Paying for news: price-conscious consumers look for value amid cost-of-living crisis

This report uses survey data from 20 countries and qualitative research from the United Kingdom (UK), United States (US), and Germany to explore who is paying for news content online, which publications they pay for, how much they pay, and what motivations they have for subscribing or donating to news. We focus, in particular, on how the cost-of-living crisis is impacting willingness to pay for online news, through talking to those who have cancelled their subscriptions over the last 12 months as well as those who have maintained subscriptions during this period. We also look at the prospects for attracting new subscribers amid this economic downturn and ask what approaches, if any, might persuade these reluctant consumers to pay for online news in the future. Finally, we use insights from our research to explore ways in which the publishing industry could adapt current strategies around news payment

Exploiting emerging market complementarities: delayed, then accelerated internationalisation in a technology EMNE

Structured Abstract Purpose: The paper explores the delayed, then accelerated internationalisation of an emerging multinational enterprise (EMNE), with a particular focus on the media technology sector, and how it exploited complementarities between emerging markets. Design/methodology/approach: The research is qualitative in nature and focuses on the expansion of a South African media technology EMNE case study that has a footprint in over 130 countries and has one of the largest market capitalisations of any media company outside the US and China. Findings: EMNEs have unique capabilities in navigating uncertain institutional environments in emerging markets and are able to capitalise upon the institutional complementarities between their home and host countries. This may facilitate the recognition of market opportunities and the harnessing of new technologies to meet these opportunities in complementary markets for accelerated internationalisation. Practical implications: EMNEs must capitalise upon the institutional complementarities between home and host country locations and use this to take advantage of identified market opportunities. This creates the possibility for a process of accelerated internationalisation. New technologies are creating particular market opportunities in emerging markets which can be exploited by EMNEs. Originality/value: We provide a framework which illustrates how an EMNE can exploit complementarities between emerging markets to identify market opportunities, capitalise upon institutional similarities, and harness new technologies in the process

Disease-linked mutation in RNase MRP inhibits ribosome synthesis

RMRP is a nuclear gene that encodes the RNA component of the endoribonuclease complex RNase MRP. Mutations in human RMRP cause a spectrum of disorders characterised by skeletal defects, hair anomalies and immunodeficiency. RNase MRP has an evolutionarily conserved role cleaving pre-ribosomal RNA (rRNA), and several other functions have also been proposed. However, why RMRP mutations cause disease is unknown. To look for potential novel targets of RNase MRP, RNAs interacting with protein components of the complex were mapped by the technique of cross-linking and analysis of cDNAs (CRAC). This revealed interactions near the known cleavage site in yeast pre-rRNA. The same experiment in human cells unexpectedly only detected interactions with RNA components of the complex, rather than potential targets. It has previously been shown that CRISPR-mediated disruption of RMRP in immortalised cell lines causes a pre-rRNA processing defect. Here, this result was confirmed in primary mouse T cells, which additionally showed impaired proliferation when RMRP was non-specifically mutated. To answer whether disease-causing mutations also cause this phenotype, a human cell line carrying the most common patient mutation was generated with CRISPR. This showed a growth defect accompanied by an accumulation of 41S precursor rRNA and reduced mature rRNA per cell. A similar rRNA processing phenotype was also found in CHH patient fibroblasts. Finally, the RNA-bound proteome of RMRP-mutant cells was mapped by the recently developed technique of Total RNA-bound Protein Purification (TRAPP). This confirmed that mutant cells have reduced cytosolic ribosomes relative to their mitochondrial ribosomal pool, and reduced intact RNase MRP complexes. In summary, these results support the model that mutations in RMRP cause disease by inhibiting ribosome synthesis

Digital news report 2023

The twelfth Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford reveals new insights about digital news consumption based on a YouGov survey of over 93,000 online news consumers in 46 media markets The report provides evidence that news audiences are becoming more dependent on digital and social platforms, putting further pressure on both ad-based and subscription business models of news organisations at a time when both household and company spending is being squeezed. The report documents how video-based content, distributed via networks such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube are becoming more important for news, especially in parts of the Global South, while legacy platforms such as Facebook are losing influence. Both interest and trust in news continue to fall in many countries as the connection between journalism and much of the public continues to fray

Reuters Institute digital news report 2024

The thirteenth Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford explores changes to the global news ecosystem based on a YouGov survey of over 95,000 online news consumers in 47 media markets. The report documents the declining importance of legacy social platforms such as Facebook and X for news discovery and consumption, while video formats and networks are becoming more popular. In a year that sees a record number of elections around the globe, concern about misinformation has risen further with worries about AI-generated content a contributory factor. Meanwhile, trust in the news remains low and selective news avoidance has risen again, against a backdrop of continuing conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine

Examination of fire scene reconstructions using virtual reality to enhance forensic decision-making. A case study in Scotland.

When attending a crime scene, first responders are responsible for identifying areas of potential interest for subsequent forensic examination. This information is shared with the police, forensic practitioners, and legal authorities during an initial meeting of all interested parties, which in Scotland is known as a forensic strategy meeting. Swift documentation is fundamental to allow practitioners to learn about the scene(s) and to plan investigative strategies, traditionally relying on word-of-mouth briefings using digital photographs, videos, diagrams, and verbal reports. We suggest that these early and critical briefings can be augmented positively by implementing an end-to-end methodology for indoor 3D reconstruction and successive visualisation through immersive Virtual Reality (VR). The main objective of this paper is to provide an integrative documentation tool to enhance the decision-making processes in the early stages of the investigation. Taking a fire scene as an example, we illustrate a framework for rapid spatial data acquisition of the scene that leverages structure-from-motion photogrammetry. We developed a VR framework that enables the exploration of virtual environments on a standalone, low-cost immersive head-mounted display. The system was tested in a two-phased inter-agency fire investigation exercise, where practitioners were asked to produce hypotheses suitable for forensic strategy meetings by (1) examining traditional documentation and then (2) using a VR walkthrough of the same premises. The integration of VR increased the practitioners’ scene comprehension, improved hypotheses formulation with fewer caveats, and enabled participants to sketch the scene, in contrast to the orientation challenges encountered using conventional documentation

A disease-linked lncRNA mutation in RNase MRP inhibits ribosome synthesis.

RMRP encodes a non-coding RNA forming the core of the RNase MRP ribonucleoprotein complex. Mutations cause Cartilage Hair Hypoplasia (CHH), characterized by skeletal abnormalities and impaired T cell activation. Yeast RNase MRP cleaves a specific site in the pre-ribosomal RNA (pre-rRNA) during ribosome synthesis. CRISPR-mediated disruption of RMRP in human cells lines caused growth arrest, with pre-rRNA accumulation. Here, we analyzed disease-relevant primary cells, showing that mutations in RMRP impair mouse T cell activation and delay pre-rRNA processing. Patient-derived human fibroblasts with CHH-linked mutations showed similar pre-rRNA processing delay. Human cells engineered with the most common CHH mutation (70AG in RMRP) show specifically impaired pre-rRNA processing, resulting in reduced mature rRNA and a reduced ratio of cytosolic to mitochondrial ribosomes. Moreover, the 70AG mutation caused a reduction in intact RNase MRP complexes. Together, these results indicate that CHH is a ribosomopathy

Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023

Le ‘Reuters Institute’ (University of Oxford) annonce la mise en ligne de son rapport « Digital News Report 2023 » sur la consommation d’informations numériques auprès de plus de 93 000 consommateurs d’informations en ligne sur 46 pays