Daily Mail publisher abandons national press project to take on advertising decline January 16, 2017 The publisher of the Daily Mail has abandoned a national newspaper project to pool advertising resources. Project Rio, formerly known as Project Juno, still involves the publishers of the Guardian, Sun and Daily Express among others. But Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) is now out, with the publisher said to hold concerns around legal [...]
Goodbye Piccadilly: A short history of the Piccadilly Circus advertising billboards January 16, 2017 On only a handful of occasions in its 100-year history has the hotchpotch of billboards at Piccadilly Circus been intentionally switched off during peacetime. Most famously, when Winston Churchill died, and later, Princess Diana. The advertising space, recognisable around the world, is symbolic of the national mood; it wears black when we mourn. But today, minus [...]
Mumsnet’s Justine Roberts talks community, the value of debate, and bursting the filter bubble January 16, 2017 Time poverty is clearly an issue for Justine Roberts. I have just 40 minutes on the phone with the Mumsnet founder and chief executive to disseminate a lifetime of achievement: PPE student at Oxford, a stint in the City, a journalist with a sports beat and, most recently, a recipient of a CBE for services [...]
Goodbye Piccadilly: It’s lights out for the Circus January 16, 2017 It's lights out for Piccadilly this morning, as the patchwork of billboards adorning the Circus is switched off for the last time, to be replaced with the biggest, most technically advanced, screen in western Europe. In its century long life, the advertising space has rarely been switched off during peacetime, bar a handful of notable [...]
Newspaper industry steps up fight against official press regulator Impress January 13, 2017 The newspaper industry has moved a step forward in its bid to challenge the status of the UK’s officially-recognised press regulator, Impress. The News Media Association (NMA) is in the process of applying for a judicial review of the Press Recognition Panel’s (PRP) decision to recognise Impress. The NMA said today that it had issued [...]
Under Press-ure: Activist takes 19 per cent stake in regional press group January 12, 2017 Regional newspaper group Johnston Press could come under pressure after an activist investor took a 19 per cent stake in the company. Crystal Amber today increased its stake from 6.7 per cent to 18.6 per cent. Read more: Johnston Press reduces debt woes by flogging papers for £17m Johnston Press was among many newspaper companies [...]
Germany’s Hubert Burda Media buys Radio Times and other UK magazines for £270m January 12, 2017 A German media company has announced a deal to buy Radio Times and more than 70 other magazines. Munich-based Hubert Burda Media is understood to have acquired Immediate Media from its private equity owner Exponent and Management for £270m. Announcing the deal this morning, Burda noted that Immediate has more than 19m consumers each month, [...]
Vinyl resurgence to power through into 2017 with $1bn of sales expected January 11, 2017 Vinyl’s resurgence is expected to continue this year, with a new report today forecasting 2017 sales of $1bn (£0.8bn). Deloitte believes vinyl revenues will enjoy their seventh consecutive year of double-digital growth, with 90 per cent coming from new and used discs and the rest from turntables and accessories. Read more: Vinyl comeback led by David Bowie [...]
Sky defends increases in TV prices saying coverage has been “completely transformed” since 2010 January 10, 2017 The cost of satellite television has rocketed by an average of 50 per cent since 2010, four times the rate of inflation and twice as fast as rail fares have increased over the same period. Free-to-air satellite firm Freesat has urged rail users, angry at January fare hikes, to check the cost of their Sky [...]
Newspapers warn “draconian law” Section 40 would cost industry £100m a year January 10, 2017 The newspaper industry has estimated that a new “draconian law”, Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act, would cost the industry £100m a year. The News Media Association (NMA) said passing the act would represent an “unfair and undemocratic attack on free speech which would have a chilling effect on newspapers’ ability to report [...]