MEDIABLAB DAILY DIGEST MAY 15: XINHUA EARTHQUAKE COVERAGE GETS WESTERN OKAY; THAI APRIL AD SPEND UP
May 15th 2008 04:14
IS THE US AND WESTERN MEDIA PART TO BLAME FOR THE MESS IN MYANMAR?
MediaBlab has been blabbing over the last few days that western media has played a role in exacerbating the mess in Myanmar following the cyclone devastation.
This is not in any way to suggest sympathy for the pariah nation’s mad military, but MediaBlab, having lived and worked in Yangon, understands that politicising the news broadcast of the cyclone’s devastation from the very start simply pushed the junta to further withdraw behind its bamboo curtain and pull the shutters down.
Contrast the coverage of the Myanmar cyclone from the outset with coverage of the Chinese earthquake – no major media referred to recent Tibetan Olympic torch demonstrations, or human rights abuses allegations during the coverage, yet from day one the coverage of Myanmar was cluttered with references to the September Saffron uprising and its brutal suppression from day one.
Perhaps the most insightful comment of late, was published in yesterday’s Straits Times which said:
Any hopes of a 'disaster diplomacy' breakthrough in the antagonistic US-Burma relationship may have been banished in a few short minutes on May 5, when US First Lady Laura Bush lashed out at Burma's "inept" generals for failing to adequately warn people in the Irrawaddy delta region of the approaching Cyclone Nargis.
The timing of Bush's remark was unfortunate. It could well be that the shattered communities of the Irrawaddy delta are paying the price.
"Disaster diplomacy" is a term coined by the media after the Bam earthquake in Iran in 2003, which killed close to 30,000 people. Iran, which had an antagonistic relationship with the US, opened its doors to American aid and disaster relief experts. The US in turn relaxed some economic sanctions to allow its agencies to take part in the relief effort. The move thawed relations somewhat – at least for a while.
A few days after Bush made her remarks last week, Democrat Senator John Kerry said: "It is not clear how criticising the military junta right now helps convince them to allow urgently needed assistance for the Burmese people." Joel Charny, vice-president for policy at Refugees International, a Washington-based advocacy group, was quoted as saying in the Los Angeles Times: "For humanitarian purpose, you have to put politics aside and say unequivocally that we want to help."
A prominent red sign near the University Avenue bungalow of Suu Kyi, who has spent 12 of the last 18 years under detention, reads: "Crush the foreign oppressors and oppose those holding negative views."
The sign itself lies crushed today, having been destroyed by the winds swirling around Cyclone Nargis' slow-moving eye as it passed over Rangoon. But the sentiment it expresses remains alive, and provides a clue to the regime's suspicion of foreigners.
Notes Burma's historian Thant Myint U, "A key reason for the government's suspicion is a long history of foreign intervention, including armed intervention in the country, not just during the colonial period but even much more recently in Burmese history, where China, the US and other countries have backed insurgencies.
"Over the last few years they have become increasingly suspicious of humanitarian aid, especially since a lot of opposition groups, especially outside the country, have used the idea of humanitarian crises in the country to raise the issue of Burma before the UN Security Council and push for some kind of intervention. Whether or not this changes will depend at least in part on how good the diplomacy is in trying to allay those suspicions."
XINHUA WILL BE HAPPY – THE WALL STREET JOURNAL MOSTLY APPROVES OF ITS EARTHQUAKE COVERAGE
The Wall Street Journal reports that China's state-run Xinhua news agency, the government's premier propaganda organ, has” proved surprisingly aggressive at covering the earthquake in Sichuan province.
The WSJ said, “Better known for its steady stream of official policy proclamations than for reporting fast-breaking, potentially sensitive news, Xinhua banged out hundreds of minute-by-minute updates in the day following the earthquake, and several candid assessments of the carnage from reporters on the ground.
“The news service is still an arm of the Communist Party and actively works to help the leadership control public opinion. But given the explosion of communication via the Internet and mobile phones, which has allowed millions of Chinese to access competing accounts of events for themselves, the Beijing-based news service has increasingly come under pressure to blanket news events with coverage itself.
The WSJ said that Chinese web portals, too, have been working aggressively to compile relatively distinctive reports from various official sources, including Xinhua and state television and radio outlets.
Just last August, the government approved a law restricting news outlets in covering natural disasters. The law says that "units and individuals are prohibited from fabricating or spreading false information regarding emergencies and government efforts to cope with emergencies," according to a Xinhua report at the time.
Though the law was aimed more at relative muckrakers, Xinhua was affected too. Yet since the earthquake, it has filed more than 200 reports and updates.
On Tuesday morning, the news service filed a report focusing on the plea of a local official for help. "We are in urgent need of tents, food, medicine and satellite communications equipment through air drop. We also need medical workers to save the injured people here," Wang Bin, a Communist Party official in Sichuan, told Xinhua.
Another Xinhua report Tuesday quoted He Biao, a Sichuan official, as saying, "I am so worried. So worried."
Xinhua also has repeatedly updated the death toll, which has risen quickly to more than 12,000.
An editor of a newspaper in Chengdu said local propaganda officials instructed his staff not to visit the areas affected by the earthquake given safety hazards and extreme weather, including heavy rain.
And of course the Journal doesn’t give Xinhua a totally clean bill of health for its earthquake coverage, saying the verdict isn't clear when it comes to Xinhua's performance in covering the disaster.
And it raised questions about the possibility of deeper deeper questions about possible early warnings, a la the early Myanmar cyclone coverage.
HONG KONG’S TELEVISION BROADCAST LTD SHARES SUSPENDED – SPECULATION ARISES OVER MERGER TALKS
Marketing magazine reports that shares in Television Broadcast Ltd (TVB) have been suspended with two mainland companies said to be in merger talks with the broadcast group.
A statement on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange said shares of Television Broadcasts Ltd were suspended yesterday pending an announcement that is "price sensitive in nature".
Marketing Magazine claims that media reports say buyers have emerged for stakes in the listed free-to-air broadcasting firm which is majority owned by executive chairman Sir Run Run Shaw.
The HKEX statement did not say when shares would again begin trading.
IRRAWADDY JOURNAL USES THE MYANMAR CYCLONE DISASTER TO RAISE FUNDS – FOR ITSELF
The Chiang Mai Thailand-based part-US funded Myanmar media activist organisation, The Irrawaddy, is using its popularity surge over its Myanmar cyclone coverage to canvas readers for more funds.
The Irrawaddy said, “Our web site has taken 30 million hits from May 1 to May 12. On May 9, six days after the cyclone hit and one day before the referendum, we received 4.7 million hits on that day alone.
“During the Saffron Revolution in September, our Web site received 39 million hits for the month. This time, we are expecting even more visitors than in September—such is the worldwide interest in Burma and the confidence that Burma watchers, media, NGOs, governments and the general public have in The Irrawaddy.
“The Irrawaddy’s news, critical analysis, editors’ comments and interviews on the current political and humanitarian crises have been published in publications such as Time, Newsweek, New York Times and The Guardian and broadcast on BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera. We don’t wish to pat ourselves on the back too much; suffice to say we are proud of being a leading publication and Web site covering Burma.
“Over the past week, we have sent letters of appeal to readers requesting subscriptions for our monthly magazine and donations to our publication. As you all know, The Irrawaddy is a non-profit publication dependent on annual grants and donations from foundations and organizations.”
UPHEAVAL AT THAILAND’S MCOT BROADCASTER AS FIVE PREVIOUSLY OPPOSED NEW BOARD MEMBERS ARE APPOINTED
Thailand’s listed state-run broadcaster MCOT Plc board has appointed five new board members who have all been opposed by small share holders.
The list had already been turned down twice in April.
The Bangkok Post reported that the decision on Tuesday disgusted one of the directors, Ms Wilasinee Adulyanon and prompted her to resign, claiming she would be uncomfortable in continuing duties on the board.
The five new board members were proposed by major shareholder, the Finance ministry.
The five new board members are Pramote Chokesirikulchai, Prasan Wangrattnapranee, Narunart Prapanya, Tongthong Chandransu, and Charupong Ruangsuwan whose son is the executive secretary to Prime Minister’s Office Minister Jakrapob Penkair.
Mr Pramote’s place on the board is opposed because he was a director of BEC World, the operator of Channel 3 television, which was awarded a concession by MCOT.
MURDOCH’S NEWS MAGAZINES IN AUSTRALIA APPOINTS NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE
News Corp’s Australian division, News Ltd, has promoted Sandra Hook, formerly chief operating officer for its News Magazines arm, to chief executive of the division.
This follows former ceo Tony Kendall's appointment as national sales director for News Ltd.
Ms Hook was group publishing director at FPC magazines before News Ltd acquired the business for a reported A$170 million in 2006.
She has a long background in print and broadcast lifestyle media and was general manager of pay-TV television channels Lifestyle Channel and Lifestyle Food before joining FPC.
She is a former marketing director at Murdoch Magazines and held senior marketing roles at Fairfax Magazines and ACP.
The division's 30-odd titles include Vogue, Alpha, Good Taste and Notebook.
The company was rumoured in February to be considering new launches such as a local edition of fashion magazine Glamour.
The Australian newspaper reports that the magazine industry in Australia has become increasingly consolidated with market leader ACP Magazines absorbing rivals such as Time Inc and Emap.
ACP Magazines is also planning new launches, including an Australian edition of fashion weekly Grazia, and local versions of BBC UK titles such as motoring magazine Top Gear and Good Food.
SPAIN DROPS HOMICIDE CHARGES AGAINST US SOLDIERS OVER KILLING OF JOURNALIST IN BAGHDAD IN 2003
Spain's National Court said on Tuesday that it had dropped charges against three US soldiers who opened fire on a Baghdad hotel in 2003, killing a Spanish journalist.
The soldiers had been charged with homicide and a crime against the international community — defined under Spanish law as an indiscriminate or excessive attack against civilians during war time — for the death of TV cameraman Jose Couso, killed when a US tank shell hit the Baghdad hotel where he and other journalists were staying.
A Ukrainian cameraman working for the Reuters news agency, Taras Portsyuk, also died.
Prosecutors argued that the firing of a tank shell was not a crime but an accident of war. The court agreed, citing insufficient evidence and saying, “The intentional element is missing in the action.”
It added that it could not be ruled out that the tank had acted in the belief, wrongly or rightly, that there had been enemy fire and, as such, it was an act of war.
Couso's family was expected to appeal the decision, the private news agency Europa Press said.
LONDON MAYOR AXES MONTHLY NEWSPAPER TO SAVE MONEY TO PLANT TREES
Press gazette reports that London mayor Boris Johnson has axed The Londoner, the monthly newspaper published by the London Mayor's office. The newly-elected Conservative mayor described the move as the first attempt to cut ‘unnecessary funding’ of the Mayor’s Office's publicity budget.
Johnson's office claims the Mayor's Office would normally have spent 2.9 British pounds (A$6 million) on the newspaper this year.
The new administration pledged to use some of the money saved –
about 1 million British pounds – to plant 10,000 trees in London's most deprived areas by 2012.
Johnson announced the closure of the newspaper, distributed to three million homes across Greater London, at a tree-planting scheme in Brixton.
THAILAND AD SPEND FOR APRIL UP 4.02 PERCENT: TV, NEWSPAPERS UP; MAGAZINES WAY DOWN
The Bangkok Post reports that Thailand’s total ad spend in April rose 4.02 percent year-on-year to 7.6 billion baht (A$250.5 million.)
TV accounted for the biggest share at 4.51 billion baht, up 3.58 percent, according to Neilsen Media Research (Thailand.)
Newspaper spending rose 5.5 percent to 1.2 billion baht, but magazine spend declined 13.24 percent to 426 million baht.
From January to April TV spend fell 4.8 percent, newspaper spend rose 2.09 percent and radio spend increased 10 percent to 2.1 billion baht.
BLOOMBERG TIPPED TO EXPAND ITS JOURNALISM SERVICES AFTER HIRING FORMER TIME AND WSJ EDITOR
Bloomberg has hired Norman Pearlstine, former top editor of Time In. and The Wall Street Journal, in the new position of chief content officer.
Founded by New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Bloomberg L.P.'s primary business is selling data terminals. Of the company's 2007 revenue of US$5.4 billion, 87 percent came from selling financial data, according to Inside Market Data, a trade publication.
"They're not fundamentally a journalistic organisation," said Paul Steiger, who previously served as managing editor of The Journal, where he was a colleague of Pearlstine. "It's about the machine. The journalism promotes the machine."
But as data terminal sales have leveled with the slowing economy, Bloomberg seems poised to expand its media ventures. Steiger predicts that Pearlstine would "harness" the journalistic talent already available at Bloomberg.
The company's editorial staff has nearly doubled since 2001, from 1,200 employees to 2,300.
Bloomberg TV recently updated its look to appeal to a bigger audience, and Bloomberg Markets was honored this year for the first time as a finalist for the National Magazine Award, for its coverage of the sub prime mortgage crisis.
GOVERNMENT DRIVE TO INCREASE RADIO AIRPLAY OF LOCAL CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
The Australian Music Radio Airplay Project will receive A$2.4 million over the next four years in the 2008–09 Federal Budget, the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, announced.
The project is a community radio initiative that works with musicians, community broadcasters and the recording industry to increase radio airplay of contemporary Australian music.
Through this initiative, contemporary Australian music will be broadcast by the community broadcasting sector to more than four million listeners who listen each week.
The Australian Music Radio Airplay Project provides regular and genre specific distribution of new Australian music to Australia’s community radio stations. It also produces and distributes radio content which promotes Australian music and is developing an online resource for community broadcasters, musicians, industry bodies and audiences to learn about emerging artists.
“It has also been extremely successful promoting music from rural, regional and remote communities, particularly indigenous music. It enables a diverse range of music to be distributed across the country,” Senator Conroy said.
The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia, which manages the project, has welcomed the announcement of the funding for The Australian Music Radio Airplay Project.
For more information: www.amrap.org
AUSTRALIA’S NEW KIDDIES-FRIENDLY CYBER-SAFETY PROGRAM TO COST $126 MILLION OVER FOUR YEARS
The Australian Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, announced a targeted plan to create a safer online environment for Australian children.
“Although the internet has opened up a world of possibilities and benefits to Australian children, it has also exposed them to continually emerging and evolving dangers that did not previously exist,” Senator Conroy said.
“That is why the Australian government has committed A$125.8 million to a comprehensive range of cyber-safety measures, including law enforcement, filtering and awareness, over the next four years.”
The government’s cyber-safety funding will provide $49 million to law enforcement, ensuring that the Australian Federal Police Child Protection Operations Team can expand its capacity to detect and investigate online child abuse, with 91 additional AFP members dedicated to online child protection by 2011.
The funding will allow the AFP to establish a victim identification and support capacity, to aid in the recovery of child abuse victims nationally and internationally.
This initiative will also provide for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to handle prosecutions and related activities arising from the increased investigations of online predators flowing through from the AFP’s investigations.
Central to the government’s plan to make the internet a safer place for children is the introduction of internet service provider level filtering of material such as child pornography.
The ISP filtering policy is being developed through an informed and considered approach, including a laboratory trial, extensive industry consultation, and close examination of overseas models to assess their suitability for Australia.
“ISPs in a number of European and other countries are already filtering child abuse material. While there may be technical and cost hurdles, the message from other countries is that these can be overcome,” Senator Conroy said.
A real world ‘live’ pilot involving ISPs and their customers will follow an Australian Communications and Media Authority laboratory trial due to be completed in June 2008.
In addition, the government is developing a range of measures to help empower children to be responsible online participants. It will provide parents, teachers, trainee teachers, librarians and children with up-to-date, comprehensive and age-appropriate online cyber-safety resources and assistance.
“Cyber-safety means helping parents and teachers as well as educating children to be good cyber-citizens,” Senator Conroy said.
The government will:
overhaul the existing online safety website, making to make it easier to use and ensure it provides the best available information;
develop a new web site specifically for children;
provide education resources and a dedicated cyber-safety helpline;
expand the terms of reference for the Cyber-Safety Consultative Working Group to include all aspects of cyber-safety;
support further Australian research into the online environment; and
facilitate a Youth Advisory Group to ensure programs remain relevant and on target.
“The Youth Advisory Group will advise the consultative working group on cyber-safety measures from a young person’s perspective. This will ensure young people have a clear voice on cyber-safety concerns and solutions,” Senator Conroy said.
“Ongoing research into the changing digital environment will assist in identifying issues and targeting future policy and funding.”
The former government’s National Filter Scheme which made home-based PC filters available via download or from a CD-Rom will be closed to new users from 31 December 2008, with existing PC filter users to be provided with support from the PC filter companies until 30 June 2010.
“This program had a very limited take-up and only 20 per cent of those who did download the filter continued to use it,” said Senator Conroy.
“Funding will be redirected to support ISPs making available a filtered internet service, or ‘clean feed’, to all homes, schools and public internet points accessible to children.”
DAILY EXCELSIOR PHOTOGRAPHER SHOT DEAD DURING KASHMIRI FIRE FIGHT
Photographer Ashok Sodhi was shot dead on May 11 while covering fierce clashes between security forces and armed militants in Kashmir for the English-language Daily Excelsior, was killed on May 11.
Sodhi, 45, was killed by a bullet to the head while covering a military operation aimed at flushing out armed militants who had taken refuge in the town of Samba, 45 kilometres south of Jammu, in Jammu And Kashmir State.
The Jammu-based photographer was hit while trying to take shots of a house in which fighters were holed up. He reportedly ignored warnings from the security forces as he approached the spot.
His wife told news channel CNN-IBN, "I was always telling him to keep out of the way of exchanges of fire and this kind of clash. However, he would often say that if he had to die in an encounter, he would."
The fighting, which lasted several days was the most ferocious for years, during which armed Islamist groups have been regularly crossing the Indian-Pakistani border.
The conflict in Kashmir has left more than 60,000 dead in 20 years.
ACP CONTINUES TO INCREASE ITS DOMINATION OF THE AUSTRALIAN MAGAZINE MARKET IN READERSHIP TERMS
Australian Consolidated Press, or ACP, has pumped out a barrage of press releases, crowing about its increased domination of the Aussie magazine market in terms of readership.
It said the group’s market share in Australia rose to 46.7 percent, according to the latest Roy Morgan Readership figures.
Highlights include:
ACP Magazines increases market-leading readership share from 44.3 percent to 46.7 percent.
Woman’s Day further extends lead over New Idea.
OK! now Australia’s fastest-growing weekly, up 28.7 percent to a record 408,000 readers.
Zoo Weekly readership increase 15.8 percent, exceeding 500,000 for the first time.
ACP Magazines publishes four of Australia’s top five men’s magazines. ACP Magazines increases share of fashion category from 40.1 percent to 43.5 percent.
Shop Til You Drop hits highest ever readership: 200,000
ACP Magazines publishes the two highest-read titles in Australia – The Australian Women’s Weekly and Woman’s Day – and 19 of the country’s top 30 magazines.
ACP Magazines is number one in mass monthlies, major weeklies, women’s lifestyle and youth.
The Australian Women’s Weekly (2,532,000) is the most-read magazine in Australia, reaching 879,000 more readers than the second-largest monthly title.
Woman’s Day (2,397,000) is the most-read weekly magazine in Australia. It has increased its lead over New Idea and now reaches 431,000 more readers every week.
OK! - a joint venture title in partnership with ACP Magazines and Northern & Shell - is the country’s fastest-growing weekly, up 28.7 percent over the year to an all-time high of 408,000 readers.
Zoo Weekly is now the most-read men’s title, up 71,000 (15.8 percent) to a record 519,000 readers.
Take 5 continues to grow faster than competitor That’s Life and now holds a 44 percent share of the real life category or 869,000 readers. This is the 34th time in a row Take 5 has narrowed the gap.
Mother & Baby recorded its highest readership since March 2004, with a 16.4 percent year-on-year increase to 170,000.
Harper’s Bazaar remains Australia’s fastest-growing fashion title, gaining 10.3 percent over the year to 258,000 readers each issue.
Shop Til You Drop achieved its highest-ever readership, up 9.3 percent over the past 12 months to a milestone 200,000 readers.
Together, Harper’s Bazaar and Shop Til You Drop now comprise 43.5 percent of the fashion category.
ACP Magazines publishes Australia’s top four men’s titles: Zoo (519,000), Wheels (441,000), Street Machine (419,000) and Ralph (373,000).
All three ACP Magazines homemaker titles increased readership POP; Real Living jumped 10.3 percent to 128,000 readers, Belle rose 6.3 percent to 102,000 readers, whilst Australian House & Garden grew 2.2 percent to reach 613,000 readers each issue.
Burke’s Backyard also grew POP readership by 7.7 percent to 478 copies.
Money Magazine is Australia’s most-read personal finance magazine (191,000 readers).
Rugby League Week is the most-read specialist sport title (227,000), 43,000 readers ahead of AFL Record and 109,000 in front of Big League.
ACP Magazines publishes the top four motoring titles: Wheels, Street Machine, Unique Cars and Motor.
APC and PC User are the two most-read computer magazines.
Cosmopolitan (694,000) and Cleo (517,000) are the two highest-reaching magazines in the women’s lifestyle market, including Madison (252,000). ACP Magazines reach 74.4 percent of the gross readership in this category. Cosmopolitan’s readership increased 1.3 percent period-on-period.
Dolly (370,000) continues to own the youth category, increasing its share to 53.7 percent (up 13,000 readers over the year) and lead of Girlfriend.
ZOO WEEKLY BECOMES AUSTRALIA’S MOST-READ BLOKES MAGAZINE
ACP Magazines said its Zoo Weekly now holds the crown as Australia’s most-read men’s title, according to the latest readership and circulation figures.
In the 12 months to March 2008, Zoo Weekly gained 71,000 readers – an impressive rise of 15.8 percent – to reach an all-time high of 519,000 readers each week.
The title has also recorded significant circulation growth, with an 8.5 percent sales increase year on year to 120,000.
MediaBlab does love ACP press releases which so conveniently ignore negative information. For example, Zoo’s circulation dropped by 2000 copies, or 1.6 percent, since the most recent audit, in December 2007.
Phil Scott, Group Publisher Men’s and Specialist Titles, said, “Zoo Weekly is a remarkable magazine – it has hit the right note for its target audience and goes from strength to strength.”
Scott noted that only five other men’s magazines have ever reached the 500,000 milestone in the last 10 years, three of which have been published by ACP Magazines (Street Machine, Wheels and Ralph).
ACP Magazines now publishes four out of the top five men’s titles in Australia. Following top-placed Zoo Weekly, are Wheels (441,000 readers), Street Machine (419,000) and Ralph (373,000).
News Ltd’s Alpha magazine declined in readership by 25.9 percent year-on-year to 286,000 readers. Alpha more than halved its readership since its initial survey of 602,000 in December 2005.
AUSTRALIAN HOME AND GARDENING TITLES RACK UP SOLID READERSHIP FIGURES FOR ACP
ACP Magazines said its four homes and gardening titles – Real Living, Burke’s Backyard, Belle, and Australian House and Garden – have all recorded strong period-on-period readership results and outperformed category growth for the quarter.
Real Living scored the highest POP growth overall in the category with a 10.3 percent rise, Burke’s Backyard rose 7.7 percent, Belle grew 6.3 percent and Australian House and Garden was up 2.2 percent.
“We are particularly proud of Real Living’s year on year (7.6 percent) and period-on-period growth, given its unique position as a youthful and affluent homemaker magazine,” said ACP Magazines Group Publisher, Men’s and Specialist Titles, Phil Scott.
Readership growth comes at a time when ACP Magazines is investing significant resources in its homemaker titles.
Scott said, “The result reflects a confident time for ACP’s Homemaker titles, following significant research investment in a project entitled, ‘How We Live’, exploring how Australians interact with their homes and how to better communicate with them via marketing and media.
“The study is helping many of our media partners connect even more successfully with Australian homemakers.”
ACP CLAIMS THE TITLE OF OFFICIAL HOME TO AUSTRALIAN FASHION PUBLISHING
ACP Magazines claims to have been confirmed as the home of Australian fashion publishing, with Harper’s Bazaar and Shop Til You Drop now holding 43.5 percent of the fashion category (up from 40.1 percent), according to the latest readership figures.
Shop Til You Drop has hit a new readership milestone of 200,000, a rise of 9.3 percent over the past 12 months.
Harper’s Bazaar remains the category’s fastest-growing title, gaining 10.3 percent to reach 258,000 readers each issue.
“Harper’s Bazaar is increasingly a ‘must-read’ for savvy, sophisticated women seeking an intelligent fashion and lifestyle read. We will build on this outstanding growth and continue to deliver our unique proposition to readers and clients,” said Pat Ingram, Group Publisher, Women’s Lifestyle, ACP Magazines.
“Shop Til You Drop remains a stand-out success, continuing to achieve near double-digit readership growth and passing the milestone 200,000 readers in the latest reporting period.”
WHEELS MAGAZINE KEEPS ITS TITLE OF AUSTRALIA’S FAVOURITE MOTORING MAG WITH A SOLID READERSHIP INCREASE
ACP Magazines said it has again proven its leadership in the motoring category, publishing Australia’s top four motoring titles: Wheels (441,000 readers), Street Machine (419,000), Unique Cars (246,000) and Motor (221,000).
Wheels remains the country’s favourite motoring title with an impressive 16.7 percent increase.
“Our diverse portfolio of informative, relevant motoring titles connects with a complex array of car enthusiasts – from the mainstream to the niche –
delivering a highly engaged, targeted readership to advertisers,” said Group Publisher, Men’s and Specialist Titles, ACP Magazines, Phil Scott.
ACP Magazines’ leading position and unmatched expertise in the motoring category is set to continue with the mid-year launch of Top Gear Australia – a joint venture partnership with BBC Magazines.
Top Gear is already the world’s number one motoring media brand, with television audiences in more than 120 countries, and more than 20 international versions of the magazine in 40 territories.
AMERICAN MAGAZINES REPORT ‘OMINOUS” DECLINE IT TOTAL AD PAGES FOR 2008 TO DATE
Media Daily News reports that most big US magazine publishers saw total ad pages decline in the first four months of 2008 compared to the same period last year, according to the most recent Group Publisher's Report from TNS Media Intelligence.
While some losses can be attributed to the closing of various titles since last year, the broad nature of the declines, cutting across a number of categories, looks ominous for the magazine industry.
Media Daily News says, “Among the ‘big three’ publishers, Time Inc is definitely faring the worst, with ad pages down 8.2 percent in the first four months of 2008 to 8,467.
“Conde Nast and Hearst experienced more modest declines. Conde Nast – which publishes Vogue, Vanity Fair, Glamour, GQ, Details and Portfolio – saw ad pages fall 2.9 percent to 11,961.
“Hearst, publisher of Good Housekeeping, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Esquire, saw ad pages slip 0.6 percent to 5,614.
“Hachette Filipacchi Magazines (publisher of Elle, Woman's Day, Home, Car and Driver, and American Photo, among others) fell 7 percent to 4,083. Hachette closed the print version of Premiere, an entertainment news title, in favor of online-only publication in March 2007; the decline in ad pages may reflect this move, at least in part.”
Meredith Corporation, publisher of women's interest titles, including Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies' Home Journal and Family Circle, saw ad pages tumble 13.4 percent to 3,359.
American Express Publishing Corp, which publishes Travel Leisure and Food & Wine, is down 5 percent to 1,280 ad pages.
Wenner Media, publisher of Rolling Stone, Men's Journal and Us Weekly, is down 9.1 percent to 1,186.
PAKISTAN SUPREME COURT RULES THAT THE MEDIA CANNOT PUBLISH NEWS ABOUT JUDGES WITHOUT CONSENT
Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Friday issued a contempt of court notice to Geo television news channel for reporting that a meeting took place between Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah in which two senior judges of the apex court were also present.
"Telecasting/publication of such baseless news which tends to exploit the court and scandalise the judges is utter violation of Article 19 of the Constitution which provides guarantee of freedom of speech and press and may constitute contempt of court," a five-page order of the Supreme Court said.
Dawn reported that, “A show-cause note issued by the court asked the Islamabad bureau chief of the Geo channel, Absar Alam, to appear in person and explain the basis on which the news item was broadcast and what was the source of information.
“Another note asked the editor, publisher and reporter of Daily Jang, which also carried the channel's report, to submit their reply about scandalising the court and its judges.”
Geo TV broadcast the report on Thursday and kept flashing it as 'breaking news' that the interior secretary had conveyed a special message to the chief justice during the meeting in which two senior judges – Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi and Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar – were present.
The newspaper carried the news on Friday and the apex court made it part of its record.
The order, written by Justice Mohammad Nawaz Abbasi, also directed the print and electronic media that in future no television channel or newspaper would publish any news item in respect of the person of a judge in any capacity or publish his photograph in the newspaper or display on TV, without proper verification and permission of the Supreme Court registrar.
The press and the electronic media will also not publish or broadcast any news regarding the orders of the court without the verification of the correctness and contents of the orders from the public relations officer of the apex court.
The interior ministry also issued a statement and declared the news item as incorrect, false and exaggerated aimed at maligning the ministry and judges of the Supreme Court.
"The fact of the matter is that the secretary interior was called by Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokar to the Supreme Court to discuss the matter of Indian prisoners in Pakistani jails, the issue of arrest and detention of inadvertent border crossers and mentally sick foreigners detained under Foreigners Act," the statement said.
OK! CONTINUES TO SET RECORDS AS AUSTRALIA’S FASTEST GROWING WEEKLY MAGAZINE
OK! is still Australia’s fastest-growing weekly title, according to the latest readership and circulation figures.
With 408,000 readers each issue, OK!’s readership has jumped a phenomenal 28.7 percent over the past 12 months, setting a new record high for the title.
The magazine has also recorded a significant circulation increase of 13.4 percent year-on-year, with an additional 16,768 copies sold over the past year.
Andrew Cowell, publisher, said, “In this competitive weekly market, achieving a significant circulation increase of 13.4 percent and a readership increase of 28.7 percent is an outstanding feat – and is testament to both the unswerving quality of the title and the team who produce it.”
Two recent Magazine Publishers of Australia award nominations further cement OK!’s phenomenal success, with Kim Wilson nominated as Editor of the Year and the title short-listed for a General Excellence award.
Over the past 12 months, OK!’s lead over Famous has risen from 25,000 readers each week to 93,000.
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