Companies

The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) has asked its members to reduce use of newsprint by at least 20 per cent in their publications in order to meet the challenges of "extraordinary and uncalled for" rise in indigenous newsprint prices, the Press Trust of India (PTI) has reported. In an advisory to INS members, its President Bahubali Shah said the only way to curb the tendency towards cartelisation...

A South African company, Globecast Satellite, which saw two of its employees acquitted of practicing journalism without accreditation in April 2008 by a Harare magistrate, is now being charged with illegal importation of broadcasting equipment in violation of the Broadcasting Services Act (BSA), according to the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA). At the commencement of the trial on July 15...

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported an 8 percent reduction in its workforce, cutting 189 jobs, according to the Atlata Business Chronicle website. The staff cuts among its 2,300 full-timers will come between August and October and will include a combination of voluntary buyouts, involuntary layoffs and position eliminations, AJC said in a press release. AJC spokesperson Jennifer Morrow...

An associate of Kotak Mahindra Group has bought 27.76 per cent stake in publisher Business Standard Ltd that was held by Great Eastern Shipping Co Ltd, the publisher said at the weekend, according to Reuters. Infina Finance Pvt Ltd, an associate of Kotak Mahindra Group, which controls Kotak Mahindra Bank, which bought the holding did not disclose financial details. The Mint newspaper on Monday...

Los Angeles Times Publisher David Hiller and Chicago Tribune Editor-in-Chief Ann Marie Lipinski have resigned, seven months after real-estate billionaire Sam Zell completed his buyout of the company, says a Bloomberg News report. A successor to Hiller is expected to be named by late September, Tribune Chief Operating Officer Randy Michaels said on July 14 in a memo to employees. Lipinski became...

Guardian News & Media has acquired ContentNext, publisher of media and technology business blog paidContent.org, a sign of the growing importance of such sites to traditional media companies, says a Reuters report. ContentNext's founder and editor, Rafat Ali, and Chief Executive Nathan Richardson would continue to run the company as a standalone business, said the privately held Guardian, which...

The Chicago Tribune will cut 80 of its 578 newsroom jobs by the end of August, joining other Tribune newspapers that are laying off staff and trimming the size of their papers as they try to save money, according to a report on the paper's website, says Reuters. A spokesman for the paper declined to comment on the report. The cuts amount to nearly 14 per cent of the paper's news staff, and come on...

Nicolas Sarkozy's proposal on the appointment of the president of the French public television broadcaster, France Télévisions, contravenes international standards regarding the independence of public service broadcasting, and should be opposed, ARTICLE 19 has said. President Sarkozy suggested on June 26 that the president of France Télévisions should be appointed by the executive branch upon the...

Wage board Saturday recommended an interim relief of 30 per cent of basic salary for journalist and non-journalist newspaper employees with effect from January 8, 2008. Briefing reporters after a meeting of the board under the chairmanship of Justice Narayan Kurup, board members said the decision was taken through voting after a detailed discussion. While representative of employees and...

The first edition of Business Bhaskar, the Hindi financial daily from Dainik Bhaskar was launched in Bhopal on June 27, televisionpoint.com has reported. Business Bhaskar will have an initial print run of more than 20,000 copies and the broadsheet is 12 colour pages, priced at Rs 1.50. To expand the business of Business Bhaskar, the company proposes to launch at least three more editions in Tier...