Public Media and Political Independence: Lessons for the Future of Journalism From Around the World

Profiles how fourteen nations fund and protect the autonomy of public media via multiyear funding, public-linked funding structures, charters, laws, and agencies or boards designed to limit political influence and ensure spending in the public interest

‘Where else is the money? A study of innovation in online business models at newspapers in Britain’s 66 cities’

Much like their counterparts in the United States and elsewhere, British newspaper publishers have seen a sharp decline in revenues from traditional sources—print advertising and copy sales—and many are intensifying efforts to generate new income by expanding their online offerings. A study of the largest circulation newspapers in the 66 cities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland showed that while only a small minority did not have companion websites, many of the publishers who do have an online presence have transferred familiar revenue models. It has also been recognised that income from these sources is not enough to sustain current operations and innovative publishers have diversified into additional broad categories of Web business models. Significantly, this study did not only compare the approaches of various news publishers with each other, but it also considered how active newspaper publishers were in taking advantage of the variety of business models generally being employed on the Web—and which opportunities were ignored

We are archivists, but are we OK?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show that the digital environment of the early twenty-first century is forcing the information sciences to revisit practices and precepts built around paper and physical objects over centuries. The training of archivists, records managers, librarians and museum curators has had to accommodate this new reality. Often the response has been to superimpose a digital overlay on existing curricula. A few have taken a radical approach by scrutinising the fundamentals of the professions and the ontologies of the materials they handle. Design/methodology/approach – The article explores a wide range of the issues exposed by this critique through critical analysis of ideas and published literature. Findings – The authors challenge archive and records management educators to align their curricula with contemporary need and to recognise that partnership with other professionals, particularly in the area of technology, is essential. Practical implications – The present generation owe it to future generations of archivists and records managers to ensure that the education that they get to prepare them for professional life is forward-looking in the same way. Originality/value – This paper aims to raise awareness of the educational needs of twenty-first century archives and records professionals

Media pluralism and the overlapping instruments needed to achieve it

The authors review recent scholarly and policy initiatives in respect of media pluralism and argue that contradictions between policy objectives, in analytical approaches and deficiencies in some established methodologies mean that robust conclusions have been hard to secure. They argue that concerns about diminishing pluralism are likely to grow in consequence of changes in a dominant “legacy media” funding model as advertising revenues move online. Examining UK data, they argue that a contemporary focus of concern, growing concentration in privately owned media, is overshadowed by the striking dominance of the publicly owned BBC and suggest established analytical methodologies used to analyse market power may offer a valuable analogy in the definition and measurement of pluralism issues. They consider possible alternatives to regulation as means of enhancing pluralism and propose the use of subsidised entry

A Cross-regional Comparison of Selected European Newspaper journalists and their Evolving Attitudes and Beliefs about the Internet - including a single-country focus on the UK.

This study approaches how journalists in the United Kingdom might compare with individuals working in print journalism in 10 other European countries, to assess role perceptions and beliefs in relation to the internet. The continental Europeans were grouped into north and south, and the UK set was independently compared with each. In all, 270 journalists across 44 newspapers in Europe gave scaled reactions to a questionnaire about their role conceptions, the internet, and the future. It appears the sampled UK journalists, despite some historical conceptions about the distinctively separate evolution of their press, conform strikingly with their European counterparts but in a specific and patterned way: the UK journalists align with their counterparts from the north of Europe but have significant differences to those in the south. The principal ingredient of the division is the degree to which the journalists find the internet useful, positive and a worthwhile extension of their working opportunities. The findings conform in some respects to academic studies taking a historical and cultural approach to comparative journalism

Media industry facing biggest upheaval since Gutenberg. Media consumers morphing into media makers

The advance of innovative information and communication technologies has triggered a fundamental upheaval in the media industry. The technology is reforming the conventional media model. The media mix will become more varied; interactive and personalised offers are taking root and finding their ideal milieu on the web. Newspapers, radio stations and TV broadcasters will have to reposition themselves if they want to remain attractive in the media industry with the arrival of the Web 2.0. This will include seeking new distribution channels and considering e.g. pay-per-view programming and innovative forms of advertising.Information and communications technology; ICT; TV; Radio; Newspaper; media portal; Internet; Web 2.0; broadband; convergence; triple play