MEDIABLAB DAILY DIGEST MAR 18: MYSPACE CHINA DEAL; GRAZIA AUSTRALIA; EVO BANGKOK
March 18th 2008 09:29
ENTRIES OPEN FOR AUSTRALIAN COMMERCIAL RADIO AWARDS
Entries are open for this year’s Australian Commercial Radio Awards, which will be held at Conrad Jupiters on the Gold Coast on October 11.
The twentieth annual event has become a highlight of the radio industry’s yearly calendar and will again attract radio personalities and stars from around Australia.
Organised by Commercial Radio Australia, on behalf of the radio industry, the national Awards include 32 categories, which cover all areas of radio broadcasting including news, talk, sport, music and entertainment.
The awards differ from television’s Logie Awards, in that they are peer judged with judging panels comprised of industry members. Winners are announced in each category across three areas: metropolitan, provincial and country commercial radio stations.
This year there is one new category – Best Multimedia Execution, which has been introduced to recognise innovative multimedia campaigns which involve listeners, using a website and podcasts, mobile phones or other multimedia applications.
Chief executive officer of Commercial Radio Australia, Joan Warner said the awards were highly competitive and set a new standard for the event every year.
“The diversity of winners over the past few years highlights the depth of radio in Australia – and this year will be no exception with a myriad of talent on commercial radio throughout the country,” Ms Warner said.
Ms Warner said a feature of the Awards is the Hall of Fame, which acknowledges a lifelong commitment to the Australian radio industry. Last year, two industry giants, Neil Mitchell from Melbourne’s 3AW and Greg Smith, a pioneer of FM Radio, were inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.
Other previous inductees have included Frank Hyde, Rod Muir, John Laws, Bob Rogers and Paul Thompson. Hall of Fame recipients are nominated by industry colleagues and decided by a high level judging committee.
Entries for this year’s Awards close on Friday May 2.
ACP NAMES ADVERTISING SALES LINE-UP FOR LAUNCH OF GRAZIA MAGAZINE IN AUSTRALIA
ACP Magazines has announced key advertising appointments for the launch of Grazia magazine in Australia.
The advertising team will report to Lynette Phillips, director of sales, women’s lifestyle & corporate, ACP Magazines, and Nicki Ellis, sales director, Grazia.
”We are delighted to announce the incredible advertising team at Grazia. It’s one on the most anticipated magazines ever to be launched in this country – and this high profile team, led by Nicki Ellis, will be paramount to the titles success,” Phillips said.
“The line-up includes some of the most acclaimed fashion and luxury advertising professionals in the industry, each of whom have been handpicked for their passion, knowledge and experience,” she added.
Nicki Ellis has been appointed to the role of sales director. During her five year career at ACP Magazines, Nicki has held the positions of national advertising manager, Harper’s Bazaar, and most recently sales director at The Australian Women’s Weekly.
Emily Armstrong has been appointed national advertising manager and joins Grazia from News Ltd where she held the position of national advertising manager, Vogue. Emily started her career with Publicis Mojo (UK) overseeing the L’Oreal Paris account, later moving to Conde Nast UK where she held various roles at Vogue and Tatler.
During her five year career at ACP Magazines, Genna Calder, who has been appointed NSW advertising manager, has worked across ACP Magazines’ Young Women’s Lifestyle category. For the past two years, she has held the role of NSW advertising manager, Cleo.
Rashad Braimah worked on a number of titles for Emap UK, including More and POP and was part of the launch team on UK Grazia. Rashad joins Grazia as senior account manager and brings with him great experience in the prestige market.
Amy Schubert began her career at National Magazine Company UK where she worked in group sales on women’s lifestyle magazines including Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, She and Company. Amy formed part of the launch team at madison magazine and she joins as senior account manager.
Emily Armstrong will begin her role on Tuesday March 25, and will be joined by the rest of the team on Monday April 14.
HOOKER LINKED TO NEW YORK GOVERNOR BECOMES OVERNIGHT MEDIA HIT
Bloomberg reports that Ashley Alexandra Dupre has become an overnight media hit in the US, basking in her alter ego, Kristen, the 22-year-old prostitute who bonked New York governor Eliot Spritzer.
Since she was identified by the New York Times on March 12, her single, ‘What We Want,’' has been played more than 3 million times on the internet.
A second song, ‘Move Ya Body,’' set a record for how fast it commanded the top price on music-download site AmieStreet.com, and New York's Z100 radio station is playing Dupre's music.
The site AmieStreet prices songs based on demand, and Dupre's ‘Move Ya Body’' reached the maximum price of 98 cents within five hours after it was posted, said site co-founder Joshua Boltuch.
Larry Flynt, the publisher of Hustler Magazine, said he'll pay her $1 million to pose naked.
Penthouse also wants her to pose on its web site, host a video chat or take part in a live Web-cam session.
The New York Post on Friday published pictures of Dupre topless, with her hands covering her breasts.
But newspapers may have violated copyright law by publishing photos of Dupre, her lawyer Don Buchwald, of the firm Kelley Drye & Warren LLP in New York, said yesterday in a statement, without naming the Post.
Spitzer, elected governor in November 2006, allegedly paid $4,300 for sex with Kristen at a Washington hotel in February.
Dupre, whose real name is actually Ashley Youmans, according to the Times, received a subpoena to be a witness in a grand jury investigation, Buchwald told Bloomberg News on March 13.
Dupre says on her MySpace page, which has received more than 7 million visits since her identity was revealed, that she moved to New York in 2004 to pursue her music career and spent two years networking in clubs.
JAMES MURDOCH UNVEILS BIGGEST PRINTING PLANT IN THE WORLD
Journalists at News International’s four national UK newspapers will face wide-ranging changes when the company moves all printing from its historic Wapping headquarters in April.
At a tour of the company’s new GBP187 million (A$407 million) Broxbourne plant in north London, the company’s senior management said that the latest in automated printing technology would give journalists later deadlines and editors greater freedom in redesigning pages.
News International claim the plant is the biggest printing centre in the world.
The “triple-width” printing presses can produce tabloid and broadsheet newsprint simultaneously, meaning that many traditional editorial and printing deadlines could be scrapped.
Clive Milner, News International’s group managing director, told Press Gazette: “It affects the process of journalism in a number of ways. It allows the editors to refresh and redesign the product and that’s good news for readers.
“Our current products are in some cases constrained by the production, this is changed by Broxbourne.”
The Sunday Times, which currently begins printing on Wednesdays, could now be printed entirely on Saturday, he said, putting sections like business into a "live" slot.
The Broxbourne plant is the size of 23 football pitches, it has 12 full-colour printing presses capable of printing 86,000 copies per hour – the equivalent of 330,000 tonnes of newsprint a year. Wapping managed 36,000 copies per hour.
James Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive of News Corp’s Europe and Asia division, said the investment “should be ample answer to those who believe the business of journalism, in print, is a business for yesterday’s readers, not tomorrow’s.
“At News, we believe that print will continue to be a driving force, even as we expand in this connected age.”
MEDIA SHUTDOWN ON BIZARRE MURDER OF RICH MYANMAR FAMILY
A bizarre murder of an elite family in Yangon has caused Myanmar’s rich to push for heightened security measures, and media reports of the murders are being restricted.
Myanmar’s censorship board has suspended one weekly magazine for publishing news about a murder case near the home of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and warned another about its coverage of the same incident, according to the Irrawaddy Journal.
An official with the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division told The Irrawaddy on Monday that its head, Major Tint Swe, summoned editors from two weeklies, Seven Day News and The Voice, to warn them about “crossing the line” with their reporting on the incident, which occurred two weeks ago. According to the official, Seven Day Journal was subsequently ordered to suspend publication for one week.
In its March 10 issue, The Voice ran a story on the killing of five members of the richest family of the parliamentary era, prior to the military takeover in 1962. The article, “The Sein Lae Kan Thar Street Murder Case,” provided background information on the family, while a report in the March 13 issue of Seven Day News carried photographs of the funeral. Both publications were in violation of censorship laws, said officials.
A newsagent in Bahan Township, Yangon said that all copies of the two weeklies, which provided more complete coverage of the sensational murder than other publications, had sold out this week, even after distributors doubled the price to 800 kyat (around US$0.80).
The killing of members of Myanmar’s wealthy elite has fuelled fears among rich residents of the former capital and other urban centres, prompting many to hire private security guards.
MYSPACE IN DEAL CHINA’S HOT NEW YOUKU VIDEO SHARING WEBSITE
Marketing reports that MySpace has struck a deal with Beijing video sharing website Youku.com, to increase its share of the burgeoning online video-sharing sector.
Launched in December 2006, Youku dominated China’s online video market, recording more than 100 million daily video views in the week to December 16, 2007.
Gomez Research ranked Youku.com number one among new media websites in China.
Media reports said in November last year that Youku completed three rounds of venture financing totalling US$40 million.
This partnership will help boost Youku's share in the China market and dent its nearest rival, the Google-owned YouTube.
Victor Koo, Youku.com founder and ceo, said the partnership will help to attract global advertisers seeking new ways to reach China's online community.
"Youku has a history of partnering with strong brands and pioneers on the internet. We believe the marriage of a video and social networking website will significantly enhance the user experience for China's online consumers," Koo said.
UK CAR MAGAZINE EVO LAUNCHES IN BANGKOK
Evo, a UK car magazine published by Dennis Publishing, has launched in Thailand through a licensing deal with local publisher Penta Media, according to Media Asia.
The Thai edition of Evo was launched last week with a mix of UK and locally-produced content, with 158 pages, 31 of which were advertising.
Andrew Batt, executive director of Bangkokstation Network, which publishes BusinessWeek Thailand, told Media Asia, "Evo is entering what is already a crowded sector, with the home-grown titles competing for readers and advertisers alongside other licensed titles from overseas such as AutoBild, AutoCar and Top Gear."
YAHOO UP STAKES AND MOVES ITS EURO HEADQUARTERS FROM LONDON TO GENEVA
Yahoo will move its European headquarters from London to Geneva in Switzerland.
According to the Guardian the move was interpreted by business lobby group CBI as underlining an increasingly "uncompetitive" UK tax system.
Yahoo said that it had started work on the relocation to save money.
The US company, fighting off a takeover attempt by software group Microsoft, is under pressure to cut costs and appease investors as it struggles in the face of competition from Google.
Yahoo said, "This decision is part of our ongoing international business strategy to increase competitiveness, deliver financial results, performance and efficiencies. Yahoo Europe remains committed to maintaining a strong presence in all of its key markets in Europe."
The move is expected to take around 18 months.
Th Guardain said, “Yahoo's news follows an in-depth report by the CBI into the UK's tax system, in which it warned a radical shake-up was needed to win back Britain's status as a competitive place to put businesses.”
DID YOU HER THE ONE ABOUT THE FOUR BBC JOURNALISTS ARRESTED IN IRELAND?
Four British Broadcasting Corp journalists were among seven men arrested in Ireland in connection with an investigation into paramilitary activity, the BBC said on Sunday.
BBC aid the journalists were working on a current affairs program for its Northern Ireland division when they were arrested by Irish police on Saturday.
Ireland's police confirmed that seven men between the ages of 30 and 48 were in custody but declined to offer further details.
The BBC said the arrests took place in County Donegal, a favored haunt of the Irish Republican Army and its dissident offshoots because it borders Northern Ireland.
The International Herald Tribune reports that the province's dissent rebel groups in have been courting media attention in recent months. In November, the Real IRA, one of the most prominent splinter groups, released a video through a local TV station showing two masked men firing weapons.
It was the first public propaganda exercise by the group, which was responsible for the 1998 Omagh bombing, the single deadliest attack in decades of bloodshed over the British territory.
The BBC Web site said its journalists had "full editorial authority under the BBC's guidelines" for their work.
INTERNET FAILS TO DEMOCRATISE JOURNALISM ACCORDING TO US REPORT
AP reports that the internet has profoundly changed journalism, but not necessarily in ways that were predicted even a few years ago, a study on the industry released on Sunday found.
It was once believed at one point that the net would democratise the media, providing many new voices, stories and perspectives.
But the news agenda actually seems to be narrowing, with many web sites primarily packaging news that is produced elsewhere, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism's annual State of the News Media report. Two stories – the war in Iraq and the 2008 presidential election campaign –
represented more than a quarter of the stories in US newspapers, on television and online last year, the project found.
Take away Iraq, Iran and Pakistan, and news from all of the other countries in the world combined filled up less than 6 percent of the American news whole, the project said.
POLES PEEVED ABOUT PRESS COVERAGE IN THE UK DAILY
The Independent reports that Poles in Britain have accused the Daily Mail of defaming their community in a letter of complaint to the press watchdog.
Many articles published on Polish migrants were likely to foster racial tension, the Federation of Poles in Great Britain said.
The federation, the largest group representing Poles in Britain, says that of 80 articles published on the subject by the Daily Mail in the past two years, fewer than five were positive. Headlines such as ‘Are young Polish workers robbing their country of its future?’; ‘Britain is country of choice for many 'feckless' Poles’ and ‘Polish Borat claims groping women is normal in eastern Europe’, are among those that have caused fury.
The federation accused the newspaper in its letter to the Press Complaints Commission of being unacceptably racist.
ZIMBABWE TO CAREFULLY SCREEN FOREIGN JOURNOS IN LEAD UP TO ELECTIONS
AFP reports that Zimbabwe plans to closely screen foreign media intending to cover upcoming elections amid suspicions uninvited observers and security personnel might impersonate Western journalists, state media reported on Sunday.
Accreditation of some 300 foreign reporters who applied to cover the country's March 29 general elections will be closely supervised, as the government was aware of ‘the machinations to turn journalists into observers,’ George Charamba, information secretary, told the state-run Sunday Mail.
Preference would be given to reporters from Africa and the ‘national identity of the news organisations will be a major determinant,’ he added.
Zimbabwe has invited the Southern African Development Community and 46 other teams of monitors from regional groups such as the African Union to monitor the vote, along with several countries including China, Russia and Iran with whom President Robert Mugabe enjoys relatively good relations.
But European Union member states and the US have not been invited to monitor the voting, the government said. Charamba said preference in terms of accreditation will be given to media organisations that were already accredited to work in the country, but those being deployed from outside should work strictly under the leadership of bureau chiefs stationed in the country.
International organisations already working in Zimbabwe include AFP, AP, Reuters, Al Jazeera and South African Broadcasting Corporation.
AUSTRALIA’S RIP CURL PRO SURFING CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE STREAMED LIVE ONLINE
The Rip Curl Pro world surfing championship event will be streamed in its entirety on the internet this week, making it the first major sporting event to go live online in Australia free of charge, according to The Australian newspaper’s IT section.
The makers of the streaming technology, Vividas, have warned that there must be more investment in online television in Australia.
The Rip Curl Pro begins streaming tomorrow using the Vividas player, which does not need computer plug-ins to run high-definition video.
The streams appear as near-television quality on computers - but Vividas chief executive Dave Winter warns that Australian content providers are slow in adopting on-demand online television.
The Australian said that Victorian-based Vividas has found its biggest market is providing corporate video streams for companies wanting to communicate with large numbers of staff in multiple locations.
Winter said, “We have got offices in London, New York and Los Angeles and we are just starting to do things in Asia. We are having some early success in The Philippines, where there are a couple of world champion boxers who are streaming fights live."
The company is also streaming Philippines cable television to expatriates.
NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA IMPORTS HACK AS DIGITAL BROADCAST SALES DIRECTOR
Nine Network Australia has joined the new local trend of importing leading international talent.
The Nine Network Australia has appointed Londoner Toby Hack as sales director – multi-channel / digital broadcasting, and said this was part of a move designed to deliver more comprehensive advertiser packages across its increasing multi-channel platforms.
Hack moves to the role from London where he most recently headed a broadcast software supplier whose clients included BBC, Sky Italia, Direc TV, MTV, and UKTV.
Before that, Hack worked with media company OMD for 10 years where, among other achievements, he launched OMDtvi, a business that pioneered the interactive TV process and became one of the largest iTV companies in the world.
Hack’s appointment follows the recent announcement of television executive, Les Sampson, who is joining the Network in the role of director of acquisitions, daytime programming and digital television.
Hack commences his role in June 2008 and will report directly to Peter Wiltshire, Nine Network sales director.
GOLDMAN SACHS JBWERE DOWNGRADES MOST AUSTRALIAN MEDIA COMPANIES
Crikey.com reports that investment bank Goldman Sachs JBWere has downgraded most of Australia's media companies after its economics team cut its growth forecasts for the Australian economy for this year and next.
Crikey said the downgrades in growth were largely due to "slowing growth in private consumption" and "peaking corporate profit margins" so there are also cuts to growth forecasts for the advertising markets.
No growth at all is forecast for 2009 for TV and radio, while marginal growth is seen for newspapers and still solid, but slowing growth is forecast for online.
The investment bank told clients, “We have lowered our growth forecasts for the Australian advertising market as a result of our more cautious economic outlook. We believe FY09 will be a cyclical low point for ad market growth.
Goldman said it saw the total ad market this year growing at 7.6 percent slowing to 3.2 percent next year and then bouncing back in 2010 to 6.2 percent.
Crikey said the breakdown for growth of each medium market is:
Metro newspapers: FY08 2.0%; FY09 0.0%; FY10 3.0%.
Regional newspapers: FY08 4.0%; FY09 0.5%; FY10 4.0%.
Metro FTA TV: FY08 7.0%; FY09 0.0%; FY10 4.0%.
Online: FY08 30.1%; FY09 22.1%; FY10 20.0%.
Radio: FY08 5.5%; FY09 0.0%; FY10 4.0%.
Goldman downgraded its earnings estimates for the majority of media stocks under its coverage.
NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LAUNCHES HD CHANNEL
The Nine Network Australia has this month launched a High Definition channel, Nine HD, which will run in all five metropolitan markets.
Nine’s HD channel will be available for free-viewing to all Australian homes with a High Definition receiver. The channel will contain additional programming not seen on the main Nine broadcast channel as well as simulcast and time-shifted programming.
CEO, Nine Network Australia, David Gyngell, said, “2008 continues to be a year of restructure and development for Nine. With new premises on the horizon for its Sydney (TCN) and Melbourne (GTV) television stations, the Network is well placed to drive technological innovation.
“Most of Nine HD’s programming will be simulcast with the main channel, however there will be exceptions in sport, in particular. Nightline will also be given a fixed 10.30pm time-slot and our news services will generally be time-shifted by half an hour,” Gyngell said.
“However our Nine HD content will not differ significantly from that of our main broadcast channel because an increasing percentage of our programming has in fact been filmed in HD.
“What we are enthusiastic about is the impending launch of the Standard Definition channel in early 2009. The SD channel will in fact give us the opportunity to program the channel independently to that of our main one and there will be no simulcast issues,” Gyngell added.
The Nine Network is one of Australia’s top-rating commercial television networks. Its backbone is the three television stations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, along with the newly acquired regional broadcaster, NBN Television, and agreements with other regional operators.
The Nine Network says its strength and consistency comes from its extensive news and current affairs coverage, rights to broadcast popular sporting events and its slate of entertainment and lifestyle programs.
Originally established in 1956 as Nine Network, it was separately listed on the Australian Stock Exchange as Network Nine Australia Ltd from 1990 until 1994.
In 1994 Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd was created through the merger of Nine and the then separately listed ACP Magazines.
The Nine Network is now 100 percent owned by PBL Media, a joint venture between CVC Asia Pacific Ltd and Consolidated Media Holdings, which holds the media assets of the recently split Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd business.
MEXICO TV GIANT DOES CONTENT DEAL WITH GENERAL ELECTRIC’S SPANISH-LANGUAGE BROADCASTER
Mexican television giant Grupo Televisa SA and Telemundo, General Electric Co's Spanish-language broadcaster, have reached a content-sharing deal in Mexico.
Telemundo will broadcast its entertainment programming on a Televisa TV station in Mexico, and Televisa will also carry a new Telemundo channel on its Mexican cable and satellite networks.
The deal marks a change in strategy for GE's Telemundo, which has viewed Televisa as an adversary in its quest for a foothold in Mexico. Shortly after Mexican President Felipe Calderon took office in 2006, GE chairman and chief executive Jeffrey Immelt lobbied him to allow the U.S. company to help start a third broadcaster in Mexico, anchored by Telemundo programming.
Mexico's TV airwaves are dominated by two politically powerful companies, Televisa and rival TV Azteca SA. The companies hold enormous sway over the Mexican state and have even helped write legislation that regulates the industry. Both broadcasters have worked behind the scenes to block the entrance of a third rival.
The deal is also the latest ploy in Televisa's longtime attempt to grab a share of the US market. The company failed to buy Invasion in 2006. Televisa is also seeking to get out of a long-term contract to provide its programming to Univision in the US.
TIBETAN UPRISING CAUSES NETIZENS TO REVISIT MICROSOFT’S 2005 SOP TO THE CHINESE
Following the Tibetan uprising, fingers are again pointing at Microsoft which in October 2005 barred the use of the Bhutanese government's official term for the Bhutanese language, Dzongkha, in any of its products, citing that the term had affiliations with the Dalai Lama.
In an internal memorandum, Microsoft employees were told not to use the term Dzongkha in any Microsoft software, language lists or promotional materials since "Doing so implies affiliation with the Dalai Lama, which is not acceptable to the government of China. In this instance, replace "Dzongkha" with 'Tibetan - Bhutan'."
This was not the first time Microsoft's relationship with the Chinese government led to product alterations. In June 2005 civil liberties groups condemned an arrangement between Microsoft and Chinese authorities to censor the internet. The American company aided censors in removing words like "freedom", "democracy", "human rights", "Tibet" and "Dalai Lama" from the net in China with a software package that prevents bloggers from using these and other politically sensitive words on their websites.
UKRANIAN BROADCASTER TRK RECEIVES $65.5 MILLION LOAN TO HELP LAUNCH NEW SPORTS SATELLITE CHANNEL
Followthemedia reports that TRK Ukraina received a US$65.5 million loan from SCM Ltd, the investment vehicle owned by billionaire Rinat Akhmetov. Proceeds will be used for loan repayments and continuing operations. Akhmetov is the principal owner of TRK Ukraina, which operates television and radio channels.
In December Ukraine’s media regulator National TV and Radio Broadcasting Council awarded TRK Ukraina a license for a satellite channel devoted to sports: TRK Sport.
Speaking to the Ukrainian Investment Summit in London March 10, SCM Development Director Ilya Arkhipov said the company would launch TRK sport and all news channel TRK Novosti sometime this year. He also said the new channels would boost TRK Ukraina’s aggregate market share to 8 percent by 2010.
TRK Ukraina is based in eastern Ukraine, headquartered in Donetsk, and primarily serves Russian-speaking audiences.
Entries are open for this year’s Australian Commercial Radio Awards, which will be held at Conrad Jupiters on the Gold Coast on October 11.
The twentieth annual event has become a highlight of the radio industry’s yearly calendar and will again attract radio personalities and stars from around Australia.
Organised by Commercial Radio Australia, on behalf of the radio industry, the national Awards include 32 categories, which cover all areas of radio broadcasting including news, talk, sport, music and entertainment.
This year there is one new category – Best Multimedia Execution, which has been introduced to recognise innovative multimedia campaigns which involve listeners, using a website and podcasts, mobile phones or other multimedia applications.
Chief executive officer of Commercial Radio Australia, Joan Warner said the awards were highly competitive and set a new standard for the event every year.
“The diversity of winners over the past few years highlights the depth of radio in Australia – and this year will be no exception with a myriad of talent on commercial radio throughout the country,” Ms Warner said.
Ms Warner said a feature of the Awards is the Hall of Fame, which acknowledges a lifelong commitment to the Australian radio industry. Last year, two industry giants, Neil Mitchell from Melbourne’s 3AW and Greg Smith, a pioneer of FM Radio, were inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.
Entries for this year’s Awards close on Friday May 2.
ACP NAMES ADVERTISING SALES LINE-UP FOR LAUNCH OF GRAZIA MAGAZINE IN AUSTRALIA
ACP Magazines has announced key advertising appointments for the launch of Grazia magazine in Australia.
The advertising team will report to Lynette Phillips, director of sales, women’s lifestyle & corporate, ACP Magazines, and Nicki Ellis, sales director, Grazia.
”We are delighted to announce the incredible advertising team at Grazia. It’s one on the most anticipated magazines ever to be launched in this country – and this high profile team, led by Nicki Ellis, will be paramount to the titles success,” Phillips said.
“The line-up includes some of the most acclaimed fashion and luxury advertising professionals in the industry, each of whom have been handpicked for their passion, knowledge and experience,” she added.
Nicki Ellis has been appointed to the role of sales director. During her five year career at ACP Magazines, Nicki has held the positions of national advertising manager, Harper’s Bazaar, and most recently sales director at The Australian Women’s Weekly.
Emily Armstrong has been appointed national advertising manager and joins Grazia from News Ltd where she held the position of national advertising manager, Vogue. Emily started her career with Publicis Mojo (UK) overseeing the L’Oreal Paris account, later moving to Conde Nast UK where she held various roles at Vogue and Tatler.
During her five year career at ACP Magazines, Genna Calder, who has been appointed NSW advertising manager, has worked across ACP Magazines’ Young Women’s Lifestyle category. For the past two years, she has held the role of NSW advertising manager, Cleo.
Rashad Braimah worked on a number of titles for Emap UK, including More and POP and was part of the launch team on UK Grazia. Rashad joins Grazia as senior account manager and brings with him great experience in the prestige market.
Amy Schubert began her career at National Magazine Company UK where she worked in group sales on women’s lifestyle magazines including Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, She and Company. Amy formed part of the launch team at madison magazine and she joins as senior account manager.
Emily Armstrong will begin her role on Tuesday March 25, and will be joined by the rest of the team on Monday April 14.
HOOKER LINKED TO NEW YORK GOVERNOR BECOMES OVERNIGHT MEDIA HIT
Bloomberg reports that Ashley Alexandra Dupre has become an overnight media hit in the US, basking in her alter ego, Kristen, the 22-year-old prostitute who bonked New York governor Eliot Spritzer.
Since she was identified by the New York Times on March 12, her single, ‘What We Want,’' has been played more than 3 million times on the internet.
A second song, ‘Move Ya Body,’' set a record for how fast it commanded the top price on music-download site AmieStreet.com, and New York's Z100 radio station is playing Dupre's music.
The site AmieStreet prices songs based on demand, and Dupre's ‘Move Ya Body’' reached the maximum price of 98 cents within five hours after it was posted, said site co-founder Joshua Boltuch.
Larry Flynt, the publisher of Hustler Magazine, said he'll pay her $1 million to pose naked.
Penthouse also wants her to pose on its web site, host a video chat or take part in a live Web-cam session.
The New York Post on Friday published pictures of Dupre topless, with her hands covering her breasts.
But newspapers may have violated copyright law by publishing photos of Dupre, her lawyer Don Buchwald, of the firm Kelley Drye & Warren LLP in New York, said yesterday in a statement, without naming the Post.
Spitzer, elected governor in November 2006, allegedly paid $4,300 for sex with Kristen at a Washington hotel in February.
Dupre, whose real name is actually Ashley Youmans, according to the Times, received a subpoena to be a witness in a grand jury investigation, Buchwald told Bloomberg News on March 13.
Dupre says on her MySpace page, which has received more than 7 million visits since her identity was revealed, that she moved to New York in 2004 to pursue her music career and spent two years networking in clubs.
JAMES MURDOCH UNVEILS BIGGEST PRINTING PLANT IN THE WORLD
Journalists at News International’s four national UK newspapers will face wide-ranging changes when the company moves all printing from its historic Wapping headquarters in April.
At a tour of the company’s new GBP187 million (A$407 million) Broxbourne plant in north London, the company’s senior management said that the latest in automated printing technology would give journalists later deadlines and editors greater freedom in redesigning pages.
News International claim the plant is the biggest printing centre in the world.
The “triple-width” printing presses can produce tabloid and broadsheet newsprint simultaneously, meaning that many traditional editorial and printing deadlines could be scrapped.
Clive Milner, News International’s group managing director, told Press Gazette: “It affects the process of journalism in a number of ways. It allows the editors to refresh and redesign the product and that’s good news for readers.
“Our current products are in some cases constrained by the production, this is changed by Broxbourne.”
The Sunday Times, which currently begins printing on Wednesdays, could now be printed entirely on Saturday, he said, putting sections like business into a "live" slot.
The Broxbourne plant is the size of 23 football pitches, it has 12 full-colour printing presses capable of printing 86,000 copies per hour – the equivalent of 330,000 tonnes of newsprint a year. Wapping managed 36,000 copies per hour.
James Murdoch, the chairman and chief executive of News Corp’s Europe and Asia division, said the investment “should be ample answer to those who believe the business of journalism, in print, is a business for yesterday’s readers, not tomorrow’s.
“At News, we believe that print will continue to be a driving force, even as we expand in this connected age.”
MEDIA SHUTDOWN ON BIZARRE MURDER OF RICH MYANMAR FAMILY
A bizarre murder of an elite family in Yangon has caused Myanmar’s rich to push for heightened security measures, and media reports of the murders are being restricted.
Myanmar’s censorship board has suspended one weekly magazine for publishing news about a murder case near the home of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and warned another about its coverage of the same incident, according to the Irrawaddy Journal.
An official with the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division told The Irrawaddy on Monday that its head, Major Tint Swe, summoned editors from two weeklies, Seven Day News and The Voice, to warn them about “crossing the line” with their reporting on the incident, which occurred two weeks ago. According to the official, Seven Day Journal was subsequently ordered to suspend publication for one week.
In its March 10 issue, The Voice ran a story on the killing of five members of the richest family of the parliamentary era, prior to the military takeover in 1962. The article, “The Sein Lae Kan Thar Street Murder Case,” provided background information on the family, while a report in the March 13 issue of Seven Day News carried photographs of the funeral. Both publications were in violation of censorship laws, said officials.
A newsagent in Bahan Township, Yangon said that all copies of the two weeklies, which provided more complete coverage of the sensational murder than other publications, had sold out this week, even after distributors doubled the price to 800 kyat (around US$0.80).
The killing of members of Myanmar’s wealthy elite has fuelled fears among rich residents of the former capital and other urban centres, prompting many to hire private security guards.
MYSPACE IN DEAL CHINA’S HOT NEW YOUKU VIDEO SHARING WEBSITE
Marketing reports that MySpace has struck a deal with Beijing video sharing website Youku.com, to increase its share of the burgeoning online video-sharing sector.
Launched in December 2006, Youku dominated China’s online video market, recording more than 100 million daily video views in the week to December 16, 2007.
Gomez Research ranked Youku.com number one among new media websites in China.
Media reports said in November last year that Youku completed three rounds of venture financing totalling US$40 million.
This partnership will help boost Youku's share in the China market and dent its nearest rival, the Google-owned YouTube.
Victor Koo, Youku.com founder and ceo, said the partnership will help to attract global advertisers seeking new ways to reach China's online community.
"Youku has a history of partnering with strong brands and pioneers on the internet. We believe the marriage of a video and social networking website will significantly enhance the user experience for China's online consumers," Koo said.
UK CAR MAGAZINE EVO LAUNCHES IN BANGKOK
Evo, a UK car magazine published by Dennis Publishing, has launched in Thailand through a licensing deal with local publisher Penta Media, according to Media Asia.
The Thai edition of Evo was launched last week with a mix of UK and locally-produced content, with 158 pages, 31 of which were advertising.
Andrew Batt, executive director of Bangkokstation Network, which publishes BusinessWeek Thailand, told Media Asia, "Evo is entering what is already a crowded sector, with the home-grown titles competing for readers and advertisers alongside other licensed titles from overseas such as AutoBild, AutoCar and Top Gear."
YAHOO UP STAKES AND MOVES ITS EURO HEADQUARTERS FROM LONDON TO GENEVA
Yahoo will move its European headquarters from London to Geneva in Switzerland.
According to the Guardian the move was interpreted by business lobby group CBI as underlining an increasingly "uncompetitive" UK tax system.
Yahoo said that it had started work on the relocation to save money.
The US company, fighting off a takeover attempt by software group Microsoft, is under pressure to cut costs and appease investors as it struggles in the face of competition from Google.
Yahoo said, "This decision is part of our ongoing international business strategy to increase competitiveness, deliver financial results, performance and efficiencies. Yahoo Europe remains committed to maintaining a strong presence in all of its key markets in Europe."
The move is expected to take around 18 months.
Th Guardain said, “Yahoo's news follows an in-depth report by the CBI into the UK's tax system, in which it warned a radical shake-up was needed to win back Britain's status as a competitive place to put businesses.”
DID YOU HER THE ONE ABOUT THE FOUR BBC JOURNALISTS ARRESTED IN IRELAND?
Four British Broadcasting Corp journalists were among seven men arrested in Ireland in connection with an investigation into paramilitary activity, the BBC said on Sunday.
BBC aid the journalists were working on a current affairs program for its Northern Ireland division when they were arrested by Irish police on Saturday.
Ireland's police confirmed that seven men between the ages of 30 and 48 were in custody but declined to offer further details.
The BBC said the arrests took place in County Donegal, a favored haunt of the Irish Republican Army and its dissident offshoots because it borders Northern Ireland.
The International Herald Tribune reports that the province's dissent rebel groups in have been courting media attention in recent months. In November, the Real IRA, one of the most prominent splinter groups, released a video through a local TV station showing two masked men firing weapons.
It was the first public propaganda exercise by the group, which was responsible for the 1998 Omagh bombing, the single deadliest attack in decades of bloodshed over the British territory.
The BBC Web site said its journalists had "full editorial authority under the BBC's guidelines" for their work.
INTERNET FAILS TO DEMOCRATISE JOURNALISM ACCORDING TO US REPORT
AP reports that the internet has profoundly changed journalism, but not necessarily in ways that were predicted even a few years ago, a study on the industry released on Sunday found.
It was once believed at one point that the net would democratise the media, providing many new voices, stories and perspectives.
But the news agenda actually seems to be narrowing, with many web sites primarily packaging news that is produced elsewhere, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism's annual State of the News Media report. Two stories – the war in Iraq and the 2008 presidential election campaign –
represented more than a quarter of the stories in US newspapers, on television and online last year, the project found.
Take away Iraq, Iran and Pakistan, and news from all of the other countries in the world combined filled up less than 6 percent of the American news whole, the project said.
POLES PEEVED ABOUT PRESS COVERAGE IN THE UK DAILY
The Independent reports that Poles in Britain have accused the Daily Mail of defaming their community in a letter of complaint to the press watchdog.
Many articles published on Polish migrants were likely to foster racial tension, the Federation of Poles in Great Britain said.
The federation, the largest group representing Poles in Britain, says that of 80 articles published on the subject by the Daily Mail in the past two years, fewer than five were positive. Headlines such as ‘Are young Polish workers robbing their country of its future?’; ‘Britain is country of choice for many 'feckless' Poles’ and ‘Polish Borat claims groping women is normal in eastern Europe’, are among those that have caused fury.
The federation accused the newspaper in its letter to the Press Complaints Commission of being unacceptably racist.
ZIMBABWE TO CAREFULLY SCREEN FOREIGN JOURNOS IN LEAD UP TO ELECTIONS
AFP reports that Zimbabwe plans to closely screen foreign media intending to cover upcoming elections amid suspicions uninvited observers and security personnel might impersonate Western journalists, state media reported on Sunday.
Accreditation of some 300 foreign reporters who applied to cover the country's March 29 general elections will be closely supervised, as the government was aware of ‘the machinations to turn journalists into observers,’ George Charamba, information secretary, told the state-run Sunday Mail.
Preference would be given to reporters from Africa and the ‘national identity of the news organisations will be a major determinant,’ he added.
Zimbabwe has invited the Southern African Development Community and 46 other teams of monitors from regional groups such as the African Union to monitor the vote, along with several countries including China, Russia and Iran with whom President Robert Mugabe enjoys relatively good relations.
But European Union member states and the US have not been invited to monitor the voting, the government said. Charamba said preference in terms of accreditation will be given to media organisations that were already accredited to work in the country, but those being deployed from outside should work strictly under the leadership of bureau chiefs stationed in the country.
International organisations already working in Zimbabwe include AFP, AP, Reuters, Al Jazeera and South African Broadcasting Corporation.
AUSTRALIA’S RIP CURL PRO SURFING CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE STREAMED LIVE ONLINE
The Rip Curl Pro world surfing championship event will be streamed in its entirety on the internet this week, making it the first major sporting event to go live online in Australia free of charge, according to The Australian newspaper’s IT section.
The makers of the streaming technology, Vividas, have warned that there must be more investment in online television in Australia.
The Rip Curl Pro begins streaming tomorrow using the Vividas player, which does not need computer plug-ins to run high-definition video.
The streams appear as near-television quality on computers - but Vividas chief executive Dave Winter warns that Australian content providers are slow in adopting on-demand online television.
The Australian said that Victorian-based Vividas has found its biggest market is providing corporate video streams for companies wanting to communicate with large numbers of staff in multiple locations.
Winter said, “We have got offices in London, New York and Los Angeles and we are just starting to do things in Asia. We are having some early success in The Philippines, where there are a couple of world champion boxers who are streaming fights live."
The company is also streaming Philippines cable television to expatriates.
NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA IMPORTS HACK AS DIGITAL BROADCAST SALES DIRECTOR
Nine Network Australia has joined the new local trend of importing leading international talent.
The Nine Network Australia has appointed Londoner Toby Hack as sales director – multi-channel / digital broadcasting, and said this was part of a move designed to deliver more comprehensive advertiser packages across its increasing multi-channel platforms.
Hack moves to the role from London where he most recently headed a broadcast software supplier whose clients included BBC, Sky Italia, Direc TV, MTV, and UKTV.
Before that, Hack worked with media company OMD for 10 years where, among other achievements, he launched OMDtvi, a business that pioneered the interactive TV process and became one of the largest iTV companies in the world.
Hack’s appointment follows the recent announcement of television executive, Les Sampson, who is joining the Network in the role of director of acquisitions, daytime programming and digital television.
Hack commences his role in June 2008 and will report directly to Peter Wiltshire, Nine Network sales director.
GOLDMAN SACHS JBWERE DOWNGRADES MOST AUSTRALIAN MEDIA COMPANIES
Crikey.com reports that investment bank Goldman Sachs JBWere has downgraded most of Australia's media companies after its economics team cut its growth forecasts for the Australian economy for this year and next.
Crikey said the downgrades in growth were largely due to "slowing growth in private consumption" and "peaking corporate profit margins" so there are also cuts to growth forecasts for the advertising markets.
No growth at all is forecast for 2009 for TV and radio, while marginal growth is seen for newspapers and still solid, but slowing growth is forecast for online.
The investment bank told clients, “We have lowered our growth forecasts for the Australian advertising market as a result of our more cautious economic outlook. We believe FY09 will be a cyclical low point for ad market growth.
Goldman said it saw the total ad market this year growing at 7.6 percent slowing to 3.2 percent next year and then bouncing back in 2010 to 6.2 percent.
Crikey said the breakdown for growth of each medium market is:
Metro newspapers: FY08 2.0%; FY09 0.0%; FY10 3.0%.
Regional newspapers: FY08 4.0%; FY09 0.5%; FY10 4.0%.
Metro FTA TV: FY08 7.0%; FY09 0.0%; FY10 4.0%.
Online: FY08 30.1%; FY09 22.1%; FY10 20.0%.
Radio: FY08 5.5%; FY09 0.0%; FY10 4.0%.
Goldman downgraded its earnings estimates for the majority of media stocks under its coverage.
NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LAUNCHES HD CHANNEL
The Nine Network Australia has this month launched a High Definition channel, Nine HD, which will run in all five metropolitan markets.
Nine’s HD channel will be available for free-viewing to all Australian homes with a High Definition receiver. The channel will contain additional programming not seen on the main Nine broadcast channel as well as simulcast and time-shifted programming.
CEO, Nine Network Australia, David Gyngell, said, “2008 continues to be a year of restructure and development for Nine. With new premises on the horizon for its Sydney (TCN) and Melbourne (GTV) television stations, the Network is well placed to drive technological innovation.
“Most of Nine HD’s programming will be simulcast with the main channel, however there will be exceptions in sport, in particular. Nightline will also be given a fixed 10.30pm time-slot and our news services will generally be time-shifted by half an hour,” Gyngell said.
“However our Nine HD content will not differ significantly from that of our main broadcast channel because an increasing percentage of our programming has in fact been filmed in HD.
“What we are enthusiastic about is the impending launch of the Standard Definition channel in early 2009. The SD channel will in fact give us the opportunity to program the channel independently to that of our main one and there will be no simulcast issues,” Gyngell added.
The Nine Network is one of Australia’s top-rating commercial television networks. Its backbone is the three television stations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, along with the newly acquired regional broadcaster, NBN Television, and agreements with other regional operators.
The Nine Network says its strength and consistency comes from its extensive news and current affairs coverage, rights to broadcast popular sporting events and its slate of entertainment and lifestyle programs.
Originally established in 1956 as Nine Network, it was separately listed on the Australian Stock Exchange as Network Nine Australia Ltd from 1990 until 1994.
In 1994 Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd was created through the merger of Nine and the then separately listed ACP Magazines.
The Nine Network is now 100 percent owned by PBL Media, a joint venture between CVC Asia Pacific Ltd and Consolidated Media Holdings, which holds the media assets of the recently split Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd business.
MEXICO TV GIANT DOES CONTENT DEAL WITH GENERAL ELECTRIC’S SPANISH-LANGUAGE BROADCASTER
Mexican television giant Grupo Televisa SA and Telemundo, General Electric Co's Spanish-language broadcaster, have reached a content-sharing deal in Mexico.
Telemundo will broadcast its entertainment programming on a Televisa TV station in Mexico, and Televisa will also carry a new Telemundo channel on its Mexican cable and satellite networks.
The deal marks a change in strategy for GE's Telemundo, which has viewed Televisa as an adversary in its quest for a foothold in Mexico. Shortly after Mexican President Felipe Calderon took office in 2006, GE chairman and chief executive Jeffrey Immelt lobbied him to allow the U.S. company to help start a third broadcaster in Mexico, anchored by Telemundo programming.
Mexico's TV airwaves are dominated by two politically powerful companies, Televisa and rival TV Azteca SA. The companies hold enormous sway over the Mexican state and have even helped write legislation that regulates the industry. Both broadcasters have worked behind the scenes to block the entrance of a third rival.
The deal is also the latest ploy in Televisa's longtime attempt to grab a share of the US market. The company failed to buy Invasion in 2006. Televisa is also seeking to get out of a long-term contract to provide its programming to Univision in the US.
TIBETAN UPRISING CAUSES NETIZENS TO REVISIT MICROSOFT’S 2005 SOP TO THE CHINESE
Following the Tibetan uprising, fingers are again pointing at Microsoft which in October 2005 barred the use of the Bhutanese government's official term for the Bhutanese language, Dzongkha, in any of its products, citing that the term had affiliations with the Dalai Lama.
In an internal memorandum, Microsoft employees were told not to use the term Dzongkha in any Microsoft software, language lists or promotional materials since "Doing so implies affiliation with the Dalai Lama, which is not acceptable to the government of China. In this instance, replace "Dzongkha" with 'Tibetan - Bhutan'."
This was not the first time Microsoft's relationship with the Chinese government led to product alterations. In June 2005 civil liberties groups condemned an arrangement between Microsoft and Chinese authorities to censor the internet. The American company aided censors in removing words like "freedom", "democracy", "human rights", "Tibet" and "Dalai Lama" from the net in China with a software package that prevents bloggers from using these and other politically sensitive words on their websites.
UKRANIAN BROADCASTER TRK RECEIVES $65.5 MILLION LOAN TO HELP LAUNCH NEW SPORTS SATELLITE CHANNEL
Followthemedia reports that TRK Ukraina received a US$65.5 million loan from SCM Ltd, the investment vehicle owned by billionaire Rinat Akhmetov. Proceeds will be used for loan repayments and continuing operations. Akhmetov is the principal owner of TRK Ukraina, which operates television and radio channels.
In December Ukraine’s media regulator National TV and Radio Broadcasting Council awarded TRK Ukraina a license for a satellite channel devoted to sports: TRK Sport.
Speaking to the Ukrainian Investment Summit in London March 10, SCM Development Director Ilya Arkhipov said the company would launch TRK sport and all news channel TRK Novosti sometime this year. He also said the new channels would boost TRK Ukraina’s aggregate market share to 8 percent by 2010.
TRK Ukraina is based in eastern Ukraine, headquartered in Donetsk, and primarily serves Russian-speaking audiences.
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