Personal
Adrian tagged me with the "Five things" blog meme this week, but I'm afraid I've been trapped at a travel fair the last few days (for the launch of an annual travel mag I'm involved with) - hence my late reply. It&
Blogging
The Washington Post breaks the news about how Media Bloggers Association has gained access to the upcoming spectacle: When the trial of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice opens next week, scores of journalists are expected to throng the
Acquisitions
A new world knocked on the door of Norwegian media in the shape of former Mirror boss David Montgomery, when his investment vehicle Mecom acquired Orkla Media, last year. Other Nordic companies had previously been involved on the owner side of various Norwegian media, but Montgomery was perceived as a
Media
Journalists in David Montgomery's new media empire are setting up an international alliance to stand stronger in face of the radical restructuring they fear will come. During a full-day meeting in Oslo yesterday, representatives from Norway, Denmark, Holland, Germany and Poland hammered out the framework for a formal
Acquisitions
This time, it's for real... The internet portal has confirmed the purchase, but refused to disclose the price tag. However, Forbes quotes sources indicating a sum just above $10m. Tellingly, this is how Bloggers Blog describes MyBlogLog: it "helps add social networking and community features to blogs.
Blogging
It's not easy for newspapers to get this blogging thing right, some do and some clearly don't, but the debate about the value of doing it, and how to best go about it, continues... I hope to get back to this issue more in depth soon,
Highlights 2006
Once we had organisations like Opus Dei, the Illuminati and the Rosecrutians: secret, closed, usually WASP’s networks you had be very influential and undergo obscure initiation rites to be admitted into. The freemasons of the information age, however, are of a different breed all together. Some of you might
Acquisitions
The Scandinavian media landscape changed irrevocably in 2006: Orkla sold its media arm to a British company built on borrowed money, the region's media giants were busy consolidating and expanding internationally, and Swedes and Danes were bombarded with freesheets from left, right and centre In what has been
Blogging
The official Google blog doesn't take comments, is it still a blog? Some say it's not, others that it is - just a less valuable one (via Bloggers Blog). David Winer revisits the question and concludes that it is not the form but the voice that
Freesheets
Well, maybe not, but sometimes you just get lucky... Remember the story of the media company that graded prostitutes? As always, the question of 'who benefits from the story' is a pertinent one... Imagine you plan to launch an ambitious new freesheet that aims to grab market shares
Highlights 2006
After three of the new Swedish government's ministers had been hauled of the coals, and one forced to resign, for dodging the TV-license, last month's indications that the government wants to ditch the licence system alltogether made sense. Apparently three out of four parties in the
Acquisitions
2006 was a year of big ethical challenges and high-strung financial deals, or "The year of Mohammed and Montgomery" as Norwegian trade journal Journalisten so aptly headlined its summary of Norway's media year. The year started with Norwegian and Danish flags and embassies set ablaze in