Free papers - the future?

ON THE WHOLE, the print industry received a boost as the National Readership Survey published its results for the past year.

The real standout performer from the results was the London Evening Standard, which figures show now has an estimated readership of 1,394,000, a huge 133% increase on last year.

These results follow the Standard dropping its price-tag and becoming a free paper, whilst also increasing its distribution, two bold moves from major shareholder Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev.

These figures now mean the Standard is read by more people than some national titles including the Guardian, amongst others. The Metro, another freesheet also rose, 8%, to 3,597,000.

The real question to arise out of the figures however, are the implications they have for the future of the newspaper industry.

Are free newspapers the future of the print industry? Or will continuing to charge for them be a sustainable option? It will be interesting to see if these figures grow once more next year, then a proper analysis can be made.

It is worth noting, that the most-read newspaper remains The Sun, with 7,761,000 readers, a 1% decrease on last year.

It is certainly an indication that freesheets are becoming a more and more popular choice amongst the newspaper reader.

It raises questions as to how Mr. Lebedev will approach the Independent when he finally assumes control, will that become a free paper also?

Time will tell, but the initial signs are definitely promising.

Hyperlocal news: the time is now.

IN RECENT months, the journalism industry appears to have grown another branch, or at the least, extended a previous one.

Hyperlocal news, or blogs, are cropping up throughout the country, and it appears that the time for localised news is now.

With regional newspapers feeling the brunt of the recession, coverage on a localised level has reduced with papers thinning, and staff numbers seriously down.

Hyper-local refers to community-related news content, not typically found in the mainstream news; which ultimately will serve a minor geographic section.

In 2009, almost 30 regional tiles disappeared from existence, which makes the need for hyperlocal 'bloggers' ever-more important.

2010 is certainly the year for hyperlocal news to explode into life, with the Guardian filling three paid positions for journalist to run localised news blogs in Cardiff, Leeds and Edinburgh.

The advert for those positions read “This is a completely new role for the Guardian, which we believe reflects the shifting nature of journalism.” The successful candidates, who will work from home or “anywhere with wifi”, will know their “tweets from their yelps”.

It seems hyperlocal is one of the many new steps industry is taking to stay in touch with the digital revolution.

Grassroot news

A fellow course-mate and I, will be launching a hyperlocal blog for Preston in the coming weeks, at a time when student journalists are having to do or die.

With an industry that appears ever-shrinking, with job cuts, and convergence; as one of thousands of graduates, I must do everything I can to get to the top of the pack.

We are hoping such a site will serve the grassroot communities on news that larger newspapers, such as the Lancashire Evening Post, fail to deliver.

With newspapers declining, fewer staff reporters are spending less time holding the powerful accountable.

Hopefully, that's where hyper-local will come in, only time will tell.

Charging for content - the beginning of the end?

PAYWALLS, a major talking point in journalism right now, are they good or bad? Will they kill or revolutionise the industry?

Alan Rusbridger, Guardian Editor-in-Chief spoke of paywalls this week at the 2010 Hugh Cudlipp lecture at London College of Communication.

Rusbridger is critical of the paywall business model, claiming it would remove the industry from a digital revolution which is allowing news organisations to engage with their readers more than ever before.

I would disagree with this view; I believe that paywalls will actually enhance the two-way relationship between the consumer and the journalist. With applications like Twitter leading journalism into social media, there is constant communication between the reporter and his readers.

A paywall will indeed limit the amount of people who read the news online, but will this filtering not just separate the consumers who are serious about news, from the rest of the bunch?

Surely the quality of communication will be greater between industry and its customers if those purchasing the paper digitally have a genuine interest and love for news?

America has seen a number of papers who have tried it, and opted against it, whereas there has been a number of have taken paywalls on board and stuck with it.

The New York Times for instance has confirmed it too will introduce a paywall to its website by 2011.

Whilst we have no idea how paywalls will work in the UK, there is only one way to find out, and that is to take the plunge and try it.

Sincere apologies.

Firstly, a happy new year to you all.

Secondly, my lack of care for my blog is clear for all to see when you see that opening sentence being written on January 28th, poor form indeed.

I have neglected my lovely little blog recently, but endeavour to spice it up once more in the coming weeks.

2010 has had a manic start, and will continue in a similar fashion, I've taken over the role of News Editor at Pluto, UCLan's fantastic student newspaper, and am also getting stuck in with a project with the BBC this semester too; this, coupled with my degree means I will be a very busy boy!

I promise to pop in soon.

Honest.

Image editing - Preston North End Football Club

In continuation with the Skills Tests for the Digital Newsroom Module here at UCLan, I had to test my ability with image editing software.

I had to choose one of the following to photograph:
• Lancashire county council
• Preston City Council
• The Flag Market
• The National Football museum
• Preston North End football club
• The University of Central Lancashire

Then I had to edit the image to three different sizes, using cropping tools and resizing. The three sizes were:
• One 100x100 pixel thumbnail in jpeg format
• One 400 pixel wide by 300 pixel high version in jpeg format
• One 200 pixel wide by 500 pixel high version in jpeg format

To take the images I used a Fujifilm FinePix S5000, and to edit and crop them, I used Photoshop Elements 8.0.

This is the original image I took, of Preston North End's Deepdale Stadium, I chose to include the statue of PNE legend, and sporting hero Sir Tom Finney, as I feel it adds more to the image, than just a shot of a generic football stadium.












This is the 100x100 pixel thumbnail version of the photo, I chose not to crop anything, simply to resize, as I liked the editorial content of the original photo, so felt no need to cut any of it out:



This is the 200 pixel wide by 500 pixel high version of the image; in this image, I opted to include the towering floodlights including part of the National Football Museum, whilst keeping the statue of Sir Tom Finney the focus:

And finally, this is the 400 pixel wide by 300 pixel high version of the image, in this image, I decided to not include the floodlights, or anything high up in the shot, but to keep the statue in shot, and show a bit of the side of the home stand, including a map of the stadium, and a half full car park:

'Dick' Griffin...

So tonight was the night the nation waited for, no we’re not talking X Factor or Strictly, we’re talking politics.

Tonight was the night that the BNP Leader Nick Griffin had his and his party’s true colours shown to the world.

After weeks of criticism against the decision to allow the BNP to have their views on BBC’s Question Time, the time had finally arrived.

In all truth, and for what it’s worth, I wholeheartedly agree with the decision to have the BNP on the BBC’s flagship politics show, after all, we live in a democracy and seeing as the party was voted in democratically, they have every right to be on the impartial BBC, no matter how disgraceful their views.

The night was always going to be uncomfortable for Griffin, and he took a real grilling from audience, other panellists and Dimbleby alike.

Quizzed on his views on immigration, the Ku Klux Klan and holocaust denial, amongst other issues; Griffin did himself no favours as he laughed off claims of racism, and arrogantly smirked his way through an uncomfortable hour.

He was visibly shaken by the test of his political mettle, and frequently muddled himself with his words, making a point then contradicting it almost instantaneously.

Hopefully Jack Straw will be proved right in saying the appearance was not an ‘early Christmas present for the BNP’, hopefully it’ll open the eyes of British voters who voted not in knowledge, but in anger.

The BNP thrive on coverage, and they certainly got some in this instance. Fingers crossed that the British public will see Griffin for the slimy, racist creature that he is.

All in all, a good night for Britain, and a positive night for politics.

Democracy, One. Nick Griffin, Nil.

Barack Obama, the greatest leader, ever?

Ever since Barack Obama stumbled onto the political scene, I was mesmerized.

Mesmerized by his charisma, mesmerized by his charm and more importantly, mesmerized by his ability to inspire.

On January 20, Barack Obama made history, and shattered taboos; becoming the first black President of the United States of America.

This fact alone tells you many things, not only the one-dimensional views of the country he now controls, but also Obama's love to take on a challenge, and succeed.

Barack was born into a family of challenges. His parents divorced when he was aged just two, he then saw his father just once more after the split, before he died in a car accident.

Throughout his childhood, Barack was moved from school to school, lacking stability and continuity, he lived with his Grandparents aged ten, until graduation, then lost his mother to ovarian cancer in 1994.

Obama reflects on his childhood struggles as a young adult to reconcile social perceptions of his multi-racial heritage; attributing his mutual respect for different cultures and beliefs to his Hawaii upbringing.

His inauguration speech alone was enough to win me over, a speech that will go down in history with Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I have a Dream'.

In his first days as President, he identified a number of issues as key on his presidential agenda, the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camps and the withdrawal of troops from Iraq; he also took steps to reducing carbon emissions, and aims to reform the American health system.

Obama is also making positive steps in assisting in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza; and it is refreshing to hear such positive comments about the American President, after having George W. Bush in office for so long, almost every word that Barack mutters is a work of art.

Barack Obama has, without a doubt, a chance at being one of the most influential, and successful Presidents of all-time, and I for one hope he achieves everything he sets out to achieve.