Talking Point

The end of The Bulletin

ACP Magazines has announced (24 January 2008) that It is closing down The Bulletin, Australia's longest-running magazine, launched in 1880. Official explanations from PBL Media, which owns ACP, point to the decline of print as a source of news due to readers' preference for the internet. A statement quoted figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulation which showed that The Bulletin's circulation figures dropped by almost half from the mid-nineties to 2007. However, there are also arguments purporting to a steady decrease in appealing content. Either way, there goes a piece of Australian journalistic history.

Are journalists changing their opinion of social media?

Fairfax’s embrace of all things digital media does not extend to bloggers.

While attempting to promote the recently launched The Age of Conversation book about the rise of social media and authored by more than 100 bloggers, a Fairfax journalist told a fellow contributor that they could not promote the work of bloggers because management saw them as competitors.

Are journalists and media organisations changing their opinions of bloggers and citizen reporters?

We’ve seen evening news bulletins and daily newspapers running stories on politicians invading citizen media sites like YouTube. I’ve heard leading political commentators like ABC Radio National’s Fran Kelly talk up social media as a political campaign tool of the future. Now, it would appear the editorial managers of a major Australian media group think giving a few bloggers a plug in one of their newspapers is bad for business.

Murdoch promises independence at WSJ

Rupert Murdoch has upped the stakes in his bid to acquire Dow Jones and Company, promising an independent editorial board for the Wall Street Journal if his proposal succeeds.

Murdoch sent a conciliatory letter to the company’s controlling Bancroft family over the weekend in an effort to convince them to accept his $5 billion offer. The Bancroft family appears divided over the Murdoch tilt so his offer to give them a single board seat in the new entity should make for interesting dinner conversation.

Far from diverting his attentions towards old media assets, Murdoch’s MySpace has also come to a preliminary agreement to acquire photo sharing site Photobucket for US$250 million.

Old media assets spark further interest

From The Australian.com.au

REUTERS Group, the world's largest publicly traded provider of financial data, says it has received a takeover approach from an unidentified suitor.

The potential deal follows Rupert Murdoch's $6 billion tilt at Dow Jones and Sam Zell's $315 million injection into the Chicago Tribune in the US recently. With keen interest being shown in financial media properties overseas, it will be fascinating to see what the future holds for the Australian Financial Review - Fairfax Media's jewel in the crown.

Murdoch bid shows there's life in old media

Rupert Murdoch’s $5 billion tilt for Dow Jones – publishers of the Wall Street Journal – may have been rejected by Dow’s major shareholders, the Bancroft Family, but it does not diminish the significance of the offer.

Old media is clearly still good business or Murdoch would never have put a 67% premium on Dow's recent market value in a whopper of an offer.

Murdoch clearly sees the future media ecosystem where old and new media assets exist in splendid harmony. After all, whether it’s the WSJ, My Space, Fox News or The Australian, they’re all in the communications business, just targeting different audiences.

Despite the positives associated with the rise of citizen generated media and the proliferation of other Internet news sources, it’s good to see that the traditions of quality journalism remain a sought after quality in the media business.