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Tabloid publishers thrive on publicity; good or bad. They don’t care. A surefire means of achieving maximum publicity is lawsuits; as plaintive or defendant. It doesn’t matter. This is tabloid brand building in the outrage era.
Notorious British tabloids Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday went all-in criticizing Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, for nearly everything since she arrived on the Royal Family scene. This aligned smartly with that tabloid audience, oft referred to as “little England.” Innumerable newspapers were sold, not to forget the advertising so attached. Daily Mail/Mail on Sunday, published by Associated Newspapers (ANL), a subsidiary of Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT), and the Duchess of Sussex have taken to lawsuits, rather inelegantly. (See more about media in the UK here)
The latest legal escapade between the two parties has come, perhaps, to a rather dramatic end. The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by ANL of a previous High Court decision that publication of “personal and private” extracts of a handwritten letter by the Duchess of Sussex to her father was unlawful, explained the Independent (December 2). Lawyers for Daily Mail/Mail of Sunday argued for bringing the matter to trial in hopes of extracting bigger headlines, not to forget sales. (See earlier story about Daily Mail here)
“It was hard to see what evidence could have been adduced at trial that would have altered the situation,” wrote Sir Geoffrey Vos, one of the trio of deciding Court of Appeals judges. “The judge had correctly decided that, whilst it might have been proportionate to publish a very small part of the letter for that purpose, it was not necessary to publish half the contents of the letter as Associated Newspapers had done.” The Duchess of Sussex claimed “victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what’s right,” in a subsequent statement. ANL lawyers indicated they are weighing a Supreme Court appeal.
Another digital inevitability has arrived. UK TV measurement JIC BARB (Broadcasters' Audience Research Board) is ready to put numbers to shows - moments - viewed on video platforms Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and thousands of others alongside those offered on linear TV channels. The first trove of data appeared this week for the October measurement period.
BARB announced this was coming earlier in the year as a “first in a generation upgrade.” Kantar Media provides the necessary surveillance - er, measurement - tricks, meters on WiFi routers. From now on BARB subscribers can access daily data for all TV shows, including those offered on subscription video on demand (SVoD) and video-sharing platforms like YouTube and TikTok. The upgraded measurement system includes non-subscribing digital platforms. After the first of the new year, BARB subscribers - those lucky duckies - can view monthly reports and trend data. (See more about media measurement here)
Did this first everything and more report foretell the end of linear TV? No. Strictly Come Dancing on BBC 1 was, as usual, the most watched, more than 10 million folks. After that, in order, were Channel 4’s Great British Bake Off, The Larkins comedy-drama series new on ITV, then three more shows on BBC 1, another on ITV and another on BBC 1. Number 10 hit the jackpot: Squid Game on Netflix. (See more about streaming media)
Of the top 100 October TV offerings, Netflix scored four more, three series and the movie The Guilty. On Disney+ the movie Black Widow ranked 79th with 2.2 million viewers. Aggregate time spent viewing in October, persons 4 years and older, was rather one sided; 156 average minutes with traditional providers, 40 minutes with video-sharing platforms and 35 minutes with video on demand platforms. (See more about media in the UK here)
From the first of the new year, coming soon, the European Union will host a newsroom in Brussels. Announced this week (November 29) at the European News Media Forum by Internal Markets Commissioner Thierry Breton, the idea is a boost to national news agencies, some relegated to cramped corners, literally and figuratively. The lead for organizing it all will be taken by German news agency DPA.
Others joining are Austrian Press Agency (APA), Belga (Belgium), BTA (Bulgaria), HINA (Croatia), ANSA (Italy), Agerpres (Romania) and TASR (Slovakia) plus AFP (France), EFE and Europa Press (Spain. Critically, Slovenian Press Agency (STA) is included. Its funding had been blocked for months by the right-wing populist government, only recently reinstated. STA kept its doors open through a successful crowdfunding campaign. Four agencies from outside the European Union are included: Albania’s ATA, FENA (Bosnia and Herzegovina), MIA (North Macedonia) and Serbia’s Tanjug. (See more about news agencies here)
The EU is putting €1.76 million into the project covering two years. The first impression for the EU newsroom will be a website. A physical presence - there are several buildings to choose from - will appear toward the middle of next year. “Most of these agencies will meet in a common place where they will be able to discuss all European topics, jointly request interviews and publish some of these productions on a dedicated site,” noted AFP (November 29). "Participants will also be able to benefit from training, in particular on digital technology and fact-checking.”
“Verified and trustworthy information is becoming a more and more valuable commodity these days when disinformation is aggressing our societies with sometimes fatal effects,” said European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) secretary general and Agerpres chief executive Alexandru Giboi, quoted by Euractiv (November 30). “News agencies’ involvement in this project is a clear guarantee that the focus will be on the truth. The European Newsroom initiative can help boost quality news from Brussels to the world, and that would be a win in itself.”
Several investment funds are jointly pursuing a bid to acquire significant minority interest in Polish Germi Media, publisher of influential daily newspaper Rzeczpospolita. It is the latest installment in the struggle between independent news media in Poland and the ruling right-wing xenophobic Law and Justice (PiS) political party. A non-binding term sheet for the transaction was released last week, reported Bloomberg (November 26).
A Dutch limited liability company - Pluralis - was formed to “support plurality of news across Europe,” said its statement (November 29). Principal investors in Pluralis include the Belgian King Baudouin Foundation, Dutch/Belgian/Irish publisher Mediahuis, Soros Economic Development Fund, major Schibsted investor Tinius Trust and KIM, Media Development Investment Fund and Belgian/Dutch VP Capital. Earlier this year Pluralis invested in Slovak publisher Petit Press. (See more about mergers and acquisitions here)
“Grounding each of our investments is the belief that citizens’ access to a plurality of news sources is fundamental for sustaining European democracy,” said Pluralis and Mediahuis chairperson Thomas Leysen. “Our investment framework is explicitly non-partisan. We invest in independent media companies practising responsible, high-quality journalism, regardless of editorial orientation.” (See more about media support here)
“The situation of the Polish media market is becoming more and more difficult,” said Germi Media principal Grzegorz Hajdarowicz, quoted by media portal Wirtualnemedia (November 29). “It is increasingly burdened with the stigma of politics which has a negative impact. Rzeczpospolita and Parkiet remain outside the main dividing lines of Polish political life. But they have a clear compass of values; defending the free market, protecting private property, respecting human and civil rights as understood by Western Europe, supporting Polish membership in the European Union and NATO. Not everyone likes it.” (See more about media in Poland here)
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