancement. Parliamentary Relations Minister Gregoire Owona, one of those named, toldAFP that he had demanded a right of reply in the press and lodged a complaint in the courts."I intend to safeguard my honour," he added. Cameroonian law provides for prison terms ofbetween six months and five years and fines of up to 200,000 CFA francs (300 euros, 360dollars) for homosexual practices. Such sentences are regularly handed down by the courts forwhat is locally referred to as "bilingualism." Human rights groups, which want to see an endto discrimination, reacted angrily to the latest wave of accusations. "Individual freedoms,whose respect is written into the constitution, must be guaranteed," said rights defenderSuzanne Kala Lobe, adding that the scandal smacked of "the inquisition." The newspapersconcerned, meanwhile are unabashed and one, L'Anecdote, came up with a new list this week."It's been a long time since our circulation exceeded 5,000," said editor Francois Bikoro."Since we began dealing with homosexuality it has gone up to more than 20,000." Theincriminating articles have created their own market, with originals fetching up to 5,000 CFAfrancs against a cover price of 300 and photocopies being traded undercover. AFP; February1, 200660

WeddingsChinaMany newly-weds in Nanjing are now using a specially designed newspaper to inform friendsand relatives of their weddings. The newspaper, which is the same size as a regular tabloid,records couples' romantic stories and commitments, and includes best wishes from parentsand a wedding photo. The price for a slot in the newspaper is 988 yuan (US$122) for 200copies, and the wedding newspaper has already attracted many newly-weds in the city.http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-05/15/content_589565.htm; May 15, 2006 MANAGEMENTNewspaper Innovations, Strategy & VisionsGlobalIn a presentation to brokers and corporate bankers in London, the President of WAN, GavinO'Reilly, demonstrated that print media continue to be successful in both readership andrevenue terms and that "reading is still a vital ingredient in the human experience." Moreover,he stressed that investors and analysts needed to stress test the empirical market evidenceand not "regurgitate well worn myths", and recognise that the manner in which "theythemselves consume media is not a reliable proxy for the general public." Despite what thedoomsayers predict, newspapers have unique attributes which guarantee their future success.Among other things, Mr O'Reilly cited many facts and figures that show: * Over 1 billionpeople read a newspaper every day. * Newspaper circulations worldwide continue to grow -and while this growth is skewed to developing markets, much of the decline in Westernmarkets is reflected in changing consumer habits for evening newspapers. * Newspaperadvertising continues to grow -- and remains more effective than TV. * Of the establishedmedia, newspapers are far better at managing the economic cycle than their competitors. * Ina world of increasing media choice, newspapers represent the only true mass media marketchannel, being "fragmentation proof." * Newspapers are competing far more effectivelyagainst the rise of digital media than broadcast. "My sense is that traditional newspapercompanies first ignored the Internet, then over reacted it, and then concentrated onthe supposed threats it posed (without ever truly embracing it). That is history. That haschanged. It is the opportunities - which are numerous - which all newspaper publishers aresingularly focused on these days." * Contrary to conventional wisdom, increasing broadbandpenetration is not adversely impacting underlying circulation volumes or advertising. "Yetone still hears continually the unfounded suggestion that the Internet is damaging newspapercirculations -- yet the one irony is that where newspapers are strong, so too is the Internet." *In the last 24 months, more new, innovative newspaper products have been launched thanover the prior 30 years. * Newspaper companies continue to invest heavily in their businesses.* “Media markets are fast-changing and evolving, and newspapers ‘longpredicted to be in terminal decline by many advocates of TV and new media’ will in factcontinue to play a more vital and vibrant role in the media landscape of the future," said MrO'Reilly, speaking to brokers and corporate bankers in London last week. The fullpresentation can be found at http://www.wan-press.org/article9051.html WAN Press Release,February 1, 200661

Morocco – JordanThe Jordanian Ambassador to Morocco, Nabil al Sherif, has affirmed that “print media willdisappear in the era of electronic ones,” adding that European papers have already reduced thenumber of their pages because of the flow of electronic news websites. The Jordanianambassador to Morocco, Nabil al Sherif, said that print media may face extinction. Nabil alSherif, who gave last week a lecture in the Casablanca-based Sapress, an Arab Africancompany of distribution, briefed the audience on the role of the newspapers in disseminatinginformation, stressing that the publication of print media may disappear in these coming yearsbecause of the assault of the electronic news sites. The meeting saw the ambassador meetjournalists, professors in the field and students of the Higher Journalism Institute. It was anopportunity for the diplomat, who was himself a journalist, to share his fears concerning thefuture of the print press with future journalists, urging them to go along with the changesimposed by the technological development in the field. The ambassador summerised hisdoubts and fears in one question: “Is print press in extinction? He affirmed that print papersare disappearing because of internet, stating that in the era of fast food and McDonaldizationof the world, people no longer have time to read long articles. “Many European papers havebeen turned into tabloids because people are not eager to read a lot of pages,” said al Sherif.He added that “thanks to the internet, every citizen has from now on the ability to have hisown website. He can write articles, inform and analyze like any journalist. Everyone can be ajournalist.” “Citizens are no longer receptive, they have the ability to own online papers andto intervene in the subject and give their opinion,” added al Sherif. The Jordanian ambassadorsaid that many print papers have shifted to electronic ones, giving as an example theremarkable success achieved by a Korean electronic paper, which has two million readers, 50specialized journalists and 30,000 citizens contributing to the articles. Al Sherif enumeratedthe advantages provided by the new technology, including news on Yahoo and Google, newson the mobile phone, blackberry service, saying that “people are no longer looking for news;news is coming to them.” During the lecture, the ambassador did not stop stressing that thefuture is in the electronic papers and not in the print ones. He stated the example of the SanFrancisco Chronicle, a California-based paper, which has said that it may give up printingbecause readers accede to the paper's website more than the printed version. In this context, alSherif affirmed that youth seek an easy way to read. “News on the internet is easily andquickly updated,” said the ambassador. “Thanks to the ability to know how many readers readthe article, the electronic paper is able to adapt their articles according to readers' needs,” headded. The ambassador concluded his lecture by stressing the necessity for printed papers toprogress in order to face the future challenges. He also added that changes will not touch thecontent but only the way of expression. “Internet is a danger but also an opportunity topromote the printed press. It is a call to change and promote,” he said, adding that stagnationleads to extinction. Jordan's Ambassador to Morocco, Nabil Charif, was Jordan's formerminister of communication. He was editor-in-chief of Jordan's oldest Arabic daily newspaper“Adustour”. He participated in a number of international conferences as a representative ofthe Arab press. He was also the only Arab board member of the Paris-based “World EditorsForum”. Charif is also a regular columnist in Arabic and English and author of several booksin media studies and literature, and host of Jordanian TV programme “Face to Face”.http://www.moroccotimes.com/Paper/article.asp?idr=11&id=13098; February 24, 2006How to… / Basics of ManagementArab WorldThe World Association of Newspapers is launching a unique media development programmein the Arab world in which selected newspapers will work together to share new commercial62

and editorial strategies with publishers and editors throughout the region. A team from theParis-based WAN is visiting potential partners in Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia this week inthe first phase of the WAN Arab Newspaper Development Project (ANDP), which aims tosupport and promote the collective intelligence that editors, publishers and press managersrepresent when they act together. “Newspapers throughout the Arab region face a number ofobstacles, including repressive press laws, a lack of editorial independence and numerouscommercial challenges, such as attracting advertisers and increasing readership," saidTimothy Balding, Chief Executive Officer of WAN. "Although there have been some changesin recent years, most Arab media still principally act as part of the government process. Theabsence of cooperation between newspaper executives is one of the key reasons for thelack of 'press power' in Arab countries," he said. The ANDP project will support 12 selectednewspapers from the Arab region in the creation and execution of new commercial oreditorial strategies. Experiences generated through the project will be shared among otherArab media executives in an effort to strengthen the viability of independent newspapers inthe region. The Arab Press Network, a web-based electronic network for Arab newspapersmanaged by WAN, will play a central role in disseminating the experiences of eachnewspaper involved. APN, available in Arabic, English and French, can be found athttp://www.arabpressnetwork.org For more on what WAN does to help press development,consult http://www.wan-press.org/article37.html. WAN Press Release, May 2006 MEDIA LAWSOnline FreedomGlobalThe US government has set up a special operation to monitor the restriction of Internetfreedom by repressive regimes around the globe, with a particular focus on China. The GlobalInternet Freedom Task Force will focus on the "foreign policy aspects of Internet freedom,"the State Department department said. The force will study the technology used to restrictaccess to political content and to "track and repress dissidents", and the imposition of laws"to restrict the free flow of information," the department said. The task force will be run byUndersecretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs Josette Shiner, andUndersecretary for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky. The government movecomes as Internet giants Google and Yahoo face mounting criticism for complying withChina's censorship demands in return for being allowed to enter the giant China market. "Iwill say that we have very serious concerns about the protection of privacy and datathroughout the Internet globally and, in particular, some of the recent cases raised in China,"Shiner told reporters. She said Washington would "continue to press our concerns with thegovernment of China" but also work with US Internet companies that are in the China marketto take "steps that would help ensure privacy of data and protection of data on the internet."Shiner said Iran, which is involved in an international dispute over its nuclear programme,would also be a focus of the task force. "I will guarantee you we have not forgotten Iran andthe importance of access to information in Iran. We feel that access to the global debate,access to a full range of information is vital for Iranian citizens, for every citizen on earth inevery country," she said. Dobriansky said the US government hoped to bring together Internetcompanies, human rights organisations and pro-democracy groups and politicians to findways to protect open access to the Internet. But the US officials acknowledged that for themoment it had few weapons to force companies or governments to keep access to the worldwide web open to all. Yahoo quickly welcomed the US initiative. "We applaud the direction63

of the secretary of state in establishing the Global Internet Freedom Task Force. Thisembraces the government-to-government approach that Yahoo has been urging," said Yahoospokeswoman Mary Osako. Yahoo issued a rallying cry for online freedom Monday inresponse to criticism over its cooperation with the Chinese government. Microsoft, Google,Yahoo and Cisco Systems have all agreed to appear before a House of Representatives humanrights panel, which summoned them following public outcry over their compliance withBeijing. Yahoo allegedly assisted Beijing authorities to track down and jail a journalist andcyber dissident, while Cisco's technology-savvy machinery is reportedly used to censorInternet messages and track down cyber dissidents. Google and top computer software makerMicrosoft have both admitted cooperating with Beijing to censor websites. By complyingwith China's demand for censorship in order to enter the Chinese market, some of theAmerican Internet firms in essence have become "a megaphone for communist propagandaand a tool for controlling public opinion," said Chris Smith, who will co-chair the hearing.The Republican Representative, who heads the House subcommittee on global human rightsand international operations, is drafting legislation imposing curbs on Internet companiesseeking to expand into China. Civil liberties groups also have accused the US administrationof threatening privacy rights through eavesdropping without court warrants on e-mail andtelephone communications as part of Washington's "war on terror." AFP; February 14, 2006Freedom of the PressSwitzerlandThe upper crust or sophisticated business clients of a Swiss private bank would appear to beunlikely investors in sometimes rabble-rousing "media heroes" in developing or emergingnations. But Zurich's Vontobel Bank believes there is sufficient demand to warrant aninnovative investment fund aimed specifically at providing independent newspapers, radio,TV or other media with the kind of finance that allows freedom of the press to flourish."There are quite a few high net-worth individuals who don't just want a financial return," saidClaudia Kraaz, a spokeswoman for Vontobel. "We really see a growing demand frominstitutional and, above all, private clients for social investments," she added. On May 3,World Press Freedom Day, the bank and its partners announced the 20-million-Swiss-francMedia Development fund that will be launched on financial markets later this month. About80 percent of it will be a conventional fixed term, five-year investment, providing a steadySwiss-style financial return to investors. The rest will be a loan at an interest rate of onepercent per year to the Media Development Loan Fund (MDLF), an agency set up by a formerhead of the Serbian independent radio station B-92, which was once a thorn in the sideof the Milosevic regime. "It won't be a product that sells in the hundreds of millions of Swissfrancs," Kraaz acknowledged. "But there is a demand, we've been seeing that lately." On thefinancial side, Vontobel provided the structure and management of the bond-like fund, whilethe Swiss government's development cooperation agency guaranteed the secondary marketliquidity to ensure it remains tradeable. A Swiss social investment company that mainly dealswith microfinance, 'ResponsAbility' -- partly owned by Vontobel, other banks and thereinsurer Swiss Re -- chose MDLF and will maintain oversight over its recommendedbeneficiary. ResponsAbility argues that there is an important link between economicgrowth and information. It points to a World Bank study that lauded "reliable, currentindependent information", saying it was essential for "good" economic decisions. And ashortage of a decent standard of information in some countries is not only a consequence ofoutright censorship, but also economic reality, the fund's partners argue. MDLF founder andhead, Sasa Vucinic, left Serbia in March 1993, setting up his agency two years later toprovide loans on favourable conditions to independent media in emerging democracies.64

Vucinic believes the fratricidal conflict in the former Yugoslavia helped draw attention to theneed to support independent and diverse outlets in similar environments. MDLF has helpedB-92, and more than 50 other outlets in 17 countries, including a Siberian newspaper, a radiostation in Indonesia, Noseweek in South Africa or the newspaper El Periodico in Guatemala.Entertainement stations are ruled out, serious news and information is in. New loans of about11 million dollars this year are planned in Bolivia, Colombia, the Balkans, Russia, Ukraine,Senegal, Angola and Mozambique. The investment fund also bridges a gap for both sides.AFP; May 14, 2006Censorship / Self-CensorshipChinaA group of veteran Chinese communists from the party's old guard have issued a jointstatement to lambast the current generation of leaders for excessive media censorship.Reacting to a recent decision to close down a popular investigative supplement of a majornewspaper, they warned of unrest if some measure of free expression was not permitted. "Ifyou don't dare to let people speak... you will sow the seeds of disaster," the statement said. "Itis bound to trigger collective resistance and set off turbulence." The statement, posted onEpoch Times, a US-based newspaper and website often voicing dissident views, carried 13signatures. Several of them were by well-known ex-officials, including Li Rui, chairmanMao Zedong's former secretary, and Zhu Houze, previously the nation's top propagandaofficial. The actions that sparked the statement was last month's closure of Bingdian, or"Freezing Point," a supplement of the mass-circulation China Youth Daily that had gainedrespect for its investigative reporting. The supplement was accused of "breaching newspropaganda discipline" after an article challenged the official view of foreign occupation ofChina in the late 19th century. "History shows that only in totalitarian systems do you needmedia controls," the statement said. "This is in the mistaken belief that you can forever keepthe public in the dark." The statement questioned the role of the government's existingpropaganda apparatus. "One has to ask the question: The publicity organs do not protect themedia and do not guarantee the freedom of speech. So what are they good for?" According tothe New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, China was the world's leading jailer ofjournalists in 2005 for the seventh consecutive year, with 32 imprisoned -- of which 15 wereInternet writers. AFP; February 15, 2006Media / Press LawsKuwaitKuwait's parliament passed a new press law banning the imprisonment of journalists withouta final court ruling and allowing new newspapers to publish for the first time in threedecades. All 53 MPs present at a session of the house, including cabinet ministers,voted in favor of the legislation, which was described by lawmakers as a key reform measure.Kuwaiti governments have since the mid-1970s imposed a total ban on issuing licenses fornew newspapers, and journalists could hitherto be jailed while under investigation for analleged offense. Information Minister Anas al-Rasheed described the approval of the law asa "major achievement" and hoped it will contribute to widening press freedom in the oil-richGulf emirate. The new law, which replaces the existing legislation issued in 1961, willbecome effective only after the government issues its bylaws in six months, the minister toldreporters in parliament. The reformist legislation bans the closure of newspapers without afinal court verdict and allows citizens whose applications for newspaper licenses are rejectedto sue the government. AFP; March 6, 200665

Sports RightsGlobalWorld football’s governing body, FIFA, and the World Association of Newspapers, WAN,announced that they had reached agreement to lift all restrictions on digital publication ofphotographs of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. The agreement came after a privatemeeting between the FIFA President, Joseph S. Blatter, and the Chief Executive Officer ofWAN, Timothy Balding, who was also representing a coalition of leading news agencies,including Agence France-Presse, Associated Press, Reuters, Getty Images, DPA and EPA.Mr Blatter said: “Our talks were constructive and reflected FIFA’s intent to come to amutually beneficial solution. Today, almost all print media of relevance have their own webedition and reader preferences increasingly underline a shift in consumer habits to accesstopical information. (…) We understand that the publication of images and text must betreated with the same approach for the sake of maintaining a transparent informationmanagement policy that respects the Freedom of the Press. (…) I am satisfied that we havebeen able to amend the earlier position taken and thus to recognise WAN’s justifiedrequirements.” In order to respect contractual obligations to rights holders, FIFA hadoriginally limited the number of photographs that could be published on the web and requiredthat they should only be published two hours after games ended. WAN and the coalition ofnews agencies had opposed the restrictions on the grounds that they interfered with mediafreedom to report. WAN Press Release, March 2006Protection of SourcesJapanThe Tokyo District Court and the Tokyo High Court have rendered opposite decisions onreporters' refusals to reveal news sources, the Japanese Newspaper Association NSK reports.The Tokyo District Court ruled on 14 March that a Yomiuri Shimbun reporter had no right torefuse to reveal a news source in connection with a US health food company's lawsuit filed inthe United States over tax evasion. The ruling said that a reporter could not hide a newssource if there was a possibility that the information was leaked to the reporter by a civilservant in a breach of confidentiality. Yomiuri has appealed. The ruling was in sharp contrastwith a ruling by the Tokyo High Court, which on 17 March ruled that a reporter for NHK whohad also refused to reveal sources in the same lawsuit was justified in doing so. Newsletter forDirectors of WAN Member Associations - N ° 36, April 24, 2006Visa for Journalists / Registration / Foreign JournalistsChina - JapanThe Asahi Shimbun opened a branch in the Chinese city of Shenyang on March 15 and theYomiuri Shimbun followed suit on April 1. The opening of the branches in northeasternChina followed an agreement in February for China to lift its quota on the number of Japanesereporters based in China and the inclusion of Shenyang among the Chinese cities whereJapanese media organizations are allowed to station correspondents. With the opening of thebranch in Shenyang, the number of Asahi overseas branches totals 32, staffed by 52correspondents. Yomiuri has 34 branches and 60 correspondents. Both newspaper companiesintend to focus on Chinese government-initiated industrial development in the northeastregion. http://www.pressnet.or.jp/newsb/, May 200666

COPYRIGHTDigital Environment / Online / Digital CopyrightGlobalThe newspaper, magazine and book publishing industries have come together to explore waysto challenge the exploitation of content by search engines without fair compensation tocopyright owners. A task force of global and European publishers organizations, led byWAN, has agreed to work together to examine the options open to publishers to assert theirrights to recognition and recompense, and to ultimately improve the relationships betweencontent creators/producers and news aggregators and search engines. The group will examinewhether new standards and policies can be drafted to formalize the commercial relationshipbetween publishers and the search engines and content aggregators. It will also explore theoptions open to newspaper, book and magazine publishers, including collective action, eitherat a national or international level, together with questions regarding copyright enforcementand brand infringement. Along with WAN and the World Editors Forum, the group includesInternational Publishers Association (IPA), the International Federation of the PeriodicalPress (FIPP), the European Newspaper Publishers Association (ENPA), the EuropeanPublishers Council (EPC), the European Magazine Publishers Association (FAEP) and SPMI(French association for magazine publishers), Agence France-Presse (AFP), the association ofFrench national newspapers, SPP, and the French regional daily newspaper association,SPQR. Contact: Timothy Balding, tbalding@wan.asso.fr; Newsletter for Directors of WANMember Associations - N ° 34, February 2, 2006 MEDIA OWNERSHIPMergers / AcquisitionsIndiaBennett Coleman and Co. Ltd has proposed to buy a 6 per cent stake in SaharaOne Media andEntertainment Ltd. SaharaOne has subscribed 1,100,000 new equity shares at a price of Rs344 per share, taking the total valuation of the company to Rs 6,290 million. This aggregatesthe deal at a worth of Rs 378.4 million. The deal is subject to all mandatory approvals fromthe Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the company’s shareholders. Meanwhile, thecompany has informed the BSE and also called for an EGM to get the approval of theshareholders. Shantonu Aditya, CEO, SaharaOne Media and Entertainment Ltd, feels that thisacquisition is the coming together of two prominent media houses of the country. He says thepartnership will help SaharaOne in the long run. Aditya adds, “The SaharaOne team has beendoing really well in terms of visibility and brand revamping and in getting audience andadvertisers. This is evident from the fact that the group’s newly launched channel, Filmy, gota record number of advertisers on the day of its launch.” In the nine months ending December31, 2005, SaharaOne Media and Entertainment Ltd has made a net profit of Rs 70 million ona turnover of Rs 1,550 million, as compared to a net profit of Rs 65 million on a turnover ofRs 2,150 million in the year ended March 31, 2005. For the record, SaharaOne Media andEntertainment Ltd recently got into an ad sales pact with the religious channel, Aastha. Adityaclaims, “This dynamic partnership will see new programming on SaharaOne”, but he declines67

to divulge further details. http://www.agencyfaqs.com/news/stories/2006/02/14/14183.html;February 14, 2006New ZealandAustralian-based media company John Fairfax Holdings said it has agreed to buy NewZealand Internet auction site Trade Me for 700 million dollars (466 million US$). Fairfax,which owns major newspaper and magazine titles in both Australia and New Zealand, said thecash purchase of New Zealand's most visited website was part of the company's increasingfocus on the Internet. "The acquisition of Trade Me reshapes Fairfax's earnings and businessmix as part of our more aggressive push into the Internet in all the markets in which weoperate," Fairfax chief executive David Kirk said. "As a result of our successful onlineinvestments, we are now a significantly more diversified media company," he said. Thepurchase price is 26.5 times earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation(ebitda) for the current financial year and about 15 to 16 times forecast ebitda for the 2007financial year. Trade Me was founded by Sam Morgan in 1999 and has become a hugesuccess in New Zealand, hosting auctions for general goods, motor vehicles and properties.The site has 1.2 million members and 35 million auctions are expected to be held this year,Fairfax said. Morgan will continue to run the business for one to two years and Fairfax has noplans to change the way it runs, Kirk said. "There's not a lot we can do to improve the way thebusiness has been run and developed," he said. The purchase, to be funded through a mixtureof debt and equity, would "very materially" increase Fairfax's Internet earnings, he said. AFP;March 6, 2006RussiaNorwegian Schibsted has acquired 66.7 percent in Regional Independent Newspapers Co., theowner of St. Petersburg Moy Rayon (My District) newspaper network. The company’sintention to funnel $7.7 million to the project and to launch the newspaper in Moscow signalsthe investment potential of the printed media market in Russia has not expired. Schibsted paid$3.3 million for 66.7 percent in Regional Independent Newspapers, said Moy RayonMarketing Director Alexandra Skachkova. Around $4.4 million will be invested in promotingMoy Rayon before late this year. Schibsted’s interest in Russia roots in the lucrativedevelopment of the country’s media market, where the printed advertising gained 16 percentpast year, having climbed from $1.2 billion to $1.39 billion, according to Association ofRussia’s Communication Agencies. Backed up by Norwegian funds, Skachkova said, MoyRayon is expected to emerge in Moscow before late this summer and to expand in St.Petersburg by covering the region and creating an Internet-portal. Moy Rayon Weekly hasbeen released since October 15, 2002; its audience is 605,600 people; weekly circulation –360,000 copies. It is distributed in 13 regions of St. Petersburg. And it is not just promotion,Moy Rayon is rather a community newspaper with the editorial articles covering 60 percent ofit. http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?id=661217; March 28, 2006SloveniaGerman group WAZ has signed a joint venture agreement with the leading Slovenianpublisher DZS. They will run a 50/50 operation. WAZ has brought into the venture its 51.6%stake in daily newspaper Dvenik in which Austrian Styria owns 26%. Total investment byWAZ in this deal is estimated at € 15 million. ANIMA Newsletter, May 22, 200668

United States of AmericaAmerican media minnow McClatchy jumped from eighth place in the US newspaper marketto second with the $4.5bn (£2.6bn) acquisition of larger rival Knight Ridder, owner of the SanJose Mercury and Philadelphia Inquirer. The deal sounded a note of confidence in the USlocal newspaper market where advertising revenue has been coming under intense pressurefrom online alternatives such as Google. McClatchy, based in Sacramento, California, beatprivate equity bidders including Texas Pacific for Knight Ridder after it was put up for salefollowing investor unrest about its poor performance. The deal, which is not expected to leadto job losses among journalists, ends an independent history stretching back 114 years butwill net Knight Ridder's 65-year-old chairman and chief executive, Tony Ridder, more than$100m. McClatchy, which is paying in cash and shares for the company and assuming $2bnof debt, plans to sell off a dozen of Knight Ridder's 32 newspapers including the Inquirer andMercury as well as The Philadelphia Daily News, because it does not believe it can increasesales of the titles. It is selling other papers, such as the St Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota, forregulatory reasons. McClatchy, which owns a dozen daily papers including The SacramentoBee, bought the Star Tribune in Minneapolis nine years ago. Knight Ridder came underpressure late last year from Florida-based Private Capital Management, which owns almost afifth of the business and is a shareholder in McClatchy, to improve its performance or putitself up for sale. The combined group will have 32 daily newspapers and 50 non-dailypublications, after McClatchy's planned sell-off, with a combined daily circulation of about3.2m. It will be the second largest US newspaper publisher in circulation terms, behindGannett, whose 91 papers have 7.3m daily paying readers. "This deal is a vote of confidencein the newspaper industry," said McClatchy's chairman and chief executive, Gary Pruitt. "Westrongly believe that good journalism is good business... Although audiences get news inmany new ways today, the appetite for independent, useful information is greater than ever,and the opportunities for a news company that meets these needs are unlimited." Others havebeen seeking to prop up newspaper businesses with new revenue streams. The WashingtonPost bought an educational publishing business while EW Scripps, owner of Denver's RockyMountain News, has moved into cable TV. Knight Ridder was formed by the merger 32 yearsago of Knight Newspapers and Ridder Publications. Ridder dates from 1892 when HermanRidder bought the German-language Staats-Zeitung in New York. Knight Newspapers wasfounded in 1933 by John Knight after he inherited the Akron Beacon Journal from his father,who had bought it 30 years before. McClatchy, which is still controlled by the McClatchyfamily, can trace its lineage back to the founding of The Sacramento Bee in 1857.http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,1730431,00.html; March 14, 2006Takeover BidsThe NetherlandsDutch market research and publishing group VNU, a leading company in its sector, said ithad accepted a takeover bid worth 7.5 billion euros (8.9 billion dollars) from a consortium ofprivate investment companies. The consortium comprises investment funds AlpInvestPartners, Blackstone, Carlyle, Hellman and Friedman, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co., andThomas H. Lee Partners. The offer, priced at 28.75 euros per share, must be accepted byshareholders for the sale to be completed, VNU underlined. VNU said that the consortiumintended to keep the company together as an integrated firm and pursue its existing long-termstrategy. VNU is a market research group, a publisher of trade magazines and a leadingsupplier of audience measurement information for television, film, radio, and newspapers.VNU also unveiled full-year results for 2005 that showed sales at 3.45 billion euros, an69

increase of 4.0 percent compared with the figure for 2004, and earnings per share of 1.0 euro.AFP; March 8, 2006* * * * *Many shareholders in the Dutch market research and publishing group VNU oppose itstakeover by a group of private investors and could block the deal, the Financial Timesreported. The British financial daily said as many of 50 percent of shareholders hadtold management in preliminary discussions they opposed a takeover on the terms of 28.50euros per share. The newspaper quoted Fidelity International, which owns 15 percent ofVNU, as saying it was "unlikely to support this offer." A second important shareholder,Knight Vinke Asset Management, which controls about two percent of VNU, has rejected theoffer which "substantially undervalues the company," said the Financial Times. AFP, March9, 2006The NetherlandsMECOM, the investment vehicle of the former Mirror Group chief executive DavidMontgomery, tabled a bid for a Dutch regional newspaper on Friday. The newspaper,Limburgs Dagblad, which is believed to be valued at up to €140 million (£96 million), is oneof the core titles of Telegraaf Media Groep, publisher of the leading Netherlands newspaperDe Telegraaf. The sale is being handled by ING. Montgomery is also involved in an auctionfor the Rhones-Alpes division of the French regional publisher Socpresse, owned by Dassaultmedia group. The sale could be worth up to €350 million.Socpresse and Dassault met yesterday to discuss entering exclusive talks with one party.Mr Montgomery acquired a second German newspaper last month when Mecom paid anundisclosed sum to buy Hamburger Morgenpost from its owners Hans Barlach and JosefDepenbrock. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9071-2019242,00.html; February 1,2006RussiaRussia's state-owned natural gas giant Gazprom is considering purchasing the influentialliberal newspaper Kommersant, a Moscow business daily reported. Negotiations between asubsidiary of Gazprom, which has already built up a wide-ranging media empire, "havealready begun" with Kommersant's owner, Georgian tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili, theVedomosti newspaper said, quoting sources close both to Gazprom and Patarkatsishvili.If confirmed, the deal would extend Kremlin influence over one of the last major mediaoutlets in Russia not already owned by Gazprom or the state ahead of parliamentary electionsin 2007 and a presidential election in 2008, when President Vladimir Putin is due to stepdown. Patarkatsishvili, an associate of fugitive Russian businessman and fierce Putinopponent Boris Berezovsky, is himself wanted by Russian investigators and is conductingnegotiations through an intermediary, Vedomosti said. Vedomosti said that Patarkatsishviliwanted 350 million dollars for the newspaper. Gazprom-media already owns the NTVtelevision channel, a controlling stake in Echo Moscow radio and also the nation's mostestablished daily newspaper, Izvestia. Echo Moscow and Izvestia still retain a degree ofeditorial independence, but have limited impact, while NTV's coverage of controversial issuesdiffers little from that of fully state-owned, pro-Putin national channels. Russia's oppositionmedia is otherwise reduced to a handful of small-circulation Moscow dailies and internet siteslike Gazeta.ru. AFP; April 4, 200670

* * * * *Russia's state-run energy giant Gazprom is set to strengthen its grip on the country's mediawith the likely purchase of control of the country's largest circulation newspaper,Komsomolskaya Pravda, the business daily Vedomosti said. Prof-Media, a subsidiary of theInterros company owned by businessman Vladimir Potanin, has negotiated the sale of justover 50 percent of the populist tabloid's publishing house, said Vedomosti, citing an unnamedsource familiar with the deal. The two sides are now awaiting the go-ahead of the federal antimonopolyservice, the paper said. An official at Gazprom's press service declined to confirmor deny the report when contacted by AFP. The official said Gazprom was "always in talkswith all the important media players and everything depends on the terms of sale offered bythe sellers". Prof-Media owns 50 percent of Komsomolskaya Pravda and another 25 percentis owned by Norway's A-Pressen. Gazprom's swallowing of several media outlets in recentyears has fuelled criticism that the state is using the company to increase its control overthe media. The company owns one of the three main television channels, NTV, and hasmajority stakes in the Echo Moscow radio station and the daily newspaper Izvestia. Potaninannounced earlier that Interros wanted to reduce its share in the daily newspaper market anddiversify into other areas of the media. According to the research institute TNS Gallup Media,Komsomolskaya Pravda's average daily circulation is four million copies and the total numberof people who read the paper each day is 10 million. AFP; April 20, 2006Sell-Off / Buy-OutCroatiaThe largest Croatian newspaper publisher Europapress holding (EPH) will sell its 27 percentstake in Tisak, confirmed EPH Director Stipe Oreskovic, by the end of May, 'CT' reports. Thefinal competition for this stake attracted the interest of Slovenia's largest distributor Deloprodaja, multinational company Hachette from France and an unnamed Croatian distributioncompany. "We have several quality participants in this race, they all performed a duediligence, saying they were satisfied and we are now waiting who will give us the best offer,"said Oreskovic. The sale of the stake in Tisak was conditioned by Croatian Agency forProtection of the Market Competition if EPH wants to complete the takeover of thenewspaper Slobodna Dalmacija, as EPH acquired excessive newspaper distribution marketshare of 87 percent after this venture. Well-informed sources said that EPH has already signeda deal on the sale of Tisak to Slovenia's Delo prodaja, which Oreskovic refused to comment.Until recently one of potential bidders for a stake in Tisak also included Slovenia's publisherDZS, which was denied by Oreskovic, who said that future buyer of Tisak would have to bein a distribution business. He was formally right, as the possible future buyer of Tisak is notDZS, but Delo prodaja, but this distributor is strongly tied on ownership relations with DZS.Also recently, one of the owners of DZS also became WAZ, media concern and co-owner ofEPH, which means that entering of Slovenia's Delo prodaja in Tisak would represent yetanother ownership connection in a series of ownership mergers between Croatia's andSlovenia's media and marketing companies. The position of Delo prodaja in Slovenia isequally strong as the position of Tisak in Croatia, and both distributors are significantlystronger than all competitors combined. Delo prodaja monthly sells in Slovenia through itsown retail network (146 retail outlets) and other networks more than 10 million copies ofnewspapers and magazines. Delo prodaja is not in ownership relations with the newspaperDelo, as it was separated from this company back in 1990.http://www.reporter.gr/fulltext_eng.cfm?id=60516124220; 16 May 200671

RussiaBoris Berezovsky said that he was selling the remnants of his business empire, including theKommersant newspaper, to his longtime partner Badri Patarkatsishvili in an effort to shield itfrom Kremlin pressure. Berezovsky, a kingmaker turned fierce Kremlin critic, said he wasselling out because his Georgian partner, who has been a joint owner in many ofBerezovsky’s businesses, was unnerved by his recent claim that he has spent the last year anda half working to overthrow President Vladimir Putin. Speaking by telephone Friday fromLondon, Berezovsky said the handover could help shield the businesses from mountingpolitical pressure. “Nothing is ever safe in today’s Russia. The authorities can take awayproperty whenever they like. But this will help reduce the risks,” he said. Apart fromKommersant, however, it is not exactly clear which businesses are left for Berezovsky to sell.Berezovsky and Patarkatsishvili have been business partners since the early 1990s, when theyset up LogoVAZ, the car dealership from which the rest of their vast oil-to-metals empiresprang. Their clout swiftly vanished in 2000 when Berezovsky fell from Putin’s favor, justmonths after helping engineer the latter’s rise to power. After a criminal investigation intoBerezovsky’s business practices began, Berezovsky and Patarkatsishvili fled the country andfaced attempts by Russian prosecutors to extradite them on charges of large-scale fraud.Berezovsky denies the charges. Berezovsky said Friday that even though Patarkatsishvili wasa close associate, the sale would reduce the risks for Kommersant and the other businesses.“Badri is only wanted by the Russian authorities because he happens to do business with me.As soon as we stop being partners, I believe the charges against him will be lifted,”Berezovsky said. Berezovsky fled Russia in November 2000 for Britain, where he hasreceived political asylum. While Berezovsky settled in with a country estate near London, asquad of French Foreign Legion veterans as bodyguards and a plush office in Mayfair,Patarkatsishvili headed for his native Georgia. There, he has become one of the country’swealthiest and most well-connected businessmen. But while Patarkatsishvili has maintained alow political profile, Berezovsky has threatened to take his revenge on Putin and once vowedto invest $100 million to oust him from power. Even though Berezovsky has spent the lastfew years touting his influence, many in Russia see him as a spent political force.Berezovsky claims to have helped bankroll Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, in which hundredsof thousands took to the streets in November 2004 to help pro-Western presidential candidateViktor Yushchenko gain victory over Kremlin-backed Viktor Yanukovych. WhileYushchenko and his aides have denied ever receiving any financial support from Berezovsky,the claims nevertheless unnerved the Kremlin. Last month, Berezovsky went on EkhoMoskvy radio to say he would “seize power by force” in Russia. Meanwhile, via his NewYork-based For Civil Liberties foundation, Berezovsky has been quietly financing NGOs andgroups that oppose the Kremlin, both in Russia and in the “near abroad.” Kommersant, too,often takes an opposition line. Berezovsky said Friday that the sale of his stake in the paper toPatarkatsishvili, who is already a co-owner, would not have an impact on its editorial policy.“Badri is already chairman of the board,” Berezovsky said. Kommersant commercial directorPavel Filenkov also said he did not expect any change. “This isn’t even a sale. It’s aredistribution of shares,” he said.http://www.times.spb.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=16850; February 22, 2006RussiaGazprom's media arm appears to be on the verge of adding to its newspaper portfolio bysnapping up Komsomolskaya Pravda, the most widely read paper in the country. Prof-Media,the tabloid's owner and a part of metal magnate Vladimir Potanin's Interros holding, declinedto discuss any negotiations on Wednesday, but confirmed that it was getting out of the72

newspaper business. http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/04/20/003.html; April 20,2006United States of AmericaKnight Ridder, the second-largest newspaper company in the United States, agreed to a 4.5-billion-dollar cash and stock buyout by the McClatchy Company, The New York Timesreported. Citing sources involved in the negotiations, the newspaper said the dealwas expected to be announced March 13. The sale comes as the newspaper industry is grippedby uncertainty, and readers have begun to drift away from printed newspapers whose Websites have experienced sharp gains in use, the report said. The sale may help assuage someinvestors who are nervous about the values of newspaper companies. Knight Riddercommanded a premium of about 25 percent for its shares from the time it put itself up for salein November, the paper said. McClatchy, which is based in Sacramento and publishes TheSacramento Bee and The Minneapolis Star Tribune, among others, was the only majornewspaper company to submit a final bid for Knight Ridder, publisher of 32 dailynewspapers, including such venerable papers as The Miami Herald, The Philadelphia Inquirerand The San Jose Mercury News, according to The Times. While it attracted interest fromsome big publishers, including Gannett, the largest chain in the United States, most majornewspaper companies like The Washington Post Company, the Tribune Company and DowJones passed on the auction entirely, underscoring just how unsettled the biggest players areabout their own business, the report said. AFP; March 13, 2006Equity StakesSaudi ArabiaThe Saudi Research and Marketing Group, publishers of Asharq Al Awsat, Al Eqitsadiah andArab News among ten other publications, will go public on 8 April through an initial publicoffering of 4.8 million shares, which represents 30 per cent of the total stock. In an interviewwith Al Arabiya TV, the group’s Chairman, Prince Faisal Ibn Salman, said the company hasentered a new era by being the first Arab media company to go public in the Saudi stockmarket. The group declared a net profit for 2005 of SR 181.4 million (USD 48.3 million), 290per cent more than the previous year. Shares will be available at SR 230 (USD 61).WAN - APN Newsletter No 11/2006, March 28, 2006Cross-Media OwnershipAustraliaAustralia's conservative government proposed a radical overhaul of media laws that isexpected to trigger a series of mergers in what is already one of the world's most tightly heldnewspaper and television markets. The reform plan unveiled by Communications MinisterHelen Coonan would notably ease restrictions which have prevented Australia's big mediacompanies from owning newspaper, radio and television operations in the same market. Itwould also remove tight limits on foreign ownership of Australian media groups. Critics saythe long-awaited reforms will result in a further loss of diversity of news and opinion in acountry where much of the media is owned by moguls strongly allied to the political right.The Australian subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, News Limited, controlsnearly 70 percent of the metropolitan and national newspaper market and will, under theproposed changes, be able to extend its reach into television. Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd(PBL), built by the late billionaire Kerry Packer and now run by his son James, has dominantinterests in television and magazine publishing and would be able to move into newspapers.73

Coonan tried to allay concerns the proposed changes would lead to even more concentrationof ownership and said reform was needed to adapt to the rapid changes brought to the medialandscape by the Internet and the advent of digital television. "It won't necessarily mean(more concentration) at all ... we might have more entrants under the current proposal,"Coonand said on national radio. "What I think we have to recognise is that the wholelandscape for media has changed -- people now get news and diversity from hundreds, if notthousands, of unmediated additional sources," she said. But in a bid to meet some critics'concerns, the Coonan plan would require that a minimum of five commercial media groups beactive in television, newspaper and radio in major metropolitan areas and four in regionalmarkets. It would also maintain existing restrictions that prevent broadcasters from owningmore than one television license or two radio licenses in any one market. Foreign acquisitionsof Australian media would also be subject to review by the Treasury. Currently overseasinvestors can only own 15 percent of a television broadcaster and up to 25 percent of a masscirculation newsapaper. Other changes proposed in Coonan's reform paper titled "Meeting theDigital Challenge: Reforming Australia 's media in the digital age" included delaying aplanned switchover from analog to digital television transmissions from 2008 to 2010.Coonan gave publishers a month to respond to her discussion paper, after which she isexpected to submit legislation embodying her proposals to parliament. Australia has one ofthe highest concentrations of media ownership of any industrialised Western country, with 90percent of metropolitan newspapers owned by Murdoch's News Ltd and John FairfaxHoldings, and television dominated by PBL and the Seven Network of rival mogul KerryStokes. AFP; March 14, 2006 TAXESVATHungaryA two-year lobbying effort to reduce the VAT on newspapers and magazines from 15 percentto 5 percent in Hungary has met with success. Subscriptions for newspapers and magazinesare now calculated with the reduced VAT, and all newspapers and magazines sold atnewsstands will also be reduced to the 5 percent level as of July 1, 2006. Contact: KatalinHavis, mle.havask@t-online.hu; Newsletter for Directors of WAN Member Associations - N°34 ; February 2, 2006 COMPETITIONState SupportAzerbaijanThe OSCE Office in Baku welcomed President Ilham Aliyev's decision to cancel the debts ofnewspapers, including leading opposition publications, to the State publishing houseAzerbaijan. The debts, totalling 350,000 euros, will now be paid from the State budget.http://www.bakutoday.net/view.php?d=16207; February 2, 200674

Fair CompetitionKorea, Republic ofThe Fair Trade Commission (FTC) is poised to crack down on unfair business practices ofsome newspaper companies. The anti-trust regulator’s probe will likely be focused onallegations of free newspaper subscriptions and gifts such as bicycles being given away tolure more subscribers, according to an FTC director general Tuesday. In an interview withPBC Radio, FTC director general Kim Byung-bae said, "We are making inquiry intoallegations that some newspaper companies are giving away copies free-of-charge to theirdistribution offices." Kim said free copies and gifts are being distributed in some areas,including newly-built apartment complexes, though the reported number of rule-breakingcases is smaller compared to the past years. "As part of efforts to encourage more reports onthese gift-giving instances, we plan to raise the maximum reward for reporting media’s unfairpractices to 10 million won, up from the current 5 million won," he said. However, it remainsto be seen whether such practices are actually declining or the newspapers are using moresubtle ways of promotion, as the newspaper market is facing prospects of dwindling thanks tothe emergence of new platforms of news delivery. The practices had been rampant among bigvernacular newspapers, such as the JoongAng Ilbo, the Chosun Ilbo and the Dong-a Ilbo, inan attempt to boost their subscriptions and attract more commercial ads. The three newspapersaccount for roughly 75 percent of newspaper subscriptions in Korea. The media firms wieldconsiderable influence and play the role of watchdog, enabling them to go unpunished foranti-competition practices. The FTA’s decision is expected to further prod them to brace forstrict market rules. http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=42744; April 11, 2006 LABOUR & EMPLOYMENTJob CutsFranceSome 50 France Soir employees organized by trade unions demonstrated outside the FrenchCulture Ministry to ask the government to intervene over the planned job cuts. Thenewspaper's new owners, real estate developer Jean-Pierre Brunois and sports journalistOlivier Rey, envisioned to cut half of the 112 employees and relaunch France Soir as apopular newspaper focused on sports, horse racing and show business gossip. France Soir onFriday ran a special edition, with the word "Resistance" crossing the front page and thepolitics and culture pages left blank to reflect the planned closure of both departments, as wellas the photography and research services. Founded in 1944, France Soir, once a bignewspaper passing the million-copy in 1960s has seen its circulation shrink to just 50,633copies in 2005. The paper entered bankruptcy proceeding on Oct. 27 due to financialdifficulties. It re-published in February the 12 controversial cartoons of the ProphetMohammad after their publication in Denmark and Norway.http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-04/15/content_4425956.htm; April 14, 200675

ETHICSSelf-RegulationPolandA self-regulatory, industry-approved code of conduct for publishers in Poland went into effecton 1 March after 18 months of discussions. The code, which is compulsory for the 112members of the Chamber of Press Publishers, includes regulations for governing therelationship between the publisher and editor; the relationship between the publisher andjournalists; principles of publishing advertising, promotional and public relations materials;and basic principles of publishing. Contact: Maciej Hoffman, info@izbaprasy.pl; Newsletterfor Directors of WAN Member Associations - N ° 35, March 15, 2006Codes of EthicsGeorgiaThe Police Ethics Code developed by the NGO Liberty Institute and the Ministry of InternalAffairs is being actively discussed in Georgia. Paragraph 7 of the Code touches upon therelations between law enforcement and the media: "Due to the importance of media as afundamental tool of democracy, each police officer is obliged to assist journalists in carryingout their professional duties as much as he or she is allowed to by law." According to theLiberty Institute's representative Akaki Minashvili, generally speaking there are no problemsbetween the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the media. "The ministry has a will to cooperatewith media; however, there may be concrete violations of the rules," he said. Minashvili saidthat it was wrong that under the Code there is an implication of less strict disciplinarypunishment for police officers in case they hinder journalists' work, than that implied by thecriminal code (up to 2 years in prison). Georgian media often strictly criticize the Ministry ofInternal Affairs for the denial of journalists’ access to public information by law enforcementofficers. Internews Georgia; http://www.media.ge/eng/news_detailed.php?id_numb=88576