Media news
Monday, March 15, 2010
US: Most online news readers use 5 sites or fewer, study says
The audience for news online tends not to stick to a single site — that
much has been known for years. But a new study says that even with a
vast array of digital choices, “promiscuous” news consumption goes only
so far. Only 35 percent of the people who go online for news have a favorite
site, and just 21 percent are more or less “monogamous,” relying
primarily on a single Internet news source, according to a survey by the
Pew Research Center, in a report to be released Monday by Pew’s Project
for Excellence in Journalism.But 57 percent of that audience relies on
just two to five sites. The findings parallel studies that say that
people with hundreds of television channels tend to stick to a relative
handful. In the Pew survey, just 7 percent of people said they would be willing
to pay for access to any news site. And even among the people who are
most loyal to a single site, only 19 percent said they would pay, rather
than seek free news somewhere else. But many news sites have concluded that getting even 5 to 10 percent of
their readers to pay would constitute success, and many — including The
New York Times — have made plans to start some kind of pay system.
Analyzing data from Nielsen Online, the report also concludes that
although there are thousands of news sites to choose from, a relatively
small number, 199, get 80 percent of the United States traffic.
(New York Times)
Other stories:
EJC Press releases
Reporting Development: Handbook links Central Europe to developing world
EJC’s media development team has just published a handbook for reporters from Central Europe, covering development issues around the world. As they move from beneficiaries to donors, Central Europeans are now looking to the global level.
There is a growing sense that people are more connected than ever: from trade and tourism to environment, health epidemics and international crime.
“Here the role of journalists is vital”, says co-author Oliver Wates. “Their readers, listeners and viewers need to know why people are poor, what can be done to improve their situation, which aid policies are effective and what types of policy changes are needed to help the most vulnerable. It is up to well-informed, creative journalists to find ways of engaging them.”
The book can be downloaded here in PDF format.
Posted on March 12, 2010 by EJC
Filed under news, development.
EJC invites 120 journalists to cover the EU neighbourhood
Looking to pay a visit next door? A new series of eight press briefings will facilitate European journalists to report stories from countries neighbouring the EU. The events will kick-off in Brussels with one-day of preparation followed by an intensive three-day study tour in one of the selected countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Israel, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine.
The programmes will feature meetings, on-site visits and panels with a wide range of sources offering useful background information and discussing newsworthy topics. The main EU policy at work, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), will be put under the spotlight together with other relevant focus themes.
All media categories are qualified for participation (print, TV, radio and online). The EJC will select 15 reporters specialised in covering foreign / EU affairs for each briefing, prioritising first-time applicants.
This initiative is financially backed by the European Commission.
More information about the briefings can be found in the online leaflet.
Interested journalists are invited to apply online at ejcseminars.eu.
Posted on February 19, 2010 by EJC
Filed under news, seminars.
EJC announces Round 3 of TH!NK ABOUT IT blogging competition
Internationally renowned blogging competition seeks enthusiastic journalists, bloggers, students and experts! TH!NK3: Developing World is the latest in the European Journalism Centre’s TH!NK ABOUT IT blogging series and will feature some 100 participants from 27 EU member states, neighbourhood countries and beyond, as they track sustainable development efforts and global cooperation initiatives around the world.
The third round of TH!NK blogging competition will be launched with a kick-off event on 22-23 March in Brussels.
Participation in TH!NK3: Developing World includes travel opportunities to Asia, Africa and New York City, where TH!NKers will report on development issues from on the ground!
Sign Up today: thinkaboutit.eu or contact info@thinkaboutit.eu for more information.
Non-European applications: 19th February 2010
European applications: 28th February 2010
The EJC has received additional support for the TH!NK3: Developing World launch event from the European Commission.
Posted on February 9, 2010 by EJC
Filed under news, blogging, events.
EJC joins press freedom consortium
Five Dutch nonprofit organisations have joined together to strengthen press freedom around the world. The partnership, called Press Freedom 2.0, includes World Press Photo, European Journalism Centre, European Partnership for Democracy, People on a Mission and Free Voice.
The EJC joined the Press Freedom 2.0 consortium to help build local professional journalism capacity, raise ethical standards and improve media literacy in developing countries.
Each Dutch development organisation involved has worldwide networks, which can now be linked. The resulting collaborative climate will be the best possible environment for the sustainable strengthening of independent media on a local level.
Press Freedom 2.0 also wishes to amplify the voices of minorities, women and children in local news spaces.
In recent months, the alliance has been working intensely with dozens of local partners in the global south on a 34m euro grant request to work in that area.
Posted on December 9, 2009 by EJC
Filed under development.
EU4Journalists now in Croatian and Turkish
The EJC is pleased to announce that the main content of the EU4Journalists website is now available in Croatian and Turkish.
Our goal is to help journalists cover the EU, whether they are based in Brussels, candidate countries or elsewhere. We provide essential information about how the EU works, as well as contact details of EU press officers.
Our dossiers give a solid background on EU policy areas and links throughout the site help users find the latest developments. We try to use as little jargon as possible, making the site especially useful for reporters covering unfamiliar subjects in a hurry.
EU4Journalists will always be a work in progress. New elements, including changes made under the Lisbon Treaty, are added and old ones removed on a regular basis. Please check the weekly video podcast on the homepage for the latest EU agenda.
Posted on December 4, 2009 by EJC
Filed under projects, website.
Covering the Crisis: Every angle covered
Estonian Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi, financial futurist Bernard Lietaer and former Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen lead the programme for Covering the Crisis, the EJC Interface conference on the role of the media in the financial crisis.
This event also features a cartoon exhibit on the financial crisis by Kevin ‘Kal’ Kallaugher, the editorial cartoonist for The Economist magazine. The two-day event takes place on 9 and 10 November in Brussels. Click here for more.
Posted on November 2, 2009 by EJC
Filed under events.
TH!NK3 Trailer
Latest Updates
- Polish economic reform architect to speak at EJC conference: 15 March
- Reporting Development: Handbook links Central Europe to developing world
- Journalists play key role in confronting world’s water crisis
- Experimental Europe: Dealing with FP7 complexities
- Romani decree would require licence to upload
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- Politique européenne de voisinage : Sur la Voie des Réformes Economiques
- Politique européenne de voisinage : Sur la Voie du Statut Avancé
- European Neighbourhood Policy : Boosting Business & Research
- European Neighbourhood Policy : Challenges for Democracy & Stability
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Experimental Europe: Dealing with FP7 complexities
The FP7 programme and application process are so immensely complicated and difficult that it basically takes a dedicated FP7 expert to identify the appropriate call and to draft a proposal match the strict format and eligibility criteria officially prescribed for it.
Potential applicants unfamiliar with the intricacies of FP7 nomenclature might also be easily confused trying to find the appropriate call. If you are into nuclear energy, it is pretty obvious you should go for Euratom funding, but it is otherwise not at all self-evident whether your proposition will best match calls under “Cooperation”, “Ideas”, “People”, “Capacities”, or any of the plethora of specific (and occasionally puzzling) categories and their numerous sub-categories.
To make matters worse, all of the above are usually referred to strictly by their acronyms only, leaving FP7 novices puzzled and desperate. Just try and find the respective explanations on the European Union’s websites.
Featured Resource:
Poynter Center and NewsU
As journalism evolves, so must journalism training organisations.
“There is the need to be nimble, to be working on a variety of strands in order to meet the desire for learning,” said Stephen Buckley, a former international correspondent who presently serves as interim dean of the Poynter Institute.
Indeed, as working reporters and editors scramble to expand their professional proficiencies – learning to create content for smart phones, for example – training organisations are trying to meet their needs.
The Fifth Estate, a growing group of attention workers who are not professional journalists, also clamours for training. They are people like the owner of Captain Al’s, who came to Poynter to discover ways he can use online publishing to improve his business.
“Journalism skills and values are the core that people have come to know and expect from us,” said Karen Dunlap, president of the Poynter Institute.
“Increasingly we’re hearing from folks who may or may not be not interested in traditional journalism skills and values but do want to know how to discover the power a blog can bring to a business or how to ask more effective questions.”
Both groups are served with NewsU, an e-learning platform offering skill-specific training to journalists and Fifth Estate attention workers.
Howard Finberg, who worked as a newsroom manager, lecturer and independent consultant in Chicago and San Francisco before joining Poynter, launched NewsU in 2005.
As it exists today, NewsU affords any journalist anywhere a chance to improve her skill sets, provided she is proficient in the English language. But Poynter is working with the ICFJ to translate some of these into Spanish, Russian, Arabic, Chinese. Its first non-English courses will be in Persian and geared to Iranian reporters.
Lisbon Council e-brief
European Innovation at a Crossroads
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