Weekly new and digital media story 1

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/stephen-foster-futures-online-rupert-murdoch-shows-print-isnt-dead-times-newspapers-turn-1478643

Stephen Foster: The future's online but Rupert Murdoch shows print isn't dead as Times Newspapers turn a profit

Foster comments on the recent profits made by Rupert Murdoch through the Times newspaper and his use of the paywall, as mentioned in a previous news post.

The article states Foster's beliefs as to why newspapers still use the print format despite online content clearly looking like the future of newspapers.

He states that the first reason is the sense of prestige and tradition that comes with the print format.

The second reason is due to money, as hundreds of journalists at newspapers such as the Guardian would be made redundant.

He also states that newspapers are still the popular format with the older generations.

Weekly new and digital media story 2

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/dec/01/gadget-obsessed-uk-top-digital-advertising-spend

UK set to be first country in which more than half of ad spend goes digital

More than 50% of £15.7bn advertiser spend will go on digital and online media in 2015 beating print, cinema, buses, billboards, TV and radio combined

The UK is predicted to become the first country in the world where more than half of all advertising spend goes to digital media – thanks to a national obsession with gadgets, social media and online shopping.

Group M, the worldwide media buying arm of the market services company WPP, has forecast that the total UK ad market will hit £15.7bn in 2015. Within this online spend is forecast to grow 12.7% year-on-year to break the £8bn mark, making the UK the first in which more than £1 in every £2 of ad spend will go on digital media.

Next year more money will be spent on internet advertising than in traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, TV, cinema, radio, and billboards, posters and buses combined.

According to Group M paid search advertising will grow to £4.2bn, with about 29% of that on mobile devices, most of which is hoovered up by Google, which has more than 90% share of the UK market.

The fastest-growing part of the internet market is display advertising, which is forecast to surge 20% next year to £2.7bn, with 39% of that mobile display advertising.

The next closest countries likely to reach the milestone are Sweden (47% of total ad spend will be digital), Denmark (43%), Australia (42%) and Norway (40%).

• Group M is forecasting that more than £160m in print advertising will be lost from the UK newspaper market next year.

• National newspaper advertising is predicted to decline 8.3% to £908m next year, and £80m year-on-year fall.

• Regional newspapers are expected to see a 9.1% fall in print ad revenues to £820m, a fall of £82m year-on-year.

In my opinion this highlights the massive impact new and digital media is having on society and advertisers realise that online is now the best place to advertise their products.

This links to the issue of newspaper funding and constant losses, as advertisers no longer see newspapers as a major form of media in which they can advertise their rpoducts due to the decline of print media, causing newspapers to make constant losses and proven by the fact that broadsheets are predicted to lose 160m in print advertising due to advertisers faouring the internet. 

I think that this is further evidence that the only way newspapers can hope to survive is to move online and possibly scrap the print format entirely as it is not economically viable, and the only way they can gain income from advertising is if they move online, which would result in more ads, in addition to possibly adding a paywall like some institutions have done such as The Times.

Weekly new and digital media story 1

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/be412f12-7a1d-11e4-8958-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3KoONdJcS

Times newspaper turns first operating profit since 2001

Rupert Murdoch’s Times newspaper titles have reported their first operating profit in 13 years, bringing an end to a stretch of losses that totalled nearly £400m.

Times Newspapers, publisher of The Times and the Sunday Times, made an operating profit of £1.7m in the year ending June 2014. That compares with an operating loss of £5.9m last year.

Chris Duncan, chief marketing officer of parent company News UK, said the figures vindicated its strategy of charging for online content. But he added that the financial performance was still insufficient for the newspapers’ journalism to be sustainable.

Newspapers across Europe are struggling to maintain profitability, as they compete for readers’ time and advertisers’ budgets online. Among UK broadsheets, the Times, the Guardian and the Independent titles have all reported operating losses in recent years, while the Daily Telegraph has consistently made an operating profit.

• The Times’ total paid sales rose 3 per cent year-on-year to 545,000 in October, including digital subscriptions which increased 8 per cent to 152,000.

• The Sunday Times, which is more reliant on news-stand sales than the Times, saw a 2 per cent fall in sales over the same period. Total paid sales were 958,000 in October, with digital subscribers increasing 12 per cent to 154,000.

• The Times and The Sunday Times have both prioritised their own tablet apps, rather than relying on readers finding articles via search engines or social media.

In my opinion I think the profits made by the Times from subscriptions and by utilising new media by focusing on their tablet apps highlights the direction that newspapers and journalism is going in and that this is one of the first signs of many changes to come within the news industry. 

I think that these profits made by the times, even if they are not substantial, still prove that major newspaper institutions can survive under the pay wall, subscription format despite the free content offered by the BBC with the Times likely to have these profits increase annually. Therefore I think that other institutions that are constantly making losses are eventually going to take a similar approach to survive, and the fact that the Times is benefiting from this switch to the pay wall will encourage others who will have been apprehensive.

Although, aside from the Times and other major news institutions, I do think that the switch to pay walls will eventually lead to the end of many local newspapers, as they too will be unable to run without one eventually and people are unlikely to pay a subscription fee for a local newspapers, only the major institutions will benefit from it.  

Marxism & Pluralism - To What Extent.. (essay)

Developments in new/digital media mean that audiences can now have access to a greater variety of views and values.  To what extent are audiences empowered by these developments?

In my opinion audiences are not empowered by the developments of new and digital media and instead the media has provided a convenient platform for the elite to control the masses.

A pluralist view however would argue that the internet and new media has empowered us, providing a platform for anyone, irrelevant of race or social standing, can express their views online and therefore empowering us by giving everyone a voice. This is highlighted by the emergence of social media sites such as Facebook, twitter and blogger in which people can express any views or information they wish to share. The recent dapper laughs incident in which the internet star had his show taken off the air on ITV2 due to sexist and offensive remarks proves this, as it was an online petition and social media outrage that heavily influenced the decision to pull the show.

However I believe in the marxist and hegemonic view that this idea of empowerment online through free speech is false, as it is the elite, major institutions who hold the opinions that are actually recognised and viewed by people. New media may enable people to express their views on various issues, but how many people are going to view, and be influenced by a view expressed by someone's blog, as opposed to one expressed on a major institution such as The Guardian or the BBC. Therefore most opinions online are insignificant and have almost no affect on the majority of people, instead it is only the elite who have their voices heard and influence people. An example of this is the BBC's coverage of the Scottish referendum. The BBC, supposedly an impartial organisation, was heavily criticised for its coverage which heavily sided against independence. This highlights the power of major institutions and their influence on people, as being such a large institution the bias coverage surely would have influenced people to be anti independence, as opposed to a tweet or blog of someone pro independence, who's views will have barely influenced anyone. Also it can be argued that any blog or social network message can be easily removed and deleted by the major institution the message was posted on, without the publishers knowledge or consent highlighting the hegemonic structure in place online.

 Another pluralistic argument of new media empowerment would be that the internet provides us with an array of information almost instantly, with websites such as Wikipedia allowing us to be enriched my information on virtually every subject online.

However much of the information available online is false, with websites such as Wikipedia negatively impacting younger students by not only providing them with false information, but introducing a culture of plaguarism in which online material can be easily copied and handed in as someone else's work. A marxist would argue this is a ploy by the elite to keep the masses on a lower level than themselves, limiting their intelligence by creating this culture of plagiarism and as a result solidifying their status at the top.  

Weekly new and digital media 2

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/nov/12/local-papers-cautious-bbc-free-content

Local papers cautious as BBC courts them with free content

Offer from head of news comes in wake of home secretary’s criticism that corporation is ‘destroying’ local journalism

James Harding, the BBC’s director of news and current affairs, has looked to build bridges with beleaguered editors with the offer of free licence fee-funded content and the prospect of the corporation picking up the tab for local court reporting.

His speech at the Society of Editors conference on Tuesday followed the home secretary Theresa May’s accusation that the BBC was “destroying” local papers with the might of its online news operation

Largely through pilots and proposals at this stage, the BBC will look to ease the financial burden on local newspapers by sharing more of its content, as it did with video footage of this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

An early sign of this new partnership came with the BBC’s Price of Football survey last month, about the soaring cost of football tickets was shared in advance with other news organisations and used by more than 100 newspapers and websites.

Just over 100 local and regional titles have closed since the economic downturn in 2008, out of a total free and paid-for market of around 1,300.

Sales have been in long-term decline and were down by an average of 13.5% year on year in the first half of 2014..

In my opinion I feel that even if the BBC did provide local newspapers with content and provide some financial aid it would be inaffective in the long term as it would not change the fact that people are not reading traditional media and the funding from the BBC is certainly not going to be enough to keep newspapers running if it is relying on them. Even if the money went towards better content and journalism,  I feel that people have moved on and it is impossible to revive traditional newspapers. Even with the funds their content could not compete with the BBC's.

Weekly new and digital media story 1

Vine star Dapper Laughs is not laughing any more after ITV turn-off

Controversy over vlogger shows that online popularity is no guarantee that talent will flourish in the mainstream

ITV2 show Dapper Laughs: On the Pull had already attracted criticism – “the same old misogynistic shit for a new generation of teenage boys,”said one reviewer – before footage emerged last week of a stand-up gig in which he said a female audience member was “gagging for a rape”. ITV had previously stood by its man (“comedy is subjective,” it said) but a 60,000-strong online petition and Dapper’s “guide to rape” at the same gig (“go down the shops, get some rope, bit of duct tape, rape the bitch”) was no laughing matter.

• 60,000-strong online petition to get the show off the air

• O’Reilly’s fanbase of nearly 600,000 followers on Vine and 370,000 on Twitter generated a modest TV audience, ending with 262,000 viewers on 3 November.

• Media regulator Ofcom received 37 complaints from viewers that it was degrading to women and is considering whether to launch a formal investigation

• ITV recieved around 29 complaints

I think that this story again highlights the power of new and digital media as it was the online criticism on social networks such as twitter, as well as online petitions to get the show taken down that eventually made it happen. The video footage of his "guide to rape" recorded at one of his live gigs again shows the power of new and digital media as it was recorded citizen journalism that was posted online that was the final straw before ending the show. 

Therefore had it not been for new and digital media the show may not have been taken down as there would not be a place for people to express their anger and offence at the show, and the footage from his gig that got his show off the air would not have been filmed.

Web 2.0: Participation or Hegemony?

1) Research the Ian Tomlinson case. What would the traditional, hegemonic view of the police be in a case like this? How did new and digital media create a different story? What does the police officer's subsequent aquittal suggest about the power of new and digital media?

A traditional hegemonic view on the Ian Tomlinson case would be that the upper, ruling classes are using forces such as the police to oppress the lower classes. By doing this they consolidate their position at the top of the social hierarchy as all that challenge them are put down by forces such as the police and are subsequently too scared to voice their contrasting opinions, proven by the factb that the incident took place at  a G20 protest.

New and digital media played a massive role in the case as it was citizen journalism created by someone filming the incident on his phone that made it a headline news story. Had this video evidence not been submitted then the police officer could have easily made an excuse such as he felt threatened and got a way with it. This highlights the power of new and digital media in that it can now expose us to things that could have previously been covered up and unknown, but thanks to new digital media such as smartphones we can record footage and post it online anywhere.

The police officers acquittal however would follow a hegemonic view as the police officer got away without a prison sentence despite the video evidence against him, suggesting that similar ruling classes in the law helped him out because of their determination to keep the ruling classes ruling.

2) What does the author argue regarding whether hegemony is being challenged by Web 2.0? 

The author argues both points of view in terms of web 2.0's relation to hegemony. One one hand web 2.0 and user generated content such as blogs have freed us from the ruling classes as everyone now has a platform on the internet to share and voice their opinions on whatever they choose. With new media we are also able to expose injustices in society such as with the video footage in the Ian Tomlinson case

However despite this the other argument put forward is that despite the many opinions now available to us, many of them are amateurish on the internet. As well as this when people may point out that new celebrities are formed on the internet such as youtube stars, they are limited to fame within this area. They can only become truly famous once brought to people's attention by traditional media and major ruling institutions. 

3) In your opinion, does new and digital media reinforce dominant hegemonic views or give the audience a platform to challenge them?

In my opinion new and digital media has allowed us to challenge traditional hegemonic views as we are now given the ability to openly voice our opinion to the world without being controlled or scared by the ruling classes for doing so. But if we are abused by a ruling class for sharing our opinions, such as the Ian Tomlinson incident at the G20 protest, new and digital emdia has enabled us to expose this meaning it is almost impossible for the ruling classes to control the masses thanks to new media.

New and Digital Media Story Index

Facebook under fire from drag queens over 'real-name' rule

Minecraft studio Mojang bought by Microsoft for $2.5bn

iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus: 'Record breaking' four million units pre-ordered in 24 hours

Murdoch's Newscorp accuses Google of having "overwhelming power"

Pornhub launches record label 'Pornhub Records'

Does free speech give us the right to anonymously troll strangers?

James Murdoch attacks Google over piracy links

Spain moves to protect domestic media with new 'Google tax'

Online voting should be made mandatory, says Martha Lane Fox

new and digital media story

Online voting should be made mandatory, says Martha Lane Fox

Government’s former digital champion also says teenagers should be given right to erase online past when they reach 18

The government’s former digital champion, Martha Lane Fox, has said online voting should be made mandatory and teenagers given the right to erase their online past when they reach 18.

The lastminute.com founder said new technology should be used to bring young people into the political arena after just under two-thirds of the population voted in the 2010 general election.

“I recoil when I hear the political disenchantment statistics reeled out, no-one votes [and] political disenchantment which is of course true and right. But the young people I meet particularly are incredibly political with a big capital P and just don’t want to engage in the normal channels,” Fox told the Radio Festival in Salford on Monday.

“I would argue immediately that voting should be mandatory and it should be online. Of course we can cover for all the fraud and I don’t think it makes the procedure any less robust, in fact quite the opposite.

I agree that if voting was made able online a lot more people would vote due to the easy accessibility to the internet. However I don't think voting should be made mandatory for teenagers as some teenagers may not feel like they have good enough knowledge of politics to be able to vote and may lead to voting for the sake of it.

Weekly new and digital media story 2

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/nov/12/nuj-calls-for-inquiry-into-future-of-local-newspapers

NUJ calls for inquiry into future of local newspapers

Union raises issue with government amid concern over ability of local press to cover general election

The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) has written to the culture and digital economy minister, Ed Vaizey, calling for an inquiry into the future of local newspapers amid concern over their ability to cover the general election.

In a letter to the minister, Michelle Stanistreet, the NUJ’s general secretary, wrote: “With the general election looming, there is genuine concern that many newspapers no longer have the capacity to provide the coverage necessary in order to inform and enthuse communities about local and national politics and issues of importance in their areas.”

She said: “We need newspapers to ensure democratic scrutiny, accountability and to encourage informed and active citizenship. My concern is that we are in danger of reaching a tipping point where local journalism will not be able to fulfil this role. Reporters say they are too busy to cover council meetings and courts, [which] should be bread and butter functions of any local paper. Major newspapers such as the Liverpool Echo, Manchester Evening News and the Express & Star no longer employ staff lobby correspondents.”

Stanistreet told the meeting that the past week had seen 25 jobs cut at the Oxford Mail, around 8 jobs cut at Newsquest titles in Blackburn, 45 jobs lost following Johnston Press’s merger of the Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and Edinburgh Evening News, and cuts to staff photographers across Johnston Press. These cuts have come after years of steady job losses across the industry.

This article shows how newspapers are becoming concerned with their ability to continue to report news, to an extent that they fear being unable to report the upcoming elections due to a lack of journalists willing to write for newspapers on low pay and people preferring to get their news online.

Weekly new and digital media story 1

http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2014/nov/07/newspapers-not-dying-buzzfeed-new-york-times

Let’s get over the whole 'newspapers are dying' thing

Extract: So let’s get over the whole “newspapers are dying” thing. They’re certainly moving in lots of creative new directions (and eventually they may ascend out of physical world altogether - holograms, maybe?), but they’re definitely not going gently into that good night.

What’s more, all sorts of industries (including mine in particular – software) are looking at subscription-based business models for guidance and inspiration. Why? Because we’re in the midst of a broad shift from a manufacturing economy where companies sell products to strangers in isolated transactions, to a subscription-based economy where companies engage in ongoing relationships with their consumers. And newspapers have been at it this for a very long time.

Overall the article argues that although newspapers may lose their physical form we are coming into a new age where news can make a successful transition into being read through new and digital media and newspapers are certainly not "dying" because of it, in fact more and more people are reading the news and new companies are benefiting as a result. As long as their is quality journalism then quality news will still be provided online and people will continue to read it, newspapers simply need to adapt to the evolutions of news to be able to flourish in it and not be left behind.

new and digital media story

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/oct/31/spain-newspaper-google-tax

Spain moves to protect domestic media with new 'Google tax'

Newspapers in Spain will now be able to demand a monthly fee from the search engine before it can list them on Google News

The Spanish government has successfully passed a new copyright law which imposes fees for online content aggregators such as Google News, in an effort to protect its print media industry.

The new intellectual property law, known popularly as the “Google Tax” or by its initials LPI, requires services which post links and excerpts of news articles to pay a fee to the organisation representing Spanish newspapers, the Association of Editors of Spanish Dailies (known by its Spanish-language abbreviation AEDE). Failure to pay up can lead to a fine of up to €600,000.

News Values

Immediacy:

Social networking sites now allow us to find out the news instantly, this may be as you are following news accounts such as BBC or the people you are following are tweeting about these immediate events and you can then look further into this. So Twitter for e.g. lets you find out news straight away as a tweet gets sent in seconds. This means that people no longer have to wait for a newspaper to be released to find out a breaking story.

Familiarity:

New and Digital media allows us to interact with each other and discuss our views which may as a result leave us more familiar with certain stories and opinions.

Amplitude:

Due to globalisation and the reach the Internet provides we are now more frequently exposed to international events from sources such as twitter etc. and despite the size of the event we will still gain some form of information about it whereas before without new and digital media we would not.

Frequency:

If an even occurs frequently in contrast to a news story that is very rare, it is much less likely to be aired if it happens regularly as it is not new news, and people are more interested in new stories.

Unambiguity:

Articles online and blogs can often expose flaws in news stories. Often many conspiracy theories for example come from online bloggers spreading their views on an incident. If an event is clear it may also be more likely to be aired as it can be properly reported on the news

Predictability:
If an event is predictable then it is much less interesting for viewers and news institutions are likely not going to chose a main news story that everyone is expecting.

Surprise:

New and digital media allows us to instantly become notified of surprise news stories such as unexpected deaths. These surprise stories are also likely to quickly become the number one news story when it is first know due to the breaking nature of it and people like to know breaking news.

Continuity:

If a story has already been covered by the news multiple times, if not a massive story like 9/11 for example, it is not going to be covered regularly as new stories will come out and people will become disinterested if the same story is constantly reported.

Elite nations and people:

If an elite nation like the USA or UK have some kind of minor incident such as a trains crash, it is much more likely to be reported as opposed to if the same event in a smaller less powerful country. An incident or scandal with an A list celebrity or Politician is likely to become news as they are elite people, compared to it probably not even making the news if it is a normal person.

Negativity:

Bad news generally tends to gain more attention in the news that good news as it interests and grabs people's attention more if a negative story is reported. Very rarely do we see charitable actions reported on the news but crime is a regular feature.

Balance: 

A story may be pushed up in importance if it counter balances another story that has already been reported to avoid institutions being accused of bias in certain issues. For example a human survival story may be aired to balance a death story.

Citizen Journalism

1) What is meant by the term ‘citizen journalist’?

Citizen journalism is the gathering, writing, editing, production and distribution of news and information by people not trained as professional journalists.

Citizen journalists are non-professionals who collect, disseminate and analyze news on blogs, wikis and sharing websites using tablets, laptops, cell phones, digital cameras and other mobile and wireless technologies. 

Citizen journalism is the term used to describe people that have used primary content to bring some form of justice or to give their opinion on something. They have obtained the content through themselves, usually in the form of images, videos and written content.

2) What was one of the first examples of news being generated by ‘ordinary people’?

The unknown person that filmed Rodney King getting beaten by police officers. This was user generated content (primary content) that was used to bring justice to him, however as it was filmed by an ordinary person it becomes citizen journalism. 

3) List some of the formats for participation that are now offered by news organisations.

- Photos 

- Twitter 

- Blogs

- Social Media

4) What is one of the main differences between professionally shot footage and that taken 

first-hand (UGC)?

First hand footage is footage from people that are actually there when something is happening so you get to see it in real life with more emotion as you know it is real. With professional they make time to get there and may not be in time for the disaster that has happened for e.g. Another difference is the quality which is obvious but some people may see poor quality as more real as it is first hand and shows they are not being bias and are actually there. 

UGC footage - This footage gives us the first hand look at what is happening, the feeling of a hand held camera, the shaking of the footage and the slightly grainy footage puts the audience in the point of view of the person filming. 

5) What is a gatekeeper?

A gate keeper is someone that filters the content that is shown on TV, they go through content that people have sent in and they see what may be useful and what isn't. Gatekeepers are needed as a lot of the time people send in information that is unnecessary, for example  a BBC spokes person said that a lot of the images sent in were of peoples kittens.  

6)How has the role of a gatekeeper changed?

Due to online and blogs the minority now get to have a say in the news with large audiences accessing it to see what their views are. Not just broadcast news anymore, also internet. 

weekly new digital media story

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/oct/13/james-murdoch-google-piracy

James Murdoch attacks Google over piracy links

Former News Corp chairman says search engines such as Google could do more to remove links to piracy sites

James Murdoch has joined the News Corp attack on whether search engines such as Google are doing enough to remove links to piracy sites.

The youngest son of media boss Rupert echoed comments made by News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson when he wrote to European competition commissioner Joaquín Almunia calling Google a “platform for piracy” sparking a response from the internet giant claiming it “has done more than almost any other company to help tackle online piracy”.

“There’s no question that they can do more. A lot more. Certainly Google’s not right in saying they’re doing more than anyone. That just isn’t true,” he said.

“The problem with Google ... Actually, let’s not personalise this. The problem with search-driven discovery, if the content is there and it’s illegal and you’re just selling clicks as a big ad network, you have every incentive for that illegal programming to be there. That’s fundamentally not really good enough.”

Murdoch supported Thomson’s calls for more support from regulators for the creative and media industries over tackling piracy.

“It’s important for governments to take it very seriously, for regulators to take it very seriously, and for infringers to be taken seriously, and for those who enable infringement to be held accountable,” said Murdoch, 

Personally I don't really see what Murdoch's issue with Google is, other than bitterness at the fact that Google make so much money off of advertisements whereas newscorp and newspaper institutions in general are losing money due to the lack of advertising. 

James Murdoch/Rupert Murdoch Pay wall articles

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jQxGe_uDYgYDkZLo9Rc8FUgC6DAGsFoWt5qF_HVYdgQ/edit
http://www.themediabriefing.com/article/times-digital-subscribers-reach-140-000-as-paywall-project-reaches-maturity

1. As a consumer of news I completely disagree with James Murdoch that the BBC should make users pay for their news as we must pay for it through our TV licence, why should we not be entitled to news that in truth isn't actually free. Also in my opinion the news should be a right for people to know as it is essential for people to be aware of current affairs whether its local or national.

However if I was to look at it from a business point of view or from James Murdoch's point of view I completely understand his opposition to the BBC providing news for free. Whilst the BBC provides free content the newspaper industry and other institutions will continue to decline and lose money as people will refuse to pay for their content, as they can simply get it from the BBC for free.

2. I think that Rupert Murdoch was right to put the Times behind a pay wall as to survive he must be able to generate revenue and the only way to do this is through a pay wall subscription. His move can be seen as fairly successful in that he has gained 140,000 subscriptions, however even this many subscribers is making the Times and Sunday Times barely any profit and it is still continuing to lose money.

Economist article - future of newspapers

http://www.economist.com/node/7830218

The article begins by outline the concern of the newspaper industry's decline. It states that due to the evolution of media and the internet print forms of news are losing much of their advertising and newspapers are ow losing money. The author says that eventually even major institutions may become bankrupt and the print form altogether will get scrapped, quoting a book that estimates 2043 as the year news print dies. As a result newspapers have continuously cut jobs year on year and argues that journalism has suffered as a result.

However he argues that the newspaper decline is not as bad as people may think. He states that major institutions such as the New York Times and Washington Post could afford to increase their prices to make up for lost revenue to the internet due to their large global audience. He also talks about how the new found ability for anyone to express themselves through blogs as an advantage for people and a positive. He also states that in the future non profit organisations may back quality journalists and newspapers to ensure their work is published and does not go bust.

I agree that the decline of print news si a cause for concern and not a reason for panic, because in my opinion, is it really necessary to keep newspapers? Of course it is sad to see such a previously well established and loved form of media be lost but is it not inevitable? I personally don't see how the end of newspapers is a reason for panic, perhaps because I was born in a generation when new media flourished, but a majority of people already don't read newspapers and use new media; tablets, computers, phones, apps, etc; for their news, therefore once the older generations have died, will there even be a market for newspapers any more? I doubt and and I honestly don't think it's going to have much of an effect on society and people stating the decline of newspapers is cause for panic are arguing because of the newspaper forms sentimental value as opposed to its actual effects on society.

weekly new digital media story

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/06/free-speech-anonymously-troll-strangers-mccann-dossier

Does free speech give us the right to anonymously troll strangers?

The article talks about the recent case in which an internet troll Brenda Leyland was exposed as a troll of the McCann family and was recently found dead after suicide. The article questions whether social media gives people too much freedom to express the views due to the provenance of "trolling" online. The article talks about how trolling has now become an almost accepted part of social media in that if you are a social media you will be exposed to trolling. However despite being a majority harmless and in jest, some of it can be extremely threatening and scary for individuals who receive threatening messages and hate speech that can seriously affect the victim.

In my opinion this is one of the issues with new and digital media and social networks in that it can not be strictly regulated and people can say whatever they want, even if it is offensive and this can sometimes have serious effects on the victims. 

'Build The Wall article

http://www.cjr.org/feature/build_the_wall_1.php?page=all

Section 1 of the article gives David Simon's opinion that all newspapers should act cohesively, possibly even merging into one organisation and that they should then all put up pay walls for all of their content so that people do not simply go elsewhere to get their news for free. This may revitalise the print form of news as people can no longer simply gain news for free, and he states that those who do post news for free should be sued for copyright.

Section 2 states that if online subscriptions and paywalls only offered local news there would be no market for it, but if it also included international and world news that could not be accessed elsewhere there will be. He also states that again that all newspapers must do this together and at the same time, as if one does put up a pay wall and another doesn't, the one with the pay wall will suffer massively and the other profit from extra readers due to the free content. He also questions whether this would work, is society willing to pay for something they see as rightly free? However states that the risks are minimal compare to the state of current print news. He states that this idea would not fail as the internet has given the news a larger audience that ever before with more people now reading the news online due to its availability online, if there was a paywall those who want the news can buy it online the same way they would a newspaper.

He then goes on to compare the situation to the evolution of television. Initially the idea of paying for television would have seemed farcical yet now almost everyone pays monthly fees for cable television. He states that the reason for subscription channels and the demand for it is because if you pay more, you get more channels and the newspaper industry should adopt a similar approach. He also states the lack of money gained from free new media news has led to a massive decline in the quality of journalism, compared to the paid journalists who published in print newspapers previously.

Section 3 Simons speaks about how the issue started, in that newspapers initially set up their sites and gave news for free online in the vision that people would read their content online and then want to but the newspaper. He states that newspapers should offer online content cheaper to the cost it would take to have newspapers delivered to their doorstep, and if it can not be delivered then the online price should increase. He states that although newspapers may lose readers, the new format would still be profitable due to the amount of money made through subscriptions.

In section 4 Simons gives the three possible outcomes of his proposed format

1 - It is a success and the newspaper industry begins to improve again with newspapers turning to a paywall, leading to them investing more money into their print format and as a result covering more local and even neighbourhood news.

2- Many regional newspapers go bust leaving a vacuum taken up by new regional online paywall newspapers that generate a healthy income and uses its profit to pay for high quality local journalism

3 - The format fails completely and only the major institutions are able to survive on their subscriptions and all regional journalism and papers go bust due to the lack of audience and subscribers.



In my opinion I agree that if all newspapers did put up a paywall for their news it would slowly revitalise the print format and perhaps increase the standard of journalism. However I agree with Simon's view that this can only work if carried out by all newspapers cohesively, as if one single newspaper does not follow, people will simply look at their content because it is free. If everyone did it people would not have a choice but to pay the subscription fees as news is essential to everyone, so subscriptions are guaranteed. However where I disagree is his view that local journalism will thrive under this format and that people will pay for local newspaper subscriptions. Most people are only going to only subscribe to the major institutions, the Guardian, The Independent, etc. Unless these websites begin to also provide local journalism and stories, which is highly unlikely and almost impossible unless all major news institutions merged into one, local newspapers online will not thrive. Using myself as an example, I would only subscribe to a major institution such as the Guardian for my news and wouldn't bother subscribing to the Ealing Gazette as I wouldn't see it as necessary compare to national and world news, and I think others would be the same. Simon's does also not take into account the varying economic power in different areas and regions, rich areas may be able to afford to pay for a local newspaper subscription, whereas poorer areas not able to afford it and as a result their regional or local online newspaper closing down. Is it fair to have rich areas access to local news but not others? Would this not mean that journalism in rich areas is of far more quality than a journalist writing for a poorer local newspaper? I think their are flaws within the system in that people are likely to only subscribe to major institutions however I do think if carried out cohesively by all newspapers it would certainly help bring back the print media as a popular source of news.


Comments

I understand the frustration, and there is a lot in this piece, but subscription is not the way to go. What the Times and the Post report is not inherently valuable, value is relative and subjective. News is free and a portion of the times is simply news. Journalism - Business, Arts, Books, Movies, Travel, Sports, etc, - is not free, but its value is hard to pinpoint making a site wide subscription fallacious.

Lionel Barber, Editor, FT, indicated at a media even last night that the FT is seeing growing revenue from frequency model pricing, meaning readers get a certain number of articles free and then must begin to pay. This strategy is not as granular as what many people espousing micropayments are pushing for, but its got its head in the right place.

Your argument that for example, The Baltimore Sun push readers online by charging more for the physical newspaper and its delivery, either ignores or misses that strength of the internet - profits from fragmentation. I can go to iTunes and buy a variety of genres of music in the smallest possible form - a song - and get a discount for buying in bulk - an album. Journalism can work in the same way. I can buy one technology article or I can buy the whole section for the day or the week at a discount.

Now is not the time for ultimatums and traditional thinking. There is a solution that makes people pay, we both agree that needs to happen. Let's do it in a way that will make people really love and appreciate journalism again instead of bullying them into subscriptions and turning off a new generation of Americans to the pleasure of reading the Times Sunday Arts section.

This comment agrees with the idea that newspapers need to set up paywalls however states that the way in which newspapers should make users pay should be a way in which they are not forced to subscribe, an example being where they can read a number of articles before having to pay.


Most of the folks writing about the paywall issue are assuming that because only 5-10 percent of the current online readership will sign up for web content, it will be a failure. Actually, the folks behind the paywall effort don't care if anyone signs up for online content. The entire point is to push people into print subscriptions. It could be that some newspapers or groups won't even offer an online-only option. It will just be a free giveaway with print.

This comment neither agrees or disagrees with the pay wall but thinks that it is simply a strategy used by newspapers to push people towards the print format.

If news were not free, there would be enough people willing to pay for it to cover the cost of producing it. But suppose the New York Times suddenly started charging for online access; althought it is a great newspaper, I probably wouldn't pay for it. There are just too many free alternatives that are almost as good. Even if (for example) no other online news source were as good as the Times, the remaining news sources will collectively fill the gap. 

This person is against the paywall as he claims that he and most people will not pay for he news and therefore the paywall will fail.

Weekly new digital media story

Pornhub launches record label 'Pornhub Records'

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/pornhub-launches-record-label-pornhub-records-9754692.html

Pornhub has smoved into the music industry, announcing its own record label and beginning the search for an official "anthem", seeking acts aimed at an adult audience.

"We've always seen a strong music presence from the beginning of Pornhub," head of PR and marketing Matt Blake told Billboard. "Artists upload their own stuff, like uncensored tracks and R-rated versions of songs. Some people come in and upload exclusive videos, so it creates a buzz for them."

The site has already been used by artists to release music, as popular American rapper Coolio returned after a long absence by releasing his song's "take it to the hub" video through the site. As well as established artists the site is now also clearly looking to find and promote their own talent.

In my opinion this news story clearly highlights the power of new and digital media, as a site like pornhub has gained the power through the internet to now be able to launch a record label and move into a new aspect of the media in the music industry. Without new and digital media not only would pornhub not exist, but it would have no where near the capacity to launch a record label, something only the internet has made possible.

News institution providers

News Corporation or News Corp. was an American multinational mass media corporation headquartered in New York City. It was the world's second-largest media group as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009.

Newspapers they own: 

• The Sun
• The Times
• Sunday Times
• Press Association
• News Corp Australia and several international companies.

BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online news coverage.
The department's annual budget is £350 million; it has 3,500 staff, 2,000 of whom are journalists.








The Guardian, formerly (1821–1959) The Manchester Guardian,  influential daily newspaper published in London, generally considered one of the United Kingdom’s leading newspapers.

The paper was founded in Manchester in 1821 as the weekly Manchester Guardian but became a daily after the British government lifted its Stamp Tax on newspapers in 1855. “Manchester” was dropped from the name in 1959 to reflect the newspaper’s standing as a national daily with a positive international reputation, and its editor and editorial staff moved to London in 1964.

The paper is owned by the Scott Trust, which also owns the Guardian Media Group.

The Guardian have made losses in recent years. The National Newspaper division of GMG, which also includes The Observer, reported operating losses of £49.9m in 2006, up from £18.6m in 2005

The paper's readership is generally on the mainstream left of British political opinion























 

Weekly digital media story

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/digital-media/11103767/Murdoch-renews-hostilities-with-Google-over-contempt-for-copyright.html

Murdoch's Newscorp accuses Google of having "overwhelming power"

Rupert Murdoch has intervened in a European row over the power of Google, with News Corp accusing the search engine of being "contemptuous of intellectual property" and having "cynical management" that provides "a platform for piracy and the spread of malicious networks".

In a letter to Joaquin Almunia, the European Commissioner at the head of a long-running investigation of allegations that Google abuses its dominance of the web search market to crush competition and exploit publishers, Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corp launched a scathing attack.

He said: "There is no doubt that the case is one of profound significance for many media companies in Europe but also for the people of Europe, whose ability to access information, independently and meaningfully, is put at risk by the overwhelming power of Google.

"The company has evolved from a wonderfully feisty, creative Silicon Valley startup to a vast, powerful, often unaccountable bureaucracy, which is sometimes contemptuous of intellectual property and routinely configures its search results in a manner that is far from objective.

"The shining vision of Google’s founders has been replaced by a cynical management, which offers advertisers impressively precise data about users and content usage, but has been a platform for piracy and the spread of malicious networks, all while driving more traffic and online advertising dollars to Google."

In my opinion I don't think Google can be accused of having too much power considering Newscorp publishes the Wall Street Journal, The Times and The Sun. I think Murdoch is instead angered and jealous of the power Google now has as a result of new and digital media, power he used to hold when print was the dominant media. Google are simply running their business by adapting and selling advertisements to users, we cannot criticise a company for trying to make money, which is inevitably their aim, as it is every other company's, including newscorp; Google have simply exploited a money making strategy that is not available or as fruitful to newscorp, which it not Google's fault.