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10 August 2012 | Poynter

Knight report on training shows journalists want technology, multimedia, data skills

A new study by the Knight Foundation released Thursday summarizes the state of journalism training. The report “Digital Training Comes ofAge“ surveyed 600 alumni of Knight-funded programs, finding that "the digital tsunami that upended the news industry is remaking the journalism training landscape as well". Journalists want more training in digital tools such as multimedia, data analysis and technology. Most give their news organizations low marks for providing training opportunities. Digital classes are gaining popularity as a cost-effective way to reach more trainees. A third of U.S. journalists and eight in 10 international journalists say the online classes they took were as good as, or better than, conventional training in the classroom. Training organizations are adapting to the digital age. They are providing more training online and rethinking how their programs can foster the transformation of journalism. Although the study focused on Knight-funded programs, the authors believe the insights are relevant to all who are interested in journalism training. Professional development will play a key role in the transformation of the news landscape.

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10 August 2012 | San Francisco Gate

Google agrees to USD 22.5m fine

Google has agreed to pay a record USD 22.5m to settle allegations by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that it breached Apple's Safari Internet browser, allowing it to secretly track Web surfers using Safari. The fine, the largest ever the FTC has levied against a company, represents the first by the agency for a violation of Internet privacy as it steps up enforcement of consumers' online rights. The FTC alleged that Google deceived consumers and violated terms of a consent decree signed with the commission last year when it planted cookies on Safari, bypassing Apple software's privacy settings, to track users' Internet browsing behavior. Google, operator of the world's largest Internet search engine, has drawn regulatory scrutiny and pressure from consumer advocates for the way it handles personal information. The company's consent decree with the FTC settled allegations that it used deceptive tactics and violated its own privacy policies in introducing the Buzz social-networking service in 2010. In addition to the penalty, the FTC said it ordered Google to disable all the tracking cookies, which collect information from computers about a user's browsing behavior. Most of the tracking cookies have been removed and all must be gone by February of 2014, said James Kohn, the FTC's associate director for enforcement.

Original source

10 August 2012 | BBC News

Google updates voice search app on Apple gadgets

Google is updating a search app it makes for Apple iPhones and iPads so it does a better job of working out what people mean when they talk to it. The app is being improved by linking it to Google's knowledge graph - a database of culture and concepts. This will help the app understand the context of queries rather than just relying on keywords, said Google. The update means it works just like voice-powered search on the Jelly Bean version of Google Android. The changes to the app were one of the "baby steps" Google was taking to the search engine of the future, said Amit Singhal, one of the firm's search engineers in an official blogpost. The knowledge graph the app will draw on is a Google database that maps the connections between individual facts, concepts and ideas. This helps it spot the links between individual words and work out what a search is really after. The update will also mean that, when possible, results will be spoken to users instead of letting them scroll through a list of links. The voice-powered search function will be available "soon" on version 4.2 and above of iOS, the operating system for Apple phones and tablets, said Mr Singhal. This means it will work on more Apple devices than Siri, Apple's own voice-powered search software. Currently, Siri is only available on the iPhone 4S. The updated app has yet to be approved by Apple.

Original source

10 August 2012 | The Register

Australia on path to social media regulation

Australian MPs have started to call for legislative powers to compel social networks to swiftly remove offensive content, after Facebook failed to act decisively to remove a page containing numerous racist stereotypes of Australian aboriginals. Facebook initially did nothing about the page, which disappeared briefly and then resurfaced marked as “controversial humour”. The Social Network TM made some noises about freedom of speech, which apparently allows controversial humour even if it includes hate speech. At this point in the saga Australia’s Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy said he felt the page was inappropriate and should be removed. Facebook seems to have finally done so as it became apparent the page contravened Australia’s racial discrimination laws. Controversy over the page also exploded into mainstream media. Australia's media regulator and Racial Discrimination Commissioner are both looking into the incident. That metastasis in turn produced a policy from the Opposition Liberal party, which is set to take power in Australia’s scheduled 2013 elections, and says it will “look to major social media providers to step up and display a greater degree of corporate social responsibility than we have seen to date.”

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10 August 2012 | Bloomberg

News Corp. posts loss after writing down publishing business

News Corp., billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s media company, reported a USD 1.55bn fourth-quarter loss after writing down the value of publishing assets hurt by scandal and shrinking advertising revenue. The net loss was 64 cents a share, compared with net income of USD 683m, or 26 cents, a year earlier, the New York-based company said today in a statement. The majority of News Corp.’s value comes from its entertainment operations, which include the Fox News cable network and Twentieth Century Fox film studio. In June, Murdoch announced a plan to split off the declining publishing division, home to the Wall Street Journal in the U.S. and the Sun newspaper in the U.K., into a separate public company. Annual publishing profit fell 31 percent to USD 597m, partly because of shrinking advertising revenue at the Australian newspapers as well as the closure of the News of the World newspaper, the company said. Coping with the scandal’s fallout has cost News Corp. about USD 315m since it broke in July 2011, with USD 57m coming this past quarter. That includes legal fees, settlements and losses from closing the News of the World, where the hacking originated.

Original source

10 August 2012 | BBC News

Pinterest opens site to all, stops invite-only policy

Image-based social networking service Pinterest has relaxed its sign-up policy, opening the site to all. Previously, people needed invites to become members and "pin" online images onto its virtual "boards". Launched in 2010, Pinterest became the fastest-growing site ever, passing 10 million users in nine months. Although it has tried different money-raising techniques, the company has not yet disclosed a commercial plan. Fashion and recipes have quickly become top topics on Pinterest, and women outnumber men on the site. Its number of users grew hugely over the past year, according to a digital media analytics company Comscore. It said that last June, there were 1.2 million unique visitors globally - but a year later there were 31.2 million. In February, the company had to address concerns about users "pinning" copyrighted material. It now allows websites to opt out of being featured on Pinterest. To do so, sites can block their content by adding a line of web code.

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