Tag Archives: News

Should online news sites be worried about Breakthepaywall!?

23 Mar

BreakthePaywall!



With more and more news sites looking to monitise their online presense I was interested to read about BreakthePaywall! which has arisen to counter the organisations looking to increase revenues from online news.  On its site, BreakthePaywall! describes itself as a free add-on for Internet Explorer  that simplifies using the various methods for circumventing website paywall restrictions.

BreakthePaywall! is designed to work solely on those websites that initially allow you to view free content but after doing so, for example, 3 times, then ask you to register and/or pay to view any further content within the website. BreakthePaywall! will also work with sites that allow full access when viewed from news aggregation search sites.

Although this isn’t a major threat to news sites it is a reminder that internet users are always developing and looking for new ways to get news for free. I will be watching to see if this site survives or is replaced by another similar tool. I’m sure it won’t be the last such site to raise its head but what will be interesting to see is how the media strike back or survive this potential set back.

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Buying PR: Helen Farrier, Samsung Electronics

22 May
Source: Helen Farrier

Source: Helen Farrier

This week’s Buying PR interview is with Halen Farrier, European PR manager at Samsung Electronics. Helen started her PR life working at an agency before moving to client side. Some of her most interesting points made during the interview are about how she chose her current PR agency and what most annoys her. In particular, the point that chemistry is one of the key factors for choosing an agency. I agree with this.

A good PR agency should not just be brilliant at what it does but also an extension of your internal team. It is essential that an in-house PR manager not only trusts the PR agency to deliver what they have promised but also enjoys working with them.

Name and title: Helen Farrier, European PR Manager
Company and what it does: Samsung Electronics, global leader in digital technologies

Paul Stallard: Have you ever worked at a PR agency?
Helen Farrier: Yes. I started my PR life at a fantastic technology PR agency where I learnt all the basics. To anyone starting out in the industry today, I would totally recommend a spell working in an agency. Most agencies have structured induction programmes and they’re a great environment to develop essential writing and media selling skills and network with peers.

PS: How did you choose your current agency?
HF: Criteria, creativity and chemistry are key factors for choosing an agency. At a European level we work with a roster of agencies who we invite to pitch for various projects. We use a scoreboard to evaluate the agency’s experience and creativity against set criteria, however chemistry and gut-instinct is usually the deciding factor. Continue reading →

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Breaking Tweets

8 Apr

I stumbled upon a new (to me) site tonight which I thought I would share. Breaking Tweets compiles the latest world news and includes Twitter feedback on that story. Interesting concept and it makes for strangely addictive reading.

According to the site it has two main goals: 1. to help people enhance their worldview or perspective of global events; 2. to increase dialogue about international news and make the world smaller through conversation and interaction, both on this site and on Twitter.

I like the philosophy behind the site which looks to record how people are reacting to particular news stories. Continue reading →

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When is bad news good news?

7 Aug

See my post on the Berkeley PR blog

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