With newspaper circulation in the UK consistently falling, and newspaper profits falling off cliffs, its time for UK news websites to start creating revenue for their owners - and quickly. News International are introducing a paywall to their websites, starting with the Sunday Times. They are now asking people to register for a preview. All the other national newspaper proprietors are biding their time, and most will follow as soon as they see success. Its vital that their companies respect the internet and the vast differences that their online customers have from their print ones. There seems to be a... Continue reading

According to the Wall Street Journal (a news organisation), Being a photographer or a journalist is one of the worst jobs in the world. (via Richard Humphries). Their new report states that the best job in America is as an Actuary. Photojournalist is ranked at number 189 out of 200, and Newspaper Reporter only a little higher at 184. Supposedly the report is based on five criteria -- environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands and stress. This survey rates newspaper work as more crappy than: 157 CORRECTION OFFICER 165 NUCLEAR PLANT DECONTAMINATION TECHNICIAN 169 CARPET INSTALLER 178 DRILL-PRESS OPERATOR Hell,... Continue reading

Whilst in New York City last week, the big buzz in the media was all about digital magazines. Apparently these are not news websites, not page-turning digi editions, and definitely not PDF downloads. Five of America's leading publishers are investing in what has been called the "iTunes of Magazines". Their premise is that a new piece of computer hardware, provisionally called the "Tablet", will revolutionise the way that people access media in the near future. Some have even showcased how this will work on faked versions of the machine. Sports Illustrated have put out a fantastic video presentation on how... Continue reading

The last time that England was lucky enough to host the world's most exciting sports event was 1966. England duly won the trophy and created a piece of cultural history that is a cornerstone of British modern history. For the last couple of years, the Football Association have been formulating a bid to bring the championships back to the home of football. By all accounts, the FIFA delegates, who decide where the World Cup finals take place, are all generally positive about England. However, the team of highly paid sportocrats who have been tasked with winning the bid for England... Continue reading

Is Jordan the UK's most hated celebrity? So Katie Price, AKA Jordan, has upped and left I'm a Celebrity... because she got fed up with having to do Bush Tucker Trials. ITV must have been licking their lips as tens of thousands of viewers spent their hard earned cash on phone votes, desperate to watch Katie put through the mill again in yet another disgusting bush tucker trial. They must be pretty fed up that she has left - although its likely she had a clause whereby ITV reduced her fee for walking out. She's now back at the very... Continue reading

It wasn't that long ago that anyone with a VCR, Video game machine and music system in their living room had to devote a large amount of floor and shelf space to bulky metal boxes and miles of cable. Soon however, all that entertainment grunt will be served up in one small plastic box. Currently, most people in the UK get their TV signal one of three ways - either via cable, satellite or via freeview. But with yesterday's announcement that you will be able to watch HD movies via your PS3, its now surely only a matter of months... Continue reading

Imagine for a moment you are the new head of ITV. You've never worked in the media before, and your last job was running a discount supermarket. Well Archie, you can forget about the price of rice. The golden rule in your new job: All that matters is getting the best viewing figures possible. So here's a short guide to telly ratings gold: 1. Forget amazing costume dramas, incredible documentaries and even world class sporting events. If you want to get bumper audiences, get a retired cricket player to stumble abound a TV studio trying to Cha-cha-cha. 2. Or if... Continue reading

In a world of angst and worry, it was traditionally the job of the UK media to tell us how bad things were. Papers and TV news were all about how high unemployment was, how difficult things felt and that we were all doomed. However, during the current recession it seems the mainstream news media has changed its approach. Across all spectrums of the news agenda editors are searching out good news stories rather than bad. They are only too aware that the public is now using news just as much for entertainment and escape as they are for information.... Continue reading

Hi there I've decided that its time for me to stop talking to the walls of my office, as they remain largely unresponsive. Instead I'll be logging my thoughts on the general state of the world's media as it tries to stop itself from imploding. The British media sector is immersed its most exciting transition since the printing press was invented. More people are reading news, going to the cinema, listening to music and watching television in the UK than ever before. However, due to the triple whammy of the digital revolution, the decline in newspaper readership and the global... Continue reading