Launch of the Apple iPad tablet

Over the last week it's been almost impossible to avoid all the hype that's surrounded the launch of the new Apple iPad.

It can't just be me who's thought this, but who is the iPad actually meant to be for?

"We want to kick off 2010 by introducing a truly magical and revolutionary product," ...."It's so much more intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smart phone."

This was said by Apple CEO Steve Jobs following the launch of the iPad. He claimed that it will change the world!

I immediately want to be cynical and say 'will it really' but based on Apple's track record you'd have to be a very brave person to bet on the tablet failing. I don't have that confidence but I still question who will actually buy it! Who's their market?
Clearly the iPad is somewhere between a conventional laptop and that of a smartphone. Everyone agrees with that. Apple's website claims it's the best way to experience the web, but I don't quite see how it's so significantly better then browsing the web on a laptop or desktop.

Secondly It's too big to put in your coat pocket when you're out and about, but for me the biggest issues would be that it doesn't have a keyboard which limits the appeal. When I've already got a laptop and a mobile phone, I don't need something that's essentially in between the two.

Critics have pointed out that it doesn't run a Flash Player which is the biggest program user for viewing movies and animations online, and which is heavily used in advertising.

The most telling point I've come across in the last week, is that for the iPad to really succeed, it will have to provide users with something they can't get anywhere else.

What does intrigue me about the iPad is its affect on the apps economy and on old media. It seems certain that the iPad will launch a new wave of app developers. I was reading an article in the Sunday Times this week by Dominic Rushe who spoke about the Apple apps economy, currently worth £1.5 billion pounds! Apple already dominates the mobile apps economy, so I'm expecting it to clean up with the iPad.

Newspapers and magazines are looking at the iPad as an opportunity to replace declining readerships with a new audience who will subscribe to news applications. For publishers it's all about finding a way of charging for online content, which currently can be accessed on the web for free. The New York Times already as such an application.

But again it makes me think that the content will have to be of high quality or something which can't be found elsewhere, to persuade people to subscribe.

After newspapers and magazines you've also got the ebook market. The iBookstore has now been launched which allows consumers to download electronic books to read. The immediate question that this raises, is will this kill off the traditional physical book market in the same way that downloading music has impacted on the sales of CDs?

As someone who loves books, reading books completely on a tablet device doesn't particularly appeal to me, but maybe this is the future. I do struggle to visualise a time when people will travel to work on a bus or tube only reading from a tablet or Kindle

When the iPad does hit the shops I cetainly won't be rushing out to buy it. Why? Because to be perfectly honest I don't need it, that's not to take anything away from its attributes. What I will be doing is paying a lot of attention to its affect on traditional media as this is where it's most likely to be revolutionary.

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UK Libel Laws

Over the last couple of months I've been reading an increasing amount of articles on UK Libel Laws. I think the reason that I've been paying more attention to these stories is that I'm currently studying Media Law as part of my NCTJ certificate in journalism. So far I've been looking at defamation law which is supposed to be about striking a balance between protecting the reputation of individuals and businesses, whilst at the same time allowing freedom of speech.

The trouble is, the more reports that I've been reading about UK libel laws the more I'm beginning to realise that freedom of speech is actually being severely compromised. Too many companies and individuals are using the libel laws as a form of censorship which is really worrying.
One good thing that does seem to be happening is that more and more people are now saying that the situation is becoming intolerable, and reforms need to be made. The latest report I read on this matter was by a Mark Lewis in the Solicitors Journal. It's an excellent article which you can read here.

In December last year General Electric Healthcare used the London Libel courts to gag a senior radiologist, Henrik Thomsen when he raised concerns of the potential risks over one of its drugs.

A month before that, I read a report in the Sunday Times about the case of Peter Wilmshurst, a consultant cardiologist who was being sued in Britain for comments he made in America which were reported on an American website.

It's not just scientists who are now speaking out, a number of high profile British comedians have also joined a campaign to overhaul the country's libel laws. The comedian Alexi Sayle fought a libel case last year after writing a book in which an individual working in the comedy business sued for defamation, claiming a character in the book resembled him. Sayle argued he faced financial ruin trying to defend himself. He came out with the brilliant line of:

“It would have been cheaper if I’d just stabbed the f*****,”

The biologist and writer Richard Dawkins was quoted saying scientists are operating in an 'atmosphere of fear' because of the libel laws in this country.

What I do find quite worrying is the number of foreign claimants fighting cases in English courts over alleged defamatory statements made in overseas publications, commonly referred to as 'Libel tourism'

It can't be right when American newspapers are seriously considering removing London editions of their publications in the UK because of the fear and financial risk of libel actions being brought against them.

I've recently heard about the The Libel Reform Campaign, which has launched a petition calling for reform of the libel laws. The campaign has brought together a number of different groups such a English Pen who have produced a report recommending changes. Index on Censorship, Sense about Science and various comedians, journalists, politicians and public figures.

Earlier this month the Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg gave a speech on the subject at the Royal Society in which he argued that the 'draconian and unbalanced' libel laws in this country was contributing to the growth of libel tourism.

A review into the libel laws is currently taking place and should be completed by the end of March. The outcome is certainly something I'll be looking forward to hearing about. The review was ordered by the Justice Secretary Jack Straw. I'll be surprised if the report fails to highlight the major imbalances within the current laws.

It seems clear that too many aspects of the current law are weighted in favour of rich claimants who can afford to bring about libel cases, against individuals who simply do not have the financial resources to defend themselves.

Having listened to the debate from those in favour of reform, it seems that the most pressing changes need to begin with a shift in the burden of proof required to win a case. Moving away from the defendant having to prove the truth of their words, to one where the claimant has to show that what has been written is in fact false.

In addition to this, the costs awarded for damages appear totally disproportionate. Some sort of cap on damages needs to be introduced. Finally the other suggestion that I agree with is the creation of an independent tribunal which can arbitrate cases between defendants and complainants.

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The London Weekly has arrived!

A couple of days ago in my first post, I mentioned there was going to be a new London freesheet to be launched sometime later this year. Well It's now arrived and it's called the London weekly, you'll be able to pick up your first copy on the 5 February.

The paper's website was actually launched on 20 December last year at thelondonweekly.co.uk, but it must have been a low key affair because I don't remember hearing anything about it. I don't quite understand why the website was launched last year, but yet they've waited for over 6 weeks to launch the paper itself.
I've had a quick look at the website, and it's been updated rather sporadically since December which doesn't make much sense to me, and doesn't give the site a great deal of credibility. Are they just doing a test run, or is it that they can't be bothered to update it properly until the February launch?

The paper's publishers, Global Publishing Group (GPG) have said they intend to distribute 250,000 on Fridays and Saturdays. Some reports I've read have suggested that it will only be distributed during the mornings which is fine on a Friday, but who's going to be around to pick it up on a Saturday?

The paper describes itself on its website as a newspaper which,
"bridges the gap between traditional newspapers, Sunday tabloids and dailies" before going on to say that the paper will be "an entertainment, politics, music, sports and lifestyle newspaper."

This seems like quite an ambitious idea. It's hard not to take the cynical view and ask what will this paper provide that you can't already get with the Evening Standard and previously the London Paper and London Lite?

The Independent reported on 1 December 2009 that it intends to get readers to contribute around 30% of the paper's content and to also post news and videos to its website.

Bringing in 'Citizen journalist' is something I'll definitely be paying attention to. I'm not aware of any other papers that have publicly stated they're looking for readers to contribute such a significant amount of content.

I have to say, It's a really brave move by the publishers GPG, when you consider that two free newspapers covering almost the same topics folded at the end of last year. It's intriguing to know where the publishers and editorial staff get their confidence from. Other people may say it's just plain stupid!

I'm not a huge fan of free newspapers and I don't see that London really needs another free paper; Of course I might be proved wrong, but I'll be surprised if the London Weekly is still around this time next year.

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2010 - Thoughts on the year ahead

For the first post on my new blog, I thought I'd begin by looking ahead at the forthcoming year. I'm not necessarily looking at making predictions for 2010, but I wanted to focus on areas of the media which are currently of interest to me, and which I'll be paying close attention to as the year progresses.
As a journalism student I naturally have a big interest in the challenges facing the newspaper industry. Living in London, we saw the free evening newspaper landscape change drastically towards the end of last year. Firstly with the demise of the London Paper, which was quickly followed by the London Lite. The London Lite was never going to survive once it was decided the Evening Standard would become a free paper.

I couldn't see what purpose there was in the London Lite continuing to exist when up against a free Evening Standard. On the few occasions that I read the Lite, many of its stories were identical to the Standard's, it wasn't offering anything different.

In saying all of this, it looks as if there's going to be another London free paper launched later this year, so we'll have to see how successful that will prove to be.

I'm yet to be convinced by free newspapers. I can't say I've been overly impressed with the quality of content in the Standard since it dropped its 50p cover price. It now feels more like an in depth evening version of the Metro. I still believe that if you want quality journalism, then you need to pay for it!

It was a significant moment for the industry, when the Standard decided to go free, but I've heard a few rumours that the Independent could become the first national to do the same. I don't normally buy the Independent, but when I do, I've always enjoyed reading it. Again the question that concerns me is whether the quality of its content will decrease if it stops charging?

This year Rupert Murdoch intends to move News International newspapers sites behind a paywall, this is clearly going to become part of a growing trend, with other publishers taking the plunge in experimenting with paywalls in an attempt to generate more profits. The question is will it work?

The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times already have paywalls, and seem to be profiting from them, but it helps that they're niche publications. At the moment this is where paywalls are more likely to succeed. National newspapers aren't niche publications, so I'm not sure how successful Murdoch's decision will prove to be.

On a local level with regional publishers struggling, it'll be interesting to see whether hyperlocal newsites will continue to grow and fill the void left by local newspapers? A year ago I wasn't even aware of what hyperlocal news was, but I've discovered three really good examples; two in the Midlands with the Bournville blog in Birmingham, and to the north of the city in the town of Lichfield there's the Lichfield blog.

In London I quite like Greenwich.co.uk. I've heard a few commentators suggesting that this year's General Election could provide an ideal opportunity for more hyperlocal start ups to emerge, focussing on the election's impact at a more local level.

I'd suggest checking out the above mentioned sites, as I think they're some of the best examples of hyperlocal news that I've come across.

Talking about this year's General Election, the televised debates between the leaders of the three main political parties will be one of the TV highlights of the year.

Well it will be for those of us into our politics, but even if you're not, it's still a significant event in terms of British TV and politics.

This will also be the year that Social media will have a real impact on how the public experience the election. My interest in Social Media has been growing rapidly over the last 12 months.

I've become a bit of a Social Media junkie in recent years. Starting firstly with Myspace before progressing onto Facebook. Last year, I started 'twittering' on Twitter, and then I joined Linkedin to boost my professional networking.

My thoughts on Social media have changed quite a bit since beginning my journalism training. I'm always hearing about the increasing importance of Social media in journalism, particularly as a marketing and promotional tool for individual journalists. Journalists have to start viewing themselves as individual brands these days, and Social media is becoming a vital tool in doing this.

2009 was the year I started my first blog, as a journalism student I was told I needed to create a significant online presence. I linked my blog to my Facebook profile, which immediately meant that I no longer saw Facebook as just a way of keeping up to date with family and friends. My profile gave me an immediate audience to promote my blog.

But then I was told that I had to get myself onto Twitter to develop the brand futher. I have to be honest and admit I wasn't really interested in Twitter to begin with, I couldn't see the point of it!

Last year I went from Twitter sceptic, to Twitter convert! I've now begun to appreciate its value as a marketing tool and information source for a range of major brands, businesses, and individuals.

Outside the worlds of media, marketing and celebrity culture, I still think that Twitter leaves many people confused over its value, so it still has some work to do. And then you have the burning question of whether Twitter will ever make a profit?

So there's just a few of my thoughts on the forthcoming year, I'm sure I will discuss more of these topics in greater detail as the year unfolds.

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Hello I'm Rodney, welcome to Media Capital. This is my blog, offering news and comments on the media industry within London, the UK and occasionally the rest of the world.

I’m a trainee journalism student, studying part time for my NCTJ certificate through Cleland Thom’s CTJT distance learning course, details of which can be found at www.ctjt.biz

In May 2009 I passed my NCJT certificates in Public Affairs Local and Central Government, I'm now currently studying for my Media Law exam which I intend to take in May 2010.

My full time career is in medical regulation, but I've now decided to develop a sideline career in freelance writing and journalism. I've been told this is known has having a portfolio career.

I don't have a background of working within any of the media industries. What I do have is a genuine passion for writing and a keen interest in the world of media. The blog is my attempt to develop this interest, and hopefully provide some useful insight and discussion on developments within the industry.

The next few years will be a fascinating time within the media world. Surely the biggest question currently being asked concerns the future of the newspaper industry. Do they have any longterm future? What new business models will emerge? And with the switch to digital, will online paywalls be the answer to declining revenues?

Other areas of great interest include the growth of social media, I'm looking forward to seeing how social media will grow and evolve? These are just some of the many areas which I hope to discuss and focus upon with this blog.

One of the great things about blogging is the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and developing discussions with others. If you feel that you'd like to respond to any of the posts on here then please do so, all comments will be much appreciated.

Rodney



My Contact details

Email:write2rodneyd@hotmail.com

Blogs: www.ablogwithmerodneyd.blogspot.com

Linkedin: www.uk.linkedin.com/in/rodneyd75
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