Newspapers

Wall Street Journal Counts 30,000 Kindle Subscribers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 12:00pm.
New York - News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) The Wall Street Journal currently counts around 30,000 subscribers via Amazon's (NASD: AMZN) Kindle e-book reader, PaidContent reported, citing comments made by Down Jones head Les Hinton on Thursday. With a subscription fee of $15 per month, that translates to about $5.4 million in annual revenues -- although PaidContent notes that Dow Jones's cut would be less than half that figure.

Staff of Washington Blade to Launch "Modest" Publication Friday

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 19, 2009 - 10:39am.
Washington - Just days after the Washington Blade ceased publication, several former employees of the 40-year-old gay and lesbian newspaper said that they plan to launch a new, more modest version of the paper on Friday.

Washington Times Editor Resigns Amid Management Shakeup

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 13, 2009 - 11:40am.
Washington - Less than a week after cleaning house in its executive ranks, The Washington Times confirmed on Friday that John Solomon has resigned as its executive editor. Solomon, who had held the post since Jan. 2008, formally tendered his resignation on Nov. 6. The news caps a chaotic week at the conservative publication, which on Sunday fired Thomas McDevitt, its president and publisher, as well as CFO Keith Cooperrider and Chairman Dong Moon Joo. The Washington Times was launched in 1982 by Rev. Sun Myung Moon, and is subsidized by businesses related to Moon's Unification Church.

Report: News Corp. to Block Google News "Within Months"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 13, 2009 - 9:52am.
London - Days after News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) chairman Rupert Murdoch said he plans to block stories from his stable of newspapers from appearing in Google's news index, the company's chief digital officer, Jonathan Miller, echoed the position and said the move would come in "months and quarters -- not weeks," the Telegraph reported. "The traffic which comes in from Google brings a consumer who more often than not read one article and then leaves the site. That is the least valuable of traffic to us... the economic impact [of not having content indexed by Google] is not as great as you might think. You can survive without it," Miller said at the Monaco Media Forum, according to the Telegraph's coverage.

News Corp. Mulls Google News Exit for WSJ, Other Papers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 9, 2009 - 10:09am.
New York - News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) chairman Rupert Murdoch is considering blocking newspaper content from The Wall Street Journal and his company's other papers from appearing in Google's (NASD: GOOG) news index, The Guardian reported, citing an interview with Sky News Australia. Murdoch added that such a move wouldn't happen until his plan to begin charging users for access to more of News Corp.'s newspaper content online moves forward.

Washington Times Fires Three Top Executives; Editor May Resign

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 9, 2009 - 9:49am.
Washington - In an unexpected development, The Washington Times on Monday fired Thomas McDevitt, its president and publisher, as well as CFO Keith Cooperrider and Chairman Dong Moon Joo.

Tribune Newspapers to Go Without AP for a Week

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on November 4, 2009 - 8:54am.
Baltimore - The Baltimore Sun and eight other daily newspapers owned by Chicago-based Tribune plan to publish next week without using articles or photos from the Associated Press (AP), an experiment to see how difficult it would be to possibly sever ties with the international wire service, The Chicago Tribune reported.

Omaha World-Herald Acquires WikiCity Local Wiki Network

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 28, 2009 - 7:21am.
Omaha, Nebr. - WikiCity, an online network of over 22,000 city-based wikis, has been acquired by newspaper publisher Omaha World-Herald Co, the World Herald reported on its website.

Newsday to Charge $5 per Week for Website Access

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 22, 2009 - 12:10pm.
New York - Cablevision-owned (NYSE: CVC) Newsday will next week begin charging a $5 per week subscription fee for access to all of its website content, the Associated Press reported. Some online content -- including the site's home page, classifieds, weather, obituaries and community notices -- will remain free. The site will also remain free to print subscribers, and subscribers to Cablevision's Optimum Online Internet service.

New York Times to Cut 100 Newsroom Jobs

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 19, 2009 - 9:09am.
New York - Hampered by the ongoing advertising slump, The New York Times (NYSE: NYT) will cut 100 newsroom positions, or about 8% of its editorial staff, the paper reported on its website.

WSJ to Supplant USA Today as Nation's Top-Selling Newspaper

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 14, 2009 - 9:30am.
Arlington, Va. - USA Today no longer is the nation's top-selling newspaper, according to newly released reports.

USA Today Launches New E-Edition with Tecnavia

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2009 - 12:26pm.
McLean, Va. - USA Today, the national newspaper published by Gannett (NYSE: GCI), said that it has launched a new electronic edition in partnership with Minnesota-based Tecnavia Press. The USA Today/NewsMemory e-Edition is an exact replica version of the paper, which also includes a Saturday-Sunday edition available only to digital subscribers. The companies also will bundle the edition with local and regional newspaper subscriptions in select markets, starting with Tampa, Fla. and St. Paul, Minn. Subscribers will receive both their local newspaper and USA Today as a digital edition.

Washington Post, Bloomberg to Launch News Service on Jan. 1

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 2, 2009 - 7:23am.
Washington - In a major bid to increase revenue in the face of a waning advertising market, The Washington Post announced late Thursday that it will team with Bloomberg News to launch a co-branded news service starting Jan. 1.

Washington Post Launches New Local Homepage on Website

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 1, 2009 - 10:49am.
Washington - Looking to appease more of its core DC-area readers, The Washington Post has launched a new local homepage on its washingtonpost.com website. The page, currently in beta testing, features top local news, sports and entertainment stories, as well as weather forecasts and traffic conditions. It also features several new tools, including one that allows users to customize local news headlines based on where they live. The Post plans to modify the page over time, based on reader feedback.

Content Recommendation Firm Loomia Secures $1.5 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 1, 2009 - 8:14am.
San Francisco - Loomia, a developer of content recommendation technology, announced that it has raised $1.5 million in new funding, led by Asset Management Company.

Gannett Prices $500 Million Notes Offering

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 30, 2009 - 10:04am.
McLean, Va. - Gannett (NYSE: GCI), the publisher of USA Today and 83 other daily newspapers, said that it has priced $500 million of notes that it plans to sell to institutional investors.

Washington Post to Combine Print, Web Editorial Teams Jan. 1

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 17, 2009 - 11:45am.
Washington - The Washington Post plans to combine its print and online editorial operations completely by Jan. 1, 2010, publisher Katharine Weymouth told

Wall Street Journal to Charge for iPhone, Blackberry Access

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 15, 2009 - 11:38am.
New York - News Corporation (NYSE: NWS) plans to begin charging users for mobile access to The Wall Street Journal on Blackberry (NASD: RIMM) and iPhone (NASD: AAPL) smartphones, CEO and chairman Rupert Murdoch said at an event today, PaidContent reported. The move is expected to come in a few months. Hulu, the online video joint venture between News Corp., NBC Universal and Disney, is also expected to introduce a pay-per-view or subscription model.

Google Introduces 'Fast Flip' Online News Reader

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 15, 2009 - 10:51am.
Mountain View, Calif. - Google (NASD: GOOG) has launched a new service for reading news articles online, Google Fast Flip, that lets users 'flip' through pages online as quickly as flipping through a magazine.

Google to Offer Micropayment Platform for Newspapers

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 10, 2009 - 11:01am.
Mountain View, Calif. - Google (NASD: GOOG) plans to make a micropayment platform available to newspapers and other online properties within the next year, according to Harvard's Nieman Journalism Lab.