"free palestine of hamas" - Google Search

"free palestine of hamas" - Google Search

I heard something on MSNBC that seemed to be promoting the idea of "free Palestine of Hamas". How could anyone reasonably be expected to get to the source of that here? More important, I still don't hear anyone saying in an organized way - Free the People of This Land from Israel?

"U.K.’s 'Independent' Newspaper Introduces Paywall" - Adweek

Overseas readers are far more important than many newspapers have come to appreciate in the digital age.

"HuffPo Partners With Le Monde, LNEI On French Edition" - paidContent

How are newspapers doing in the strategic alliances department?

"Bonjour, Amazon. Kindle Store Debuts In France With Its First French Kindle" - paidContent

Is this a plus for newspapers?

"OSCE media freedom representative calls for release of Tajik journalist facing 16 years imprisonment" - Representative on Freedom of the Media

I hope this will get some reinforcement in Vienna.

"Wall Street Protesters Have Ink-Stained Fingers" - NYTimes.com

Reading this one is reminded how complex the newspaper strategic options matrix is - in this digitally focused world that still thinks print is important!

"Why Hasn't India Produced an Innovator Like the Apple Founder?" - NYTimes.com

Alternatively to China, will the next Steve JOBS be Indian?

"Free Texting Apps Are Threat to Wireless Carriers" - NYTimes.com

Isn't it time for a new debate on whether the rush toward "free" is not a trend toward "theft"? Don't we need a new balance between usurious charges imposed by too many selling something, and no charges ripped off by those who think they are entitled not to pay anything at all? Couldn't newspapers play a core role in framing and advancing that discussion, disclosing self-interest all along the way?

"Court Order Seeks Email Data of WikiLeaks Volunteer Jacob Appelbaum" - WSJ.com

I hope we can discuss this in some detail in Vienna. The move raises a complex array of issues that ought now to be of global importance. Let's be sure to ask Google about this. What will Google do?

WAN-IFRA Blogs - 63rd World Newspaper Congress

I guess this will be a separate blog for the Congress.

World Newspaper Week Blog

I am not quite sure how this will work, but there promises to be a lot of postings here during the coming days.

"Cheap tablet computer leads India's drive to tackle rural poverty" - The Guardian

It will be especially interesting to see what our Indian colleagues think of this, and how they intend to make a plus for newspapers and all of their customers.

"Dividing to Conquer a Newspaper Empire in Germany" - NYTimes.com

This surely will spark a lot of discussion in Vienna!

Wi-Fi

There apparently will be free Wi-Fi all around the Congress this week for anyone in need of it!

"Joel Brenner: "America the Vulnerable"" - The Diane Rehm Show

I keep wondering if it should also be "Newspapers the Vulnerable". How well are newspapers doing to protect themselves against cyber actions of all kinds while they make sure that their employees and agents also stay within the law in using digital technology in researching stories? Yet another book on the same general subject is to be released this Wednesday in Washington, DC.

"Le prochain Steve Jobs sera-t-il chinois ?" - LeMonde.fr

A fascinating question posed in Le Monde today - will the next Steve JOBS be Chinese?

"Sims Social Is an Astonishing Success on Facebook" - NYTimes.com

I'd love to see a session next year devoted entirely to what newspapers can learn from these games. For this year, it's surely worth a mention.

"HSN Tests Onscreen QR Codes to Encourage Sales" - NYTimes.com

Newspapers, notoriously, are largely - and either directly or indirectly - space salespeople. That means that advertising space in newspapers, print or digital, gets sold without any interest in what the commercial message is to contain or how effective it is going to be. Take the idea of scanning something in print - or online and other places - and with that scan, making an inquiry and/or a purchase. Have newspapers acted as creatively as they should in anticipating a Steve JOBS'-type demand for this capability among all types of customers? Have newspapers concluded, once again, that this is not where the proverbial hockey puck is headed? Has sufficient thought been given to the whole question where we are going, lest we get there or someplace we don't want to be without deciding?

"Steffy: Steve Jobs' greatest invention: demand" - Houston Chronicle

There has been a vast amount written in the wake of Steve JOBS' death. I hope we can begin to pull some of that thinking together as we approach the Congress next week. Consider this column for example. What does it tell us about newspapers? What is the "demand" that newspapers need to nurture and/or create that they have not yet done?

"Steve Jobs of Apple Dies at 56" - NYTimes.com

We cannot let the Congress end without acknowledging the profound impact that the late Steve JOBS had on the digital world and all of the ways that has shaped, and is shaping, the newspaper business. May he Rest in Peace.