A new policy allowing press photographers to cover the ceremonial return of U.S. military personnel killed in action comes into effect today, Editor & Publisher reports.
The policy change was announced in February by Defense Secretary Robert Gates. Under the previous policy, press were not allowed to cover the returns of fallen soldiers and Marines at Dover Air Force Base’s Charles C. Carson Center for Mortuary Affairs.
The Dover, Delaware, base houses the military's only such facility in North America. Since the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, only a few photos have surfaced of the flag-draped coffins of U.S. service members.
The new policy requires family consent. It also specifies that photographers must use only ambient light.
Showing posts with label Editor and Publisher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Editor and Publisher. Show all posts
Monday, April 6, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
US newspaper group prepares to charge for some online content
Hearst Corp. plans to hold back at least some content from its newspapers’ free web sites and appears to be on the verge of implementing a pay web approach, according to a memo from a top Hearst executive, Editor & Publisher reports today.
The memo to staffers is from Steven Swartz, president of Hearst Newspapers, which includes 16 dailies, among them the San Francisco Chronicle and Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Both titles have recently indicated they might close if severe cutbacks are not made soon.
“Exactly how much paid content to hold back from our free sites will be a judgment call made daily by our management, whose mission should be to run the best free Web sites in our markets without compromising our ability to get a fair price from consumers for the expensive, unique reporting and writing that we produce each day,” Swartz said in the memo quoted by E&P.
The memo to staffers is from Steven Swartz, president of Hearst Newspapers, which includes 16 dailies, among them the San Francisco Chronicle and Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Both titles have recently indicated they might close if severe cutbacks are not made soon.
“Exactly how much paid content to hold back from our free sites will be a judgment call made daily by our management, whose mission should be to run the best free Web sites in our markets without compromising our ability to get a fair price from consumers for the expensive, unique reporting and writing that we produce each day,” Swartz said in the memo quoted by E&P.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Who will survive in the post print newsroom?
Editor & Publisher columnist Steve Outing says it now seems likely that some newspapers will abandon print, or be forced to, and asks: "What might a digital local news operation look like, and what tools and skills will be required?"
Outing accepts that the digital newsroom will have a much reduced staff and considers what it will take to survive the job cuts and concludes: "Certainly an understanding of, and probably enthusiasm for, new forms of media and storytelling."
He says: "The transformed newsroom will be filled with multi-functional journalists who are comfortable carrying around a digital camera and tiny video camera; who make it part of their routine to record audio for possible use in podcasts or multimedia project sound clips; who are regular users of social networks and understand how to leverage them to communicate with and attract new readers, and share some personal information about themselves as well as promote their work; and who are comfortable and willing to put in the time to engage and communicate with their readers or viewers, including participating in reader comment threads accompanying their stories."
Outing suggests: "Journalists clinging to notions of narrow job descriptions and who still hold dear many of the old ways of doing things for print are unlikely to be among those offered jobs in the downsized digital newsroom. To win one of these jobs, extreme flexibility and the love of learning and a challenge will be qualities that hiring managers will seek.
"I suspect that may make this digital newsroom younger than today's print newsrooms, yet I know plenty of older journalists who revel in the media transformation and 24/7 nature of today's news, and young journalists just out of college who still think conservatively. So don't count out seeing some gray hair in the digital newsroom, though not as much."
Outing accepts that the digital newsroom will have a much reduced staff and considers what it will take to survive the job cuts and concludes: "Certainly an understanding of, and probably enthusiasm for, new forms of media and storytelling."
He says: "The transformed newsroom will be filled with multi-functional journalists who are comfortable carrying around a digital camera and tiny video camera; who make it part of their routine to record audio for possible use in podcasts or multimedia project sound clips; who are regular users of social networks and understand how to leverage them to communicate with and attract new readers, and share some personal information about themselves as well as promote their work; and who are comfortable and willing to put in the time to engage and communicate with their readers or viewers, including participating in reader comment threads accompanying their stories."
Outing suggests: "Journalists clinging to notions of narrow job descriptions and who still hold dear many of the old ways of doing things for print are unlikely to be among those offered jobs in the downsized digital newsroom. To win one of these jobs, extreme flexibility and the love of learning and a challenge will be qualities that hiring managers will seek.
"I suspect that may make this digital newsroom younger than today's print newsrooms, yet I know plenty of older journalists who revel in the media transformation and 24/7 nature of today's news, and young journalists just out of college who still think conservatively. So don't count out seeing some gray hair in the digital newsroom, though not as much."
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Mississippi paper apologises to readers for ignoring segregation and civil rights issues
A newspaper in Mississippi has on the eve of the inauguration of Barack Obama run a remarkable apology to its readers for ignoring segregation in the southern states of America and failing to fully report the struggle for civil rights, Editor & Publisher magazine reports.
The Meridian Star apologised in a leader column which concludes: "There was a time when this newspaper – and many others across the south -- acted with gross neglect by largely ignoring the unfairness of segregated schools, buses, restaurants, washrooms, theaters and other public places.
"We did it through omission, by not recording for our readers many of the most important civil rights activities that happened in our midst, including protests and sit-ins. That was wrong. We should have loudly protested segregation and the efforts to block voter registration of black East Mississippians.
"Current management understands while we can't go back and undo some past wrongs, we can offer our sincere apology -- and promise never again to neglect our responsibility to inform you, our readers, about the human rights and dignity every individual is entitled to in America -- no matter their religion, their ethnic background or the color of their skin."
The Meridian Star apologised in a leader column which concludes: "There was a time when this newspaper – and many others across the south -- acted with gross neglect by largely ignoring the unfairness of segregated schools, buses, restaurants, washrooms, theaters and other public places.
"We did it through omission, by not recording for our readers many of the most important civil rights activities that happened in our midst, including protests and sit-ins. That was wrong. We should have loudly protested segregation and the efforts to block voter registration of black East Mississippians.
"Current management understands while we can't go back and undo some past wrongs, we can offer our sincere apology -- and promise never again to neglect our responsibility to inform you, our readers, about the human rights and dignity every individual is entitled to in America -- no matter their religion, their ethnic background or the color of their skin."
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Get the boss to retire: How newspapers can survive the internet and make money
Editor & Publisher columnist Steve Outing believes newspapers can make money online if they make radical changes and embrace the digital age.
But he warns in his latest column: "The local newspaper is no longer a monopoly in town. It's no longer feasible to behave as though that's still the case. By becoming a community-wide information and advertising service, you can get back on the path of increasing revenues."
Among his advice is to "put digital first" and constantly develop new digital content and services that can attract new advertising, as well as creating new digital initiatives that will attract younger readers.
His blueprint for success includes:
Consolidate print and online editing functions.
Don't bother chasing young readers for the print edition and concentrate on the age range of core readership.
Try and guide older readers to "a life online".
Reduce the number of print editions, because putting out the newspaper is "a distraction" from developing digital services.
Broaden the definition of online 'news' to include micro-personal content.
Hire an executive with special responsibility for social media, to reach out to the social networks, like Facebook and Twitter, and integrate them with the newspaper's digital initiatives.
He also has this bit of advice for newspaper chief executives : "Consider retirement....Hand the reins over to a true innovator, if that's what it takes to save the organization."
But he warns in his latest column: "The local newspaper is no longer a monopoly in town. It's no longer feasible to behave as though that's still the case. By becoming a community-wide information and advertising service, you can get back on the path of increasing revenues."
Among his advice is to "put digital first" and constantly develop new digital content and services that can attract new advertising, as well as creating new digital initiatives that will attract younger readers.
His blueprint for success includes:
Consolidate print and online editing functions.
Don't bother chasing young readers for the print edition and concentrate on the age range of core readership.
Try and guide older readers to "a life online".
Reduce the number of print editions, because putting out the newspaper is "a distraction" from developing digital services.
Broaden the definition of online 'news' to include micro-personal content.
Hire an executive with special responsibility for social media, to reach out to the social networks, like Facebook and Twitter, and integrate them with the newspaper's digital initiatives.
He also has this bit of advice for newspaper chief executives : "Consider retirement....Hand the reins over to a true innovator, if that's what it takes to save the organization."
Friday, January 2, 2009
US papers share content in economic downturn
The Editor & Publisher reports that in the US More Newspapers Sharing Content as a result of the economic downturn and the press is "redefining what it means to compete".
Among editorial content that is being shared by erstwhile rivals are pictures and concert reviews and some papers are involved in joint distribution deals.
Tony Pederson, a former Houston Chronicle executive editor, is quoted as saying: "The sharing has intensified as newspapers stepped up job reductions and slashed travel budgets, and such arrangements are more palatable than closing news bureaus or dropping some coverage area altogether."
Among editorial content that is being shared by erstwhile rivals are pictures and concert reviews and some papers are involved in joint distribution deals.
Tony Pederson, a former Houston Chronicle executive editor, is quoted as saying: "The sharing has intensified as newspapers stepped up job reductions and slashed travel budgets, and such arrangements are more palatable than closing news bureaus or dropping some coverage area altogether."
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Online community sites: could they be the future for local journalism?
In the US, Editor & Publisher reports that the Knight Foundation is making a $390,000 grant to four online community news sites allowing for more staff and the expansion of coverage.
The four sites are the MinnPost, Voice of San Diego, Chi-town Daily News, and the St. Louis Beacon."As the news industry cuts costs by reducing staff -- including local reporters -- citizens are receiving less of the news they need to lead informed lives and hold their governments accountable," Gary Kebbel, the Knight Foundation's journalism program director, said in a statement to the E&P, which very much mirrors what's happening here in the U.K.
Kebbel added: "These young online-only sites help fill the void and offer the information needed to make decisions." The investment is part of the foundation's efforts to find new models for delivering news and information. So far, the Knight Foundation has made $100 million in grants.
If only there was such philanthropy around in the UK to invest in local journalism. Rowntree Trust, perhaps?
The four sites are the MinnPost, Voice of San Diego, Chi-town Daily News, and the St. Louis Beacon."As the news industry cuts costs by reducing staff -- including local reporters -- citizens are receiving less of the news they need to lead informed lives and hold their governments accountable," Gary Kebbel, the Knight Foundation's journalism program director, said in a statement to the E&P, which very much mirrors what's happening here in the U.K.
Kebbel added: "These young online-only sites help fill the void and offer the information needed to make decisions." The investment is part of the foundation's efforts to find new models for delivering news and information. So far, the Knight Foundation has made $100 million in grants.
If only there was such philanthropy around in the UK to invest in local journalism. Rowntree Trust, perhaps?
Friday, December 5, 2008
And you think it's bad here..
In the US, job cuts imposed by Gannett, which owns Newsquest in the UK, will end up eliminating around 2,000 posts across all of the company's 85 daily papers, except the Detroit Free Press and USA Today, according to Editor and Publisher magazine. The cutbacks, which will affect about 10 per cent of jobs in the company's Community Publishing Division, were announced in late October.
Also in the US, MediaWeek reports: "Newspaper and newspaper groups are likely to default on their debt and go out of business next year -- leaving 'several cities' with no daily newspaper at all." The prediction is made by credit ratings company Fitch Ratings which says in a report :"Fitch believes more newspapers and newspaper groups will default, be shut down and be liquidated in 2009 and several cities could go without a daily print newspaper by 2010."
Also in the US, MediaWeek reports: "Newspaper and newspaper groups are likely to default on their debt and go out of business next year -- leaving 'several cities' with no daily newspaper at all." The prediction is made by credit ratings company Fitch Ratings which says in a report :"Fitch believes more newspapers and newspaper groups will default, be shut down and be liquidated in 2009 and several cities could go without a daily print newspaper by 2010."
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