Ever felt naked without it?

I was reading an article the other day (yes in the printed media) which got me thinking. How did we all used get by in our daily lives without mobile phones? The Chief Executive of Ericsson (the world’s largest maker of telecoms network gear) reckons that the number of people with a mobile phone has risen to 3.6 billion out of a current world population of 6.7 billion. The mobile phone or not so mobile ‘Portable bricks’ as they were back in the mid 1980’s have now become such an integral part of our lives. Used for all manner of applications from straightforward phone calls and texting to surfing the internet, satellite navigation and applying for jobs on the move. The very next day after reading the article I managed to leave home without my phone and have to say felt rather naked without it.

Colin Gilby

Wake up and smell the newsprint!

Whilst we're on the subject of newspapers, I'm constantly amazed by the local press's Canute-like attitude to advertising rates. On the one hand we hear daily of the decline in advertising revenues - especially from classified and recruitment advertising - yet publishers continue to increase rates and force advertisers to buy 'packages' of papers rather than the one title they want.
From memory this started over 15 years ago, when big publishers started buying up the independent titles and smaller groups, as well as publishing more weekly free titles. Once they had an area monopoly they then hit on the cunning wheeze of putting these papers into 'packages' with bigger circulation figures and covering wider areas - and doubling the price. That may have worked for a few years, but with many viable on-line alternatives now, surely it's time publishers to hit the reverse gear and GIVE THE ADVERTISIERS WHAT THEY WANT - and maybe helped themselves into the bargin?

Mike Jefferies

The King is dead, long live the King (hopefully…)

So the news that London's Evening Standard became a free newspaper on Monday came as a bit of a shock. In ending 182 years as a paid-for title, it is the first quality daily newspaper to go free, but in these depressing times for print media everywhere, I suspect that it won’t be the last! It claims to be a bid to boost its circulation from 250,000 previously to over 600,000 copies, but I have to wonder at what cost?
It’s losing c£125,000 of paid sales a day, so presumably that will need to be made up by increased advertising revenue? In my own opinion, I’m not sure how well received rate increases will be or how good a strategy that is in the present climate. After all, if Murdoch couldn’t cut it with the Londonpaper which closed last month after it suffered heavy losses, and with its former free stable mates at Associated Newspapers, the Metro (morning) and London Lite (afternoon), now seemingly well established… it will be interesting to see what transpires. I wish them well!