Newsweek’s future - Goodbye Ink

After some months of speculation, it was confirmed today that Newsweek, the American weekly, would not live to see its 80th birthday in its current form. The last print edition will be published on December 31st. In 2013 Newsweek will be rebranded Newsweek Global, run exclusively online and on tablet devices and charge for content. A few articles will be available for free on the Daily Beast, a website which merged with Newsweek in 2010 and does not have a paywall.

But why stop printing so soon? This is where Newsweek’s owners come in. In 2010 the Washington Post sold Newsweek to Sidney Harman, a 92-year-old billionaire, for $1 and $47m in assumed liabilities. He died last year, and this summer his family announced they would no longer invest in the magazine and the website. Barry Diller, a savvy media investor who runs IAC/InterActiveCorp and the other owner of Newsweek, probably did not want to stomach the magazine’s losses alone. It will reportedly lose as much as $22m this year. The costs of running a digital publication are much less. Some jobs will also be axed.

Newsweek to axe print edition

News magazine to go digital-only from 2013 after 79 years and will publish single worldwide edition

The new digital-only publication, which will be called Newsweek Global, will be a "single worldwide edition targeted for a highly mobile, opinion-leading audience who want to learn about world events in a sophisticated context".

Dubious Tourist Slogans...

A plan to promote Edinburgh under the slogan “Incrediburgh” has been fiercely criticised by local politicians – forcing marketing officials to rethink.

The Scotland on Sunday newspaper has reported that other slogans were being considered, including “Welfedinburgh” and “Painthetownedinburgh”.

Glamorous models join Brad Pitt for Chanel No.5 campaign

Released with ample time to sink into the psyche of both men and women in the run up to Christmas, its not long before we'll all be copying Brad's brooding stare and reciting the following: "It's not a journey, every journey ends, but we go on…" and so on.

Ukraine Media Feel Squeeze Ahead of Election

Telekrytika, a Ukrainian Web-based media watchdog, said that as much as $80,000 will change hands for a leading politician to ensure a guest appearance on a popular TV show, while a 20-second TV sound bite in a news bulletin may cost just $200.

Early last month, Yanukovych endured an embarrassing moment when a dozen Ukrainian journalists stood up and raised anti-censorship banners as he hailed Ukraine's march to greater media freedom at a World Newspaper Congress in Kiev.

Even as he spoke, his security guards ripped banners saying "stop censorship" from protesters' hands.

MasterCard mines data for marketers

MasterCard is analysing transaction data to help marketers direct targeted advertising at consumers, after launching a controversial initiative to make money from its vast database of retail purchases.

According to an online sales pitch titled “Leveraging MasterCard Data Insights to Reach Holiday Shoppers”, MasterCard analyses billions of transactions – noting, for example, which consumers are more likely to purchase consumer electronics or luxury goods. “The foundation of all of our solutions is transaction data,” Susan Grossman, MasterCard’s senior vice-president of media solutions, said during the pitch, which has been viewed by the Financial Times.

London Evening Standard goes into profit

After one year as a free, the loss was £16.9m. In the second year, from October 2010 to September 2011, the loss had been reduced to £7m.

Though the £1m profit figure for the 12 months up to September this year is still subject to auditing, Mullins and the owner, Evgeny Lebedev, are confident of the paper's change in fortune.
"It has been tough work," says Mullins, "and it remains tough because the advertising outlook remains bleak. But we are confident of returning a modest profit in the coming year too."

Felix Baumgartner jump: record 8m watch live on YouTube

Video website attracts biggest audience for livestream to date – but more viewers watch Downton Abbey on TV in UK

With a global peak of more than 8 million, YouTube has some way to go before it will even match the UK audiences for shows such as ITV1's Downton Abbey, but Baumgartner's audience is a significant pointer to the way audiences will increasingly watch live global events such as this in the future.

Vanity Fair - The Birth of Bond

Fifty years ago, at the dawn of the commercial-jet age, James Bond strode into movie history, to show audiences how stylish and thrilling life could be. But creating the cinematic Bond was fraught with peril, as best-selling author Ian Fleming discovered when he first tried to take his hero to the screen. David Kamp recalls the unlikely team—two small-time producers, a journeyman director, and a “rough diamond” of a star—behind 007’s film debut, Dr. No, the beginning of a $5 billion franchise.

The name’s Wilson, Michael Wilson

007 is a family business for the legendary Bond producer. In this rare interview, he explains why photography is also his passion

Film piracy is an enormous problem for them, with only the US and parts of Europe as relatively safe territories. “It starts almost immediately, when you release the film; sometimes before,” he said. “To give you an idea: I would see within the EU as the last point [in Europe] when we earn something, then all the way to Japan, then all the Southern hemisphere except for Australia, and all of Africa, Asia, Asia Minor, India, China, Russia, all – except for some TV income maybe – we get zero. All that’s pirated.

Skyfall - Economist Review

HALF a century has passed since the release of “Dr No”, and our favourite spy has travelled all over the globe; to underwater lairs, desert hideouts, even space. But in “Skyfall”, his latest mission takes him somewhere unexpected: home. This is an unusually British Bond film, with sweeping shots of the London skyline, chase scenes on the tube and revelations about MI6 that test 007's loyalties.