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MPs debate gay marriage bill: Monday 20 August as it happened
The Guardian: Politics Live Blog - Mon, 05/20/2013 - 18:09
Andrew Sparrow's rolling coverage of all the day's political developments as they happened, including MPs debating the gay marriage bill at report stage and latest developments in the 'swivel-eyed loons' row
Andrew SparrowIf the press isn't free, neither are you
NOTW: UK Telegraph Live Blog - Sat, 05/18/2013 - 16:00
A free press is essential to keep government power in check, says Jacob Rees-Mogg
Politics live: readers' edition - Friday 17 May
The Guardian: Politics Live Blog - Fri, 05/17/2013 - 04:01
Share breaking news, leave links to interesting articles online and chat about the week's events in our open thread
I'm not writing my usual Politics Live blog today, but, as an alternative, here's Politics Live: readers' edition. It's intended to be a place where you can catch up with the latest news and find links to good politics blogs and articles on the web.
Please feel free to use this as somewhere you can comment on any of the day's political stories - just as you do when I'm writing the daily blog.
It would be particularly useful for readers to flag up new material in the comments - breaking news or blogposts or tweets that are worth passing on because someone is going to find them interesting. A lot of what I do on my blog is aggregation - finding the good stuff and passing it on - and you can do this, too (as I know, because it happens every day when I'm blogging).
All of Friday's Guardian politics stories are here, and all the politics stories filed on Thursday, including some in today's paper, are here.
Guardian readersAndrew Sparrowguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
EU referendum bill will be debated, MP announces: Politics live blog
The Guardian: Politics Live Blog - Thu, 05/16/2013 - 07:20
Andrew Sparrow's rolling coverage of all the day's political developments as they happen, including the private members' ballot and Google giving evidence about tax avoidance to the public accounts committee
Andrew SparrowEU referendum bill vote: Politics live blog
The Guardian: Politics Live Blog - Wed, 05/15/2013 - 17:44
Andrew Sparrow's rolling coverage of all the day's political developments as they happen, including Nick Clegg at PMQs and the expected vote on the EU referendum bill at the end of the Queen's speech debate
Andrew SparrowOperation Elveden: Sun's former Whitehall editor charged
NOTW: UK Telegraph Live Blog - Tue, 05/14/2013 - 09:40
Clodagh Hartley and press officer from HMRC charged over allegations The Sun paid for information about the Government's spending plans.
Conservatives publish EU referendum bill - reaction: Politics live blog
The Guardian: Politics Live Blog - Tue, 05/14/2013 - 04:05
Andrew Sparrow's rolling coverage of all the day's political developments as they happen, including reaction to the publication of the Conservative EU referendum bill
Andrew SparrowTory EU referendum row and Cameron's press conference with Obama: Politics live blog
The Guardian: Politics Live Blog - Mon, 05/13/2013 - 04:02
Andrew Sparrow's rolling coverage of all the day's political developments, including the Tory row about the EU referendum and David Cameron's press conference with President Obama in Washington
Andrew SparrowHow New York's tabloid journalists learned their fate
News Corporation: Live Updates from The Guardian - Fri, 05/10/2013 - 12:46
Further to my posting on the cuts at the New York Daily News and New York Post, here are edited versions of the memos sent to their respective staffs.
The one to journalists at the News was signed by its editor-in-chief, Colin Myler, and the paper's president, Bill Holiber
Dear Colleagues,
In the last couple of days we have started a process of restructuring our business. It is a process that has been difficult and painful. But it is an inevitable consequence of the challenges we continue to face...
The newspaper industry is going through an unprecedented revolution. Print advertising and circulation revenue streams continue to fall but our business transformation as a whole is strong and growing.
But if we are going to become more successful, the harsh reality is that we have to change how we work. This restructuring is at the heart of our strategy to better secure our future as we navigate the difficult journey as a print/digital/media business.
Our digital growth under Ted Young [former Daily Mail staffer] and his team has been nothing short of phenomenal – with 34m unique visitors in April, up 48% year–on-year.
But we still have much to do and in an effort to achieve our goals we have to seriously look at how we further integrate our print and web teams...
Moving forward we have to be in a position to be more flexible and bold. The news cycle has never been more competitive and we would be failing in our duty if we did not acknowledge the realities of how we have to adapt…
Change is often difficult to embrace. We are sure you will have lots of questions and we will be happy to try to answer them. But we want to reassure you that these changes, which we believe are necessary and inevitable, have been made to strengthen our business and to put us in a better position to meet the many challenges we face in the future.
The memo sent to the Post's staff was written by editor-in-chief, Col Allan:
Today we are offering voluntary buyouts to a limited number of newsroom employees. We plan to meet with eligible employees today and discuss with them their options and the package being offered to them…
As we budgeted for the coming fiscal year, we took a careful look at our editorial spending and staffing levels, which have grown slowly over the last decade. It is our intention now to reduce our staffing levels by 10% through this initiative, and other measures if necessary.
We have always strived to be an efficient and resourceful news organisation, and being so now is all the more important.
The New York Post is one of the best brands in the business, and I want to assure you our future, both in print and digital, is very bright indeed.
We are taking these steps to make our business stronger and we will continue with targeted investment in the future as we continually strive to offer the best possible product to our loyal readers across all our platforms.
Sources: Capital New York here and here
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New York tabloids cut staff in 'grimmest day' for city's newspapers
News Corporation: Live Updates from The Guardian - Fri, 05/10/2013 - 12:26
It had to happen - but the fact of jobs being cut at New York's two struggling tabloids, the Daily News and the Post, has still shocked the city's journalists.
News broke today of at least 20 editorial staff being made redundant at the News as the Post offered voluntary buyouts to journalists in an attempt to achieve a 10% reduction in newsroom staffing.
Daily News staffers were informed about the "difficult and painful" process of cutbacks in a memo sent by the paper's editor-in-chief, Colin Myler, and its senior executive, Bill Holiber.
Their note said the cuts were "an inevitable consequence of the challenges we continue to face", a reference to fast-falling newsprint advertising revenue.
The cuts are being dressed up as part of a restructure that will see extra resources devoted to online news.
Over at the Post, its editor, Col Allan, issued a memo offering staff the chance to volunteer for pay-off packages in order to reduce the paper's headcount by 10%. But Allan did indicate that if there were not enough volunteers, mandatory redundancies might occur.
The redundancies are also linked to the fact that the Post's owner, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, is preparing to create a separate publishing division.
After the split due this summer, the newspapers will no longer be cushioned by the company's more profitable entertainment entities. And the Post is said to lose as much as $110m (£65.2m) a year.
In a third development at another New York paper, The Village Voice, there was turmoil after its editor-in-chief, Will Bourne, and deputy editor, Jessica Lustig, quit after refusing to lay off staff.
They had been told to eliminate, or drastically reduce, five of the 20 positions at the paper.
An experienced New York media observer said: "It is one of the grimmest days in New York newspaper history."
Could the rival tabloids be on the verge of a merger?Down the years, the battle between the Daily News and Post has never been less than fierce and sometimes very bitter indeed.
But close observers of the tabloids have noted of late what some believe is a truce between the rivals. They have stopped being so critical of each other.
One commentator told me: "The Post used to be absolutely relentless in its criticism of any mistake made by the the News. Now, there's not a word, particularly in the Post's media diary."
He argues that there appears to be some kind of understanding between the News's owner, Mort Zuckerman, and Murdoch. Many observers believe there is either a truce to preserve the industry or perhaps future plans to form some kind of joint operating agreement and, even more amazingly, a merger.
The Daily News, owned since 1993 by Zuckerman, a real estate tycoon, is the fifth most widely read newspaper in the United States. But its combined print and digital average weekday circulation slipped 11% year-on-year to 516,165 during the six-month period between October and March, according to data released last week by the Alliance for Audited Media (AAM).
The Post, owned by News Corp since Rupert Murdoch reacquired it in 1993, is the sixth most widely read paper in the US. Like the Daily News, its latest AAM-audited combined print and digital average weekday circulation fell 9.9% year-on-year to 500,521. Print copies totalled 299,950.
Big names are among the leavers at the NewsAmong the people selected to receive "pink slips" at the News were two high-profile veteran columnists, Albor Ruiz and Joanna Molloy.
Molloy's termination was said to be "particularly shocking" by media writer Joe Pompeo, because she is regarded as the most famous writer at the paper.
He reports that just last month she was on TV extolling the virtues of the Daily News's gun control crusade under Myler's editorship.
And a former Daily Mirror colleague of mine, Steve Lynas, stepped down a couple of weeks ago. As senior vice president of digital, he helped to create the paper's website and increased traffic by a factor of 10.
Sources: Capital New York (1) (2) (3) (4) /New York Observer The Memos: here
- New York Post
- New York
- News Corporation
- Rupert Murdoch
- United States
- US press and publishing
- Newspapers
- Media downturn
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Politics live: readers' edition - Friday 10 May
The Guardian: Politics Live Blog - Fri, 05/10/2013 - 04:37
Share breaking news, leave links to interesting articles online and chat about the week's events in our open thread
I'm not writing my usual Politics Live blog today, but, as an alternative, here's Politics Live: readers' edition. It's intended to be a place where you can catch up with the latest news and find links to good politics blogs and articles on the web.
Please feel free to use this as somewhere you can comment on any of the day's political stories - just as you do when I'm writing the daily blog.
It would be particularly useful for readers to flag up new material in the comments - breaking news or blogposts or tweets that are worth passing on because someone is going to find them interesting. A lot of what I do on my blog is aggregation - finding the good stuff and passing it on - and you can do this, too (as I know, because it happens every day when I'm blogging).
All of Friday's Guardian politics stories are here, and all the politics stories filed on Thursday, including some in today's paper, are here.
Guardian readersAndrew Sparrowguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Grayling's statement on rehabilitation reform:: Politics live blog
The Guardian: Politics Live Blog - Thu, 05/09/2013 - 09:10
Andrew Sparrow's rolling coverage of all the day's political developments as they happen, including Nick Clegg's phone-in on LBC and the row about childcare, and Chris Grayling's statement about prisoner rehabilitation
Andrew SparrowElizabeth TrussPetition aims to stop right-wingers from acquiring US newspapers
News Corporation: Live Updates from The Guardian - Thu, 05/09/2013 - 08:31
Fears that the billionaire industrialists, Charles and David Koch, might acquire the Tribune Company have prompted a large-scale petition opposing their potential takeover.
A diverse coalition of groups - including public bodies, politicians, trade union groups and more than 250,000 individuals - have signed the petition in protest about the possibility of either a Koch takeover or one by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.
It has been organised by the liberal website Daily Kos and the online human rights organisation, the Courage Campaign.
The signatories call on Tribune's board, shareholders and bankers not to sell the company's eight large regional daily titles to the Koch brothers, Murdoch "or other potential buyers who cannot be trusted to accurately provide information to the public."
The right-wing Koch brothers have been "exploring a bid" to buy the Tribune stable, which includes the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun. Murdoch has shown interest only in the LA Times.
A coalition statement emailed to me says: "Ownership by two of the most influential and radical right wing ideologues in the country will skew trusted news sources to further their interests and debase our democracy.
"Any news outlet owned by such intensely partisan activists could not be trusted to provide an honest account of a wide variety of issues that are of vital importance to the public."
The statement goes on to say:
"We already know what happens to news coverage when the ideology of an owner is placed over informing the public. This sale would create another Rupert Murdoch, and make papers like the LA Times and Chicago Tribune look more like Fox News and the New York Post."
Critics have also written to Bruce Karsh, chairman of the Tribune board and president of Oaktree Capital Management, the company's major shareholder that holds union pension fund investments.
The letter says a sale to the Koch brothers would;d give them "a powerful and influential platform by which to promote.. [the] enactment of their anti-public pension fund policies."
On Wednesday, demonstrators protested outside the headquarters of the Chicago Tribune about the possibility of a Koch takeover. And a rally is planned in Los Angeles next Tuesday with posters saying: "No Koch hate in LA: Stop the Koch takeover of the LA Times".
Sources: New York Times/Hollywood Reporter
- Rupert Murdoch
- Los Angeles Times
- Chicago
- United States
- Newspapers
- News Corporation
- Media business
- US press and publishing
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Rupert Murdoch must step down as News Corporation chair – shareholders
News Corporation: Live Updates from The Guardian - Wed, 05/08/2013 - 18:05
Christian Brothers Investment Services demands action to 'dramatically revise corporate governance practices'
Dissident shareholders are pressing once more for the media mogul Rupert Murdoch to step down as chairman of News Corporation.
Shareholders from the US, UK and Canada filed a resolution on Tuesday, calling for News Corp to appoint an independent chairman. A similar resolution attracted strong support at the media company's annual shareholder meeting last year.
The proposal was introduced by Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS), which manages $4.6bn for Catholic institutions worldwide. It is backed by the UK's Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, with assets of £115bn ($178.9bn), and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, one of Canada's largest institutional investors.
In a separate resolution, Nathan Cummings Foundation, an ethical investment group, has called on News Corp to end the dual-class share structure that allows the Murdoch family to control its media empire despite owning a minority of shares.
A CBIS statement said: "A resolution introduced at last year's meeting which called for an independent chairman was approved by two-thirds of the independent shareholders, while another calling for the elimination of the company's dual-class share structure was approved by 62% of the public shareholders.
"The shareholders believe that by responding positively to these corporate governance issues, News Corporation can improve oversight of management, reduce business risk and better represent the interests of all shareholders. These two resolutions are the latest salvos in an ongoing campaign by concerned institutional investors to dramatically revise the corporate governance practices at News Corporation."
Pressure for change from shareholders has been mounting since the phone-hacking scandal at News Corp's UK newspapers triggered investigations on both sides of the Atlantic. Given the Murdoch family's control of News Corp's shares, the measures are unlikely to succeed.
The company announced last year that it is intending to split its publishing assets, including the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones and Times newspapers, from its faster-growing TV and film assets. Murdoch plans to be chairman of both companies.
News Corp released its latest quarterly results in New York later on Wednesday. The company's revenues rose 14% from a year earlier to $9.5bn in the quarter ended 31 March, ahead of analysts' expectations. Net income increased to $2.85bn as a 17% rise in its cable business offset a dip in its publishing earnings.
The company announced that the hacking scandal had cost it $42m over the quarter – the company has now incurred more than $380m in costs related to the scandal.
Chase Carey, News Corp's chief operating officer, said the new publishing company, News Corp, would update investors about future plans at the end of May. The TV and film business, to be called 21st Century Fox, will hold an investor conference in August.
Carey said he was "disappointed" with ratings at Fox, where viewership of the declining hit American Idol has slipped dramatically in the show's 12th season. The decline of Idol has helped CBS take the top slot among key advertising demographics, ending an eight-year run at the top for Fox. Fox will be unveiling new shows to advertisers and the press at the "upfronts" – the major media firms' seasonal showcases – next week.
Dominic Rusheguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
News Corp shareholders renew call for Rupert Murdoch to step down
News Corporation: Live Updates from The Guardian - Wed, 05/08/2013 - 13:54
Dissident shareholders file resolution calling for appointment of independent chairman
Dissident shareholders are pressing once more for media mogul Rupert Murdoch to step down as chairman of News Corporation.
Shareholders from the US, UK and Canada filed a resolution on Tuesday calling for News Corp to appoint an independent chairman. A similar resolution attracted strong support at the media company's annual shareholder meeting last year.
The proposal was introduced by Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS), which manages $4.6bn for Catholic institutions worldwide. It is backed by the UK's Local Authority Pension Fund Forum, with assets of £115bn ($178.9bn), and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, one of Canada's largest institutional investors.
In a separate resolution Nathan Cummings Foundation, an ethical investment group, has called on News Corp to end the dual class share structure that allows the Murdoch family to control its media empire despite owning a minority of shares.
"A resolution introduced at last year's meeting which called for an independent chairman was approved by two-thirds of the independent shareholders, while another calling for the elimination of the company's dual-class share structure was approved by 62% of the public shareholders," CBIS said in a statement.
"The shareholders believe that by responding positively to these corporate governance issues, News Corporation can improve oversight of management, reduce business risk and better represent the interests of all shareholders. These two resolutions are the latest salvos in an ongoing campaign by concerned institutional investors to dramatically revise the corporate governance practices at News Corporation," it said.
Pressure for change from shareholders has been mounting since the phone-hacking scandal at News Corp's UK newspapers triggered investigations on both sides of the Atlantic. The company announced last year that it is intending to split its publishing assets, including the Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones and Times newspapers, from its faster growing TV and film assets. Murdoch plans to be chairman of both companies.
News Corp is expected to give an update on that split when it releases its latest quarterly results in New York later on Wednesday.
Dominic Rusheguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Rupert Murdoch papers in talks on 'Baby Shard' move
News Corporation: Live Updates from The Guardian - Wed, 05/08/2013 - 10:51
Times, Sunday Times and Sun could move from long-term Wapping base to London Bridge when lease expires in 2015
Rupert Murdoch is in negotiations to move his UK newspaper operations to the "Baby Shard" building in London Bridge, severing entirely his links with Wapping, the headquarters of his press empire for the past 27 years.
Both Estates Gazette and Property Week reported that Murdoch's News International is in talks to take over the entire building, which stands to the east of the main Shard skyscraper next to London Bridge station on the south bank of the Thames.
If the deal is clinched the Times, Sunday Times and Sun will move to the 428,000 sq ft office block in 2015 from Thomas More Square on St Katharine's Dock in Wapping.
A spokesman for News International said: "Our lease is due for renewal next year and as a responsible employer we will be exploring all options to ensure our accommodation continues to meet the needs of our staff and the business as it develops in thefuture."
News International moved to three blocks in the dock two years ago after selling the former printing plant and vast complex of old warehouses and offices across the road on Pennington Street.
The publisher currently occupies 11 floors in the main block in Thomas More Square, with operations and commercial divisions housed in two adjacent buildings.
Controversially, News Corporation's management standards committee and staff from Scotland Yard investigating alleged phone hacking and alleged payments to public officials for stories by News International journalists were also in one of the Thomas More Square buildings.
Murdoch moved his printing operations and offices for four newspapers including the now defunct News of the World to Wapping from Fleet Street in 1986 in a bid to smash the unions. The transfer led to a year-long strike and riots between unionised workers and so called "scabs".
The violence prompted the installation of barbed wire and high fences around the site, leading to the complex being dubbed "Fortress Wapping".
However the need for such a vast tract of land in a valuable part of east London was diminished when the printing operation moved to new sites outside the capital in 2008.
The Baby Shard has so far attracted interest from corporate giants including Ernst & Young, Ogilvy & Mather and Omnicom but has yet to secure a tenant, according to Estates Gazette.
The site is currently being redeveloped into flats by housebuilder Berkley.
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- News International
- National newspapers
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Sun journalists in court over alleged bribes
NOTW: UK Telegraph Live Blog - Wed, 05/08/2013 - 06:48
Two journalists from The Sun newspaper have appeared in court over alleged bribes paid to public officials.
Queen's speech 2013: Politics live blog
The Guardian: Politics Live Blog - Wed, 05/08/2013 - 06:43
Andrew Sparrow's rolling coverage of the Queen's speech and the debate on the loyal address, including speeches from David Cameron and Ed Miliband
Andrew SparrowNigel Lawson calls for UK to leave the EU - reaction: Politics live blog
The Guardian: Politics Live Blog - Tue, 05/07/2013 - 04:11
Andrew Sparrow's rolling coverage of all the day's political developments as they happen, including reaction to Nigel Lawson's call for Britain to leave the EU
Andrew SparrowLocal elections 2013: Friday 3 May as it happened
The Guardian: Politics Live Blog - Fri, 05/03/2013 - 18:16
Look back at the day's developments as Andrew Sparrow and Barry Neild covered the local election results and reaction
Andrew SparrowBarry Neild