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The registration form
NSK News Bulletin Online
April 2007 -------------------------------------------------------------------
*Topics --Asahi Reporter Lectures on "Embedded" War Role in Iraq - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Story of the Month>>> NSK Reports Access Grants to High-Security Apartment Buildings ------------------------------------------------------------------- Many Newspapers Reorganizing Digital Media Operations According to an NSK annual poll on the current state of the electronic media, 86 NSK member companies -- up one from the previous survey -- are operating a combined total of 168 Web-site services. The survey for 2007 also found that many companies have been making organizational changes or reforms to their electronic media divisions, including sweeping measures to spin off such operations into separate companies. Three companies are also providing social networking services on their Web sites to help promote information exchange among users. The survey, which has been conducted every Jan. 1 since 1998, tracks entries into the electronic media field by member companies, as well as evaluating their business strategies. A total of 86 companies responded to the latest survey. According to the survey results, the Nikkei, the Sankei Shimbun, the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun and the Kyoto Shimbun separated their electronic media divisions into new companies or carried out organizational reforms associated with such spin-offs. The Chugoku Shimbun redefined the role-sharing between its head office and its affiliated operations. Many other companies, including the Asahi Shimbun, the Yomiuri Shimbun, the Hochi Shimbun, Jiji Press, the Akita Sakigake Shimpo, the Yamanashi Nichi-nichi Shimbun, the Nagoya Times, the Gifu Shimbun, the Niigata Nippo, the Fukui Shimbun, the Sanyo Shimbun, the San-in Chuo Shimpo, the Nishi-nippon Shimbun, the Nagasaki Shimbun and the Kumamoto Nichi-nichi Shimbun, made organizational changes involving their electronic media operations. Over the past year, nine new Web sites were opened. A total of 64 sites operated by 38 companies now have registered membership services, up from 51 sites run by 30 companies in the previous survey. The new entrants include the Yomiuri Shimbun and the Fukushima Minpo. A total of 42 companies -- up 8 from last year -- are providing moving images, or video contents, primarily news reports and community events. At an increasing number of sites, staff reporters contribute and present their own stories or news reports. The survey also found that 10 companies -- up by 4 -- are offering pod-casting services, including the Yomiuri Shimbun, the Nikkei, the Sankei Shimbun, the Hokkaido Shimbun and the Oita Godo Shimbun, which has launched video pod-casting services. A total of 26 companies -- up from 11 in the previous survey -- offer RSS (Really Simple Syndication) services, which constantly update information through automated downloads. The categories of RSS services now range from general news, city news, sports news and community news to special features, serialized features, columns and video news reports. The number of companies with blogs in their Web sites has more than doubled from 13 to 29. The authors of the blogs are staff reporters, commentators, athletes, TV personalities and general citizens. An increasing number of companies are opening blogs focusing on community-oriented issues, including blogs particularly focused on local sports teams. Another new development is news services aimed at promoting exchanges among users who access the Web sites. For instance, the Sankei Shimbun, the Shizuoka Shimbun and the San-in Chuo Shimpo have started services to allow registered members to open their own blogs within the Web sites. The Nikkei, the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun and the Saga Shimbun have gone a step further and have launched social networking services (SNS). According to the survey, 46 companies, the same as last year, are providing contents to portal sites, search sites and other outside information service operators. The contents are mainly related to general news, sports and entertainment. A total of 10 companies -- up by 1 -- are providing images of their print editions, while 66 companies -- up by 3 -- offer contents to mobile phone users and fixed information terminals. They include 14 firms -- up by 1 -- providing moving images. Asahi’s Sakajiri, Kyodo’s Ota win Vaughan-Ueda Prize The screening board for the Vaughan-Ueda Memorial Prize decided on March 12 to award the prize for fiscal 2006 to Nobuyoshi Sakajiri of the Asahi Shimbun’s General Bureau in China, and to Masakatsu Ota, a former correspondent at the Kyodo News Washington Bureau. The prize is conferred to the journalist(s) who contribute the most each year to international understanding through their professional activities. The board issued nomination and profile information for the two journalists:
Yamanashi Nichi-nichi Resumes Editorials Suspended Over Plagiarism The Yamanashi Nichi-nichi Shimbun, a Kofu-based local newspaper, on April 1 resumed carrying an editorial that had been suspended on Feb. 21, after the disclosure that the former chief editorial writer had copied parts of his editorials from other newspapers. According to an announcement published on the April 1 issue, the newspaper has now made it a rule to use bylines on its editorials so that the author of each editorial is known to readers, while also carrying contributions from outside opinion leaders on a regular basis. The announcement said that the newspaper’s editorial writers will produce the editorials from Tuesday through Friday of every week. The paper will occasionally carry commentaries supplied by Kyodo News with their authors’ names attached. The newspaper is also starting a commentary column on Saturdays and Sundays, in which scholars and business leaders will comment on social issues and make policy proposals. The paper will assign scholars or other opinion leaders to write for the new column, depending on the subject matter. It is also moving its commentary column written by regular contributors from its Sunday issue, to its Monday issue. Starting with its April 23 issue, the title of the column will be changed to “The Perspectives: 2007” and the paper will replace the contributors with new ones. In resuming its suspended editorials, the newspaper increased its total number of editorial writers from two to three. In writing the editorials, the writers are to actively debate the subjects and scrutinize reference materials to avoid plagiarism, according to the newspaper. New Chief Editorial Writer Mitsuharu Hagihara said the editorials will primarily deal with issues particular to the local area. “Yamanashi Prefecture now faces such social problems as a shortage of doctors and nurses and outflows of the population from mountainous areas. We will address these issues from a long-term perspective,” he said. The newspaper company announced on Feb. 6 that its former chief editorial writer had copied parts of his editorials from other newspapers. Later, an in-house probe found plagiarism in 15 editorials written by the former chief editorial writer, leading the paper to voluntarily suspend its publication of editorials, starting on Feb. 21.
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