Companies

21 December 2008

Guardian group to launch Arab-language news service in early-2009

Guardian News & Media will launch a newswire serving the Arab region in the first quarter of next year. The Arab-language news service will be provided through Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq, based in Qatar, which will translate up to 15 stories per day for use by media outlets in the Middle East region, Brand Republic has reported. Some sketchy details: [ Link] Tim Brooks, managing director of Guardian...

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19 December 2008

Korean govt must speak out for press freedom to break television deadlock, says IFJ

The Korean government must act urgently over fears for the future of press freedom in the country, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has urged. The call is among a number of IFJ proposals to end the deadlock between staff and management in a 154-day battle over editorial independence at the broadcaster YTN, a 24-hour news network. IFJ, which has concluded an emergency mission to...

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15 December 2008

Politico and Reuters join hands in newspaper venture

Politico and Reuters have joined hands to offer articles to newspapers and sell advertising on the papers' websites, the New York Times has reported. Politico recently began offering papers a limited number of free articles, and beginning this week the papers that sign onto that service, the Politico Network, will also see the stream of daily output from Reuters and choose up to 10 articles and 10...

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13 December 2008
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As slowdown goes Down Under, heads begin to roll in Australian newspaper industry

As slowdown goes Down Under, heads begin to roll in Australian newspaper industry

Heads have begun to roll in the Australian media industry with the chief executive of FairFax Media Limited, David Kirk, putting in his papers last week. Kirk left the 120-year old media giant after serving three years in the organisation that is currently facing a shrinking advertising revenue and a collapsing share price in the face of a severe economic meltdown. Kirk’s resignation came as a

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9 December 2008

Sacked editor-in-chief sues Australian newspaper company for $2.7m

Former Herald Sun editor-in-chief Bruce Guthrie has launched a $2.8million unfair dismissal claim against the Australian newspaper's publisher, News Limited. In a writ filed on Monday in the Victorian Supreme Court, Guthrie claimed that the company's decision to terminate his employment last month was "capricious, unfair and unreasonable" and a breach of contract, the Australian reported. Guthrie...

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9 December 2008
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Acute ad crunch, $13 bn debt force newspaper giant Tribune Co to file for bankruptcy

Acute ad crunch, $13 bn debt force newspaper giant Tribune Co to file for bankruptcy

The Tribune Co, owner of the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and other US dailies, has filed for bankruptcy. The Chicago-based company said it was forced to seek bankruptcy protection Monday because of a sharp drop in revenue and a 13-billion-dollar debt load but has enough cash to sustain operations while it restructures, news reports said. The Tribune's eight newspapers, 23 television...

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5 December 2008
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Union govt issues guidelines for publishing Indian editions of foreign news magazines

Union govt issues guidelines for publishing Indian editions of foreign news magazines

The Union government has issued guidelines for foreign news and current affairs magazines publishing Indian editions, requiring them to have Indians in all key editorial and executive positions. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has also mandated that 75 per cent of the boards of directors of the publishing companies should be resident Indians. The magazines have been allowed to...

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5 December 2008
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Scottish newspaper company lays off all staff, asks them to re-apply under new terms

Scottish newspaper company lays off all staff, asks them to re-apply under new terms

The Newsquest-owned Herald and Times group in Scotland has made all its 250 journalists and publishing staff redundant and asked them to re-apply for their jobs. The Glasgow-based company, which publishes the Herald, Sunday Herald and Evening Times announced this on December 3, according to the Scotsman newspaper. About 30-40 staff, 17 per cent of journalists, are expected to be cut as the company...

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4 December 2008

Sakaal Times reaches settlement with laid-off employees of its Delhi office

The Sakaal Times employees in Delhi have reached an agreement with the management on a compensation package which is agreeable to both sides. KK Laskar, convenor of the employees' action committee that has been formed to fight for the rights of employees, said that the issue of compensation had been amicably resolved to the "complete satisfaction" of the employees. Sixtyone employees were laid off...

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4 December 2008

TV journalist in Pakistan commits suicide over non-payment of salary for 4 months

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has blamed callous management at Channel-5, a private TV station in Pakistan, which contributed to the death of a cameraman who killed himself after his employer refused to pay his salary. According to the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalist (PFUJ), an IFJ affiliate, Mohammad Azam Khan, 26, who worked as a cameraman for Channel-5 in Lahore had not...

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