Blurred Keys

New SundayWorld.com, with Williams ad

The Sunday World has relaunched their website, sundayworld.com, recently.

The content includes columns, gossip, and reviews. They also have online-only content from gossip site PerezHilton.com. And there's video from Balcony TV, along with other video clips of games and films, and 'funnies'.

But no news.

The roll over banner advert currently running across the site shows Paul Williams, the newspaper's crime editor, saying - as ever - he'll be watching the criminals. That's entertaining at least.

Half of Ombudsman's and Press Council's decisions so-far relate to Katy French

Half of the decisions published so far by the Press Ombudsman relate to model Katy French, reports the Sunday Business Post. Read the article here, or the Ombudsman's and Press Council of Ireland's decisions in full here.

More on the Irish Times online relaunch

- IrishTimes.com online now

And further to our post on the Irish Times removal of most of their paywall, the Sunday Business Post has today an article on the relaunch. Maeve Donovan, managing director of the Times has an interisting -- and maybe even an overly optimistic -- view on online advertising...

‘‘I think, perhaps, the presence of what you might call garage operators in this space has led to a view of online advertising as being cheap,” Donovan said. ‘‘In fact, I think internet ads should be at a premium - they’re highly accountable. And yes, I do think that’s going to change.”

Donovan also mentions the Guardian's success at attracting online US readers. The paywall at Ireland.com has stopped emulation of this until now. Read the full article here.  

Vincent Browne interviewed (link)

Vincent Browne talks to Marketing magizine about getting sacked by RTE, his Nightly News show on TV3, the Sunday Tribune, what he thinks of Independent News & Media and much more. Read it here. (vie Fergus Cassidy)

Irish Times free online from Monday

The Irish Times is set to be free on the internet from Monday. The move is part of a relaunch which will see the company use the name and address IrishTimes.com as the central online brand for the newspaper.

DPP seeks jaling of editor, journalist

The DPP is appealing a High Court finding that former Evening Herald editor Gerry O’Regan and journalist Anne-Marie Walsh were not in contempt of court.

The move could possibly end in the jailing of Walsh and the now Irish Independent editor O’Regan and fines for Independent News & Media.

MORE: DPP bids to jail editor, reporter for contempt

Irish national newspapers not in decline

Damien Mulley mentions "losing readership" as part of the state of the state of Irish newspapers. It's a common enough misconception, but Irish national newspapers have not and are not currently showing the large-scale declines in readership as seen in the UK and US. The market is reasonably stable.

Text size matters

Click on the above image of text from newspaper and magizine websites - the image should open in a pop-up window. Which is the most readable?

The first is from an award winning newspaper site. This paper has one of the lowest national relationships in print, but the most visited newspaper websites in the UK.

Herald.ie: Where's the Dublin news?

You’d expect a good deal of Dublin news on the Evening Herald’s recently launched website. But very little city news little can be seen on the homepage at Hearld.ie.

When Blurred Keys tried the site today, the first viewable screen without scrolling down hadn't a single Dublin story.

Freelancing and the art of pitching

Journalism is often described as a trade, but freelancing is more like an art. Or at least the process of pitching to editors is an art form.

Adam Maguire talks about the it here, following up on the boards.ie News & Media thread on the same subject here. While below are letters from the NUJ's magazine,  the Journalist, shows a few different views on the issue...