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19/11/2008 | Johnston Share Price Suffers Another Plunge
The share price of The Scotsman publisher, Johnston Press, dropped almost 20 per cent in value to eight pence, in dramatic contrast to its £2.52 price only twelve months ago and £4.20 two years ago. It did briefly rise above the 10p mark during early trading yesterday, but then embarked on a steady decrease. At its lowest point, it was down to 7.70p before rallying. By close of play, the drop was 19.03 per cent.
18/11/2008 | UBM construction titles take profit hit as ad revenues fall
United Business Media has revealed that print advertising is down by more than 20 per cent in some of the sectors in which it operates. In an interim management statement this morning, the company also revealed that it has shed 300 jobs in the second half of 2008. Profits for its B2B publishing division CMPi will be down year on year "due to weakness in the UK economy and losses from new product development". UBM said the sharp decline in print advertising in some sectors is due both to “economic disruption” and “an accelerated switch to digital and online platforms”. It said its titles in construction – such as Building – have been affected by this. These titles are predicted to show a £4m decrease in profits in 2008. But it said that some titles continued to perform well, such as weekly magazine Farmers Guardian, which has achieved a six per cent growth in revenues year on year. At UBM’s online technology publications Techweb and Everything Channel, online revenues were said to be up 20 per cent year on year and growth is forecast to continue in 2009.
18/11/2008 | Independent newspapers to cut 90 jobs
Independent News and Media is to cut around 90 jobs from The Independent and The Independent on Sunday as part of a major restructuring programme that will affect all areas of operation. The majority of the cuts will come from the editorial department but INM, which also publishes this website, said "a sizeable number" of the redundancies will be voluntary. INM expects the total savings of the restructure will be in excess of £10m and the changes to be implemented by early next year. The publisher said in a statement: "In common with newspapers around the world, The Independent and Independent on Sunday have been hit by a downturn in advertising revenue and this has prompted a major review of the papers' cost base. "As well as much greater integration between the two papers, a more efficient use of technology will enable the papers to streamline their production processes, thereby saving staff numbers." The company also said it was investigating the possibility of outsourcing some areas of operation.
17/11/2008 | Ex-Economist chief Helen Alexander wins Morris Award
Former Economist Group chief executive Helen Alexander CBE will be presented the Marcus Morris Award for her contribution to magazine publishing at a lunch today in central London. The award recognises "significant and longstanding" contribution to the magazine publishing industry in the UK - in honour of the late Morris, who launched Cosmopolitan and Company and died in 1989. Alexander held the chief executive role at the Economist Group from 1997 until July this year. She saw the publication’s circulation increase by almost 50 per cent and the company’s operating profit rise by 75 per cent. She also led the magazine’s expansion overseas. Alexander was awarded a CBE in 2004 In recognition of her services to publishing, and chaired the PPA from October 2006 to July 2008.
17/11/2008 | Multimedia approach pays off for Mail
An imaginative and well-packaged newspaper is how judges described the Hull Daily Mail after it was crowned Yorkshire's finest daily for the fifth time in six years. The Northcliffe title took four awards at the 2008 Yorkshire Press Awards – Trainee of the Year, Sports Writer and Best Multil Platform News Package along with the top prize. Editor John Meehan said: "We are delighted the quality of journalism at the Mail has been recognised once again at a major awards ceremony. "We have an outstanding team of journalists who consistently prove they are among the best in the regional press. These awards are tribute to their hard work and professionalism. "The Mail has always been at the heart of the community. The business has gone through some major changes in recent years and we now publish news in print, on the web and by mobile. "We are very proud of our success but we are not complacent and will continue to innovate while at the same time pursuing our goal of giving a voice to local people, enriching lives and encouraging vibrant community spirit."
14/11/2008 | Mobile recruitment
Mobile devices are the next big thing in recruitment, recruiters have heard. Glenn Gutmacher, vice president of JobMachine, a social networking consultancy told the Recruitment Community Europe Conference 2008 in Amsterdam that 2.6bn mobile devices would be sold this year worldwide. “This was more than the total number of existing PCs,” said Gutmacher. “Recruiters really need to realise that young people are using mobile devices more than using their PCs,” he said. Gordon Lokenberg, a recruitment blogger and consultant on the use of technology in recruitment, said that one way recruiters could take advantage was to send out a link to candidates so they could complete pre-application screening tests while they were travelling. There were benefits to recruiters too Lokenberg claimed. “You don’t need to go to your office. You can lie on the beach. and start screening your CVs.
13/11/2008 | Trinity Mirror advertising revenues drop 20 per cent
Trinity Mirror has ramped up its cost-cutting exercise after reporting a 20 per cent year-on-year drop in advertising revenues in the four months to the end of October. The publisher told the City this morning that it expected to have made £25m in cost savings by the end of this year, up from the initial target of £20m. It said it had closed 28 newspapers since the beginning of the year, and was expecting to deliver at least another £20m in savings in 2009. In its trading update, Trinity Mirror reported a 12.8 per cent fall in group revenue between July and the end of October on a year on year and like-for-like basis. Advertising revenues fell 20.1 per cent, with a sharper fall in the regionals – 21.2 per cent – than the nationals, which fell 15.4 per cent in this period. Echoing Johnston Press's trading update yesterday morning, Trinity Mirror said regional propoerty advertising was the worst-hit sector, down 42.6 per cent, with double-digit declines also for display, recruitment and motors. The publisher said it expected conditions to remain "challenging" for 2009 and said it was staying "cautious".
13/11/2008 | Newsquest to roll out price comparison services
Regional newspaper group Newsquest is rolling out money and insurance comparison services across its portfolio of local sites through a partnership with BeatThatQuote.com The company's 132 local newspaper sites will embed a price comparison service within channels such as cars and health. Although the technology will be provided by BeatThatQuote.com, the service will be branded by Newsquest. It marks the first time the publisher has had a dedicated and integrated finance partner, and is the latest in a series of moves to invest in services provided by its local sites. According to Nielsen, BeatThatQuote.com was the UK's fastest-growing web site in 2007, beating Facebook into second place
13/11/2008 | Record results for B2B giant Euromoney
Daily Mail and General Trust-owned business publisher Euromoney Institutional Investor has reported record profits and revenues and says it is weathering the downturn well. It reported adjusted operating profit up three per cent to £81.3m on turnover up nine per cent to £332.1m. Adjusted profit before tax was up 21 per cent to £67.3m. Chairman Padraic Fallon celebrated what he said was “a year of achievement in worsening markets, when we broke all previous records”. He added: “Some revenue streams, particularly advertising and sponsorship from the money centre institutions, have begun to turn down as we anticipated, but the robust nature of our subscription revenues, the geographical spread of the company and the continued growth of Metal Bulletin and our legal and telecoms activities are very encouraging. Cash flows run at record levels.” The company said that today's results demonstrated the success of its strategy to build a "high quality, more robust subscription-driven information business". Subscription revenues were said to be up by 18 per cent to £123.1m. Euromoney said it had made a successful transition from being a predominantly publishing-driven business to one with significant activities in events, training, electronic information and database services.
11/11/2008 | Senior executives
The demand for senior level executives has declined worldwide, according to a new report. The report, from the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC), shows that in the third quarter of this year, net revenues from executive searches worldwide grew by 2.8%, the smallest annual growth recorded for over three years. There was a 6.3% drop in demand compared with the second quarter of this year marking the first quarterly drop for almost two years. The report also shows that Europe experienced the greatest yearly decline (down 7.6% this year and down 10% over the quarter), while the only region to witness an upturn in demand over the year was Central/South America (18%), which also saw the smallest drop over the quarter (2%). Peter Felix, president of the AESC, said: “As might be expected during economic turmoil, executive search clients are being more cautious about initiating new senior hires than they were earlier this year. Nevertheless, the extent of the decline in worldwide revenues for the industry is still relatively minor and many parts of the world and many sectors are still showing strong demand.”
11/11/2008 | Johnston Press warns after steep fall in advertising
Johnston Press underlined the perilous state of the UK newspaper industry by warning that its full year operating profit would be “at the lower end of expectations” following steep falls in property, employment and motor advertising. Advertising revenues for the 44 weeks to November 1 dropped more than 15 per cent across the group which owns The Scotsman, Yorkshire Post and 316 other local and regional newspapers. Johnston, which is the only UK publicly quoted company solely focused on the regional press sector, said its overall performance had deteriorated since August, when it reported a 9.5 per cent fall in advertising revenues for the first 26 weeks of the year. Since January the company has cut 936 jobs or more than 12 per cent of its workforce. Of that total, 540 were cut in the last four months. Johnston said there had been “further substantial declines in property advertising combined with significant falls in employment and display advertising as the UK and Republic of Ireland economies suffered from both the ‘credit crunch’ and a reduction in economic activity.”
25/10/2008 | Microsoft ad revenue up 15% in last quarter
LONDON - Microsoft's global online ad revenue totalled $557m in Q3, up 15% year on year. However, Microsoft's online services business division, which houses its display and search ad operations plus its MSN portal, remains heavily in the red. Pre-tax losses soared by 80% year on year in Q3 to $480m, from $267m in the same period last year. In July, Microsoft restructured its UK commercial operation, folding its Advertiser and Publisher Solutions arm and its search division into Microsoft Advertising - a move that doubled the unit's size to 230 staff. MSN UK commercial director Chris Ward heads the integrated division - which rebranded from MDAS to Microsoft Advertising in May - and Chris Maples, formerly managing director of Drive PM, became its new head of sales.
24/10/2008 | Newsquest ad revenue slumps 24%
Regional publisher Newsquest has become the latest newspaper group to suffer the effects of the economic downturn, revealing that its ad revenue tumbled by 23.6% year on year in Q3. Owner Gannett, the US-based media group behind USA Today, said Newsquest's classified ad revenue was 29.1% down year on year. It did not, however, reveal the absolute amount of ad revenues. Newsquest operates 300 newspaper titles in the UK including The Argus in Brighton and Scotland's Sunday Herald.
23/10/2008 | LinkedIn secures $22.7m investment
LONDON - LinkedIn, the social networking site for professionals, has defied the current financial climate and secured $22.7m in new funding to help extend its network around the world. Leading the new investors are Goldman Sachs, The McGraw-Hill Companies and SAP Ventures. There has also been re-investment by Bessemer Venture Partners. The multimillion-pound financial boost is in addition to the $53m funding the site secured from a group led by Bain Capital Ventures in June.
20/10/2008 | WAN: Traditional media has five years growth left
The death of traditional media has been exaggerated, according to global leader for entertainment and media practice at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Hong Kong. Speaking at the World Association of Newspapers readership conference, Marcel Fenez said that although digital advertising will continue to soar over the next five years it will still only globally represent 10 per cent of total advertising for newspapers by 2012. He forecast that global print advertising will grow 1.8 percent to $123.3 billion in 2012, while global digital advertising will grow 19.3 percent to $13.4 billion. He said: "One of the things we need to get into context here is that traditional media isn't dead yet and won't be for the next five years." "It's very important to think why. The over-50s are helping to sustain traditional media, and also in many of the emerging markets there is still plenty of room for traditional media. The death of traditional media is exaggerated, at least in a five-year context." Total lobal newspaper advertising will grow 2.9 percent to $136.8 billion in 2012, with digital advertising accounting for 43 percent of the growth, according to Fenez. Talking about the current economic climate Fenez said that advertisers will take a "wait and see" attitude and be cautious about spending in the first half of 2009. "They won't do anything until mid-year. If they have the revenue, they'll release their budgets." Research by PriceWaterhouseCoopers showed that media executives were 25 per cent more likely to collaborate than any other industry, which Fenez said was important, especially in a recession. "We're realising that to win you don't need to rip the other guys eyes out," he said.
19/10/2008 | Rush to fill gaps in website revenues
A slowdown in online advertising, for years the fastest-growing part of traditional media businesses, is forcing newspaper and magazine owners to experiment with ways to shore up website revenues. Enders, a research group, estimates that the UK online display advertising market was at best flat in the third quarter, compared with the same period last year. Growth rates in recent years have been double digit. The rates that media owners can charge for display advertising have fallen by about a third over the last year, it said. “The phenomenal growth of online advertising . . . was always going to slow down at some point,” says Simon Waldman, director of digital publishing for Guardian Newspapers. “The next 18 months will be tougher because of the overall economic climate.” But as print circulation declines, media owners are still reliant on the web as a source of growth. Many are diversifying out of advertising into revenue-sharing partnerships with e-commerce sites, such as travel or dating. But some are also experimenting with techniques and technologies, with increased targeting of advertising to readers widely seen as the best way to raise yields.
17/10/2008 | WAN conference: 'Print media should be an island in the chaos'
Print media's seclusion from the internet it its emerging strength, according to William Powers, media columnist US-based weekly journal The Nation. In his keynote speech addressing the World Association of Newspapers Readership Conference, Powers explained some of the key topics from in his essay: "Hamlet's Blackberry" which discussed the enduring power of paper. He said: "In a multitasking world where pure focus is harder and harder to come by, I believe print media's seclusion from the web is an emerging strength. Paper is a still-point for the consciousness, an escape from the never-ending business and burdens of the screen. It's an island in the chaos. Rather than 'everything all the time', paper's slogan could be 'Just this one thing'." Powers said that although the limitlessness of the internet is "wonderful in many ways" and suited to news consumption, its "vastness is also its greatest flaw" and that reading longer articles online was difficult and distracting. "When you're reading an article on a screen, your mind is conscious of all the other information that's just a click away – from your inbox to the latest headlines to your bank account to a billion You Tube videos. Thus, instead of escaping other demands on your attention as you read, you are mentally fending off those demands every moment you're at the screen."
11/10/2008 | Financial Times in the pink with new-look website
The Financial Times tomorrow unveils one of the biggest changes to FT.com since the site launched in 1995. FT.com has been scrapped as a masthead - in favour "Financial Times" - giving the home page a similar look to that of the newspaper, complete with a sky-panel promoting inside content and bigger headlines and photos on the home page. The new-look site even appears on the same pink colour background as the one the paper is printed on. The whole look of the site has been simplified - with scaled-down horizontal navigation bar at the top of the homepage to replace the long-detailed navigation list which currently appears on the left-hand side of the site. Cramming lots of stories on to the homepage has the advantage of making them easier to find for casual readers of the site coming in via search engines. But FT online editor James Montgomery said that the new look was intended to improve the experience of the site's regular readers. He told Press Gazette: "The idea is to encourage users to browse across the site rather than find everything in one place on a busy and cluttered homepage." He added: "It's fine to have millions and millions of random users from around the web but that audience is very hard to monetise accept through lowest common denominator advertising that earns you very little. "Our design is built for people who want to read the FT and we hope it will deepen their engagement and make them more likely to become subscribers." He said that technical changes at the back-end of the site should out-weigh the search-engine-optimisation drawbacks which come from having a less busy homepage. These include changing the website addresses, or urls, of individual stories so they include keywords from the story - rather than just being meaningless computer code, as is the case currently. The new-look site has different homepages reflecting the different geographical editions of the FT newspaper published in the UK, Asia, the US, Europe and the Middle East. Montgomery revealed that the FT now has 800,000 registered users who have signed up since it changed its access model a year ago. Last October it went from being mainly subscriber-only to allowing limited free access.
09/10/2008 | Workplace diversity
The business case for diversity in the workplace is not sufficiently promoted, a new survey has revealed. New research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) shows that 68% of firms see legal pressure as the most important motivation for implementing diversity policies and practices, while 71% do not build diversity objectives into business targets and only 30% have a diversity management budget. Dianah Worman, diversity adviser at the CIPD, said: “Education and awareness on the business case for diversity must be a priority for government as it progresses the Equality Bill. Our research clearly demonstrates the business case for diversity. But it also shows that too many businesses are driven more by the concern to meet minimum legal standards. A shiny new legal framework runs the risk of simply creating a slightly higher level of boxes to be ticked, while failing to bring about the real progress that promotion of the positive business benefits of diversity can bring.”
10/09/2008 | Marketing recruitment
Marketing graduates will be hit by a recruitment freeze, the Marketing Society has claimed. Hugh Burkitt, chief executive of the marketing network, told trade journal Marketing Week that he expected a halt in graduate recruitment. “There are bound to be recruitment freezes and the big companies will suddenly stop their graduate programmes," Burkitt said. He added that firms will likely extend their loyalty primarily to their existing staff, rather than new recruits looking for employment.
10/09/2008 | Dennis expands into India
Dennis Publishing has announced its second global expansion in a week with the news that it is expanding into India. The publisher, which announced earlier this week that it was launching an edition of news digest The Week in Australia, has set up joint venture with Media Transasia India and promises the launch of new magazines into the Indian market in the next six months. The new venture, Dennis Media Transasia India, has already added established Indian music magazine Blender to the joint venture. It will also be looking at launching digital-only brands following on from the success of Dennis’ digital men’s magazine, Monkey. Dennis, which also publishes Maxim and Men’s Fitness, said it plans to become the largest men’s publisher in India, and will be introducing international licenses of Dennis titles in the Indian men’s market.
10/09/2008 | Interview questions
The most popular interview question has changed due to the economic downturn, according to new findings. The findings, from HR consultancy A&DC, using its online competency-based-interviewing (CBI) tool, shows that the highest priority for employers is knowing how a candidate manages conflicting demands. Six months ago, the most popular question focused on stress tolerance. The new most popular interview question is: Describe an occasion where you had a number of conflicting demands on your time. How did you deal with this? Rory Fidgeon, principal consultant of A&DC, said: “The reaction to the credit crunch is far-reaching – even in interviewing processes. A year ago interviewers wanted to know about candidates’ stress tolerance. That made sense – in expanding markets, organisations need to innovate, diversify and push strategic agendas.”
09/09/2008 | Wizard of Oz to launch The Week in Australia
Felix Dennis, the British publisher who came to fame in the Oz obscenity trial of 1971, will today announce an Australian launch for The Week, his news magazine that provides a précis of other publications' reporting and comment. The first new edition since the magazine expanded from the UK to the US in 2001 is intended as a bridgehead to Asian markets, Mr Dennis told the Financial Times. "The Australian edition will be distributed much more aggressively in Singapore, Hong Kong and New Zealand," he said, adding that he would be "astonished" if The Week were not being published in India within three or four years. Having spent "the best part of $50m" to get the US edition to profitability, Mr Dennis said he expected to invest $12m to $15m to get the Australian version to break even. The launch, due on October 31, has been underwritten by the "extraordinarily profitable" UK edition, and follows Mr Dennis's sale of the US editions of Maxim, Blender and Stuff for a reported $240m last year to Quadrangle, the private equity group.
19/08/2008 | Online news consumption up 31%
Online news consumption is growing, but television is still the most popular news source according to a new study from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. The US report reveals that the amount of people who go online for news three or more days a week has risen from 31 per cent in 2006 to 37 per cent in 2008. Since 2006 daily online news use has grown from 18 per cent to 25 per cent, the study said. However, the research found that 'Net-Newsers', individuals who turn to the web for news, accounted for just 13 per cent of those surveyed compared with 46 per cent, who rely heavily on TVnews and rarely view news online. Figures posted by the study for newspaper readership showed a six per cent drop in the number of respondents who had read a newspaper on the previous day - from 40 per cent in 2006 to 34 per cent in 2008. Despite the growth in online news consumption, the research said that the number of online readers of newspapers was not growing at the same rate as the decline of print audiences. The report isn’t good news for the print industry which is already suffering steadily declines in audiences and falls in ad revenues.
10/08/2008 | ABCe: Guardian widens gap at top, Times breaks 20m
Guardian.co.uk widened the gap with Telegraph.co.uk by a further 188,000 users to cement its position as the most-visited national newspaper website in September. Official figures released this afternoon by ABCe show the Guardian’s web traffic last month was up 4.65 per cent on August and 44.8 per cent year on year to a new high of 24.19m unique users. The site is now 1.24m users ahead of the second-ranked Telegraph.co.uk, the gap was 1.05m last month. The Telegraph site gained 4.02 per cent month on month and 115.55 per cent year on year to post a September unique user figure of 22.95m. Telegraph Media Group digital editor Ed Roussel said: “Telegraph.co.uk benefited from a surge in demand for stories about the US election and the financial crisis, which helped raise the number of page views and unique users to a record high.” Times Online has broken the 20m unique user barrier and accelerated further ahead of Mail Online after leapfrogging it last month to take third position. The News International title saw a 3.21 per cent increase in monthly traffic compared with August, and it was up 62.11 per cent year on year to 20.32m. The gap between Times Online and the fourth-ranked Mail Online now stands at 2.41m unique users – up 186,000 on last month’s gap of 2.22m. Mail Online’s unique user base rose 2.55 per cent compared with August, and was up 53.24 per cent year on year to 17.91m. The Sun Online lost traffic compared with the holiday month of August. It fell 1.26 per cent to 15.78m but was still up 47.86 per cent year on year. The fifth-ranked Independent.co.uk saw the biggest month-on-month rise, up 20.62 per cent and was just 4,000 users short of the 8m mark. Its year-on-year gain was 96.83 per cent. The Mirror Group of websites – including the Mirror titles and the People – also slipped in September, down 5.65 per cent month on month to 5.26m unique users. An official year-on-year comparison is not yet available but Trinity Mirror claimed traffic was up 60 per cent according to internal figures. Trinity Mirror Nationals managing director Mark Hollinshead said: “The development of mirror.co.uk is ongoing and we continue to grow an engaged, UK audience delivering strong year-on-year growth.” September ABCe web traffic - All percentage increases are year on year Guardian.co.uk - 24,186,422 - 44.78% Telegraph.co.uk - 22,945,934 - 115.55% Times Online - 20,322,634 - 62.11% Mail Online - 17,913,660 - 53.24% Sun Online - 15,783,551 - 47.86% Independent.co.uk - 7,995,958 - 96.83% Mirror Group - 5,259,763 - not available Related articles ABCe: Times Online leaps to third place in August ABCe: Guardian web lead grows in July The Telegraph steps up its quest for online domination ABCe: Guardian reclaims top spot online with 20m users ABCe: Mail takes lead but Guardian has more UK users New figures make Guardian top newspaper website inside UK ABCe: Telegraph claims top web traffic spot from Guardian ABCe: Mirror Group debuts with 4m web users in March ABCe: News sites' traffic dips in February National press ABCe figures: Record traffic as Mail closes gap on Guardian ABCe: National newspaper websites slump in December National press web figures: Telegraph moves to third, Guardian slips but stays top ABCe: Three newspaper sites post record traffic in October National Newspaper Web Traffic for September ABCe: Record September web traffic for national papers Comments close() status via twitter recent comments (follow comments) View Profile » Powered by Disqus · Learn morecloseReblog this comment Powered by Disqus · Learn more You are not logged in. (Log in) Subscribe: This thread Go to: My comments · Community Page Thanks. Your comment is awaiting approval by a moderator. Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment. Add New Comment RSS Feed: All Comments Press Gazette comments powered by Disqus More Options RSS Feeds Latest News The Knowledge more… Blogs The Wire Media Money more… Contact Press Gazette Press Gazette on Twitter Press Gazette on Facebook Press Gazette Digital Edition
10/08/2008 | Graduate jobs
The majority of recent graduates are concerned over their job prospects due to the current economic climate, a new survey has revealed. The findings, from recruitment website reed.co.uk, show that a quarter of recent graduates would be prepared to sacrifice 2.5-5% of their salary in exchange for job security for three years. Two thirds of graduates think the private sector has been more affected than the public sector, and 20% are moving towards a career in marketing, media and creative sectors compared to 4% in finance, 2% in banking and 3% in accounting. The survey also shows that most respondents have applied for more than five jobs since graduating and still haven’t found one. Mark Rhodes, head of marketing at reed.co.uk, said: “We are seeing that graduates are shunning the traditional jobs and looking for opportunities in different sectors. It’s important that incoming university students have an eye on their future and not just their fellow students.”
10/08/2008 | Working week
Employers are to be confronted with revised legislation that will impose a maximum 60-hour working week. Earlier this year, Britain agreed that it would retain its opt-out of the 48-hour week under a EU Working Time Directive. The opt-out is to be subject to tighter controls including a new absolute maximum average of 60 working hours a week where there is an opt-out.
10/08/2008 | Guardian owner the Scott Trust to be wound up after 72 years
The Scott Trust, the ultimate owner of the Guardian and the Observer, is being wound up after 72 years and its assets transferred to a new limited company. The trust, created in 1936 to protect the legacy of the longstanding editor and former owner of the Guardian, CP Scott, is being replaced by The Scott Trust Limited so that the independence of the Guardian is placed on a "very secure footing for the future"‚ Scott Trust chair Dame Liz Forgan said. "Over the 72 years of its existence the Scott Trust has periodically re-examined its structure to make sure it is in the best possible shape to guarantee the ongoing independence of the Guardian - the core purpose of the trust," Forgan said. "The new body has been incorporated in the same spirit as the original trust, it has the same values and goals, and the reorganisation has no effect on the day-to-day management or control of [Guardian Media Group]. "It does, however, renew our commitment to preserve the legacy of CP Scott, further strengthen the protection afforded to GMG and the Guardian, and keep us on a very secure footing for the future." The decision was taken because like all non-charitable trusts, the Scott Trust has a finite lifespan, unlike limited companies.
09/08/2008 | Haymarket launches jobs site for motoring sector
Haymarket Consumer Media has launched a recruitment website, Motoringjobs.com, which will also power job features on Haymarket's Auticar.co.uk, performance motor site PistonHeads.com and after-market specialist CATmag.co.uk.
09/08/2008 | Archant's Fry looks set to take over from Bowdler at Johnston
Archant chief executive John Fry looks set to be the new chief executive of Johnston Press following Tim Bowdler's retirement next May. Both the Sunday Times and FT have named Fry as Bowdler's successor - according to the FT, Johnston Press is this week finalising contractual negotations with Fry. Johnston Press is the UK's second biggest regional newspaper company, behind Trinity Mirror, and its chief executive is one of highest paid jobs in UK regional newspapers. In 2007, Bowdler was paid more than £1 million - a basic salary of £566,000 plus a performance-related bonus of £516,000 and taxable benefits of £16,000. Johnston Press publishes 294 titles - with a combined weekly circulation of 9,092,442. Archant has 64 titles with a combined total weekly circulation of 2,456,984. Whereas Johnston Press is publicly listed, Archant is privately owned. Fry, 51, has been in charge of Archant since 2002. He previously ran an international banking software business for Misys.
09/08/2008 | Northcliffe websites overtake newspapers
Northcliffe Media will launch 45 local websites tomorrow, taking the number of online news sites it publishes as part of its "This is" network beyond the number of newspapers it prints. The launch of the regional news sites will take Northcliffe's digital portfolio to 151, surpassing the 113 daily, weekly and free newspapers that the regional publishing wing of the Daily Mail & General Trust currently puts out. The majority of the launches will be hyperlocal offerings under the umbrella of existing regional and urban "This is" websites, including new sites for the Beeston and Hucknall, Sherwood and Long Eaton areas of Nottingham, previously served by the ThisisNottingham.co.uk site of the Nottingham Evening Post.
09/08/2008 | Jobs set to go as seven weeklies face axe
Around 30 jobs are under threat at a series of Trinity Mirror titles across North Wales and the North West as a result of a major shake-up in the company's operations across the two regions. Seven weekly papers are set to close along with nine satellite offices in a series of moves announced to staff on Friday. The proposed changes include the closure of three separate North Wales titles, the Abergele Visitor, Rhyl and Prestatyn Visitor and Your Vale, which will be replaced with a new free title, the Denbighshire Visitor. Also closing is the advertising-led title Flintshire BuySell which will be integrated into the BuySell advertising platform in the Chester and Flintshire Chronicle titles.
09/08/2008 | MD Webb leaves Trinity Mirror
Richard Webb, the managing director of Trinity Mirror's UK nationals division, has left the company with immediate effect, becoming the most high-profile casualty of Trinity's cost-cutting drive. He has been replaced by Mark Hollinshead, who will combine the role with his current duties as managing director of the Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail. The Trinity Mirror chief executive, Sly Bailey, said: "The new role will enable our national newspapers to fully embrace the changing media landscape. Bringing together the power of these great brands is in the best interest of our business and our customers. "Richard has done a tremendous job to further the success of the UK nationals during his time with the group, and he leaves with my thanks and best wishes for the future." Following the news of Webb's departure, Trinity Mirror said that it would be making further announcements on its new management structure in the next few days. The move has been brought about in the wake of Trinity Mirror's cost-cutting plans which last week saw it axe seven local papers and nine offices in north Wales and the north-west of England.
09/08/2008 | Lehman Brothers collapse leaves 1m sq.ft of unlet space in Docklands
The collapse of Lehman looks set to leave Songbird Estates, the Aim-listed owner of Canary Wharf, with almost 1m sq ft of unlet space. Lehman occupies around 1m sq ft of 25-30 Bank Street, which was purpose-built for the investment bank and opened in 2003. The building, the failed bank's European HQ, was valued at £955m at the end of 2007. Lehman, which employed 4,000 people in the UK, pays an average annual rent of £41 per sq.ft as part of a 30-year lease - though property agents say the a rent review was imminent. The rent was expected to increase to £50 per sq.ft. Shares in Songbird closed at 103.75p, down 6.25. The company would not comment on the repercussions.
09/08/2008 | Northcliffe websites to outnumber newspapers
Northcliffe Media will today complete the current phase of its roll-out of new-look local websites, taking the number produced by the company to 151. For the past three months, NML has been giving its "thisis" network of newspaper companion sites a radical overhaul, with the launch of a scores of "hyperlocal" sites for areas previously contained within larger portals. Today sees the launch of the final 45 sites in the current wave, although more acould come on stream in the next six months including some in areas where Northcliffe currently has no newspaper presence. Today's roll-out will mean that for the first time, Northcliffe now publishes more websites than newspapers. The majority of the new additions to the network will be hyperlocal offerings under the umbrella of existing thisis sites.
09/08/2008 | Press Gazette takeover talks scrapped
The proprietors of Press Gazette magazine have scrapped talks on a potential takeover, it was announced yesterday. The board of Wilmington Group had been in discussions with a would-be buyer, believed to be the private equit group Hg Capital. But Wilmington Group issued a statement yesterday saying that talks in which it was engaged on a possible sale had ended, and that no further formal talks over possible buyout offers were on the table. Press Gazette recently switched from weekly to monthly publication, with breaking news now published on its online portal.
09/08/2008 | Financial recruitment
Financial recruitment agencies are taking advantage of the collapse of invest bank Lehman Brothers by signing up many of the 5,000 staff which lost their job after the collapse of the investment bank. Several were rumoured to have set up stalls in coffee shops around the company's Canary Wharf UK head quarters and others experienced a 'conveyor belt' of candidates coming through their doors yesterday. Philip Seager, director, Alan Mitchell Financial Recruitment, told Recruiter.co.uk his staff have been phoning ex-employees and clients to try and place the new candidates. "Research and consulting staff are phoning people from the Lehman Brothers and a lot of people have their office phone on divert so people can still get in touch. "We are phoning all our clients and running ideas past them on what we can do for them, quite a few of them are biting," he said.
09/08/2008 | Herald Group Posts Yet Another £20 Million-plus Profit
The supposed economic gloom that has descended upon Scottish newspapers these last couple of years - and frequently cited as the reason for various staff cuts - appears to have by-passed The Herald group of newspapers. It's just made a pre-tax profit of £23.8 million. Though staff cuts have taken place at the group's titles of The Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times, the group's latest accounts show its profit has hardly changed from the year before. The financial year ended on December last year. For some reason, the previous financial year was 53, not 52 weeks, long, and then the pre-tax profit was £24.1 million. Indeed, the group's profit represents 26.7 per cent of the entire profit made by parent company, Gannett, throughout the whole of its UK newspaper division: comprising 17 daily and almost 300 weekly titles. The accounts also reveal a turnover of £86.8 million
09/08/2008 | Murdoch optimistic about online WSJ and Dow Jones subscriptions
Rupert Murdoch yesterday claimed online subscription revenues at the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones could rise by $300m (£164m) every year for up to three years, hinting that he will raise access charges to the financial news site. Speaking at Goldman Sachs' Communacopia media conference in New York, Murdoch said he decided to ditch his original scheme for a free, open site after seeing the projections for the site's revenue which "changed his mind totally". The Wall Street Journal site is the world's largest subscription website, going against the trend for open access and a reliance on advertising. Before Murdoch bought WSJ.com he told investors traffic could increase by as much as 15 times if the paywall was lifted. But he changed tack in January after evaluating the revenues from WSJ consumers and the business-to-business Dow Jones news wires, which supply financial stories to media outlets and businesses. His decision reflects growing concern about the advertising market, although Murdoch said he expected WSJ.com to drive at least $100m in advertising revenues - and possibly a few hundred million more.
09/08/2008 | Trinity to close seven newspapers
Trinity Mirror is to close seven local papers and nine satellite offices in North Wales and the North West, putting 30 jobs at risk. The UK's largest regional newspaper publisher, Trinity Mirror this summer warned advertising revenues were falling faster than at any time in the past two decades and promised to find £20m of new cost savings by next year. As part of its drive to save money, Trinity will close three weekly titles in North Wales - the paid-for Abergele Visitor, and free papers the Rhyl and Prestatyn Visitor and Your Vale - and replace them with a free weekly title, the Denbighshire Visitor.
09/08/2008 | London weekly seeks to emulate Manchester daily
A weekly paper in London has become the latest convert to the "dual model" circulation strategy pioneereed by the Manchester Evening News. The MEN has boosted its readership over the past year by moving towards a new part-paid for, part-free business model. Now regional publisher Newsquest is attempting to repeat the trick by transforming its 135-year-old weekly paid-for title, the Richmond & Twickenham Times, into a paper with a mixed free and paid-for distribution. The free edition of the Times will be delivered door to door in 54,500 homes in Richmond and Twickenham from Friday, October 10, replacing the area's current free weekly the Richmond Guardian which is to close. The RTT will remain available for sale with key retailers for 50p in the area. Managers expect the move to increase overall circulation to above 61,000 copies per week. "We're making the paper available to more readers. The more readers, the better for our advertisers," said marketing manager Chris Beech.
09/08/2008 | New Statesman owner plans media empire
Mike Danson, the millionaire owner of a 50pc stake in The New Statesman, is this week expected to announce the takeover of publisher SPG Media to create the foundations of a trade magazine empire. Worth an estimated £234m, Mr Danson made his fortune building, floating and then selling the Datamonitor research group to Informa, publisher of Lloyd's List. SPG's shareholders include Kelvin MacKenzie, the former editor of The Sun and owner of TalkSport. While Mr MacKenzie owns 10pc of the shares, Mr Danson already has a 20pc holding. Australian investment manager Ingot Capital Management holds the controlling 30pc stake. Ingot Capital and Mr MacKenzie are understood to have agreed to sell to Mr Danson at a significant premium to SPG's closing share price of 8.38p on Monday night, with one source saying it could be as high as 50pc. SPG, currently valued at £7.5m, saw its shares rise from a low of under 6p in August after the company announced that it had received an unsolicited approach from an un-named buyer. The SPG portfolio includes 21 magazines in areas ranging from construction to hospitality, pharmaceuticals and transport, alongside 28 websites and 55 annual industry events. Its titles include World Cruise Review and Future Airport. It is understood that chief executive Keith Sadler, who has helped turn the previously loss-making company around over the past three years, will leave the group after the merger completes. The business is a perfect fit with Progressive Media group, a collection of trade titles which were spun off form legal publisher Wilmington Group and are now owned by Mr Danson. Both SPG and Mr Danson declined to comment.
09/08/2008 | City salaries
The average advertised salary in London is now £10,000 more than the rest of the UK, according to new figures. The figures, from search engine AllTheTopBananas.com, show that the average advertised salary around the UK is £31,128, compared with London’s average advertised salary of £41,500. The highest average advertised salary outside London is to be found in East Anglia, at £34,487, while the North West has the lowest at £29,676. Dave Martin, managing director at AllTheTopBananas.com, said: “Advertised salaries are rising faster in London than the rest of the UK and the gap is getting bigger. This is a trend that is likely to continue throughout the next 12 months. We are also seeing advertised salaries continue to rise overall, putting added pressure on inflation. There’s a chance this could add to the UK’s economic woes in the next 12 months.”
09/08/2008 | Online advertising is weathering economic storm says report
LONDON - Online ad spend is likely to fall this year in the UK as the economic downturn bites, although the sector will still post double-digit growth year on year, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report. The report, "On Media: Online advertising through a downturn - weathering the storm", concludes that online is weathering the downturn by benefiting from a structural shift away from other forms of advertising such as TV and print. Citing Advertising Association data, the report says that total UK online ad spend growth will slow to about 20% in 2008 - representing a slowdown of 18 percentage points compared with growth in 2007 of 38%. The report adds that display spend is the online segment most vulnerable to the effects of the economic downturn "due to its focus on brand advertising and limited measurability". Display ad spend growth, though still high, is expected to be below the online market average in the UK in 2008.
09/08/2008 | Johnston Press poaches Archant chief Fry to succeed Bowdler
NEWSPAPER publisher Johnston Press, the owner of The Scotsman, has appointed the head of rival group Archant to be its new chief executive. John Fry will take up his position from 5 January next year, Johnston Press said yesterday. He takes over from Tim Bowdler, who is retiring as Johnston's Press's chief executive early in 2009.
09/08/2008 | Ads downturn weighs on DMGT
Sharp falls in advertising revenues from its national and regional newspapers led Daily Mail & General Trust on Thursday to say that results for the year about to end would be at the lower end of market expectations. Viscount Rothermere, chairman, said that “inevitably the worsening economic conditions are having an impact on our newspaper and property businesses.” Analysts were forecasting adjusted profit before tax of between £257m and £279m, compared with £288m in the previous year. In early trading the shares fell 7.4 per cent, or 24¾p, to 309¾p. Peter Williams, finance director, said that the group’s business-to-business activities, such as trade shows and information publishing, including its 66 per cent stake in Euromoney, were performing well and made up more than half of group profits. The business-to-business activities were not likely to be materially affected by the troubles of large financial institutions, he said. Indeed, the group had just had a large contract renewed by AIG, the insurance group bailed out by the US authorities.
09/08/2008 | New chief executives for Johnston and Archant
It's all change at the top of the regional newspaper industry today with the announcement of two key appointments at Johnston Press and Archant. As widely rumoured since the start of the week, Johnston Press has confirmed that Archant's current chief executive John Fry will succeed out-going CEO Tim Bowdler next year. Archant also revealed today that its current group finance director Adrian Jeakings, left, will take over as new chief executive, taking up the role on November 1. Brian McCarthy, finance director of Archant Regional, will step up to take Mr Jeakings' role. The Johnston Press announcement also revealed that 51-year-old Mr Fry will take over as chief executive on January 1 - four months earlier than expected. Mr Bowdler had already announced his intention to stand down but it was anticipated that this would not happen until May. Mr Jeakings, 49, is currently group finance director at Archant and has worked closely with Mr Fry for a number of years. Before joining Archant he was group finance director of The Stationery Office, a provider of information management services to the government and industry.
08/08/2008 | Quality magazines boost circulation
The latest magazine circulation figures reveal a nation that is tiring of celebrity and turning to quality publications, as it seeks to understand and adapt to the impending economic slowdown. The UK magazine market grew 22.6 per cent in the six months to June 2008 over the same period last year, including new launches, according to the The Audit Bureau of Circulation. The biggest selling magazine in the UK remains TV Choice, a weekly title, with 1.4m sales per issue. Celebrity weeklies, such as Heat and Reveal, as well as lower-end men’s magazines FHM, Loaded and Zoo, all saw double-digit year-on-year declines. News and current affairs magazines saw sales leap. Prospect gained 10.7 per cent on last year and The Economist – half owned by the FT Group – grew 5.6 per cent in the UK, while The Week and Spectator also posted circulation gains
08/08/2008 | Mecom shares slide as advertising sales and profit decline
Shares in Mecom fell more than 15 per cent yesterday after the continental European newspaper group said "more challenging economic conditions" had emerged during the first half of 2008 as advertising sales and operating profit declined. Founded by David Montgomery, the former Mirror Group executive, Mecom said that the performance in the rest of the year would be merely "stable". Like-for-like advertising revenues fell 2 per cent on last year to £401m ($746m), with recruitment and property the most vulnerable sectors. In spite of having greater subscription revenues than UK newspaper groups, advertising still makes up 52 per cent of revenue.
08/08/2008 | Migrant workers
Migrant workers fill skills gaps British workers are not willing to fill, according to a think tank. A report, published by the Institute for Public Policy, has claimed that migrants are good entrepreneurs, who excel in setting up new markets by maintaining links with their countries of origin. Roy Hardy, branch manager at engineering and industrial recruitment firm Liberty Industrial Recruitment, told Recruiter: “The report is accurate. Migrant workers fill skill gaps where they are missing in the UK. Around 90% of our workforce are Polish, Slovak or Czech. They have brought an invaluable skill level to our clients. We even had one client say that without these people, they would not have survived.”
08/08/2008 | IN&M sales hurt by advertising slump
The chief executive of Independent News & Media believes the Ireland-based newspaper group will achieve annual results in line with expectations in spite of a weakening advertising market. Sir Anthony O'Reilly, chief executive and 28 per cent shareholder, said the next three months' trading would be "critical" in determining the full-year outcome. IN&M is more diversified than many similar-size media groups with operations in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, as well as strategic investments in newspaper groups in India and Indonesia. However, much of the focus is on its performance in the Irish and UK markets, where advertising has been hit by the credit crunch and slowing domestic economies. Almost all analysts believe that advertising markets will worsen in the second half. One broker said: "The advertising outlook in Ireland and the UK is critical to the results and some investors are clearly questioning the guidance the company has given." Sir Anthony said the current economic climate presented challenges but also opportunities for joint ventures, shared investments, mergers and divestments.
08/08/2008 | Newspaper publisher sheds 21 jobs
Local press publisher Archant has announced 21 jobs are to go in its Norfolk division. The company, which publishes the Eastern Daily Press and Norwich Evening News, has just finished a consultation process with staff in its newspaper sales and marketing services department. Managing director Stephan Phillips declined to comment, however on business.edp24.co.uk, he said: "The economic environment we are facing is very challenging but by making these changes we feel better able to respond to those challenges whilst still focusing on our ambitions of growing our newspaper sales, online audiences and profits.
08/08/2008 | No move yet from Wapping
News International, the publisher of the Times, has delayed the relocation of its headquarters from the Wapping site in London. The media company was due to make a decision from a shortlist of options, including two sites in the City, but is now expected to to take additional space on a short-term basis at a nearby building owned by Land Securities. That company, which had been one of the parties interested in buying the whole site, could also agree to redevelop the existing headquarters if other options eventually prove unattractive, according to trade magazine Property Week today.
08/08/2008 | Local media sites provide advantage for advertisers
Local media sites hold a distinct advantage when it comes to delivering results for advertisers, according to a new report by the Online Publishers Association (OPA). The US study found that consumers trust advertising on local newspaper, magazine and television websites, and are very likely to take action after viewing ads on these sites. Newspapers rank first, with 46 per cent of consumers taking action, including making a purchase or going to a store, compared to 37 per cent of consumers acting after viewing a local ad on a portal. When it came to local TV sites 44 per cent said they would actively make a purchase or visit a store compared to 42 per cent of consumers acting as a result of a local magazine site.
08/08/2008 | Ad revenue and profits down as Johnston Press announces £81m profit
Overall advertising revenues have fallen by 9pc at one of the UK's leading regional newspaper publishers. The fall at Johnston Press comes as its digital revenues grow by 52pc for the 26 weeks up to June 30, 2008. The company has also seen a drop in operating profit year-on-year from £96.7m to £81.6m before non-recurring items. Other key findings from today's interim results show the company was handed an impairment charge of £109m against carrying the value of intangible assets. An impairment charge is the difference between the value of an asset in its accounts and its actual worth.
08/08/2008 | Escaping the financial lock of bolt-ons
When Apax Partners and the Guardian Media Group unveiled last year's £2bn ($3.7bn) acquisition of Emap, they planned to merge the trade publishing and conferences business with Incisive, the business information group Apax already owned. However, once they approached banks about raising fresh debt for a merged Emap-Incisive group, the plan came unstuck. The lenders were playing hardball, reacting to the credit crunch by trying to rein in the generous debt levels they had already provided on previous deals. Apax raised debt worth 7.5 times Incisive's earnings to buy the company in 2006. It borrowed 5.7 times Emap's earnings in its December buy-out. But its banks were only willing to lend 4.5 times earnings for the merged Incisive/Emap group, putting Apax off the idea of rolling up the companies into a combined group. The Emap case highlights the difficulties awaiting private equity groups that respond to the credit crunch by pursuing a buy-and-build strategy. This involves them making add-on acquisitions to expand an existing portfolio company or buying a smaller-than-usual platform company they can expand by taking over several of its rivals.
08/08/2008 | Government initiative
The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) has launched a new scheme aiming to cut down on the time and money business spend complying with employment law. The Employing People initiative will promote Business Link’s tools, which include calculators and interactive guides. Employment relations minister Pat McFadden said: “Instead of spending money on buying in professional advice on employment law, employers can get access to a range of easy-to-use, fully compliant documents that take only a few minutes to complete. Over 40,000 firms have benefited from switching to the written statement tool we have provided saving around £120 every time that they do so.”
11/07/2008 | Time Inc sale rumoured as publisher feels the pinch
Could a "for sale" sign be going up soon on America's biggest selling news weekly Time? And its sister publication Fortune? The Wall Street Journal suspects so. Declining sales, fewer ads and the current financial crisis are taking their toll on Time Warner's magazine publishing division. Third quarter earnings suffered a 35 per cent drop. Time Inc, long a cash cow for its parent company, has suffered in recent years from the steady shift of ad dollars from print media to the web. Hardest hit have been the journalistically serious and news-oriented publications such as Time and Fortune, although entertainment and lifestyle titles such as People and InStyle have not escaped unscathed. In the past six years, Time's ad pages have declined 25 per cent. As a result it is no longer the company's biggest profit-maker. It has dropped to third place, behind Sports Illustrated and People. The question is whether, in the present economic situation, there are any would-be buyers. Time and Fortune are big-name titles and the Wall Street Journal suggests that as "trophy buys" they could fetch a price in excess of their economic value. These days, the publishing side of Time Warner accounts for only nine per cent of the company's income, compared to 36 per cent from its cable channels, 23 per cent from its TV stations and about the same from its film business - figures that reflect the declining importance of the print side of the business. In another indication of the decline in American news magazines, US News and World Report, the third of the big titles, is switching to monthly publication. Originally it planned to switch to a fortnightly, but at the last minute it was decided that was not drastic enough to offset rising costs and declining income.
11/07/2008 | REC report
Employers are hiring less but are paying more to find the right people, according to a new report. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s annual Industry Turnover and Key Volumes Survey 2007/08 shows that turnover in the UK’s recruitment industry reached a record high of more than £27bn between April 2007 and March 2008. The report noted a sharp increase in the turnover from permanent placements from £3.514bn to £4.276bn, an increase of 21.7%. The number of permanent placements fell from 787,280 to 726,863, indicating that employers are willing to pay more for the right candidate. Commenting on the results, Kevin Green, chief executive at the REC, said: “The downturn is really putting the skills of professional recruiters to the test but at the same time, this is giving them a real opportunity to shine and show employers what they’re really made of.”
10/07/2008 | Dennis Publishing expands with photography mag buy-up
Dennis Publishing has acquired monthly print magazine Digital SLR Photography to join its technology division. The publication is currently owned by Halo Publishing, and will be the first photography title owned by Dennis, who’s titles include men’s magazine Maxim, news digest The Week and a number of technology titles such as Computer Shopper. All eight editorial staff, including founding editor Daniel Lezano, will be kept with the title, which will remain in its current premises in Peterborough rather than relocate to a Dennis office. The staff will reporter to John Garewal, deputy managing director of Dennis Publishing’s technology division. The magazine was launched in 2006, and claims a circulation of 20,000, with newsstand and subscription sales. It offers news, reviews and advice for photographers, also encouraging readers to send in photos. The magazine also has a website, Digitalslrphoto.com. Dennis has said they will develop the title’s subscriptions and boost its digital presence.
08/07/2008 | New home in the country for Archant glossies
Lifestyle magazine publisher Archant Specialist has announced it is moving three of its titles from London to Cheltenham. The English Home, The English Garden, and Heritage and Realm will all transfer to the company's regional publishing centre in the Gloucestershire town on July 28. The move will create 19 new jobs in Cheltenham with the loss of a similar number of posts in London, although it is believed some staff may relocate.
08/07/2008 | Falling ad sales forces closure
The financial downturn has claimed Touch magazine, a title aimed at young black Britons. In an unexpected email last week editor Paul McKenzie, who has edited the magazine for two years, informed his team Touch was closing with immediate effect, citing the global economy’s recent downturn. Six staff have been made redundant (including sales and advertising) and 15 contributors, including photographers. McKenzie claims to have doubled the readership to around 40,000 during his editorship. According to the magazine, the circulation was 20,000 a month when McKenzie took over and went up to 32,000 just before the title was closed. McKenzie said: “Readership was never the problem, it was purely down to ad sales. “Our publisher should have invested in a stronger sales team and a marketing programme.”
08/07/2008 | Graduate recruitment
The graduate recruitment market is surviving the economic downturn despite recent gloomy forecasts, according to new research released today by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) at its annual conference. The main findings from the survey, the largest independent survey of graduate employers, were: Graduate level vacancies remain healthy with an 11.7% rise, but starting salaries are kept in check Average starting salary is £24,500 Competition for jobs intensifies, with an average of more than 30 applications for most graduate vacancies Employers begin to drop the 2:1 degree as the gold standard selection tool
04/07/2008 | Tie-up with Lloyd's List publisher is sunk but UBM is still buoyant
Where to now for United Business Media? A fortnight ago the company called off talks about a £3bn merger with rival business information publisher Informa, owner of shipping bible Lloyd's List. UBM chief executive David Levin had hoped to pull off an all-share, nil-premium deal but the emergence of another bidder scuppered his plans. A deal would have made great sense for UBM, publisher of magazines Property Week and Music Week. Levin has reserved the right to make a new offer under certain circumstances, but don't hold your breath.
03/07/2008 | Thomson executive joins Daily Mail publisher
DMGT, publisher of the Daily Mail, has recruited Thomson Reuters executive Suresh Kavan to run its business information publishing division, replacing Martin Morgan, who is to become group chief executive. Mr Kavan, who spent eight years with Thomson before its merger with Reuters earlier this year, is president of the merged group's division responsible for delivering financial information to off-trading floor bankers. He joins in August and will be based at DMG Information's headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. Mr Morgan will become DMGT chief executive on October 1, when Charles Sinclair steps down after 19 years in the role.
03/07/2008 | Reed hopes loan offer will kick-start auction
Reed Elsevier has been forced to offer a loan to would-be buyers of its £1billion-plus business magazines division in an attempt to kick-start an auction of the unit behind Farmers Weekly and Flight International. This week the electronic information giant began to send out non-disclosure agreements for interested parties to sign after it managed to arrange enough loans that could be used by a potential buyer. However, it could not persuade banks to provide enough financing that would be attractive to a private equity group - by far the most likely buyer of the business. It has been forced to offer its own top-up loan to sweeten the deal. Reed has been trying for several weeks to arrange a financing package to begin an auction process that was first announced in February. The continuing negotiations with banks, led by UBS, delayed the release of the initial information memorandum for buyers, which originally had been due to be released in mid-May.
03/07/2008 | Two senior executives out in News International reshuffle
News International's ongoing commercial reorganisation has seen the departure of two key executives from the old News Group unit and the promotion of Times Media executive Dominic Carter to head of trading. Carter has been appointed to the new role of News International trading director, responsible for advertising sales across the Times, the Sunday Times, the Sun and News of the World and the London Paper. In the new post he will report to his old Times Media boss, Paul Hayes, who was appointed News International managing director commercial last year as part of James Murdoch's reorganisation of the newspaper publisher. Mike Gordon, deputy managing director of News Group Newspapers, is leaving the company, as is News Group media director Mark Chippendale.
02/07/2008 | Northcliffe chief named as new Newspaper Society president
Northcliffe Media's MD Michael Pelosi is the new president of the Newspaper Society. He takes over the role this week from the chairman of NWN Media Russell Whitehair. Michael said: "This is a challenging time for local media. "It is a pleasure to be representing the NS as its president at a time when so many innovations in the delivery of local news and content are being conceived and developed by the sector." Michael has working in the media industry for 20 years, starting out as Northcliffe Newspapers' group finance director in 1988. He became the company's deputy managing director in 1995 and then MD in 2004.
01/07/2008 | Trinity Mirror shares suffer record fall
Trinity Mirror shares suffered a record one-day fall yesterday after the newspaper publisher admitted that advertising at the Daily Mirror and its sister titles had collapsed by between 12 per cent and 14 per cent in May and June. The rapid deterioration - the worst rate of decline since the weeks after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001 - reflects the continuing softening of the British economy as a broad range of companies rein in marketing spending. Sly Bailey, the chief executive of Trinity Mirror, said: “We can't defy the gravity of the advertising market, or the economy. All we can do is understand and react to what is going on, building our digital business and managing our cost base.” Trinity Mirror gave warning that operating profit would be about 10 per cent below City forecasts - at about £150 million for the year, analysts suggest - and dropped a heavy hint that the dividend would be cut to conserve cash.
30/06/2008 | Trinity Mirror warns as ads suffer
A sharp deterioration in advertising revenues in May and June caused Trinity Mirror on Monday to warn full-year operating profits would be 10 per cent below market expectations and could be even worse because of “a very uncertain economic outlook”. The newspaper group – whose titles include the Daily and Sunday Mirror, and the Daily Record in Scotland – hinted it could cut its dividend at the year end and stopped its share buyback plan with immediate effect. It warned that in interim results, to be published on July 31, it might have to take a non-cash write-down of its intangible assets reflecting an impairment in their value.
30/06/2008 | City AM gets rid of subeditors
London business freesheet City AM is to axe eight jobs, including its entire subediting team, as part of a streamlining of its operation. The free newspaper plans to shed two sales jobs and its six subeditors in a move that will see journalists write and sub their own copy. Designers will continue to lay out pages. A consultation on the job losses was launched on Friday and is expected to last a week. A City AM spokesman said the newspaper was considering expanding its night editorial team, which might offset some of the job cuts.
29/06/2008 | Heseltine speculates on specialists
Lord Heseltine's publishing empire Haymarket has acquired two specialist titles as part of a push to ride out the media downturn as the company marked its 51st year with record turnover of almost £250m. Haymarket, Britain's largest privately-owned magazine publisher, is seeking to tap into the fast-growing renewable energy and corporate governance markets with the acquisitions of Windpower Monthly and Compliance Week.
26/06/2008 | Worker pay
Employers will be forced to allow workers to discuss pay under new government proposals due to be set out later today. An equality bill will outlaw “gagging clauses” which prevent staff from discussing remuneration. Harriet Harman, minister for women and equality, will put the bill forward. Private sector companies contracting with state as well as public sector employers, will be required to produce audits showing the gender pay gap as well as the proportion of their ethnic minority staff. However, these will not be mandatory for all private sector employers. Around 25% of UK firms operate “gagging clauses.”
25/06/2008 | Digital boss who built "Today" network bows out
A media executive who built up Johnston Press's £15m a year online news operation from scratch has said he could never have foreseen how fast it would grow. John Bradshaw, left, is retiring this week after 12 years as the regional press publisher's head of digital publishing. He says that when the group's digital operation first started out in 1996, it was little more than a marketing tool to give potential advertisers information about ad rates. But in the 12 years since then, John and his team have launched more than 300 full interactive newspaper websites under the "Today" brand which now contribute £15m a year in revenue to the group as a whole.
24/06/2008 | IPC buys Mousebreaker website
Magazine publisher IPC Media has bought the casual gaming website Mousebreaker in an effort to increase its access to an audience of young male internet users. Mousebreaker, which launched in 2001, offers 200 free Flash-based games and claims 4 million unique users each month. The website's core user base is 18- to 34-year-old men and Mousebreaker becomes IPC's first web-only property for that demographic, sitting alongside magazine brands NME, Nuts, Loaded and Uncut. IPC Media is understood to have paid a seven-figure sum for the site it sees as "the missing link" in its portfolio, helping it tap into the $5.7bn (£2.9bn)-a-year global casual games market.
24/06/2008 | Dennis to launch online driving magazine iMotor
Dennis Publishing will expand its digital magazine business by launching digital motoring magazine iMotor next month. The "world-first" digital magazine, emailed to readers free each fortnight, will contain magazine and TV content, with test-drive videos, photographs, articles and reviews. Dennis promises "TV-style entertainment, web-style topicality and magazine-style authority and depth" in the new format. Launching on July 17, the digital magazine targets ABC1 men aged 30 and over. Dennis will market the digital magazine to its database of 1.5 million male readers.