MEDIABLAB DAILY DIGEST APRIL 16: UGLY BETTY; CHINESE INTERNET; AP LOWERS FEES
April 16th 2008 03:14
SATELLITE TV LAUNCHED IN CAMBODIA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THAILAND’S SHIN SATELLITE DIVISION
The national Television of Kampuchea and the Cambodian DTV Network Ltd, a branch of the Shin Satellite Company from Thailand, launched Techo-DTV, the first satellite TV network of Cambodia earlier this month.
“From now on, people in all the corners of Cambodia will be able
to watch all programs of our TV networks easily through this
satellite TV network," said Khieu Kahnarith, Cambodian government
spokesman and Minister of Information.
He added that the Cambodia National Election Committee will be able to
use this satellite TV network to educate people about election
process for the general election in July.
Kem Kunnawadh, director general of Television of Kampuchea, said that Techo-DTV is the country's first satellite television network service that can
provide direct-to-home (television programs to every household
in the kingdom.
Dumrong Kasemset, chief executive for the Shin Satellite
Company, said that the main benefits of Techo-DTV service include
digital quality of picture and sound similar to that of DVD and
convenience of installation almost everywhere.
The DTV service sells for US$75 dollars with satellite dish and antenna – cable TV is available for US$5 per month.
While urban Cambodians can access cable TV networks, about 20 percent of the 14 million population in remote places can't, and satellite TV will be their solution – if they can afford it.
AUSTRALIA’S MAJOR TELCO RUNS NATIONAL PROGRAM TO INTRODUCE SENIORS TO THE INTERNET
Australia’s major telco Thousands of older Australians are learning more about the internet and mobile phones through a Connected Seniors program run by the major telco, Telstra.
Over the past eight months more than 110 community organisations have already shared over A$750,000 to help run education programs that teach those aged 60 and over how to better use communication technology.
David Moffatt, Telstra's head of Consumer Marketing and Channels, said, "Telstra Connected Seniors, a $3 million program over three years, was created to help older Australians learn more about new technology so they can confidently use it to keep in contact with family, friends and loved ones.
"Already thousands of older Australians have begun to learn more about technology and what it can do for them. Whether it is video-calling grandchildren on the other side of the country, or banking online, we are seeing seniors across the country become more confident with technology."
Next round of grants for Telstra Connected Seniors funding are open now. Local community grants start from $1,000 to $5,000, through to State and Territory level grants up to $50,000. Applications close on 5 May 2008.
Clubs and community groups with a membership base comprised primarily of seniors can apply for grants and educational materials. Community organisations interested in applying should visit Telstra Connected Seniors Grant (www.telstraseniors.com.au)
INJURED FINGER PUTS TOP AUSSIE TV BOSS IN INDUCED COMA
Australia’s Network Seven television company released a statement yesterday about the health of the company’s ceo, David Leckie.
The press release said, “Seven Network ceo David Leckie is in a serious but stable condition in St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney.
“His admission to hospital follows an injury to a finger several weeks ago.
A recent second graft to his finger appeared to be successful but trigged a more serious infection which required David’s immediate hospitalisation.
“The Network expects him back at work in a week or so.”
New.com.au reported that Leckie has been placed in an induced coma.
Leckie injured the finger in closing a car door two months ago. The top of the finger was damaged and one operation failed to repair it and another was scheduled to try and repair and complete a skin graft.
COPIES OF WALL STREET JOURNAL PARODY BOUGHT BY WALL STREET REPS
The New York Times reports that a parody of The Wall Street Journal, dubbed 'My Wall Street Journal' hit US newsstands this week to mark the April 15 tax deadline.
Sales are brisk because, according to the Times, because Wall Street Journal reps are busy buying up copies.
The parody paper describes itself as a "sizzling satire of the people responsible for the staggering mess we're in.”
It promises the chance to "laugh away your great depression" with work by writers from The Onion, The Daily Show, Saturday Night Live, The New Yorker and the Wall Street Journal itself.
Sponsors include Poor Little Bear Stearns, Texacon – sucking the world dry for America – and Minimum Securities.
The publication includes headlines like "Cleaning Lady Sees Virgin In Merrill Lynch Q4 Loss," and the front page story "Bush Abolishes Death, Taxes – Move will Benefit McCain."
The 24-page tabloid, edited by Tony Hendra, starts out aping the WSJ's appearance, gradually devolving into a New York Post replica.
"We wanted to make it look like what will happen to the WSJ when Rupert has finally had his way with it," Hendra told FishBowl, "It's not a parody. Travesty is a better word."
The paper is published by the New York Press and Manhattan Media.
NEWS CORP TO INCREASE ITS STAKE IN GERMAN PAY-TV GROUP PREMIERE AG
The Wall Street Journal (the non-parody version) reports that News Corp plans to increase the stake it has recently built in leading German pay-TV group Premiere AG, in order to expand its presence in Europe's biggest TV market.
News Corp plans to raise its holding to the 25-26 percent range, after building a 22.7 percent stake in the Munich-based cable-TV operator in the past three months.
Under German law, News Corp would have to bid for all Premiere shares if its holding reached 30 percent, but with 25 percent it could block any other shareholder from gaining control of the company.
A News Corp spokesman in Europe declined to comment.
The Wall Street Journal said that Germany has long been a hole in News Corp's European operations, which include stakes in or full ownership of TV broadcasters in the United Kingdom, Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia and Georgia.
STATE OF PLAY IN THE INDOCHINA TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKET
The 2008 annual edition of Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Asia - Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam is now available, and profiles three countries which once made up the French colonial entity known as Indochina.
The publication says it is reasonable to say that Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are all still in comparatively early stages of their telecommunications development with expanding national infrastructure and growing subscriber bases across all market segments.
The introduction of internet and especially broadband internet is still very much in the early stages, although 2007 saw a significant surge in online access in Vietnam.
Continuing to ignore fixed-line services, Cambodia has built a healthy mobile market instead, reaching the 2.5 million subscriber milestone (17 percent penetration) in early 2008 and was growing at an annual rate of around 50 percent into 2008.
In the meantime, fixed-line services had flattened out at around 42,000, with no sign of any revival in interest in this segment of the market. Surprisingly, at the same, internet penetration has remained particularly low; one of the biggest inhibitors to Internet growth in Cambodia is the high cost of online access in Cambodia in comparison to other countries in the region.
The push towards the strengthening of the telecom regulatory environment as well as the expansion of the national telecom infrastructure in Cambodia has been continuing. This is despite the occasional political problem and the country’s mixed success in its wider struggle to build the national economy. The country has certainly entered a period of relative political stability, presenting a useful opportunity for some serious regulatory reform. Foreign investor confidence appears to have returned and there is every indication that the economy is strengthening in a sustainable fashion.
There was no hiding the fact Laos had to struggle for years with a poorly performing economy and a commercial environment that was in desperate need of reform. However, in the 2006/07 period there was a noticeable shift in the outlook for the country with positive news being reported on many fronts. Most importantly, a significant number of hydro-electric power projects and mining ventures have become or are close to a reality, with many more possible projects in the pipeline. Laos is at last moving forward in a confident fashion.
As attention turned to building the country’s infrastructure, by early 2008 fixed-line teledensity stood at less than two telephones per 100 people. While more foreign investment is needed to boost the sector, the government must also be judicious in selecting and licensing new operators to ensure that it gets the best value out of the investment.
The joint venture formed by the government with Thai company Shinawatra in 1996 let the five year period of market exclusivity granted to Lao Telecom pass without any serious attention to infrastructure building. When the market was opened up to competition in 2002, foreign capital finally started to flow. The mobile phone market took off in early 2003, with the number of subscribers increasing sevenfold in the two years following. The Lao telecom sector still has many issues to address. The rate of regulatory reform continues to lag well behind industry development and has the potential to derail the progress already made if the reform is not speeded up.
Vietnam has become the target for an energetic new round of investor interest of late. Numerous foreign telcos are turning their attention to this significant South East Asian market. The country has it seems come out of a period of wishful thinking , based on the belief that it could ‘go it alone.’ The introduction of a limited level of competition into the telecoms market, combined with a generally improved economic climate, triggered a round of strong growth in the sector.
More recently the move to allow an increased level of ‘equitisation’ (the Vietnamese government’s word for ‘privatisation’) has sent a clear message to investors that the rules are changing and the door has been opened. Vietnam’s accession to the WTO in 2007 effectively provided a formal confirmation of change. It was still not totally clear, however, what form the government’s involvement in the telecom sector will take into the future.
As well as strong growth in Vietnam’s mobile sector (28 million subscribers at end-2007, 33 percent penetration), there has been surprisingly healthy growth in the country’s fixed line subscriber base.
Although precise figures are hard to get, fixed-line services were continuing to expand by an estimated 25 percent a year.
The government continues to demonstrate a certain ambivalence about the internet; nevertheless, this has not stopped the market starting out on a what looks like a solid growth path. Internet user penetration was running at an impressive 21 percent in January 2008 and the ‘hot’ broadband segment of that market was growing at an annual rate of well over 100 percent.”
SURVEY SHOWS THAT AMERICAN NEWSROOMS HAVE SUFFERED THE BIGGEST LOSS OF JOBS IN 30 YEARS
The American Society of Newspaper Editors conducted a survey this year that found that newsrooms have encountered the biggest loss of jobs in 30 years and that the percentage of minorities working in newsrooms is still disproportionate to the larger workforce, according to Editor & Publishing. .
The survey found:
- U.S. daily newsrooms shrank by 2,400 journalists in the past year, a "4.4 parent workforce decrease that's the biggest year-over-year cut in ranks since the American Society of Newspaper Editors began conducting its annual census 30 years ago.
- 52,600 people work full-time in daily newspaper newsrooms. 1984 was the last time that number has been so low at 50,400, of whom 5.75 percent were journalists of racial or ethnic minorities.
- Nearly 300 fewer journalists of color are working in newsrooms than this time last year.
- But due to the layoffs and hiring freezes, the percentage of journalists of color in daily newsrooms actually grew by a tiny margin, to 13.52 pecent from 13.43 percent of all journalists.
- "The largest number and percentage of journalists of color are black, with 2,790 or 5.3 percent of the workforce."
- There are 2,346 Hispanic journalists, 4.5 percent of newsrooms.
- Asian Americans are 3.2 percent of newsrooms at 1,692 journalists.
- Native Americans are the smallest minority group: 284 journalists or 0.5 percent of newsroom employees.
- Men still outnumber women in the daily newsroom by a 63 percent to 37 percent margin.
- Minority journalists are more likely to be reporters. Only 11.4 percent of supervisors are journalists of color.
MURDOCH TO SIT ON ASSOCIATED PRESS BOARD UNTIL NEXT ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
AFP reports that Rupert Murdoch will temporarily join the board of directors of US news agency The Associated Press - he fills the seat vacated by Cox Newspapers president Jay Smith who retired after serving five years on the board, the news cooperative said at its annual meeting.
Murdoch will sit on the 18-member board until the next election of directors.
The AP also announced it will launch a mobile service later this year which sends news and other information to smart phones such as Apple's i-Phone.
"The Mobile News Network will provide a national platform for smartphone users to access local content from brands they trust," AP president Tom Curley said.
WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE TRAFFIC INCREASES AT IMPRESSIVE RATE
Traffic is still growing at an impressive for the Wall Street Journal, according to its own claims.
Portfolio reports that WSJ.com hosted 15 million unique visitors in March, a 175 percent increase over March 2007.
Page views came in at around 165 million, up 75 percent year-over-year.
According to internal numbers, WSJ.com hosted 15 million unique visitors in March, a 175 percent increase over March 2007.
Page views came in at around 165 million, up 75 percent year-over-year.
"I don't know of any news site that's growing at that speed," says Alan Murray, executive editor of the Wall Street Journal Online, “I don't think this has gotten much attention."
Those are the Wall Street Journal figures, but Nielsen Netratings came up with a different set of measurements. Nielsen's March numbers aren't out yet, but it reported 6 million uniques visiting WSJ.com in February of this year, versus 3.4 million in the year-ago period.
"You don't want to tie yourself too specifically to any one number, but the trend is clear, says Murray, "We are rapidly growing our readership."
SOAP COMPANY IN PARTNERSHIP TO PRODUCE A CHINESE VERSION OF UGLY BETTY
Media Asia reports that Unilever has teamed up with Hunan Satellite television, Beijing Nesound International Media and MindShare Performance to introduce the Chinese version of ‘Ugly Betty’.
Set to air in September, Hunan’s version of Ugly Betty is the largest content project ever undertaken by Unilever.
The company hopes that the link between Betty’s inner beauty and Dove’s trademark ‘Campaign for Real Beauty’ will rejuvenate the Dove brand, which has struggled to gain traction in China.
Unilever brands Clear, an anti-dandruff shampoo, and Lipton’s Milk Tea are also included in the deal.
WHAT’S HOT ON CHINESE INTERNET REGARDING THE OLYMPIC TORCH DEMONSTRATIONS
MediaBlab again attempt to “balance the books” by presenting intelligent Chinese views about the Olympic torch demonstrations, and this time Fu Ying, former Chinese ambassador to the UK, gives his opinion in the China Daily:
In the morning of April 6, looking at the snow flakes falling outside the window, I could not but wonder: what the torch relay would be like?
About eight hours later, when the torch finally struggled through the route, Olympic gold medalist Dame Kelly Holmes ran up to light the Olympic cauldron at O2 Dome, 4,000 spectators cheered.
This day will be remembered as Beijing met London with splashes and sparkles. It was an encounter between China, the first developing country to host the Olympics, and Britain, the first Western country to greet the torch.
On the bus to the airport, I was with some young girls from the Beijing team, including an Olympic Gold Medalist Miss Qiao. They were convinced that the people here were against them. One girl remarked she could not believe this land nourished Shakespeare and Dickens.
I cannot blame them. I fully understood how they felt. They were running between vehicles for the whole day, noses red and hands cold, trying to service the torch bearers. They had only about three hours of sleep the previous night and some were having lunch sandwiches just now. Worse still, they had to repeatedly endure violent attacks on the torch throughout the relay. I was fortunate to sit at the rear bus and saw smiling faces of Londoners who came out in tens of thousands, old people waving and young performers dancing, braving the cold weather.
In the darkness of London night, waving the chartered plane goodbye, I had a feeling the plane was heavier than when it landed. The torch will carry on and the journey will educate the over-a-billion Chinese people about the world and the world about China.
A young friend in China wrote to me after watching the event on BBC: "I felt so many things all at once - sadness, anger and confusion". It must have dawned on many like him that simply a sincere heart was not enough to ensure China's smooth integration with the world. The wall that stands in China's way to the world is thick and heavy.
In China, what is hot at this moment on the internet, for which China has 200 million users, is not only the attempts to snatch the torch but also some moving images of Jin Jing, a slim young girl, a Paralympic athlete in a wheelchair helped by an athlete with visual impairment. She held a torch with both arms to her chest as violent "protesters" tried repeatedly to grab it from her during the Paris relay. There is especially infuriated criticism of some of the mis-reporting of China in recent weeks like crafting photos or even using photos from other countries to prove a 'crackdown'.
On the other side of the wall, the story is different. I am concerned that mutual perceptions between the people of China and the West are quickly drifting in opposite directions.
I cannot help asking why, when it comes to China, the generalised accusations can easily be accepted without people questioning what exactly and specifically they mean. I cannot help asking why any story or figures can stay on the news for days without factual support.
Of those who protested loudly, many probably have not seen Tibet. For the Chinese people, Tibet is a loved land and information about it is ample. Four million tourists visit Tibet every year. The past five years saw the income of farmers and herdsmen increasing by 83.3 per cent. In 2006, there were more than 1,000 schools with 500,000 students. In this autonomous region where 92 per cent of the population is Tibetan, there are 1,780 temples, or one for every 1,600 people - more than in England, where there is one church for every 3,125 people. On the complicated question of religion mixing up with politics, separation is unacceptable. But people are well-fed, well-clothed and well-housed. That has been the main objective of China for centuries. Tibet may not grow into an industrial place like the eastern cities in China, but it will move on like other parts of China.
I personally experienced China's transition to opening up, from small steps to bigger strides. I remain a consistent and firm supporter of opening up.
The latest events have led the younger generation of Chinese born after the 1980s, who grew up in a more prosperous and better- educated China, to begin a collective rethinking about the West. My daughter, who loves Western culture, must have used the word "why" dozens of times in our long online chat. Her frustration could be felt between the lines. Many who had romantic views about the West are very disappointed at the media's attempt to demonise China. We all know demonisation feeds a counter reaction.
Many complain about China not allowing enough access to the media. In China, the view is that the Western media needs to make an effort to earn respect. It would be helpful to the credibility of the Western media if the issues they care and write about are of today's China, not of things that do not exist or of the long gone past.
In my one year in the UK, I have realised there is a lot more media coverage about China than when I was a student here in the mid-'80s and most are quite close to the real life in China. China is also in an era of information explosion. I am sure that more and more people in the West will be able to cross the language and cultural barriers and find out more about the real China.
The world has waited for China to join it. Now China has to have the patience to wait for the world to understand China.
ASSOCIATED PRESS ANNOUNCES A FURTHER FEE CUT TO HELP STRUGGLING NEWSPAPERS
The Associated Press announced on Monday that it will further cut fees paid by struggling newspaper members.
To do this it will develop an advertising-supported service that will deliver stories and photos to advanced cell phones, including the iPhone.
The service, which will carry local news from participating newspapers as well as national and international news from the AP, is being tested with several newspaper companies and is expected to launch in the summer under the name Mobile News Network, the AP said.
AP said it was working with cell phone manufacturers and carriers to develop a user interface for the service. A product to provide news videos is also in the works.
AP President and ceo Tom Curley said that while the service was designed specifically for Apple Inc.'s iPhone, it can be used with other "smart" phones.
Curley said the service would be organized by ZIP code, with AP managing and paying for a central facility to handle technical and ad-serving functions.
Local ads would be sold by participating newspapers and national ads by ad networks. Revenue would be split 50-50 between news providers and ad sellers.
Curley said several newspaper companies participated in setting up initial rules for how news would be contributed and the revenues split: Advance Publications Inc., Hearst Corp., Lee Enterprises Inc., McClatchy Co., MediaNews Group Inc. and Rust Communications Inc.
Newspapers have been seeing steady declines in advertising revenues in recent years, and many have responded by cutting staff and reducing other expenses.
The AP has also faced calls from members for more price cuts amid steep revenue declines at newspapers because of a downturn in the economy and an ongoing shift of readers and advertising dollars to the internet.
Responding to the revenue declines, AP said it was further reducing its fees to newspapers in 2009, following two years of no increases.
The AP had previously announced major restructuring of the way it prices and packages news that would create a core product of breaking news, with separate add-ons of premium services. Those changes, due to go into effect next year, had been expected to return about US$5.6 million in cost savings to member newspapers.
AP historically provided news mainly to newspapers, but now most of its revenues now come from broadcasters, internet companies and non-US subscribers. Only 28 percent of AP revenues now come from member newspapers and that figure is expected to fall to less than 25 percent next year.
The AP, meanwhile, reported 2007 net income of US$24 million, nearly double the $13.3 million it earned in 2006. Revenue rose 4.5 percent to $710.3 million last year.
The Associated Press is a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its member news organisations. It was founded in 1846.
CONTROVERSY OVER DUTCH GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL SUPPRT FOR PALESTINIAN NEWS AGENCY
The Netherlands has put Euro1.2 million (A$2 million) of taxpayers money in Ma'an, a Palestinian news agency that, according to newspaper De Telegraaf, glorifies terrorism and incites to hatred.
The Party for Freedom is demanding that Development Cooperation Minister Bert Koenders claim the money back.
Press agency Ma'an is according to Israeli organisation Palestinian Media Watch guilty of disseminating the Jihad ideology of Palestinian terrorists. The news agency denies Israel's right to exist by characterising the territory of the Jewish state as 'occupied Palestine', De Telegraaf xclaiemd. T
It said “the propaganda of hatred” only appears in the Arabic reports of the news agency and not in the English versions.
IRAQIS AND AMERICANS BOTH FREE MEDIA PRISONERS
Iraqi security forces freed a British journalist kidnapped two months ago in the main southern city of Basra on Monday after a fierce firefight with his abductors, Iraqi officials said.
Richard Butler was found after the 30-minute gun battle in a room handcuffed and with a hood over his head, senior Iraqi commander in Basra, Lieutenant General Mohan al-Fraiji, told AFP.
Soon after his release, Butler was shown on state television Al-Iraqiya surrounded by Iraqi military officials who hugged and applauded him before sitting down with the journalist to share a meal.
Butler, who had been on assignment with US television network CBS when he was abducted along with his Iraqi translator on February 10, praised the soldiers who had freed him.
Meanwhile, AP reports that the US military said on Monday that it will release Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, more than two years after he was detained by US Marines on suspicions of links to insurgents.
The military said it has determined Hussein is not a threat and plans to free him today.
In the past week, Iraqi judicial committees dismissed all allegations against Hussein and ordered his release. The last allegations were dropped Sunday — a day after Hussein marked his second full year in custody.
The AP and Hussein, 36, have denied any improper contacts and said he was only doing his job as a journalist working in a war zone. (AP)
BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE, SO ICELANDERS HUDDLE UP IN FRONT OF THE INTERNET
Icelanders and the Scandinavians are Europe's top internet users, the GfK market research group found in a study published on Monday.
In Iceland, an estimated 88 percent of the population aged 14 and above use the internet regularly, followed by 81 percent in Finland, 76 percent in Norway, 76 percent in Denmark and 73 percent in Sweden, the survey showed.
In western Europe, Malta ranks lowest in terms of internet usage, with only 25 percent of the population regularly going online, followed by Spain with 35 percent, Portugal with 43 percent and Ireland with 45 percent.
Albania ranks the lowest in all of Europe, with only one percent of Albanians regularly surfing the web.
In Britain, 67 percent of the population are regular internet users.
The national Television of Kampuchea and the Cambodian DTV Network Ltd, a branch of the Shin Satellite Company from Thailand, launched Techo-DTV, the first satellite TV network of Cambodia earlier this month.
“From now on, people in all the corners of Cambodia will be able
to watch all programs of our TV networks easily through this
satellite TV network," said Khieu Kahnarith, Cambodian government
spokesman and Minister of Information.
He added that the Cambodia National Election Committee will be able to
process for the general election in July.
Kem Kunnawadh, director general of Television of Kampuchea, said that Techo-DTV is the country's first satellite television network service that can
provide direct-to-home (television programs to every household
in the kingdom.
Dumrong Kasemset, chief executive for the Shin Satellite
Company, said that the main benefits of Techo-DTV service include
digital quality of picture and sound similar to that of DVD and
convenience of installation almost everywhere.
The DTV service sells for US$75 dollars with satellite dish and antenna – cable TV is available for US$5 per month.
While urban Cambodians can access cable TV networks, about 20 percent of the 14 million population in remote places can't, and satellite TV will be their solution – if they can afford it.
AUSTRALIA’S MAJOR TELCO RUNS NATIONAL PROGRAM TO INTRODUCE SENIORS TO THE INTERNET
Australia’s major telco Thousands of older Australians are learning more about the internet and mobile phones through a Connected Seniors program run by the major telco, Telstra.
David Moffatt, Telstra's head of Consumer Marketing and Channels, said, "Telstra Connected Seniors, a $3 million program over three years, was created to help older Australians learn more about new technology so they can confidently use it to keep in contact with family, friends and loved ones.
"Already thousands of older Australians have begun to learn more about technology and what it can do for them. Whether it is video-calling grandchildren on the other side of the country, or banking online, we are seeing seniors across the country become more confident with technology."
Next round of grants for Telstra Connected Seniors funding are open now. Local community grants start from $1,000 to $5,000, through to State and Territory level grants up to $50,000. Applications close on 5 May 2008.
Clubs and community groups with a membership base comprised primarily of seniors can apply for grants and educational materials. Community organisations interested in applying should visit Telstra Connected Seniors Grant (www.telstraseniors.com.au)
INJURED FINGER PUTS TOP AUSSIE TV BOSS IN INDUCED COMA
Australia’s Network Seven television company released a statement yesterday about the health of the company’s ceo, David Leckie.
The press release said, “Seven Network ceo David Leckie is in a serious but stable condition in St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney.
“His admission to hospital follows an injury to a finger several weeks ago.
A recent second graft to his finger appeared to be successful but trigged a more serious infection which required David’s immediate hospitalisation.
“The Network expects him back at work in a week or so.”
New.com.au reported that Leckie has been placed in an induced coma.
Leckie injured the finger in closing a car door two months ago. The top of the finger was damaged and one operation failed to repair it and another was scheduled to try and repair and complete a skin graft.
COPIES OF WALL STREET JOURNAL PARODY BOUGHT BY WALL STREET REPS
The New York Times reports that a parody of The Wall Street Journal, dubbed 'My Wall Street Journal' hit US newsstands this week to mark the April 15 tax deadline.
Sales are brisk because, according to the Times, because Wall Street Journal reps are busy buying up copies.
The parody paper describes itself as a "sizzling satire of the people responsible for the staggering mess we're in.”
It promises the chance to "laugh away your great depression" with work by writers from The Onion, The Daily Show, Saturday Night Live, The New Yorker and the Wall Street Journal itself.
Sponsors include Poor Little Bear Stearns, Texacon – sucking the world dry for America – and Minimum Securities.
The publication includes headlines like "Cleaning Lady Sees Virgin In Merrill Lynch Q4 Loss," and the front page story "Bush Abolishes Death, Taxes – Move will Benefit McCain."
The 24-page tabloid, edited by Tony Hendra, starts out aping the WSJ's appearance, gradually devolving into a New York Post replica.
"We wanted to make it look like what will happen to the WSJ when Rupert has finally had his way with it," Hendra told FishBowl, "It's not a parody. Travesty is a better word."
The paper is published by the New York Press and Manhattan Media.
NEWS CORP TO INCREASE ITS STAKE IN GERMAN PAY-TV GROUP PREMIERE AG
The Wall Street Journal (the non-parody version) reports that News Corp plans to increase the stake it has recently built in leading German pay-TV group Premiere AG, in order to expand its presence in Europe's biggest TV market.
News Corp plans to raise its holding to the 25-26 percent range, after building a 22.7 percent stake in the Munich-based cable-TV operator in the past three months.
Under German law, News Corp would have to bid for all Premiere shares if its holding reached 30 percent, but with 25 percent it could block any other shareholder from gaining control of the company.
A News Corp spokesman in Europe declined to comment.
The Wall Street Journal said that Germany has long been a hole in News Corp's European operations, which include stakes in or full ownership of TV broadcasters in the United Kingdom, Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia and Georgia.
STATE OF PLAY IN THE INDOCHINA TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKET
The 2008 annual edition of Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Asia - Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam is now available, and profiles three countries which once made up the French colonial entity known as Indochina.
The publication says it is reasonable to say that Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are all still in comparatively early stages of their telecommunications development with expanding national infrastructure and growing subscriber bases across all market segments.
The introduction of internet and especially broadband internet is still very much in the early stages, although 2007 saw a significant surge in online access in Vietnam.
Continuing to ignore fixed-line services, Cambodia has built a healthy mobile market instead, reaching the 2.5 million subscriber milestone (17 percent penetration) in early 2008 and was growing at an annual rate of around 50 percent into 2008.
In the meantime, fixed-line services had flattened out at around 42,000, with no sign of any revival in interest in this segment of the market. Surprisingly, at the same, internet penetration has remained particularly low; one of the biggest inhibitors to Internet growth in Cambodia is the high cost of online access in Cambodia in comparison to other countries in the region.
The push towards the strengthening of the telecom regulatory environment as well as the expansion of the national telecom infrastructure in Cambodia has been continuing. This is despite the occasional political problem and the country’s mixed success in its wider struggle to build the national economy. The country has certainly entered a period of relative political stability, presenting a useful opportunity for some serious regulatory reform. Foreign investor confidence appears to have returned and there is every indication that the economy is strengthening in a sustainable fashion.
There was no hiding the fact Laos had to struggle for years with a poorly performing economy and a commercial environment that was in desperate need of reform. However, in the 2006/07 period there was a noticeable shift in the outlook for the country with positive news being reported on many fronts. Most importantly, a significant number of hydro-electric power projects and mining ventures have become or are close to a reality, with many more possible projects in the pipeline. Laos is at last moving forward in a confident fashion.
As attention turned to building the country’s infrastructure, by early 2008 fixed-line teledensity stood at less than two telephones per 100 people. While more foreign investment is needed to boost the sector, the government must also be judicious in selecting and licensing new operators to ensure that it gets the best value out of the investment.
The joint venture formed by the government with Thai company Shinawatra in 1996 let the five year period of market exclusivity granted to Lao Telecom pass without any serious attention to infrastructure building. When the market was opened up to competition in 2002, foreign capital finally started to flow. The mobile phone market took off in early 2003, with the number of subscribers increasing sevenfold in the two years following. The Lao telecom sector still has many issues to address. The rate of regulatory reform continues to lag well behind industry development and has the potential to derail the progress already made if the reform is not speeded up.
Vietnam has become the target for an energetic new round of investor interest of late. Numerous foreign telcos are turning their attention to this significant South East Asian market. The country has it seems come out of a period of wishful thinking , based on the belief that it could ‘go it alone.’ The introduction of a limited level of competition into the telecoms market, combined with a generally improved economic climate, triggered a round of strong growth in the sector.
More recently the move to allow an increased level of ‘equitisation’ (the Vietnamese government’s word for ‘privatisation’) has sent a clear message to investors that the rules are changing and the door has been opened. Vietnam’s accession to the WTO in 2007 effectively provided a formal confirmation of change. It was still not totally clear, however, what form the government’s involvement in the telecom sector will take into the future.
As well as strong growth in Vietnam’s mobile sector (28 million subscribers at end-2007, 33 percent penetration), there has been surprisingly healthy growth in the country’s fixed line subscriber base.
Although precise figures are hard to get, fixed-line services were continuing to expand by an estimated 25 percent a year.
The government continues to demonstrate a certain ambivalence about the internet; nevertheless, this has not stopped the market starting out on a what looks like a solid growth path. Internet user penetration was running at an impressive 21 percent in January 2008 and the ‘hot’ broadband segment of that market was growing at an annual rate of well over 100 percent.”
SURVEY SHOWS THAT AMERICAN NEWSROOMS HAVE SUFFERED THE BIGGEST LOSS OF JOBS IN 30 YEARS
The American Society of Newspaper Editors conducted a survey this year that found that newsrooms have encountered the biggest loss of jobs in 30 years and that the percentage of minorities working in newsrooms is still disproportionate to the larger workforce, according to Editor & Publishing. .
The survey found:
- U.S. daily newsrooms shrank by 2,400 journalists in the past year, a "4.4 parent workforce decrease that's the biggest year-over-year cut in ranks since the American Society of Newspaper Editors began conducting its annual census 30 years ago.
- 52,600 people work full-time in daily newspaper newsrooms. 1984 was the last time that number has been so low at 50,400, of whom 5.75 percent were journalists of racial or ethnic minorities.
- Nearly 300 fewer journalists of color are working in newsrooms than this time last year.
- But due to the layoffs and hiring freezes, the percentage of journalists of color in daily newsrooms actually grew by a tiny margin, to 13.52 pecent from 13.43 percent of all journalists.
- "The largest number and percentage of journalists of color are black, with 2,790 or 5.3 percent of the workforce."
- There are 2,346 Hispanic journalists, 4.5 percent of newsrooms.
- Asian Americans are 3.2 percent of newsrooms at 1,692 journalists.
- Native Americans are the smallest minority group: 284 journalists or 0.5 percent of newsroom employees.
- Men still outnumber women in the daily newsroom by a 63 percent to 37 percent margin.
- Minority journalists are more likely to be reporters. Only 11.4 percent of supervisors are journalists of color.
MURDOCH TO SIT ON ASSOCIATED PRESS BOARD UNTIL NEXT ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
AFP reports that Rupert Murdoch will temporarily join the board of directors of US news agency The Associated Press - he fills the seat vacated by Cox Newspapers president Jay Smith who retired after serving five years on the board, the news cooperative said at its annual meeting.
Murdoch will sit on the 18-member board until the next election of directors.
The AP also announced it will launch a mobile service later this year which sends news and other information to smart phones such as Apple's i-Phone.
"The Mobile News Network will provide a national platform for smartphone users to access local content from brands they trust," AP president Tom Curley said.
WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE TRAFFIC INCREASES AT IMPRESSIVE RATE
Traffic is still growing at an impressive for the Wall Street Journal, according to its own claims.
Portfolio reports that WSJ.com hosted 15 million unique visitors in March, a 175 percent increase over March 2007.
Page views came in at around 165 million, up 75 percent year-over-year.
According to internal numbers, WSJ.com hosted 15 million unique visitors in March, a 175 percent increase over March 2007.
Page views came in at around 165 million, up 75 percent year-over-year.
"I don't know of any news site that's growing at that speed," says Alan Murray, executive editor of the Wall Street Journal Online, “I don't think this has gotten much attention."
Those are the Wall Street Journal figures, but Nielsen Netratings came up with a different set of measurements. Nielsen's March numbers aren't out yet, but it reported 6 million uniques visiting WSJ.com in February of this year, versus 3.4 million in the year-ago period.
"You don't want to tie yourself too specifically to any one number, but the trend is clear, says Murray, "We are rapidly growing our readership."
SOAP COMPANY IN PARTNERSHIP TO PRODUCE A CHINESE VERSION OF UGLY BETTY
Media Asia reports that Unilever has teamed up with Hunan Satellite television, Beijing Nesound International Media and MindShare Performance to introduce the Chinese version of ‘Ugly Betty’.
Set to air in September, Hunan’s version of Ugly Betty is the largest content project ever undertaken by Unilever.
The company hopes that the link between Betty’s inner beauty and Dove’s trademark ‘Campaign for Real Beauty’ will rejuvenate the Dove brand, which has struggled to gain traction in China.
Unilever brands Clear, an anti-dandruff shampoo, and Lipton’s Milk Tea are also included in the deal.
WHAT’S HOT ON CHINESE INTERNET REGARDING THE OLYMPIC TORCH DEMONSTRATIONS
MediaBlab again attempt to “balance the books” by presenting intelligent Chinese views about the Olympic torch demonstrations, and this time Fu Ying, former Chinese ambassador to the UK, gives his opinion in the China Daily:
In the morning of April 6, looking at the snow flakes falling outside the window, I could not but wonder: what the torch relay would be like?
About eight hours later, when the torch finally struggled through the route, Olympic gold medalist Dame Kelly Holmes ran up to light the Olympic cauldron at O2 Dome, 4,000 spectators cheered.
This day will be remembered as Beijing met London with splashes and sparkles. It was an encounter between China, the first developing country to host the Olympics, and Britain, the first Western country to greet the torch.
On the bus to the airport, I was with some young girls from the Beijing team, including an Olympic Gold Medalist Miss Qiao. They were convinced that the people here were against them. One girl remarked she could not believe this land nourished Shakespeare and Dickens.
I cannot blame them. I fully understood how they felt. They were running between vehicles for the whole day, noses red and hands cold, trying to service the torch bearers. They had only about three hours of sleep the previous night and some were having lunch sandwiches just now. Worse still, they had to repeatedly endure violent attacks on the torch throughout the relay. I was fortunate to sit at the rear bus and saw smiling faces of Londoners who came out in tens of thousands, old people waving and young performers dancing, braving the cold weather.
In the darkness of London night, waving the chartered plane goodbye, I had a feeling the plane was heavier than when it landed. The torch will carry on and the journey will educate the over-a-billion Chinese people about the world and the world about China.
A young friend in China wrote to me after watching the event on BBC: "I felt so many things all at once - sadness, anger and confusion". It must have dawned on many like him that simply a sincere heart was not enough to ensure China's smooth integration with the world. The wall that stands in China's way to the world is thick and heavy.
In China, what is hot at this moment on the internet, for which China has 200 million users, is not only the attempts to snatch the torch but also some moving images of Jin Jing, a slim young girl, a Paralympic athlete in a wheelchair helped by an athlete with visual impairment. She held a torch with both arms to her chest as violent "protesters" tried repeatedly to grab it from her during the Paris relay. There is especially infuriated criticism of some of the mis-reporting of China in recent weeks like crafting photos or even using photos from other countries to prove a 'crackdown'.
On the other side of the wall, the story is different. I am concerned that mutual perceptions between the people of China and the West are quickly drifting in opposite directions.
I cannot help asking why, when it comes to China, the generalised accusations can easily be accepted without people questioning what exactly and specifically they mean. I cannot help asking why any story or figures can stay on the news for days without factual support.
Of those who protested loudly, many probably have not seen Tibet. For the Chinese people, Tibet is a loved land and information about it is ample. Four million tourists visit Tibet every year. The past five years saw the income of farmers and herdsmen increasing by 83.3 per cent. In 2006, there were more than 1,000 schools with 500,000 students. In this autonomous region where 92 per cent of the population is Tibetan, there are 1,780 temples, or one for every 1,600 people - more than in England, where there is one church for every 3,125 people. On the complicated question of religion mixing up with politics, separation is unacceptable. But people are well-fed, well-clothed and well-housed. That has been the main objective of China for centuries. Tibet may not grow into an industrial place like the eastern cities in China, but it will move on like other parts of China.
I personally experienced China's transition to opening up, from small steps to bigger strides. I remain a consistent and firm supporter of opening up.
The latest events have led the younger generation of Chinese born after the 1980s, who grew up in a more prosperous and better- educated China, to begin a collective rethinking about the West. My daughter, who loves Western culture, must have used the word "why" dozens of times in our long online chat. Her frustration could be felt between the lines. Many who had romantic views about the West are very disappointed at the media's attempt to demonise China. We all know demonisation feeds a counter reaction.
Many complain about China not allowing enough access to the media. In China, the view is that the Western media needs to make an effort to earn respect. It would be helpful to the credibility of the Western media if the issues they care and write about are of today's China, not of things that do not exist or of the long gone past.
In my one year in the UK, I have realised there is a lot more media coverage about China than when I was a student here in the mid-'80s and most are quite close to the real life in China. China is also in an era of information explosion. I am sure that more and more people in the West will be able to cross the language and cultural barriers and find out more about the real China.
The world has waited for China to join it. Now China has to have the patience to wait for the world to understand China.
ASSOCIATED PRESS ANNOUNCES A FURTHER FEE CUT TO HELP STRUGGLING NEWSPAPERS
The Associated Press announced on Monday that it will further cut fees paid by struggling newspaper members.
To do this it will develop an advertising-supported service that will deliver stories and photos to advanced cell phones, including the iPhone.
The service, which will carry local news from participating newspapers as well as national and international news from the AP, is being tested with several newspaper companies and is expected to launch in the summer under the name Mobile News Network, the AP said.
AP said it was working with cell phone manufacturers and carriers to develop a user interface for the service. A product to provide news videos is also in the works.
AP President and ceo Tom Curley said that while the service was designed specifically for Apple Inc.'s iPhone, it can be used with other "smart" phones.
Curley said the service would be organized by ZIP code, with AP managing and paying for a central facility to handle technical and ad-serving functions.
Local ads would be sold by participating newspapers and national ads by ad networks. Revenue would be split 50-50 between news providers and ad sellers.
Curley said several newspaper companies participated in setting up initial rules for how news would be contributed and the revenues split: Advance Publications Inc., Hearst Corp., Lee Enterprises Inc., McClatchy Co., MediaNews Group Inc. and Rust Communications Inc.
Newspapers have been seeing steady declines in advertising revenues in recent years, and many have responded by cutting staff and reducing other expenses.
The AP has also faced calls from members for more price cuts amid steep revenue declines at newspapers because of a downturn in the economy and an ongoing shift of readers and advertising dollars to the internet.
Responding to the revenue declines, AP said it was further reducing its fees to newspapers in 2009, following two years of no increases.
The AP had previously announced major restructuring of the way it prices and packages news that would create a core product of breaking news, with separate add-ons of premium services. Those changes, due to go into effect next year, had been expected to return about US$5.6 million in cost savings to member newspapers.
AP historically provided news mainly to newspapers, but now most of its revenues now come from broadcasters, internet companies and non-US subscribers. Only 28 percent of AP revenues now come from member newspapers and that figure is expected to fall to less than 25 percent next year.
The AP, meanwhile, reported 2007 net income of US$24 million, nearly double the $13.3 million it earned in 2006. Revenue rose 4.5 percent to $710.3 million last year.
The Associated Press is a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its member news organisations. It was founded in 1846.
CONTROVERSY OVER DUTCH GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL SUPPRT FOR PALESTINIAN NEWS AGENCY
The Netherlands has put Euro1.2 million (A$2 million) of taxpayers money in Ma'an, a Palestinian news agency that, according to newspaper De Telegraaf, glorifies terrorism and incites to hatred.
The Party for Freedom is demanding that Development Cooperation Minister Bert Koenders claim the money back.
Press agency Ma'an is according to Israeli organisation Palestinian Media Watch guilty of disseminating the Jihad ideology of Palestinian terrorists. The news agency denies Israel's right to exist by characterising the territory of the Jewish state as 'occupied Palestine', De Telegraaf xclaiemd. T
It said “the propaganda of hatred” only appears in the Arabic reports of the news agency and not in the English versions.
IRAQIS AND AMERICANS BOTH FREE MEDIA PRISONERS
Iraqi security forces freed a British journalist kidnapped two months ago in the main southern city of Basra on Monday after a fierce firefight with his abductors, Iraqi officials said.
Richard Butler was found after the 30-minute gun battle in a room handcuffed and with a hood over his head, senior Iraqi commander in Basra, Lieutenant General Mohan al-Fraiji, told AFP.
Soon after his release, Butler was shown on state television Al-Iraqiya surrounded by Iraqi military officials who hugged and applauded him before sitting down with the journalist to share a meal.
Butler, who had been on assignment with US television network CBS when he was abducted along with his Iraqi translator on February 10, praised the soldiers who had freed him.
Meanwhile, AP reports that the US military said on Monday that it will release Associated Press photographer Bilal Hussein, more than two years after he was detained by US Marines on suspicions of links to insurgents.
The military said it has determined Hussein is not a threat and plans to free him today.
In the past week, Iraqi judicial committees dismissed all allegations against Hussein and ordered his release. The last allegations were dropped Sunday — a day after Hussein marked his second full year in custody.
The AP and Hussein, 36, have denied any improper contacts and said he was only doing his job as a journalist working in a war zone. (AP)
BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE, SO ICELANDERS HUDDLE UP IN FRONT OF THE INTERNET
Icelanders and the Scandinavians are Europe's top internet users, the GfK market research group found in a study published on Monday.
In Iceland, an estimated 88 percent of the population aged 14 and above use the internet regularly, followed by 81 percent in Finland, 76 percent in Norway, 76 percent in Denmark and 73 percent in Sweden, the survey showed.
In western Europe, Malta ranks lowest in terms of internet usage, with only 25 percent of the population regularly going online, followed by Spain with 35 percent, Portugal with 43 percent and Ireland with 45 percent.
Albania ranks the lowest in all of Europe, with only one percent of Albanians regularly surfing the web.
In Britain, 67 percent of the population are regular internet users.
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