MEDIABLAB DAILY DIGEST DEC 24: NewSat MGM Wireless MCOT Plc GEO TV CANWEST
December 24th 2007 05:22
A compendium of media news compiled by MediaBlab over the last 24 hours
QUEEN ELIZABETH’S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE TO BE BROADCAST VIA YOUTUBE
This year Queen Elizabeth II gets with it, delivering her Christmas Message via a YouTube channel that the Royal Family has launched.
The Royal Channel will feature the annual Christmas Day message as well as recent and historical footage of the queen and other members of the family.
The launch of the YouTube channel will mark the 50th anniversary of the Queen’s first televised Christmas Address in 1957.
The Guardian reported that the queen “was not immediately acquainted with the YouTube phenomenon” but personally approved the channel after encouragement from her family, including Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie who are said to be Facebook fans.
The Queens Christmas message is a tradition in Commonwealth countries and is usually broadcast in full in most of them. As well holding the position of Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, HRH Elizabeth II is also Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
CROC HUNTER STEVE IRWIN TO SAY HELLO IN EARLY JANUARY, ACCORDING TO SHOWBIZ PSYCHIC
Crikey, he’s coming back! While Easter is usually the time for resurrections, Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin could be in contact with Earth station again early in the New Year.
The medium, John Edward, famous for his television show Crossing Over with visit the Irwin Crocoseum on January 5.
Apparently, according to Terri Irwin, Steve and the showbiz medium were best of mates so expect a connection that’s remade in haven.
AUSTRALIAN MEDIA CONNED BY LAST-MAN-HANGED-ACCOMPLICE IMPERSONATOR
A top rating radio station, 3AW in Melbourne, was conned by a man pretending to be the accomplice of Ronald Ryan, the last man hanged in Australia.
The radio station ran a lengthy interview with a man pretending to be Peter Walker who was involved in a prison escape attempt with Ryan in 1965, during which a prison warder George Hodson was shot to death, a crime for which Ryan was hanged in 1967.
The fake Walker said Ryan was innocent and could not have shot the warder because his gun was jammed.
The interview was widely reported by other Australian media outlets.
But on Friday the real Peter walker contacted the radio station saying the interview was a hoax and added that the man “should have been impersonating me back in the 60s. He could have done the 20 years for me.”
But he also agreed that Ronald Ryan was innocent.
The radio station claimed they had spent a week checking the bona fides of the man before airing the interview.
NEWSAT HIRES FORMER UNWIRED LTD FOUNDER AS A DIRECTOR
NewSat Ltd has appointed Chris North as non-executive director, and his extensive experience in developing technology companies such as
Unwired Ltd is an excellent skill-set fit with the current NewSat board comprising John Walker chairman, Adrian Ballintine ceo, and Chuck Ellison.
Chris North co-founded Unwired Ltd in 1997, and was also the founder and managing director of Wattle Park Partners Pty Ltd, a Canberra-based consultancy that provides strategic, regulatory, economic and technical advice and services in all aspects of telecommunications and the media.
He was also founding director of the WiMax Spectrum Owners’ Alliance.
Over the past 15 years, North's company has undertaken projects for major telecommunications and broadcasting companies, governments and regulatory agencies in Australia, the US, Europe and Asia.
Prior to establishing Wattle Park Partners, North was a senior career executive with the Australian government for 25 years, holding key positions in a range of government departments and federal ministers' offices.
He was the chief-of-staff for two federal government ministers and a central player in the Australian reform of telecommunications and broadcasting regulation in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
NewSat recently landed a major Western Australian government and The Department for Communications, Information Technologies and the Arts contract for broadband services in the Kimberleys.
NewSat also has announced its submission to the Federal Government’s Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee for a dollar for dollar contribution to a private public partnership raising $400 million to launch a fully Australian-owned and operated geostationary communications satellite.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA’S MGM SIGNS MORE US SCHOOLS TO ITS TEXT MESSAGING SERVICE
South Australian-based MGM Wireless has extended its global reach with the signing of two US school districts in California and Arizona.
The signings cap off a positive first year for MGM Wireless US operations which are based in Sunnyvale California. Some 25 US schools have signed on for the leading edge messageyou text messaging attendance system and other school-parent communication solutions which are marketed in the US.
MGM Wireless chief executive, Mark Fortunatow said the company has signed up Fairmont Private Schools, based in Orange County, in California, a group of six school campuses which received the highest award by the US Department of Education, the Blue Ribbon of Excellence.”
In addition to Fairmont Schools, MGM Wireless has also commenced implementations with Sunnyside School District in Arizona, where MGM Wireless has already made inroads into that State’s education system.
Mark Fortunatow said. “We have an enormous opportunity in the US over the next two quarters and this will give greater balance to our Australian operations. While Australian schools are shut down over the summer holidays, the US education system is in the middle of the school year. In Australia, our busiest quarters for sales are mid-year.
“Gaining a foothold in the US market gives greater balance to our operations as well as exposure to a market which is many times greater than Australia.”
MGM Wireless is the market leader in Australia with approximately 369 schools using messageyou, with a further 1, 050 Western Australian government schools contracted to implement messageyou through the Western Australian whole of state government contract.
MGM Wireless is also beta testing its latest school to parent communications service, School News Channel with four Australian schools, with a full scale launch due in the 2008 school year.
RELEASE OF FRENCH DISSIDENT JOURNALIST ARRESTED IN VIETNAM ON TERRORIST ACTIVITY CHARGES
French journalist Nguyen Thi Thanh Van returned to Paris on December 12 after Vietnamese authorities released her from prison earlier that day, according to report in Media Asia on Friday.
"There was never any violence against me, but I was interrogated for one or two hours by policemen every day except Sundays. They tried to unsettle me. It was a form of moral terror," Thanh Van told Reporters Without Borders on her return after 25 days in prison.
She said the purpose of her Vietnam visit was to interview local dissidents and rural labourers, but local police arrested her and five other political activists, two nationals, two Vietnamese Americans, and one Thai, on November 17.
She, along with two other activists arrested that day, is a member of the banned pro-democracy Viet Tan party.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that the Vietnamese government informed Thanh Van's situation to French authorities after she was detained over 48 hours.
Thanh Van was imprisoned on charges of terrorist activities. During her detention she was forbidden contact with her family and friends, who urged the French government to intercede. After one reported failed attempt, the French embassy was able to arrange a consular representative's visit to the Ho Chi Min City prison to speak to her on November 30.
The 51-year-old journalist works on Viet Nam Dan Chu (Democracy in Vietnam), a monthly magazine run by the Vietnamese community in exile, and Chan Troi Moi (New Horizon), a Japan-and-US-based radio program broadcast to Vietnam. She is also the secretary general of the France-Vietnam Mutual Aid Organisation.
According to Committee to Protect Journalists, activists and journalists increasingly face imprisonment as Vietnam steps up crackdowns on pro-democracy movements.
Associated Press reported that one of the American activists arrested alongside Thanh Van, Truong Leon, or Leon Truong, a resident of Hawaii, was released on December 11.
JAMES MURDOCH RALLIES THE TROOPS AT NEWS INTERNATIONAL, VOWING TO SET THE PACE IN PUBLISHING
James Murdoch, the new head of News International, has vowed to "set the pace" in the newspaper industry and promised to decide on the new location for its headquarters "in the new year,” according to a report in the Guardian.
Murdoch, appointed on December 7 as chairman and chief executive, Europe and Asia, of News International parent company News Corporation, told staff at the newspaper publisher's Wapping headquarters in London that "in the business of ideas" few companies are as well-positioned as News International.
"The sea-change that we are lucky to be part of, this revolution that we can see in our readers, users and viewers' appetites with respect to their media consumption is enormously exciting," Murdoch told News International's in-house staff title, the News.
"Our titles are unique, their personality, scale and quality unrivalled - and this puts us in a pole position not simply to react to change but to drive it, to genuinely set the pace.
"I'm an optimist, for our print editions, for our online and mobile work and for the things we haven't thought of yet."
WINNERS OF WHAT THE PAPERS SAY AWARDS IN BRITAIN
The Financial Times has been named newspaper of the year at the What the Papers Say awards, after being praised by the judges as a "truly 21st century newspaper."
It was commended for its coverage of stories such as the global credit crunch and the Northern Rock crisis.
The full list of winners is:
Feature writer of the year
Quentin Letts; Daily Mail
Sports writer of the year
James Lawton, the Independent
Showbiz writer of the year is
Eva Simpson, Daily Mirror
Cartoonist of the year
Stan McMurtry (Mac), Daily Mail
Photographer of the year
Pictures of soldiers in Afghanistan; Peter Jordan, the Sun
Reporter of the year
Stephen Wright, Daily Mail
Foreign correspondent of the year
Dispatches from Zimbabwe and Pakistan; Christina Lamb of the Sunday Times
Gerald Barry award for lifetime achievement
Alan Watkins, whose career stretches back 47 years including stints at the Sunday Express, the Spectator, the New Statesman and the Observer.
Scoop of the year
‘Friendly’ fire in Iraq killed British soldier Matty Hull; Tom Newton Dunn, the Sun
Columnist of the year
Alice Miles, the Times.
Judges' award
David Leigh and Rob Evans, the Guardian
Newspaper of the year
Financial Times
MEN’S HEALTH MAGAZINE TO INCREASE ITS LIFESTYLE CONTENT IN 2008
Media Daily News reports that Men's Health magazine will be publishing more lifestyle content, beginning with the Men's Health Blue Book on fashion, due out in October 2008. The first issue of the Blue Book will be a 24-page pull-out section that provides a comprehensive guide to all things denim-related.
The pull-out section will include well-known personalities in the season's latest denim trends, guest contributors from the denim industry, a ‘Fit Guide’ to determine the right jeans for every body type, and a ‘Denim Directory’ reference tool. The pull-out section will also point readers to an interactive mix and match tool online to experiment with various looks.
THAILAND’S STATE-OWNED TV BROADCASTER TO STUDY PRIVATISATION PROCESS
MCOT Plc, Thailand’s state-owned broadcaster, has resolved to set up a sub-committee to study the privatisation process of the company in detail, reports the Thai News Agency.
Chairman Charnchai Suntharamut said given available information, he was confident that the privatisation process of MCOT was justifiable and had been vindicated under the existing laws.
MCOT is 66 percent owned by the Finance Ministry and was listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 2004.
The MCOT Public Company Ltd operates television and radio stations in Thailand, through self-operated and joint operations with other operators. The company operates channel 9 television station, which is broadcast which transmits from the main station in Bangkok to 35 regional network stations.
It also operates AM and FM radio stations that broadcast in central and regional regions of Thailand.
The company also produces news under the name, Thai News Agency, and through joint ventures has the right to operate a pay television networks based on digital satellite technology.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA TO GET ITS OWN TV STATION IN 2008
Papua New Guinea will have its own television station by June or July next year, reports local daily newspaper The National.
National Broadcasting Corporation managing director Joseph Ealadona confirmed a draft cabinet submission about the TV station had been signed by Communication Minister Patrick Tammur.
"The chief secretary has directed the National Broadcasting Corporation and other relevant government agencies to come up with a project plan which is being finalised and we will brief the chief secretary next week," Ealadona said.
"We are ready for the pilot project and that will be about mid next year."
Prime Minister Michael Somare is reportedly adamant that Papua New Guinea's own TV station should become a reality before he quits politics, and he has been also seeking technical assistance from outside the country to get the project started.
Somare said, "With the intention of having a second PNG TV network by June 2008, I have requested the technical assistance of Singapore."
He indicated that Singapore was willing to assist Papua New Guinea in training and technical support for the TV network.
TWO GEO TV CHANNELS PERMITTED TO BROADCAST IN PAKISTAN AGAIN
Two Geo TV channels are back on air in Pakistan, more than a month after they were blacked out, according to reports news website NDTV.com.
Geo Entertainment and Aag TV are being aired on cable networks across Pakistan but Geo News and Geo Super are still off air.
The channels have been off the air since the imposition of emergency rule by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on November 3.
Geo TV, Pakistan’s biggest Urdu television network, last month appealed to Musharraf to allow its broadcasts on cable networks.
Last Sunday, Geo TV said in a letter published in The News, “The constitution of Pakistan has been restored, emergency has been lifted and the Provisional Constitutional Order has been withdrawn. Mr President, congratulations, you have kept your promises…There is however, one other matter of national interest that requires your urgent attention – media freedom."
The letter signed by ‘Geo Team’ told the President, who has taken credit for giving freedom to the media, that, "Compared to others, you have done more for the development of media, free speech and promotion of constructive criticism. Please let that still be one of your hallmarks and legacies.”
CANWEST GLOBAL’S ACQUISITION OF ALLIANCE ATLANTIC APPROVED BY REGULATOR
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission officially approved CanWest Global's C$2.3-billion acquisition of Alliance Atlantis' specialty channels, according to Media in Canada.
The commission’s chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said the regulator is "satisfied that this transaction meets the requirements for Canadian control both in law and fact."
CanWest must merge its existing broadcasting properties into CanWest Investments by 2011, including the Alliance assets.
Media in Canada reported, “Speculation about the implications of the deal is swirling – from questions about whether other Canadian broadcasters will now seek foreign investment partners (CanWest is financing the deal with US-based Goldman Sachs Capital Partners) to concerns about control of the airwaves.
As a result of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission concerns, CanWest made several changes to the proposed governance structure to satisfy the regulator that programming decisions will remain under CanWest's control.
CanWest will devote C$136.6 million over seven years to programming, and several programs will be produced by independent production companies.
CanWest also committed $14.6 million toward social and industry initiatives, including mentorship and internship programs and support for arts and diversity festivals.
ADVERTISING REVENUE DOWN BY 0.1 PERCENT IN US IN SEPTEMBER
Advertising in the US fell 0.1 percent in September, according to preliminary figures released Thursday by Nielsen Monitor-Plus.
US Media Week said that of the 16 media segments tracked by the research service, only six showed increases, led by the internet, with a 15.9 percent gain. Other media that increased during the period were national magazines, up 7.7 percent; national Sunday supplements (6 percent); outdoor (5.7 percent); national cable TV (1.2 percent); and Spanish-language TV (0.5 percent).
TNS Media Intelligence issued its third quarter estimates, reporting a slight increase in ad spending of 0.2 percent to $108.2 billion.
Most of the market softness came from the automotive category. Auto manufacturers cut spending by 13.5 percent while local dealers cut spending by 5.6 percent. Among the top 10 categories, only pharmaceuticals, telephone services and wireless, and direct response products were up.
Media Week US reported that while traditional American advertising slid, product placement continued to grow. Product placement occurrences in among the top 10 prime time programs were up to 22,046 occurrences compared to 19,125 over the same period last year. Fox’s American Idol led with the most occurrences at 4,349.
The No. 1 brand for product placement was Coca-Cola soft drinks at 3,111, more than double No. 2-ranked Chef Revival Apparel.
In contrast, occurrences in prime-time cable network programming decreased.
NEWSPAPER READERSHIP IN UK FALLS BY FIVE MILLION OVER 15 YEAR PERIOD
The number of UK adults reading at least one national daily newspaper on an average day fell from 26.7 million in 1992 to 21.7 million last year, according to research.
The Guardian reported that in 1992, 59 percent of adults read one or more national daily newspapers, compared with 45 percent last year, the figures from a National Readership Survey commissioned by the House of Lords communications committee found.
However, according to the Guardian, two national daily and three Sunday titles went against the trend - the Daily Mail, the Times, the Sunday Telegraph, Sunday Times and Mail on Sunday.
The Daily Express and Daily Mirror were hardest hit, as were the People and Sunday Express.
EUROPEAN COMMISSION TO PROMOTE MEDIA LITERACY
Chinese news agency Xinhua reported that the European Commission will promote ‘media literacy,’ the ability to critically analyse what they find in the media and to make more informed choices.
Viviane Reding, European Union commissioner for information society and media said, “In a digital era, media literacy is crucial for achieving full and active citizenship. The ability to read and write - or traditional literacy - is no longer sufficient in this day and age. People need a greater awareness of how to express themselves effectively, and how to interpret what others are saying, especially on blogs, via search engines or in advertising.”
The commission's plans focus on three areas: media literacy for commercial communication, covering issues related to advertising; media literacy for audiovisual works, which is in part about raising awareness of European film and enhancing creativity skills; media literacy for online content.
OHMYNEW’S SOUTH KOREAN OWNER TO LAUNCH THE CITIZEN JOURNALISM SITE IN EUROPE
Oh Yeon Ho, the pioneering South Korean journalist and owner of the world's largest 'citizen journalist' media website, plans to launch his website OhmyNews.com in Europe and is already in talks with a potential partner.
Britain’s Telegraph newspaper reported, “The site, which famously swung the outcome of the 2002 South Korean presidential election, publishes content written by almost 50,000 members of public and boasts up to 600,000 daily readers.”
The move comes as traditional media companies increasingly step up their interaction with readers. The BBC, for example, is currently asking people to send in their own picture and video stories for BBC reporters to follow up.
Despite the pitfalls of publishing news stories from people that are not professional journalists, OhmyNews maintains that only five stories have become embroiled in legal disputes since the site was founded in 2000.
Ho also wants to expand the site to the US and North Korea after its European venture but there’s only one small problem the site hasn’t turned a profit since 2003, suffering a small loss last year which Ho attributed to an advertising slump in Korea, which accounts for 60 percent of the group’s revenue.
The group also invested heavily in the site's redevelopment.
US FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION WILL NOT BLOCK GOOGLE’S DOUBLECLICK ACQUISITION
The US Federal Trade Commission announced that it will not seek to block Google Inc’s proposed US$3.1 billion acquisition of internet advertising server DoubleClick Inc.
In a 4-1 vote to close its eight-month investigation of the transaction, the commission wrote in its majority statement that “after carefully reviewing the evidence, we have concluded that Google’s proposed acquisition of DoubleClick is unlikely to substantially lessen competition.”
Although interested parties have raised concerns about the proposed acquisition’s impact on consumer privacy, the commission observed that such issues are “not unique to Google and DoubleClick,” and “extend to the entire online advertising marketplace.”
The commissioners further wrote that “as the sole purpose of federal antitrust review of mergers and acquisitions is to identify and remedy transactions that harm competition,” the commission lacks the legal authority to block the transaction on grounds, or require conditions to this transaction, that do not relate to antitrust. Adding, however, that it takes consumer privacy issues very seriously, the commission cross-referenced its release of a set of proposed behavioural marketing principles that were also announced on the same day.
Copies of the statements and the newly issued self-regulatory privacy principles can be found at www.ftc.gov.
APN SHARES NAMED AS BEST BULLS FOR THE WEEK IN AUSTRALIA
News Ltd’s Australian tabloid Sunday papers nominated APN News & Media at the top of its Best Bulls list for the week, showing its share price had risen by 8.3 percent during the week to $5.48 and noting that “investors found value in the stock at low price.”
At close of trading on Thursday December 13, APN shares had risen three cents to $5.18 and Fairfax Digital’s Trading Room listed it as a stock to watch, reporting, “Independent News & Media Plc, the parent company of APN News and Media Ltd, is set to post a 3 percent rise in 2007 revenue, the Irish newspaper publisher said in a trading update issued a week early in a bid to allay fears over the advertising market.”
On August 16 this year, APN said it had "plenty" of firepower to make acquisitions, after posting a small lift in interim earnings.
As of October 5, 2007, APN had repurchased 4,625,545 shares for an aggregate value of $24.30 million, under the 45,311,779 shares repurchase plan announced on July 3, 2007.
APN News & Media Ltd operates as a multi media company in Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. The company publishes 23 daily and 100 non-daily newspapers. It also operates as radio broadcaster with 12 metropolitan radio stations in Australia and 120 radio stations in New Zealand. In addition, the company provides outdoor advertising services. APN News & Media is based in Sydney.
EMAP UK SELLS ITS MAGAZINE AND RADIO BUSINESSES BUT KEEPS ITS B2B DIVISION
Emap is selling its magazines and radio businesses to the German publishing group Heinrich Bauer for GBP1.14 billion (AS2.61 billion) but will keep its more valuable business-to-business arm, according to the Guardian which followed up a story that originally appeared in the Financial Times.
Bauer adds the assets, including magazines such as Grazia and FHM, to the family business's numerous European publishing operations, including British magazines Bella, Take a Break and TV Quick.
Emap Radio is Britain’s second-largest commercial radio operator, with 38 local stations and a digital radio network. Its top brands include Magic and Kiss.
The business-to-business arm, which includes trade magazines and exhibitions, was seen as the most valuable asset on offer and had attracted widespread interest from private equity and trade buyers. Analysts predicted it could fetch £1.3 billion.
Interested parties included the private equity firms Cinven and Candover, and there was a joint bid from Apax and Guardian Media Group, publisher of the Guardian and Observer newspapers.
Emap said their bids were not high enough.
Emap put itself up for sale in July following shareholder pressure, approaches from possible buyers and a languishing share price.
SAM ZELL COMPLETES BUY OUT OF THE US TRIBUNE PUBLISHING COMPANY
American real-estate magnate Sam Zell completed his US$8.2 billion (A$9.5 billion) buyout of Tribune Co, and installed himself and two longtime associates, Randy Michaels and Gerald A. Spector, at the head of the debt-laden company, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Tribune, which owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and a string of TV stations, also named a new board.
The Wall Street Journal said Tribune now has $13 billion of debt as a result of the buyout, and is facing deteriorating market conditions in the newspaper industry.
Zell said he wasn’t concerned about Tribune’s debt load because its cash flow was stable, but he did point out that he would shake things up at the company.
He said that Tribune, like the rest of the newspaper industry, "has been mired in its monopolistic origins" and that he wants to "create a fresh, entrepreneurial culture that is fast and nimble."
He added, "I'm sick and tired of listening to everyone talk about and commiserate over the end of newspapers. They ain't ended and they're not going to end. I think they have a great future."
AUSTRALIA’S DIGISPAA GIVES DETAILS OF 2008 DIGITAL FILM MAKERS COMPETITION
Australia’s DigiSPAA, now in its fourth year, provides a forum for Australian and New Zealand digital filmmakers to showcase their work in a competitive environment.
Finalists in the DigiSPAA competition are screened during the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) Fringe and the winner of the SPAArtan Award will be announced at the SPAA Conference in November 2008.
The recipient of the SPAArtan award, sponsored by Movie Network, receives a cash prize of $15,000 as well as $20,000 worth of post-production sponsored by the Movie Network Channels, a 12 month subscription to Movie Network, and return airfares and free registration to the prestigious Rotterdam Cinemart International Feature Film Market. The winning entry will also be screened on the Movie Extra channel.
Producer John L Simpson (who most recently came to the attention of film audiences as the distributor of The Jammed) was awarded the inaugural SPAARTAN Award in 2007 for his feature film, Men's Group, directed by Michael Joy. Simpson's film was up against contenders including Boxing Day, produced by Kristian Moliere and directed by Kriv Stenders.
DigiSPAA is a creative project of the Screen Producers Association of Australia (SPAA) an industry body that represents Australian independent film and television producers on all issues affecting the business and creative aspects of screen production.
The judges for 2008 include Geoff Brown, executive director of SPAA; Melanie Coombs, producer of the Oscar winning Harvie Krumpet; Antony I. Ginnane, president of IFM World Releasing Inc; producer Daniel Scharf (Romper Stomper); and Colleen Meldrum, program director of Movie Network.
GOOGLE BECOMES AMERICA’S FIFTH LARGEST STOCK
TechCrunch reports that Google became America’s fifth largest listed stock, by market cap, this year, while continuing its march towards world domination.
According to figures from comScore Google traffic increased 22.42 percent this year across its main web properties, excluding non-US sites and acquired sites such as YouTube.
Google’s personalised start page service iGoogle increased traffic in the 12 months to November by 267.64 percent. Other strong performers included Google Book Search up 54.66 percent, Gmail up 53.6 percent and Google Maps up 51.57 percent.
Google’s worst performer in 2007 was Google Product Search (shopping), down 73.26 percent.
Google Scholar search dropped 32.14 percent and Google Video search dropped 11.82 percent.
Google’s most popular products in order of traffic for 2007 were: search, image search, Gmail, Google Maps and Google News.
NEW YORK APPEALS COURT OPENS DOOR TO LIBEL TOURISM IN EHRENFELD CASE
New York’s appeals court has opened the door to ‘libel tourism’ by turning down a chance to protect American authors from libel judgments awarded by foreign courts, the New York Sun reports.
The Sun said the case which pitted s a Saudi billionaire against a New York-based researcher was a test of how New York's courts will respond to concerns that the First Amendment rights of American authors are being undermined by libel judgments imposed abroad, especially in Britain.
The Sun said, “Libel law in Britain is far more plaintiff-friendly than America's libel law, and the discrepancy has given rise to a practice that critics describe as ‘libel tourism.’
“In recent years, American authors and journalists have found themselves sued by non-British nationals in British courts over articles and books published in America.”
The Court of Appeals in Albany said that New York law did not allow the researcher, Rachel Ehrenfeld, to seek a court order saying that a British judgment against her was unenforceable under the First Amendment. The Court said it did not have jurisdiction over the Saudi financier and that Ms. Ehrenfeld's suit to block the judgment must be dismissed.
At issue was Ehrenfeld's 2003 book, "Funding Evil: How Terrorism is Financed — and How to Stop It," in which she accused a Saudi financier, Khalid bin Mahfouz, of backing organizations with alleged ties to terrorism. It is a charge that Mahfouz denies. Mahfouz sued Ehrenfeld and other researchers who made similar accusations against him in court in London. See MediaBlab archive)
Ehrenfeld's work has appeared in many publications including The New York Sun.
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