– Newsquest: The UK’s number-two regional news publisher is buying in national news video from the Press Association multimedia wire. The PA will contribute around 25 multimedia packages each week to English regional titles and 20 to those in Scotland, including text, photography, video and interactive graphics, Press Gazette reports. PA’s London multimedia department comprises video journalists gathering news, sport and entertainment material.
– FT: The rise and rise of The Financial Times’ circulation figure – whilst all around it fall – is clearly boosting the publisher’s confidence it can charge more for the product. Today, the weekday edition goes up £0.20 to £1.50 – its second price hike since June. Despite a comparatively small circulation amongst UK titles, it is virtually alone in recording successive circulation growth. Separately today, FT CEO John Ridding shows that confidence, despite what Murdoch may do with the Wall Street Journal and a free WSJ.com: “There is a lot of speculation about what others may or may not do. But we know what we are doing and it is working and we intend to keep on doing it and not be distracted by competition. Obviously we are not complacent but we are confident because, when you look at what we achieved in 2007, it was a very strong year for us.” Ridding repeated FT.com would be “overhauled” this year with more video emphasised. (Via Guardian).
– IHT/Reuters: Reuters (NSDQ: RTRSY) and International Herald Tribune (IHT) have today gone live with their co-branded business news section online and in print. Visually, the business section, renamed “Business With Reuters” is no different – it still carries a mix of AP, in-house and Reuters reports. Though IHT.com retains editorial responsibility, its business team will from today get daily contact from dedicated Reuters business editors and the section will be produced “in close collaboration”. Content coming out of this new arrangement will also feature on Reuters financial terminals and its direct-to-consumer reuters.com site. The companies will share ad revenue from the jointly authored pages.