What exactly is this message, displayed on the London Underground? Is it a come-on from a tonier paper--The Times, perhaps? A pitch to get off dead-tree communications altogether, and follow The Guardian online? No, as the fine print makes clear, it's a plea from the Mayor of London and Transport for London to avoid subway clutter by disposing of your reading matter in an appropriate recycling receptacle: Newspapers left on the Tube can jam doors and cause delays to your journey. Take your newspaper with you or put it in the bin to to be recycled.  ...

29 May, 2012

O'Reilly, the world's largest publisher of tech books, decided in 2008 to remove digital rights management — copy prevention software — from its ebooks. The result? In the 18 months since, ebook sales are up 103%. Long Island's Newsday, the 11th-largest-circulation newspaper in the US, is one of the first non-business newspapers to put its website behind a pay wall — a step The New York Times and all of Rupert Murdoch's papers are said to be considering. The result? In three months, Newsday's $5-a-week website has attracted 35 paying subscribers. Hat tip: SP....

31 January, 2010

In yet another sign of dire straits in the newspaper industry,  Toronto Star Publisher John Cruickshank today offered newsroom staff voluntary severance packages in advance of probable layoffs. In a memo to staff, Cruickshank said the paper is "seriously considering" contracting out core editorial and advertising functions. Moneyquote: [W]e are exploring the contracting out of some or all copy editing and pagination work, and the scope again may expand to include other editorial production and related activities.  The scope of these and related outsourcing initiatives may well extend to work groups in other divisions of the Star. Hat tip:  DMC...

03 November, 2009