20th July 2005

Murdoch buys MySpace

Filed under: — editor @ 4:00 pm

Earlier this year, Rupert Murdoch announced that if you can’t beat ‘em, then you will need to buy them. And he has with a company called Intermix, better known as the company behind MySpace, the online community.

Full coverage over at MediaGuardian.

As well as MySpace, Intermix owns other online properties involved in online marketing.

Murdoch’s News Corp is paying $580 million for the business.

It will be interesting to see how News Corp integrates the company within its new online division.

8th July 2005

Channel 4 go for non-stop webcasting

Filed under: — editor @ 2:29 pm

Looks like Channel 4 is to webcast its broadcasting just as it goes out on TV.

NetImperative reports:

Planned to launch by the end of 2005, the broadcaster said that broadband users will seen be able to watch Channel 4, just as they would on TV, via its site using simulcast.

A very good idea and reminds me of when ITN aka ITV News used to broadcast its news channel live on the web.

6th July 2005

Top job at BBC up for grabs

Filed under: — editor @ 11:02 pm

The BBC is looking for a new head of news interactive after Richard Deverell moves to become chief operating officer of children’s service CBBC.

The job involves all aspects of the Beeb’s interactive news service including web and TV and carries a decent salary which is likely to be atleast £90,000.

If you are interested, click here for the job spec or read some of it below:

Job Specification
Head of News Interactive

BBC News

News Interactive is responsible for all web and text based services and interactive television news. Its growth is a result of new technologies which are changing the way that people can receive news content. News Interactive’s role is to respond to these changes and make BBC NEWS content available to people wherever and whenever they want it.

Other services include digital text, interactive television, mobile phones and PDAs, email and syndication, and the large-screen services seen at railway stations.

Overall Purpose of the job:

¨ Overall managerial, editorial and financial responsibility for News Interactive.

¨ To ensure agreed editorial principles and guidelines are followed and adherence to the BBC’s Journalistic Values.

¨ As part of the News Board, contributing to the overall direction editorially and managerially of BBC News.

¨ To support Director BBC News in ensuring that News performs well against the objectives published in the Annual Report and the annual statements of Programme Policy.

2nd July 2005

New ed for MediaGuardian

Filed under: — editor @ 11:07 am

The Guardian has found a new editor for its MediaGuardian website.

Steve Busfield takes over from Lisa O’Carroll.

Bushfield has been at The Guardian for the past eight years in a variety of roles including night editor, executive editor, Business, and city news editor.

The move comes as a new and improved Press Gazette is being planned by Piers Morgan which will see the industry title enhance its coverage and reporting.

“MediaGuardian is one of the world’s leading sources of media news and Steve has the perfect background and skills to edit the site,” said Emily Bell, editor in chief, Guardian Unlimited. “He inherits a first class team of reporters and production journalists who keep the site well ahead of the competition.”

Prior to his Guardian roles, Busfield also worked on other newspapers and publications including a strint as a reporter on Press Gazette.

1st July 2005

Live 8 domains and not directing to the official site

Filed under: — editor @ 6:00 pm

Well, it was bad enough with ticket touts selling “free” Live 8 tickets, but what about the owners of Live8.co.uk and LiveEight.co.uk?

Live8.co.uk is owned by Capital FM, and just goes to a domain name holding page and LiveEight.co.uk is owned by Comic Relief and goes to yet another domain name holding page.

Not exactly doing a service to the cause? Why did they bother registering those domains, if they couldn’t atleast forward them to the official Live 8 site?

So for the webmasters at Capital FM and Comic Relief, just forward the domains to www.live8live.com - it isn’t that difficult and you would then be doing the right thing.