News

A war photographer from Germany, a crime reporter from Bangladesh who was stabbed and beaten, and the founder of a magazine threatened with closure by Iran's government because of its coverage of women's rights all received Courage in Journalism Awards from the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF). Sumi Khan The foundation's 15th annual awards were presented Tuesday to Anja Niedringhaus...

(CBS) CBS News President Andrew Heyward announced Wednesday he would be leaving his post when his contract expires at the end of the year. Heyward will be replaced by CBS Sports President Sean McManus. "After nearly ten years in this job … it's time for a change, both for the news division and for me," Heyward wrote in an e-mail to CBS News staff. Heyward is the second-longest serving CBS News...

ONE OF THE NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY'S newest and most intriguing strategies for stemming the erosion of readers--the distribution of free metropolitan dailies--apparently isn't having much, if any, impact. That's the conclusion of a comprehensive study of free daily launches in four major U.S. markets that is being presented at a major industry readership symposium today. The paper, a collaboration of...

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- As ink-and-paper publishers continue to struggle over how to maximize the Internet, The Wall Street Journal’s paid-access Web site is preparing another free "open house." The weeklong promotion is meant to attract new subscribers as well as lure advertisers into buying a day of dominance there -- for six-figure fees. Web experiments The promotion is approaching toward the...

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has announced plans for its biggest transformation in 70 years – it is closing down 10 of its foreign language radio services to pay for an Arabic channel that will be launched in 2007. The move comes amid a mad scramble for the Middle East television market. GRIM FACADE: The World Service provides news in English and 42 other languages (including the 10...

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The journalists who survived Hurricane Katrina and managed to keep publishing from the disaster zone have a new appreciation for their readers as well as the media's crucial role in debunking rumors, several editors said Wednesday. Many reporters lost their homes in the huge storm and have been separated from their families, but are sustained by how appreciative readers are to...

"Myself and others felt violated by the first bill," said Doug Simon, the founder, president and CEO of D S Simon Productions, a major producer of the faux television news reports known as video news releases (VNRs). Simon was referring to the Truth in Broadcasting Act (S 967). In its original incarnation, this bill would have required a "conspicuous" disclosure to accompany any government...

India is among the four emerging markets that have been forecast to report booming growth in advertising spend, supplying 27 per cent of world ad growth this year. The buoyant ad marketing in emerging economies will raise global adspend forecast for 2005 to $406 billion, a rise of 5.2 per cent over 2004, leading global media agency Zenith Optimedia has said. DOWNPOUR: The buoyant ad marketing in...

The Supreme Court of Nepal has asked the government to furnish written replies over the controversial media ordinance issued by King Gyanendra and a subsequent midnight raid conducted on a private FM radio station by the police. VOX POPULI: There have been widespread protests agianst the King's controversial media ordinance. Nine professional organisations filed a writ petition challenging the...

Yahoo's quest for original content has been breaking news. Now, it has taken an adventurous turn. The company has hired Richard Bangs, an author and filmmaker, to create multimedia packages about exotic – and sometimes dangerous – expeditions on mountains, rivers and islands around the world. STARTING WITH A BANG: The Richard Bangs Adventures is being described by Yahoo as an attempt "to use the...