Why Murdoch’s The Daily Doesn’t Fly

Mondaynote reporting:
Fact is, The Daily never took-off. Six months after its high-wattage launch, it only claimed 80,000 paid-for subscribers. Today, Jesse Angelo mentions a mere 100,000 subs. It is both far from the 500,000 necessary to break-even and totally out of step with the growth of the iPad (and the iPhone, and the Android) installed base.
...
For The Daily, this might be its first problem: It is everything and nothing special at the same time. It’s not a tabloid, but it doesn’t carry in-depth, enterprise journalism either. It’s a sophisticated container for commodity news — i.e. the news that you can get everywhere, in real-time and for free. If I crave celebrity fodder, I go to TMZ or to the Huffington Post. If I want business news, I’ll find everything on CNN Money or Business Insider, all very efficiently and appealingly edited. No need to go through the tedious download of a 100 pages-plus issue.
The Daily’s inherent competition with the web (and mobile) was completely underestimated. Real time is now mandatory, so is the ability to generate conversations. For The Daily, a comparison of last weekend’s newscycle is cruel. Its coverage of the Mitt Romney tax return controversy triggered 179 comments on The Daily vs. 28,464 comments on the Huffington Post. (Note the HuffPo built it on a 150 words Associated Press story and a one minute video segment from CNN — that’s the digital version of the multiplication of the loaves…)
The Daily is like an old concept in a high-tech package. Some draw a parallel with USA Today, the first truly national newspapers launched in 1982.
Another key question for The Daily’s future pertains to its business model. On average, according to the Newspaper Association of America, 70% of the revenue of US dailies comes form advertising, and 14% of the ad revenue comes from digital. By any means, The Daily should have been loaded with ads. There is almost none.
http://www.mondaynote.com/2012/07/16/why-murdochs-the-daily-doesnt-fly/

Hacking book: Leveson has to get to grips with newsroom cultures

Guardian reporting:
Today's penultimate extract from The phone hacking scandal: journalism on trial* is taken from a chapter by former ITN chief executive Stewart Purvis .
He begins by looking back to the public seminars hosted by Lord Justice Leveson prior to the inquiry proper...
I have never seen so many newspaper editors gathered together in one place... It was very interesting how Paul Dacre, editor-in-chief of the Daily Mail, and Kelvin MacKenzie, former editor of The Sun, chose to respond...
They both decided to attack the inquiry itself. Dacre criticised Lord Justice Leveson's team as a "panel of experts who – while honourable distinguished people – don't have the faintest clue how mass-selling newspapers operate".
He then moved on to their remit: "Am I alone in detecting the rank smells of hypocrisy and revenge in the political class's current moral indignation over a British press that dared to expose their greed and corruption?"
MacKenzie called it a "ludicrous inquiry"... and then went for the jugular, attacking Leveson's own professional reputation as a lawyer...
A few days later there was an unprecedented apology from MacKenzie in his column in the Mail for being 'disobliging' to Leveson. Maybe he and... Dacre realised their tactics had been over the top.
It is worth asking ourselves: what is the main problem for which Lord Justice Leveson and his panel of six assessors are trying to find the solution?
Is it the failure of the police to investigate properly a series of crimes? Or a failure of the system of self-regulation which the press jealously guards to itself?
I suspect that the view of the average citizen is that it sounds like a bit of both. But the view of these two editors... is that it is primarily the former not the latter...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/greenslade/2012/apr/04/leveson-inquiry-pauldacre?newsfeed=true

Rebekah Brooks among six arrested in phone-hacking investigation

Guardian reporting:
Rebekah Brooks is among six people arrested by Scotland Yard detectives on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, as part of the investigation into phone hacking.
The former News International chief executive was arrested at her home in Oxfordshire by detectives from Operation Weeting. Sources also said that her husband, racehorse trainer Charlie Brooks, was arrested.
The Metropolitan police refused to confirm the names of those arrested, but said that a 43-year-old woman and a 49-year-old man had been held. News International and the lawyer for Brooks declined to comment on the reports.
This morning's arrests took place between 5am and 7am at addresses in London, Oxfordshire, Hampshire and Hertfordshire.
The Met police said a 39-year-old man was arrested in Hampshire, a 46-year-old man was arrested in west London, and a 48-year-old man was arrested at a business address in east London. All six are currently being interviewed at police stations.
Another of the men arrested is Mark Hanna, the director of group security at News International. A second of those arrested was described by News International sources as being a "non-editorial employee"; their name was not released by the company.
Scotland Yard said in a statement: "A number of addresses connected to the arrests are being searched. Today's operation follows consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service."
Police said the arrests did not result from information passed to them by News Corporation's management and standards committee (MSC).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/mar/13/rebekah-brooks-arrested-phone-hacking-investigation?utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_campaign=cheatsheet_morning&cid=newsletter%3Bemail%3Bcheatsheet_morning&utm_term=Cheat%20Sheet

‘I Am Not Incompetent’ - James Murdoch Defends Himself

paidcontent reporting:

James Murdoch’s very ability as an executive was effectively put on trial Thursday, as UK MPs investigating the phone “hacking” scandal queued up to undermine his corporate competence.

While they dealt sometimes untidy, sneery spears in his direction during his second testimony to the culture, media and sport committee, Murdoch sought to reply calmly, specifically and politely, promising follow-up answers to what he could not answer.
But the MPs’ remarks were savage indeed. They opened a frontline talking point - the extent to which C-level businesspeople should devolve managerial oversight or should have detailed awareness of their business.
Murdoch, who said his executives had not given him full information about phone “hacking” early enough, said that he “(relied) on executives responsible to go and do the things they needed to do on the assumption they would be questioned from time to time”.

Tom Watson MP
“Are you familiar with the term ‘Mafia?’,” prominent questioner Watson asked, going on to seek Murdoch’s familiarity with the Mafia’s “omertà” code of silence. It barely prompted a deviation from Murdoch’s line of businesslike responses, to call Watson’s questioning “offensive”.
“Mr Murdoch, you must be the first mafia boss in history that didn’t know he was running a criminal enterprise,” Watson replied. But Watson’s impassioned rhetoric risked spoiling what was otherwise his ongoing line of specific and forensic explorative questioning.
http://paidcontent.co.uk/article/419-i-am-not-incompetent-james-murdoch-defends-himself/ 

NoW hired ex-policeman to track hundreds of people

BBC reporting:

A dossier of evidence obtained by BBC Newsnight from an ex-policeman hired by the News of The World (NoW) shows the newspaper was engaged in covert surveillance on a huge scale.

Over eight years Derek Webb was paid to follow more than 100 targets.
They included Prince William, Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, former attorney general Lord Goldsmith and football manager Jose Mourinho.
The paper's owner News International said it was not able to comment.
Along with celebrities like football pundit Gary Lineker, relatives of stars - such as the parents of Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe - were also targeted.
Mr Webb says he is not ashamed of his actions and that he did nothing illegal.
It comes a day after revelations that the NoW hired Mr Webb to carry out surveillance on two prominent lawyers representing victims of phone hacking. One of the lawyers, Mark Lewis, is to take legal action against News International.
Speaking exclusively to Newsnight's Richard Watson, Mr Webb said that shortly after setting up his own private detective agency in 2003 he was contacted by the NoW and offered work.
He continued to work for the newspaper until it was shut down in July after a string of allegations emerged about the hacking of phones, including that of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.
"I was working for them extensively on many jobs throughout that time. I never knew when I was going to be required. They phoned me up by the day or by the night... It could be anywhere in the country."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/15644038

Phone hacking: NI lawyer says he knew its 'rogue reporter' defence was wrong

guardian reporting:
A lawyer who acted for News International (NI) over phone-hacking claims has told MPs he knew the company had misled parliament about the affair but he had not spoken up because of client confidentiality.
Julian Pike, a partner at Farrer & Co, the law firm whose clients include the Queen, told MPs on the Commons culture, media and sport select committee on Wednesday that he was aware the company's often-repeated "rogue reporter" defence was untrue.
Pike said he had seen evidence in 2008 that suggested there was "a powerful case" that an additional three News of the World journalists were "illegally accessing information in order to obtain stories" and had informed NI of this.
When asked by Labour MP Paul Farrelly how he would feel about newspaper headlines that might read "Queen's solicitors knew News of the World was lying and did nothing about it", Pike replied: "That sort of headline is obviously not ideal." But he insisted that Farrer & Co was not part of a cover-up and denied he was embarrassed professionally by his decision to stay silent.
In evidence to MPs on the committee two years ago and in 2007 NI executives said phone hacking was the work of a single journalist, former royal editor Clive Goodman. It has emerged since then that the practice was more widespread.
Pike also told MPs that former News of the World editor Colin Myler had met with James Murdoch, who is now deputy chief operation officer of News Corp, in May 2008 to discuss a phone-hacking claim brought by Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association.
It is the first time that a second meeting to discuss a possible payment to Taylor has been referred to.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/oct/19/phone-hacking-lawyer-ni-rogue-reporter

News Corp. Ignored Wall Street Journal Aberrant Circulation

Bloomberg reporting:

Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- News Corp., the media company facing an investor uprising over its business practices, was alerted to a plan to inflate circulation at the Wall Street Journal Europe almost a year before the newspaper’s publisher resigned, according to a former employee and internal documents.

Les Hinton, the former chief executive officer at the News Corp. unit that publishes the Wall Street Journal Europe, was contacted with details of the payment practice in November 2010, according to former circulation manager Gert Van Mol and e-mails he provided to Bloomberg News. Todd Larsen, president of the Dow Jones & Co. unit, was also notified.

Van Mol said in the correspondence that a Dow Jones business partner was being compensated at the same time that partner was buying thousands of copies of the Wall Street Journal Europe, effectively boosting the publication’s circulation. Andrew Langhoff, the newspaper’s publisher who stepped down last week, had approved the payments, the circulation manager said in the e-mails.

“It was a non-ethical practice,” Van Mol said in an interview. “I didn’t want to be part of it, so I contacted Hinton and Larsen.”

Bethany Sherman, a Dow Jones spokeswoman, declined to comment on whether Hinton and Larsen had been alerted to the payments last year. She said Dow Jones had been investigating Van Mol for his “business dealings” for several months before November 2010.

Already Under Fire

Sherman said Langhoff, 49, resigned because of the perception the newspaper’s agreement with the Executive Learning Partnership could have compromised editorial integrity. She said his departure had nothing to do with the payments to ELP, a Netherlands-based strategy and consulting firm, or with ELP’s bulk newspaper purchases, which the company said are legitimate.

Hinton, who resigned in July after allegations of phone hacking by journalists at a different News Corp. unit he ran for 12 years, didn’t respond to calls for comment. Langhoff also didn’t return calls for comment.

London’s Guardian newspaper reported the payments to ELP and the company’s bulk purchases last week.http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-19/news-corp-ignored-wall-street-journal-aberrant-circulation.html

News Corp’s Sun Settles On Ads Over Fees, Rejigs Sales Team

paidcontent reporting:

News International has finally decided against introducing usage fees for The Sun’s website and is performing a restructure to place more emphasis on advertising sales, paidContent understands.

The Sun will introduce a paid mobile content app imminently; it is currently consulting with readers on the appropriate fee. But it will not be following Rupert Murdoch’s edict in which he appeared to say that all his news titles’ websites should charge.

SEE ALSO: News Corp. Appears To Favour Softer Paid Model For Britain's Biggest Paper

The final decision is understood to have been made by new News International CEO Tom Mockridge, who recently replaced Rebekah Brooks.
Although Murdoch issued his pronouncement at the height of the advertising crash in 2009, the wind from Britain’s highest-selling paper has been blowing in the opposite direction. The Sun’s advertising fortunes have recently bounced back, with big brands stumping up growing amounts both in print and online.
paidContent understands News International Commercial, which stretches across both The Sun and Times Newspapers, is currently undergoing a restructure to focus less on strategy and more on ad sales.
This could see the number of commercial directors reduced from seven to three.
Even by mid-2010, Sun ad income was nearly a quarter healthier than when Murdoch made his statement. He called it “almost inexplicably good advertising”. The Sun’s ad bounceback is outstripping its stablemate The Times...
http://paidcontent.org/article/419-news-corps-sun-settles-on-ads-over-fees-rejigs-sales-team/

Wall Street Journal circulation scam claims senior Murdoch executive

paidcontent reporting:
One of Rupert Murdoch's most senior European executives has resigned following Guardian inquiries about a circulation scam at News Corporation's flagship newspaper, the Wall Street Journal.
The Guardian found evidence that the Journal had been channelling money through European companies in order to secretly buy thousands of copies of its own paper at a knock-down rate, misleading readers and advertisers about the Journal's true circulation.
The bizarre scheme included a formal, written contract in which the Journal persuaded one company to co-operate by agreeing to publish articles that promoted its activities, a move which led some staff to accuse the paper's management of violating journalistic ethics and jeopardising its treasured reputation for editorial quality.
Internal emails and documents suggest the scam was promoted by Andrew Langhoff, the European managing director of the Journal's parent company, Dow Jones and Co, which was bought by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation in July 2007. Langhoff resigned on Tuesday.
The highly controversial activities were organised in London and focused on the Journal's European edition, which circulates in the EU, Russia, and Africa. Senior executives in New York, including Murdoch's right-hand man, Les Hinton, were alerted to the problems last year by an internal whistleblower and apparently chose to take no action. The whistleblower was then made redundant.
In what appears to have been a damage limitation exercise following the Guardian's inquiries, Langhoff resigned on Tuesday, citing only the complaints of unethical interference in editorial coverage. Neither he nor an article published last night in the Wall Street Journal made any reference to the circulation scam nor to the fact that the senior management of Dow Jones in New York failed to act when they were alerted last year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/oct/12/wall-street-journal-andrew-langhoff

New Phone Hacking Testimony Contradicts James Murdoch's Former executives say Murdoch knew of damaging email By

adweek reporting:
In testimony of their own on Tuesday, two former News of the World executives contradicted James Murdoch's assertions before Parliament that he had no knowledge of phone hacking beyond just "one rogue reporter."

Tom Crone, who had been legal manager for News of the World until he resigned July 15, and Colin Myler, a former editor of the tabloid, were testifying before the House of Commons' Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee regarding information they relayed to Murdoch. Both Crone and Myler said they were "certain" they told Murdoch about the “For Neville” email—a 2005 document sent between News of the World journalists Ross Hindley and Neville Thurlbeck that included transcripts from hacked voicemail messages belonging to Gordon Taylor, chief executive of the Professional Footballers Association. The email indicates that phone hacking was more pervasive at the paper than just the act of one reporter.

Crone said the email was “the sole reason” a lawsuit brought by Taylor over the hacking had to be settled. News International paid Taylor $1.1 million in damages, as well as legal fees. The settlement arrangement included a confidentiality agreement prohibiting Taylor from speaking about his phone hacking case.
When Rupert and James Murdoch testified before the committee in July, both said they were not told of the email.
In additional documentation released by the committee on Tuesday, Les Hinton—former chief executive of News International—rejected an offer to expand upon his 2007 and 2009 parliamentary testimony about hacking. In a letter to the committee, Hinton said, “I answered all questions truthfully and to the best of my knowledge and recollection.” And in a separate letter, lawyers representing former News of the World editor Andy Coulson, who went on to serve as a top aide to Prime Minister David Cameron, also turned down a similar offer from the committee to allow Coulson to make additional comments regarding his previous testimony.
http://www.adweek.com/news/press/new-phone-hacking-testimony-contradicts-james-murdochs-134632

Why News Corp. Should Buy AOL

 Wired reporting:
OK, everyone knows there’s history here. AOL’s last merger with a big television, movie and news-media company was a disaster. So was News Corp.’s last big purchase of a web company offering an active community. But Time Warner and MySpace then (or now) couldn’t do for AOL and News Corp. what AOL and News Corp. could do for each other today.
Let’s start with the fundamentals. As Kara Swisher writes at AllThingsD (owned, through subsidiaries, by News Corp), AOL’s stock price has dropped to the point where the company is ripe for a takeover.
“It’s almost free, given its cash on hand,” says one large investor: $458.7 million, against a market cap of just $1.09 billion. AOL’s stock is just $10.22 a share, following lower-than-estimated revenues in the second quarter.
News Corp, on the other hand, just issued a quarterly statement containing what Rupert Murdoch called “the most robust balance sheet in our history.” It’s quite a turn around from just a month ago, when the company’s future appeared to be in doubt.
...The web is the future of media delivery. Rupert Murdoch knows this. This is why he appointed John McKinley, an AOL veteran, to be News Corp’s chief technology officer and President of Technology for its digital media group in February. With MySpace, Murdoch just made the wrong bet.
AOL and Huffington Post have found all new ways to monetize the work of millions of contributors, striking a better balance between original reporting, online celebrities and aggregate crowdsourcing.
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/08/why-news-corp-should-buy-aol/all/1http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/08/why-news-corp-should-buy-aol/all/1

ProPublica’s Guide to the Phone Hacking Scandal

ProPublica reporting:

Though News of the World shut its doors on Sunday, the UK's hacking scandal is deepening. Allegations of illegal activity have spread beyond News of the World to other Murdoch papers, and far beyond hacking into people's voice mails. With all the new details emerging, it's getting hard to keep track. Here's a brief rundown of the latest revelations. (See our first reader's guide for an explanation of the early days of the phone hacking scandal. [1])
The News of the World drew fresh outrage last week as news broke that the family members of dead soldiers [2], murdered children [3], and 7/7 terrorist attack victims [4] may have had their phones hacked by the paper. There have also been allegations that the paper hacked the email account [5] of a soldier who died in Iraq.

Scotland Yard has been combing through 11,000 pages of documents seized from the home of Glenn Mulcaire, the private investigator who hacked phones for News of the World. The papers include around 4,000 names of potential phone hacking victims. Investigators are working through the list and contacting the victims -- as of yesterday, they'd only gotten in touch with 170 of them [6]. Meanwhile, a News International senior executive is suspected of deleting "massive quantities" of phone hacking-related emails [7].

http://www.propublica.org/article/our-readers-guide-to-the-phone-hacking-scandal