ThePaperboy.com Newspaper & Media Blog

Hoaxing the Tabloids

2009-10-20T12:10:39Z

The new documentary movie Starsuckers exposes the scant regard for facts exhibited by many of the UK's tabloid "newspapers". Director Chris Atkins and his team managed to dupe most of fleet street, which published a string of fabricated celeb gossip stories phoned in by Atkins and his hoaxters. Given the lightweight subject matter i.e. did Avril Lavigne really fall asleep at London nightclub Bungalow 8, the revelation that the tabloids aren't in the front running for any Pulitzers this year is hardly a shock. But this lazy celeb journalism is the thin end of the wedge - let's hope it doesn't infect others in the newsroom working on meatier issues. Good feature here in the Guardian.

WSJ v USA Today. Do We Have a New Champion?

2009-10-16T04:10:43Z

There's industry speculation that latest circulation figures to be released on 26 October by the Audit Bureau of Circulations may show that USA Today has relinquished its crown as the most popular print newspaper in the US to the Wall Street Journal. Factors linked to the global financial crisis are at play. While USA Today has suffered through drops in hotel guest numbers (a major USA Today market) and a general drop in consumer spending, the prominence of all news financial, albeit gloomy, has boosted WSJ readership.

More at the New York Time's Media Decoder Blog

... and here at Reuter's Media File

Laid Off from a Newspaper? Buy Your Own!

2009-10-14T03:10:03Z

Nice profile in the New York Times today about a journalist laid off from Denver's Rocky Mountain News earlier in the year who has bounced back to fulfill his ambition to run a small town newspaper. Michael Sprengelmeyer, now publisher of the Guadalupe County Communicator (circulation about 2,000) in Santa Rosa, New Mexico is using his big city newsroom experience (and buddies) to re-energise the town's weekly newspaper.

Click to the article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/business/media/12communicator.html?em

Win for Press Freedom & Social Networking as Bid to Gag the Guardian Dropped

2009-10-14T03:10:47Z

An encouraging win for press freedom overnight as lawyers representing the oil trading firm Trafigura, embroiled in a controversy over the dumping of toxic waste in Ivory Coast, dropped a bid to enforce the terms of a "super injunction" that would have prevented the Guardian newspaper (UK) from reporting the details of a question asked in parliament, referring to Trafigura, by MP Paul Farrelly.

The legal proceedings became fruitless after a torrent of citizen journalists used Twitter and other outlets to publish the content online ahead of the hearing. The episode shines a light on the use of so-called "super injunctions" which seek to keep all details surrounding a matter, including the existence of an injunction itself, secret. Some good commentary in all the UK nationals today flagging the obvious perils.

Take a look at the Guardian's account here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/13/trafigura-drops-gag-guardian-oil

Daily Telegraph (UK) Reaps Circulation Windfall from MP Expenses Scandal

2009-05-25T12:05:18Z

The UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper has been reaping a circulation windfall after first publishing details of the expenses rorts of British Members of Parliament (MPs) on 8 May 2009. This article in the Gurdian's media section details how the Telegraph's sales have been boosted an average of 60,000 copies per day (7% of their April 2009 average daily circulation of 817,692), as the embarrasing details of MP's expense claims have been laid bare day by day. The Daily Telegraph's scoop has prompted a raft of similar parliamentary expenses probes by newspapers around the world, no doubt in search of their own circulation bump - not that the fourth estate shouldn't be rewarded for "keeping them honest". Although the Telegraph's scoop came courtesy of a whistleblower (most likely paid), it's nice to know that a big, public interest story can still cause a rush on news stands - editors of struggling papers take note ...

Can the New Amazon Kindle DX Save Newspapers?

2009-05-06T10:05:01Z

Is today's announcement by Amazon of the release of its new "big screen" (9.7", RRP $489) Kindle DX e-book reader a digital lifeline for the ailing newspaper industry? The fact that Amazon's launch partner event for the new DX was the New York Times certainly indicates a degree of optimism by newspaper publishers. The new, larger screen should definitely be better at displaying content rich e-papers than the more diminutive original Kindle. PC World magazine is more skeptical however - "Why Kindle DX Won't Save Newspapers". What do you think?

Would you miss your local paper?

2009-04-21T11:04:47Z

Research recently published by the Pew Research Center (March 2009) reports that fewer than half of Americans surveyed would regard it as any great loss to the local community if their community newspaper folded.What do you think? Do you read your local community newspaper? Does it still have a role to play?

Marriott Cuts Back on Free Newspapers

2009-04-19T04:04:49Z

Marriott hotels has announced that starting 1 June 2009 it will only deliver complimentary newspapers to US hotel guests who request them. This follows a guest survey which shows a 25% decline in demand. The move is expected to result in about 50,000 less newspapers being distributed each day. Good for the environment (and Marriott) perhaps, but another blow to the US newspaper industry. See the full article here at the San Diego Business Journal

Only 3% of US Newspaper Reading Happens Online

2009-04-15T09:04:19Z

Given the accepted wisdom that the migration of the print newspaper audience to free online versions has been largely responsible for the precarious financial position most traditional newspapers currently find themselves in, I was a little surprised by the conclusions reached in this article by Martin Langeveld of Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab, that only 3% of US newspaper reading takes place online.

Although this conclusion (based on an analysis of print pages read vs online pages viewed) is underpinned by some pretty big assumptions, such as the number of pages read by the average print newspaper reader (Langeveld estimate's 24 pages per edition), overall the logic used by Langeveld seems sound. Taking this into account, can much of the blame for the demise of traditional print newspapers really be attributed to the popularity of their free online counterparts?

Free Press and Fake News

2009-03-31T09:03:31Z

Fake news is on the increase, whether it is the digitally enhanced photograph which literally doesn't show the true picture, government and corporate PR machines which package and deliver stories favourable to their own interests, or any number of 'advertorial' or 'infotainment features published in both the electronic and print media.

Western democracies in particular pride themselves on having a 'free' press - but what value does a free press have if it increasingly allows itself to promote fakery and false news on behalf of vested interests?

Andy Duckworth

San Quentin News Serves Captive Audience

2009-03-28T04:03:40Z

We added an unusual addition to our California newspaper listings this morning - the San Quentin News. Produced by the inmates of San Quentin State Prison, this behind bars tabloid seeks to inform and entertain the prison's 5,214 potential readership while giving the paper's journalistic staff the chance to acquire some useful skills under the mentorship of Stanford University Professor Tobias Wolff. The newspaper was the subject of an interesting piece in Saturday's San Fransico Chronicle.

Who cares about Foreign Affairs?

2009-03-26T02:03:48Z

In an increasingly globalised world, do we know enough about each other? Do we know what makes other countries tick? More to the point do we care?

It may come as a shock to some to know that in the USA and other countries, the coverage of international events by the media is declining. An article by Tara Sonenshine posted on the Media Channel quotes research showing that coverage of international events by American journalism is declining more than any other subject. For example one study reported, 64% of participating newspaper editors csaying that their papers had reduced the space for international news.

Should we be concerned about this decline?

What do you think?

Seattle Post Intelligencer Stops the Presses

2009-03-22T08:03:35Z

Another one bites the dust. Following hot on the heels of the Rocky Mountain News' demise, Seattle's oldest newspaper has decided to cease production of its print edition. The Seattle PI web site soldiers on. Interesting article here about the paper's death from its cross town rival the Seattle Times.

Welcome

2009-03-22T07:03:39Z

Welcome to the Paperboy Blog. My goal is to keep this space updated with some interesting articles and discussions about newspapers, the media and more, including such topics as the future of newspapers (will the print newspaper survive?), developments in newspaper technology and online newspapers; as well as general site announcements. I invite you to join me and use this forum as a space to engage in some lively and topical discussions with your fellow newspaper lovers.