Media news digest – August 2004

Searching for enlightenment (August 30)
From Benton: As the initial public offering of Google makes headlines, new surveys and traffic data from Pew confirm that search engines have become an essential and popular way for people to find information online. Use this link for the PDF report. And from another Pew study: The vast majority of American Internet users say the Internet plays a role in their daily routines and that the rhythm of their everyday lives would be affected if they could no longer go online. Yet, despite its great popularity and allure, the Internet still plays second fiddle to old-fashioned habits. Click here for the webpage.

Indonesia's deadly defamation (August 29)
From the Media section in The Australian newspaper: "Indonesia's biggest selling weekly news magazine, Tempo, banned during the oppressive years of the Suharto regime, is facing a new threat because of an important defamation test case in the courts." It goes on to report that three staff face jail and the magazine could be bankrupted. Click here for the full story.

Embrace the new, say advertisers (August 27)
From the Sydney Morning Herald: “The death knell has yet to sound for Australian newspapers, radio or free-to-air television – but traditional media must embrace new technologies such as the internet.” So says a story on a Price Waterhouse Coopers report on the expectations of advertisers. Click here to see the story.

Trouble reporting in paradise (August 24)
New Zealand media has been criticised by former Fiji Times journalist Sudesh Kissun, for poor reporting of Pacific island issues. Kissun wrote that beneath the glossy tourism image "lurk major problems – most Pacific islands are on the brink of economic collapse, democratic processes in some islands are non-existent and the roots of poverty are growing deeper in many societies". Click here to see the report from Scoop, an independent NZ news website.

War of words in Iraq (August 24)
An Iraqi cleric has claimed that media is deliberately twisting its coverage of war in that country and colluding with the US military, according to this report from Aljazeera.

Free media is essential (August 23)
This impassioned plea was part of an editorial in the Bangladesh-based Daily Star: "Free media is indispensable to the creation of a functional democracy in which the government is accountable for its actions and the rights of the general public are upheld. Similarly, if we truly wish to create a workable and cooperative community of South Asian nations, the media must be able to cross national borders to investigate and to throw light on issues of concern." Click here to see the editorial, and here to see the website of the South Asian Media Association.

Is media failing us? (August 20)
An article in Melbourne's The Age newspaper (pictured) today questions whether the media is failing in its potential role as political scrutineer. Well worth a read via this link (may require membership).

Stop killing media says President (August 17)
From Channel News Asia: 'Philippine President Gloria Arroyo ordered the police and justice department to work with the media to solve and stop a spate of attacks on journalists that has claimed six lives this year." Click here for the full story.

Neurology mag highlights fracturing (August 17)
The recent announcement of a magazine focussed on applied neurology highlights the on-going trend towards fracturing and specialisation in media. Click here to read about the launch.

Media should fight corruption (August 13)
An editorial piece in the government-sponsored China Daily says that media has an important role to play in fighting corruption. Click here to see the article.

Digital TV rampant in UK (August 12)
British communications regulator Ofcom has released its annual report on the state of the market, revealing that digital televisions are now in 53 per cent of households in that country. There is also cheering news for pay television and broadband suppliers. Click here to see the news release and here to see the report.

Media savvy prefer less savvy media (August 11)
Local media outlets are being courted by election campaigners in the USA and may have more power than many suspect, according to a story in the Chicago Tribune (pictured), though there's some dispute over why. The article ssuggests, "Some analysts say the campaigns are targeting reporters for local newspapers and radio and television stations to avoid the lens of national media that is considered savvier and more knowledgeable and also more likely to subject a candidate's statements to skeptical analysis." Click here to see it. (Requires membership)

Trauma tools (August 10)
The USA-based Dart Centre offers tools and tips for journalists who are covering trauma. It can be found via this link. (Recommended by LTU media student Lisa Pascolo.)

Reporting or incitement? (August 9)
Middle-east news network Al-Jazeera once again finds itself at the centre of a debate over whether its broadcast of 'exclusive' video tapes from Muslim extremists constitutes reporting or incitement to violence. It has been banned from Iraq by the new government – a move which has drawn criticism from the Reporters Sans Frontiers organisation. See this link for a story from the ABC.

It's a dog's life (August 5)
According to a report from USA Today, internet technology has increased the level of scrutiny – and therefore the pressure to be scrupulously fair – when reporting major events such as a national election. The story quotes one journo wryly commenting, "It's just a fact of life for reporters. You try to be fair, but if you want to be loved — you know, get a dog." See this link.

Checking chequebook journalism (August 5)
The NSW Director of Public Prosecutions has announced that he will attempt to seize payment for interviews given by a security guard who shot dead a robber. The ABC's PM radio current affairs program says this puts practitioners of chequebook journalism on notice that they are sometimes skating across very thin legal ice. See this link for the story.

Animated Singapore attracts Lucas (August 4)
Singapore is to be the site of the first Lucasfilm (pictured) animation studio outside the USA. According to George Lucas, "I've been a fan of Asian animation and illustration all my life. Asian cinema has had a particularly big impact on a lot of my work. When we began thinking about developing new ways to explore the craft of animation, it seemed a natural step to combine the two." The Singapore government says it is keen to attract this type of investment and place less emphasis on manufacturing. Click here for the full story.

Hackers hit the phones (August 4)
From the New York Times via Benton.org: Thinking of making the switch to VoIP? Internet phones and the routers and servers that steer and store the digitised calls are susceptible to the bugs, viruses and worms that have plagued computer data systems for years. Already, a few malicious attacks have shut down corporate Internet phone networks, disrupting business at a cost of millions of dollars. With Internet phones, hackers or disgruntled employees with access to a company's phone server can eavesdrop on conversations by surreptitiously installing software that can track voice packets. Worse, tapping phones by hacking into servers and hard drives is easier than wiretapping, which requires special equipment and more effort. Now, hackers can eavesdrop on hundreds of calls without ever leaving home. Click here for the full story. (Requires registration.)

Et Tu F2? (August 3)
The Fairfax publishing company (owner of the Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial Review etc) has decided to ditch its F2 internet brand, which runs across its online publishing, in favour of Fairfax Digital. According to the story published in The Age newspaper, “Explaining the name change, John Fairfax Holdings, owner of The Age, cited low awareness levels among advertisers, who failed to automatically equate the name with its newspaper parent.” See the story via this link. (May require registration.) Profitability proved elusive for the web brand in its first five years, during which the company says it lost $100 million. It turned a modest $1.7 million EBIT profit in the second half of 2003.

Battle lines drawn over network 4 (August 2)
The Federal Communications Minister, Senator Helen Coonan, has said the government is not in favour of a fourth free-to-air TV network, saying any potential niche broadcasting is adequately covered by other services.
This is in conflict with the view of the Labor opposition, which has said it favours the idea. This story comes from The Age.

Shop till you read (August 1)
In a world media climate where you’re more likely to hear of a newspaper closing rather than opening, Yahoo’s finance news service says New Zealand is to score a new Sunday paper. APN News & Media has announced it will start a Sunday edition of The Herald, which lays claim to being the country’s biggest-circulation newspaper.
According to the company’s announcement: “From a commercial perspective, an important factor in the decision to extend the Herald franchise is the rise in Sunday shopping. The number of people shopping on Sunday grew 46% from 1999 to 2003, providing significant opportunities for advertisers in the new publication.” Click here for the full story.

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